off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ one hundred and two

Before Irang's injury, Yujin would sometimes come over, to do homework, or to simply listen to music together, maybe dance. It didn't happen all that often, especially during the school year, as they preferred to meet outside, drinking smoothies together at the nearest arcade. Lately though, Yujin had made the Sung's penthouse his second residence. By now, Irang was all but healed of her sprained ankle, but it had become a bit of a routine for Yujin to show up unprompted, and to stay until it was getting dark. Of course, Irang could not complain about it. Whenever the two were apart, she couldn’t help but miss him. Having him by her side always managed to cheer her up.

Today though, there wasn’t much cheer to find in him. Irang had gone through an entire recipe for cookies her brother had left for her, and she was now putting them in the oven, yet Yujin had barely said a word. He sat at the kitchen island, perched up on a stool, a permanent pout on his lips. His fingers were tapping on the marble counter, in a rhythm that seemed to echo Irang's heartbeat, tension pushing the air out of the room. There was something bothering him, there was no doubt about it. Yet he seemed so unwilling to talk. Or rather, to start the conversation. The brief glance they exchanged felt almost like a nudge for her to push him to talk.

And so, Irang took the bait. "So, are you gonna start talking to me anytime soon?" she asked, as she closed the oven door.

"Ngh..." Yujin's hand flew to his nape, and he looked down as if embarrassed. "Did you... Did you already talk to him?"

"Him?"

He lifted his head to look at her with furrowed brows. "The guy who confessed to you."

Then, it all clicked. Irang had almost forgotten the situation entirely, and how much it had bothered Yujin when they'd talked about it. She'd sort of expected him to forget about it too, but it seemed to have had much more of an impact on him than it did on her. She clicked her tongue.

"Come on Yujin, is that what you've been sulking about since you've arrived?"

"Well, yeah," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "How could I not be upset when some guy is trying to sweep you off your feet, and I could lose you so easily?"

The abrupt sincerity of his admission ripped a stunned laughter from Irang's mouth, but it did nothing to lighten the atmosphere. As she shook her head, she removed her apron, untying the knot he'd made for her around her waist. Then, she haphazarly threw it over the counter, before joining Yujin behind the kitchen island. Even as she hopped on the stool next to him, he kept up with the sulking act, but she saw his body tense up at her proximity.

"You're a baby," she teased, as she reached out to pinch his cheek.

Before she could get a good pinch in, he swatted her hand away, flinging his head towards her. "Hey! Don't say that!"

In his attempt to protest her babying, he'd finally revealed his face, rather than hiding it in his hands and under his hair — he was completely red. Whether that was because she'd tried to pinch his cheek, or because he himself was embarrassed by his jealousy, Irang couldn’t tell. Either way, he looked adorable, and she felt her smile widen.

"I did talk to him," she finally said, placing her elbows on the counter. "And I rejected him upfront."

Yujin rubbed at his cheek like it would somehow make the color fade. "And, uh, how'd he react?"

"He accepted the rejection, and he didn’t try anything. That's all."

Truth be told, Irang had been just a bit worried the guy wouldn’t accept her answer so easily. After all, she'd already rejected him through texts, and that hadn’t been enough for him. But it seemed he'd been truthful, and once he'd heard it face to face, he hadn’t protested any more than that. He'd even wished her happiness with Yujin, which had warmed her heart. She certainly didn’t want to have to burn bridges for something like that. Needless to say, Irang wasn’t very experienced with handling love confessions — though she wagered she'd handled Yujin's just right, considering how well things were going between the two of them.