The keeper of my heart • Seo Changbin [Imagines]

《I Like I Like》Into the night - Pt. 1

Having a crush on one of your friends wasn't easy, even harder when you didn't talk to them often. Nabi just wanted Changbin to notice her a bit more. But as she's a very timid and introverted person even if she could be alone with him, an awkward silence would ensue. Nabi's social skills were nearly non-existent, especially when she was nervous.

How she became part of a large friend group? Her cousin introduced Nabi to everyone. Yubin was a big extrovert and wanted to help her introverted cousin leave the house a bit more. Nabi was grateful for it, but sometimes she regretted this. It did end up letting her meet Changbin.

Nabi stepped out of the car, letting out a sigh. Yubin invited her to come along with the whole group to the beach. They'd be staying at a pension for a three days in total. This included both the girls and the boys. This meant, for three days, Nabi will get a chance to talk to Changbin. If she didn't feel too anxious.

"Yubin Unnie! You're here!"

One of the girls, Joonie, came running to the car. Yubin was very popular, everyone loved her because of how social she was. Nabi's parents sometimes wished their daughter would be the same, but alas, that wasn't the case. Joonie didn't even pay attention to Nabi.

"Of course I am!"

Nabi once again sighed, realizing she had lost her cousin to Joonie.

She opened the trunk of the car and took out her suitcase. Why did she let Yubin pack them? They weighed a ton. She eventually got them out and made her way to the pension everyone would be staying at. It was huge, perfect for the five girls and eight boys.

A few minutes later, Yubin and Joonie entered the house as well.

"Unnie, we should share a room together! Yunseo and Minji are sharing one already."

Joonie side-eyed Nabi, a smug look on her face. It was obvious the girl didn't like the shy girl very much. She tried not to let the mean-spirited girl ruin her mood, so Nabi didn't mind having a room to herself. She preferred it that way.

"Will you be fine on your own?"

Yubin turned to look at Nabi who nodded. She then made her way to the stairs, realizing she will have to bring her heavy suitcase up. As Nabi was about to pick it up, another hand was faster.

"Let me help!"

She looked to her right and looked up at Jeongin, she thanked him and followed him up the stairs.

Once Nabi was settled in her room, she joined the group downstairs. Everyone was already seated and it looked like there was no room left anymore. She scanned the area and noticed Joonie had blatently taken a seat next to Changbin. Nabi's eyes met the meanie's and could tell she was proud of herself. Joonie was quite aware about the crush. It was a miracle no one else knew.

This was gonna be a long trip.

The first night at the pension and Nabi already couldn't sleep. Being away from the comfort of her own didn't help much. Normally, whenever she stayed the night somewhere else, Yubin would be with her in the same room. And for once, things were different. Nabi thought she would be fine, but clearly she was wrong.

She got up and turned on the light, adjusting her eyes. The clock showed 3am, everyone should be asleep. She made her way out of the room and downstairs as quiet as she could. No way she wanted to wake anyone up and ruin their mood. Especially not Joonie. She'd hate Nabi even more.

Inside the kitchen, Nabi opened the fridge to get herself a nice, cool bottle of water. When she closed the fridge door and turned around, she came face to face with another person. She jumped up a little, not expecting anyone else to be awake. Nabi's heart was racing, not from the scare, but from Changbin standing in front of her.

"Ah sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Nabi nodded, keeping silent as she quickly got out of Changbin's way and up the stairs. She already hated her actions. If anyone apologizes for scaring you, a normal person would say something. Not run away like Nabi did. If he didn't already, Changbin must now think she was weird and not someone he would want to talk to. Just great.

The next day, Nabi felt even more awkward being in the same room as Changbin. He pretended everything was fine and nothing happened the night before. But she couldn't push it back in her mind. Every little social encounter that ended awkwardly, would haunt her for the rest of her life. Or maybe she was just being dramatic.

Unfortunately for Nabi, the next night was another sleepless one. It wasn't too late just yet, so she decided to sit outside for a bit. She really enjoyed the tranquility, hearing nature's night life and feeling the slightly cool breeze on her skin.

The sound of the door opening brought her back to reality. She turned around and looked at the person joining her outside. Just like the previous night, it was Changbin who still happened to be awake. Nabi wondered if he struggled to sleep as well.

"Would you mind if I joined you? I know you love your time alone."

"No, it's alright."

Changbin sat down on the bench next to her. He didn't say anything else, wanting to enjoy the tranquility the same way Nabi was. While she was staring in front of her, she couldn't help but feel him looking at her. She tried to stop her cheeks from heating up, but failed. Hopefully Changbin wasn't aware he made her fluster like this.

"I'm glad you decided to come along. I feel like we don't see you often."

"I promised Yubin, just didn't think she would ditch me for Joonie."

When Nabi agreed on coming along, Yubin promised to never leave her side. That was a lie. Because instead of the two cousins sharing a room, the oldest decided she would rather share one with Joonie. Yes, Nabi loved her time alone, but she wished some company, too.

"Between you and me, I don't understand how anyone tolerates Joonie. She's such a pain and doesn't understand what personal space is."

"I've noticed that..."

Nabi was relieved to know Changbin didn't actually like Joonie. Sometimes, she couldn't help but feel something was going on between the two. It was just her self-conscious mind playing tricks on her.

"How did Joonie enter the friend group?"

"Her and Minji have been friends since primary school. So when Hyunjin and Felix met Minji, Joonie joined automatically."

The story of how Joonie joined had always been told to Nabi differently. By Joonie, that is. Of course the way she told it was totally made up. Nabi should have known that, she shouldn't have believed the talkative girl.

They stayed silent for a little while, deciding to head back inside when the wind got stronger and much colder. Changbin followed Nabi towards the room she was staying in to wish her goodnight, before leaving to the one he shared with Felix.