𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞, lee haechan

044. one-sided

ONE-SIDED

the whole car ride back to their hotel room, donghyuck hadn't been able to keep his eyes, as well as his hands, off of minji.

he kept staring at her while simultaneously playing with the rings on her fingers. he just needed an excuse to make this moment between them last before they had to go back to uni again.

when he was finally able to catch minji's attention, donghyuck wanted to make a move. however, before he could do so, minji interrupted him.

"why did you kiss me tonight?" she asked cluelessly.

donghyuck wasn't the best at sending signals, but he figured it was quite obvious why. unfortunately, minji was still in the unknown, since she didn't seem to catch on.

her question would've been the perfect moment to tell her how he felt. i like you. was all he had to say. it was that simple really. just three words.

but nothing was ever that simple for donghyuck, so he blurted out the first thing he could think of.

"i don't know. i just felt like it."

fucking idiot. he mentally slapped himself for coming up with such a lame excuse. lame enough for her to even believe him, since she practically nodded in agreement.

it baffled him that minji didn't read into it more, or didn't seem to think of the kiss as anything other than something that happened in the heat of the moment. was she really not into him like that?

"you know your mom saw us right? how are we gonna explain this one to her?" she questioned with a slightly worried look.

"i don't know." he nonchalantly shrugged.

he felt like a fuckboy trying to keep his ego as high as it was by letting the girl down. it was a dick move, but he didn't know what else to say, since he himself was too scared to be let down by her.

though, the last think he cared about was what his mom was going to think. minji's opinion was the only one that mattered to him, but to his disappointment, she didn't feel the same way.

"you didn't catch feelings for me now did you, hyuck?" minji teased and playfully punched him on the shoulder.

it was all meant to be lighthearted and fun, until minji realized it was taking donghyuck quite long to answer her question. he looked conflicted and seemed like he was seriously considering her question.

"hyuck?" minji asked again, this time seriously, though she hoped he didn't actually catch feelings.

then hyuck turned his face to the left, now fully facing minji. "do you honestly believe that we're still platonic after all this?" he asked her, his demeanor completely changing in comparison to a few seconds ago.

minji was taken off guard by his sudden question. she wondered if she should've caught feelings for him since they have been pretending to be dating for a while now.

but then again, lying was like second nature to her, so she didn't even think about the possibility of seeing donghyuck in a non-platonic way.

before she knew it, donghyuck slid his hand onto her jaw and kiss's her on the lips. shortly after he pulled away, his face still barely inches from hers.

"is this platonic to you?" he whispered, desperately hoping she'd say something that would comfort his thoughts.

then, he felt her hand glide on top of his. she let out a sigh, and donghyuck already felt it coming. "i'm sorry." minji whispered back, hoping he'd take it well.

"i just don't feel that way about you. i wish i did." she admitted and looked at donghyuck while trying to anticipate his reaction.

but he just stayed silent. deep down he knew she didn't feel the same way he did, but hearing her confirm his thought hit him a hundred times harder than he thought it would.

in silence, he tried to recollect his thoughts and think of a way to save them from an awkward ride back to the hotel. he could've come up with a lie that made it less uncomfortable than it was.

however, as much as it hurt him, he didn't want to lie to minji. especially not about this. so he just had to accept the fact that she didn't like him back.

"it's okay." he just told her. it wouldn't be fair of him to talk his way around this . she meant too much to him to make up excuses. "i can't say that it doesn't affect me, but i'll be okay."

donghyuck smiled at the end of his sentence to make sure that minji knew she didn't have to feel guilty towards him. it's wasn't his fault that he caught feelings, but it wasn't her fault either that she didn't. and that was okay with him.

"i'm really sorry, hyuck." minji said again, in hopes to console him, but to him it wasn't necessary. her caring about him was enough for him.

so he shook his head. "don't be. friend or more... just being around you is good enough for me." he told her, causing minji to immediately embrace him.

"thank you." minji whispered in the crook of his neck. "for being there for me and putting up with me all these years."

before donghyuck could put another word in, minji continued speaking, her arms still embraced around him.

"i hope that once we're back home again, we can still be friends and hang out with each other. you mean so much to me, even though i don't always show it."

hearing her talk this affectionately about him made donghyuck a little emotional, but also calmed down his feelings of rejection. yes, it stung that she didn't like him back. but he knew that he was going to be okay.

"why the sudden speech?" donghyuck asked her as he let out a small chuckle.

but minji just shook her head and closed her eyes with pity. "no reason, i just wanted you to know."