Volcano | Bangchan

What if ?

Seugmin's POV

*Throwback to last year – 14th February*

It was around 7 pm when I arrived at Soo & No's apartment. As I came in (no need to ring, that's my third home), I heard shouting : "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ABANDON ME". "I AM SO NOT.". "AFTER ALL I DO FOR YOU.". "I FOLLOW MY HEART FOR ONCE". "WHAT ABOUT MINE ? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT, HUH ?". I followed the yells to find Nomi and Sooki arguing in the kitchen. I cleared my throat to let them know I was there. 

Since Nomi was back at me, Sooki was the first one to see me. She frowned : " What are you doing here ?". I scoffed : "Well, hello to you too.". Nomi turned back and exclaimed, visibly relieved : "Oh thank god you came ! She's driving me crazy I didn't know who to text.". Sooki gasped : "You called him for help ?!". She denied : "No, I asked him to keep you company since you are a little too much on that day.".

I looked at them both with a confused face. "Care to explain why I am here, why you asked me to buy a rose, and why the hell are you two arguing ?". Nomi led me to a chair while explaining : "Well, you see, your best friend here has gone completely nuts since she has discovered that I have a date tonight.". I took a quick look at her. She was all dolled up and was wearing a black dress that fitted her perfectly. I simply said : "Congrats. You look good by the way.". She gently smiled at me. "Thanks, Seung.". 

Sooki hit the counter with both her hands while screaming : "Don't congratulate her ! She is leaving me !". Nomi rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, the thing is, she will be alone. And tonight she CAN'T be alone.". I nodded, trying to understand : "Because today is...". Sooki looked at me like I was an alien. "VALENTINE'S DAY SEUNG!". 

Oh. Ooooooh ! Right, I got it.

It was Sooki's turn to explain her point of view. "Yes, it's Valentine's Day tonight. And since we both became friends, none of us had ever had plans for this night. Which is highly depressing. So we had a tradition-". Nomi huffed : "Pff Tradition...". "YES, TRADITION ! We would spend the night together, depressing and complaining about our non-existent love life. But tonight she betrayed me to go out with a staff member she met at the last festival !". 

During her speech, Sooki was pacing back and forth, not paying attention to us. I witnessed from the corner of my eyes Nomi using the opportunity to slowly back up, grab her purse, and make her way to the door. When she was sure she was far enough to run away without Sooki catching her, she said: "Yes I'm going on a date with this really cute guy because I'm tired of not having plans on Valentine's Day. But I brought you a cute guy too !". She winked at me : "Love you guys, have fun ! And Seung, sorry for the trap !". And she left, leaving me alone with the beast.

Sooki sighed and pointed at me with the spoon she had in her hand. "Don't pity me. You can go back home if you want to.". I looked back at my best friend. I could clearly tell she was sad, and this was kinda new. Sooki was always so cheerful, seeing her disappointed and obviously on the verge of crying was breaking my heart. What kind of best friend would I be if I left her in that state ? 

I stood up and took out the spoon only to hold her hand and gently stroke it with my thumb. "Okay, let me know if you're cool with that plan : how about we grab some wine, do some karaoke, then eat snacks and ice cream while complaining about our inexistent love life ?". She looked at me with her big doe eyes full of tears. "You would do that for me ?". I smiled. "Anything for my best friend.".

And so we did. We followed the plan to the letter, especially the drinking wine part. It was now nearly 4 AM, both were drunk as hell. We were lying on the living room floor next to each other, listening to music while watching the ceiling. Sooki was talking over and over about the same topic : "See, I'm a hopeless romantic because of K-dramas. I mean, this series raised my standards too high. Is it too much to expect the love of your life to come at your door and tell you he would spend his life proving to you that he's the right for you ?". I replied : "You're right on one point : you're hopeless.". She hit me, and I laughed. She looked back at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. "No, seriously, is there something wrong with me ? Will I ever be able to get married ?". That made me chuckle, and she side-eyed me. "What's funny in my depressing speech, you meanie?". I thought out loud : "Nothing, it just made me think about something. See in the love comedy when the two best friends make a pact ? They promise each other that if they're not married by 30, they will marry each other.". 

The drunken me turned his head to the girl lying next to me and gave her my pinky. "Let's make this pact. I'll be your backup husband.". She laughed, but I saw in her eyes that she was moved by my action. She joined her pinky with mine, and we connected our thumbs to seal the deal. "Deal. You do realize you're gonna be stuck with me forever ? Because you're an idol, so you can't have a girlfriend, and I haven't dated anyone in years.". I shrugged : "Could have been worse.".

She thought out loud : "Wouldn't it be weird though ?". I asked : "What would be weird ?". Soo was toying with her fingers, still in her drunken thoughts : "I mean, if you and I marry each other, we would have to act like a couple ? Like... Will we kiss ?". I widened my eyes. I didn't think about that. Would it be weird to kiss her ? After all, except for my family, she was the girl I loved the most. As I thought about the idea of kissing her, I felt my cheeks burning. Sooki noticed that and poked my cheek. "Stop imagining it Seung, you're blushing.". I stuttered : "It's just – I never pictured you and me kissing, to be honest.". "Neither did I.". 

There was a moment of silence before my drunken stupid ass proposed the stupidest thing ever. "Should we try to find out ?". She turned her face to look at me with wide eyes : "What ?! Find out what ?". I shrugged and explained nonchalantly, as if my question was perfectly normal. "If it's weird to kiss you. I mean, I don't want to spend the next 7 years asking myself if I would be at least able to kiss you on the aisle without vomiting.". She laughed at my statement, and I laughed too. It was stupid, I didn't even know how I came out with an idea like –". "Okay. I'm in.".

I choked. Did she just say what I think she said ? She leaned closer, and I froze. A part of me didn't want this, there was no way this was a good idea. But another part was dying to know what it felt like to kiss her. Maybe it will awaken something in me ? Maybe it will become evidence? Maybe the love I felt for her was real love? As we were inches apart, it was her turn to freeze hesitantly. I knew that if we had waited a few more seconds, one of us would have backed down. So I didn't think twice and closed the gap between us. I kissed her.