HEAL || Lee Minho

21. Kisses and Promises

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"Do you want to give us a chance?", Minho spoke, looking straight into Haejin's eyes, his hands not leaving hers even for a second. He wasn't sure whether or not it was the right question to ask in such a situation. He saw, how broken Haejin was regardless of the straight front she had put up all these years and he wanted nothing but to heal her, her wounds, her scars, her feelings, everything.

Haejin, though she knew what Minho was implying, and she felt relieved that she wasn't the only one with some sort of feelings because she knew, that Minho doesn't say anything if he doesn't feel like it and if he isn't sure of it but she didn't know what to answer to that. The same conflict, which she had been going through all these years, where her heart is accepting, a bit, but the walls are built up so high, and her mind is always against her heart, that she didn't know what she should do and so she did what she had done always, she played dumb.

"Aren't.. aren't we doing that? Like.. we're living together and all..", Haejin spoke with pauses, as she was nervous, traling off in the end. Minho sighed, wondering if the girl in front of him genuinely didn't get what he meant or was she just avoiding it.

"No, not like that.", Minho stated firmly.

"Then?"

"I know you understood what I meant.", Minho spoke and just as he did that, Haejin's eyes looked everywhere but in his eyes, her hands withdrawing themselves from his and fiddling, which confirmed that she understood.

"Minho.. I can't, no..", Haejin shook her head. Even though she knew that she had feelings for him, the thought of an actual relationship was overwhelming for her.

"Haejin, if I'm being honest, I like you.", Minho spoke, his voice had a hint of hesitation, but his tone was ingenuous. The moment those words had rolled off of his tongue, his heart hammered against his chest. If it was hard for Haejin, it was hard for him too, to trust someone romantically all over again but, something about Haejin made him want to take the risk. And, in Haejin's scenario, more than wanting love for himself, he wanted to shower her with love.

Meanwhile, Haejin was flabbergasted on hearing the sudden confession. She didn't expect Minho to be this straightforward and just like his, her heart also started beating fast. A part of her was relieved, for now, she definitely wasn't the only one who felt something, she wasn't the only one getting swayed but still, getting involved in those feelings was something she could not do and she wanted to tell him that.

"The feeling.. it's mutual.", Haejin spoke, her voice almost coming out as a whisper and on hearing this, Minho's eyes lit up with hope, but little did he know that it wasn't easy. "But..", Haejin continued, "I just can not Minho.. I really can not."

The moment those words had left Haejin's mouth, the hope in Minho's eyes faltered a bit, but not completely. Her admitting that she liked him was enough of a signal for him that both of them could work it out, if not now then later, but he did not know how.

Haejin's past was a big hindrance, and he did not know how to make her overcome that. He sure could convince her eventually by making her avoid the feelings that were related to her past, but he wanted her to overcome the feelings, the fear, the hesitation.

"He's gone Haejin, not everyone is like him.", Minho spoke, unsure of whether he should have spoken that or not.

He was right, Haejin knew that not everyone was like her father and Hyunjin and Minho had even proven that. Of course, she didn't have been in a romantic relationship with any of them but some qualities are there in people from the moment they are born and not induced from alcohol and over the time, she had realised that the alcohol only used to worsen the actual nature of her father but not induce anything new. She was aware Minho was different, a lot different from how her father was. But something was stopping her, and surely it was her past, the voices of her parents fighting, the sounds of things breaking, it was all fresh in her memory and as an escape from the reality, she had created a bubble.