twice imagines [ON GOING]

the person you were kissing wasn't me; p.jh

Neutral Reader

you huff as you run, your uniform tie and hair blowing in the wind. the soles of your feet ached from how long you'd been standing at the restaurant you work in, tending to customers and serving dishes.

despite the tire of your bones and the muscles screaming at you to rest, you happily run your way to your best friend jihyo's house.

well, best friend was one way to label your friendship.

growing up together was probably one of the reasons you and her were so close. met in middle school, stuck together through high school, and now living together as you navigated through college and took on part time jobs.

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the first incident was when you were both fourteen. young teenagers driven by recklessness who believed they were invincible never ended well. that's how you found yourself in detention after skipping school to hang out at the convenience store nearby.

how the teachers never realized that putting partners in crime together in one room was a bad idea, you'll never know. even more of a bad idea was when they left you alone.

so you and jihyo sat in silence, listening hard for footsteps approaching. but none came for a while, so you let your guards down.

she walked over to sit beside you, leaning her head on your shoulder as she picked on her nails. "have you ever kissed someone?"

she said the question so nonchalantly that you barely registered her words. when you did, however, you almost jumped in surprise. "why would you ask me about that?"

"because," she said, turning to look you in the eye, "haven't you ever wondered? kids our age usually do."

"i-i never.. really thought about it."

she made an expression of disbelief. "but aren't you curious?"

you shrugged, resting your cheek on the palm of your hand. "i mean, sure. i've seen enough romance to want to know why people like it."

jihyo looked away, thinking. you watched her side profile, ingraining it into your brain, but admired her as a friend. only as a friend, you always told yourself. you don't like her that way.

when she turned back to you she paused, staring deep into your eyes, before she spoke. "do you want to try?"

"try what?" you whispered, as if the two of you were up to no good once again.

"to kiss," she whispered back, leaning slightly closer. "i've never.. and experiencing it young couldn't hurt, right? i mean, we're just friends trying it out."

just friends, your mind echoed, she only feels that way towards you.

"okay," you breathe out.

and that was only the first time.

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the second incident was a little later in eleventh grade. a new student, austin, had recently joined your school. he was your typical bully - a jock, tall, muscular, a total jerk to those who refuse to grovel at his feet and kiss his shoes.

you loathed that guy.

especially since he never left jihyo alone. you understood why he'd taken a liking to her - but god, couldn't he chase some other girl instead? although, you'd feel bad for whomever he ever took an interest in.

so one day in the cafeteria, you in a conversation with jihyo about the latest biology homework, he pushed through the doors and marched his way to your table.

austin pushed you away by the face and sat between you and jihyo, squishing you against the wall. you grumbled in annoyance, but chose to stay silent.

"hey, jih." he flashed his oh, so charming smile at her, stealing your glass of water and taking a sip. "so, you wanna come over to my house after class? i need your help with, uh, chemistry."

his buddies laughed from behind, with you rolling your eyes and miming a gag.

"um." jihyo was evidently uncomfortable. "no, sorry. i have plans with y/n."

"oh." austin spared you a glare before coming back for another attempt with jihyo. "c'mon, this loser? you'd be spending your time better with me. i could make you have fun."

your nose flared. this guy really needs to go. you watched with narrowed eyes as the glass of water in his hand tilted ever so slightly.

jihyo sighed. "no, i'm really sorry-"

austin poured the glass's contents on jihyo, creating a blotch on her blouse that made the white cloth somewhat see-through.

"oops," austin smiled 'innocently, "my hand slipped. c'mon, sweetheart, i have an extra shirt in my locker-"

"hey, man," you fumed, shoving him away from jihyo. "leave her alone."

he scowled at you, because how dare this lowly worm even talk in his direction? "what are you gonna do, huh? cry to mommy? tell the principal? my dad knows a lot of people, you don't want to mess with me-"

"yeah, go tell your daddy you don't have game." you shed your jacket and wrapped it around jihyo protectively, whose eyes darted around in embarrassment.

"don't- what!" austin spluttered. "how dare you assume that! i could date any girl i wanted!"

"yeah, go ahead!" you shouted. "just not this girl!"

"and why not?"

jihyo answered that for you. she tugged you down and planted her lips firmly on yours. she let the kiss linger for a moment before pulling away and glaring at austin. "because i'm taken."

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it's true the two of you aren't as close as before, or maybe your friendship had simply changed because of time, but she's a little different now. you don't see each other as often despite living together, due to schedules and shifts that don't align.

which is why you're excited to surprise her with your early return home, just before she left for her night shift at the convenience store.

you stop in front of the elevator once you reach your floor, panting. she can't see you so disheveled, so you attempted to fix yourself.

until you heard voices.

you recognized the voice as jihyo, so you peeked from the corner to see who she was talking to.

"you go home safe, alright?" she says to some man, patting his shoulders. "text me when you're home."

your heart almost stops when she gets on her tiptoes to share a passionate kiss with this man.

you can't tear your eyes away, no matter how much the sight drained all happiness from you. every hope of someday confessing your feelings for her evaporated, as did the excitement of getting to surprise her.

but you didn't have the right to be jealous. even though you and her kiss from time to time, and share a lot of things other 'friends' don't share, you weren't officially together. that doesn't mean it can't hurt, or that you can't feel like you'd been betrayed.

so when the man leaves, you pretend to have just arrived and greet jihyo with a smile you hopes she didn't realize was fake. "hey, jih! guess who got released early?"

a/n: my format would likely interchange between proper capitalization and lowercase