✗ two ✗

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⚊ chapter two

I hadn’t hung out with Maki like this in years, just the two of us. It was kind of... nice? I mean, I’d almost forgotten how comfortable it was with him, how easily we slipped back into our old rhythm. But then again, we had been friends for so long that I figured there wasn’t anything to it.

It’s not like he had changed. Or maybe I had? Who knew.

I climbed into the passenger seat of his car, a little too aware of how much it smelled like... well, Maki. I couldn’t describe it, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

I made a mental note to roll down the window later for some fresh air.

“Buckle up,” he said, flashing me that typical grin. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

He was like a dog with that grin—constantly wagging his metaphorical tail, always ready to get into some kind of mischief.

“Are you going to speed again?” I asked, turning my gaze to him as he adjusted the rearview mirror, completely oblivious to my concern.

“I’m a professional driver, Minji,” he replied with a wink that honestly made no sense.

Professional at what? Going two miles over the speed limit?

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t about to get into a Maki-are-you-seriously-going-to-crash-us-to-our-deaths discussion with him. I’d just buckle up and let the chaos unfold, like always.

We reached the mall in no time, and I was actually kind of looking forward to it. A day out with Maki—no big deal, just like when we were kids. We went to all the places we used to visit together, making fun of the same stores we thought were "lame" back in middle school.

I laughed a lot, which was probably the only thing that mattered.

“So, have you been working out?” Maki asked, casually tossing his arm around the back of the bench we were sitting on.

I glanced at him, fully prepared to ignore the random comment. “Excuse me?”

“You look... different,” he added with a completely unnecessary eyebrow raise.

It wasn’t flirtatious, more like he was trying to gauge something—like he was trying to crack me open like an egg.

“Uh, well, I don’t know,” I said, shrugging and trying to dodge whatever weird angle he was taking. “I’ve been doing more... standing. You know, because that’s how I prefer to exist.”

Maki stared at me with exaggerated seriousness. “Standing... is that so?”

“Yes, it’s very effective. You should try it sometime, Maki,” I said, trying to suppress the smirk threatening to escape. “You know, it helps with balance, like when you need to avoid being totally ridiculous in front of your friends.”

He grinned back, undeterred, and leaned a little closer, clearly expecting me to melt or whatever. “Come on, you must have noticed something different about yourself. Like, I don’t know, maybe the way you look now that you’ve grown up?”

I stared at him. “Oh, is that what this is about? Maki, are you seriously commenting on my growth? Because last time I checked, you didn’t seem too concerned with my physical development when you were stuffing my face full of ice cream to keep me from crying over a math test.”

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