If This Isn't Love

40: NOVEMBER 2018 - Now What?

"...so then he asked me if I could see the president in ten minutes, and I thought 'This is crazy! I don't even know what to say' so I didn't say anything," Namjoon said as he swirled his beer bottle around. "I just made some dumb mumbling sound."

Yoongi and Hoseok laughed along with him.

"Hey! Seokjin," Hoseok called to the man across the table from him.

"Yeah, yeah, that's...funny," Seokjin finally said, turning his attention back to the conversation.

Namjoon chuckled. "Did you even hear anything I said?"

The handsome man nodded. "Yes. Your ideas for the department or something, right?"

Yoongi smirked. "Your mind has been far away from here, and I bet I know where it's focused." He turned to the other men. "He and Luisa have made it official."

"I thought so," Hoseok said. "Meg mentioned that Luisa had not stayed at her apartment last weekend. She said she was almost certain that she was at Seokjin's place."

"Really?" Namjoon asked loudly. "So, like after all these years, you finally got together? Damn. I thought she was smart."

"Hey!" Seokjin exclaimed while everyone laughed louder.

"Seriously, bro, I'm happy if you're happy," Namjoon added. "And judging by that goofy look on your face, it seems you're very happy."

Seokjin tried to control his smile, but failing, burst out in laughter. "Well, of course I'm happy. I've been waiting years for us to get together. She led me on quite a chase, but in the end, it's all worth it."

Hoseok nodded. "I'll bet."

"Good," Yoongi said. "So, do you think this is it? Is she the one?"

Namjoon laughed. "Hold on. Just because you're married doesn't mean that everyone else is ready to get married." He turned to Seokjin. "You should take things at your own pace. There's no need to start making those types of plans yet. Unless you want to"

Seokjin took in three pairs of eyes looking at him, waiting for his response.

"Well, sure, I'm not rushing into such permanent plans. Not just yet," he said. "It's a bit early."

"Early?" Yoongi repeated. "How many years have you two been circling each other? Four? Five?"

"Three," Seokjin replied. "But I'm leaving all that up to her. She'll decide how fast to move on that. I don't want to pressure her or rush her. I want her to trust me."

Yoongi nodded. "I'm sure she trusts you, and I'm sure that she is serious about you. Three years is a long time to wait. I should know. Sel and I spent a whole year after graduation wondering if the other one would make a move. If I'd been smart, I would've told her how I felt the minute I started feeling that way about her."

Hoseok looked at him for a moment. "Wow. That almost sounds profound."

"I understand," Seokjin said. "I should've said something a long time ago. I knew it since the night we spent together. There was something special between us that I'd never felt. It's almost as if I became intoxicated by her, and I couldn't sober up. Those other girls were substitutes because she wouldn't give me a chance. I wondered if there was something wrong with me, so I sort of played the field to give myself confidence."

"Since when did you lack confidence?" Namjoon sputtered. "Back in college you were every girl's dream. It was rumored that you'd slept with more girls than your age." He paused. "So, did you?"

"What? No! That's ridiculous. Sleeping with twenty-some girls?" Seokjin scoffed. "Not even close. I don't know why everyone thought that."

"I think Luisa probably thought that," Hoseok said. "Megan told me that for the longest time, Luisa wondered what someone like you, with your experience, saw in someone like her. The girls asked her about you several times, but Luisa insisted that you would never be interested in her."

"If I'd known that, I would've done something about it," Seokjin said. "I would've told her clearly how I felt. I swear I tried, but she always shut me down. I began to think that she wasn't too fond of me."

Yoongi took a drink of his beer. "So, did she invite you to her parents' for Thanksgiving? I heard that she's going to visit for a few days."

Seokjin frowned. "Is she? She hasn't said anything. Does that mean anything?"

Yoongi nodded. "No, no. Maybe she hasn't gotten around to it. That's all."

"I guess," the handsome man murmured.

Later that evening, Seokjin called Luisa, asking about her plans for Thanksgiving.

She said she hadn't made any plans.

Curious, he asked if she had thought about going to visit her family.

"I, um, hadn't really thought about it."

He sat up straighter on the sofa. "So, you're staying here? Should we make some reservations or travel plans or anything?"

"Well, I don't know yet."

"Okay. You know, I can probably get a few days off. I wouldn't mind going with you," he said.

"Um. We'll see. There's just some things I wanted to catch up on, and I thought I'd use the Thanksgiving break to do that."

"Oh?" he asked, his voice going higher. "What sort of things?"

"Oh, just some school stuff and financial stuff. Hey, I think someone's at the door. I'll talk to you later tonight, okay?"

"Who's at the door?"

He bristled at her hesitation to answer and wondered if he was being unnecessarily suspicious.

"I'll call you tonight, okay? Bye."

He stared at his phone after she cut the call.

What now? What the hell just happened?