[#1] boy next door :: im youngmin

chapter eleven

There's a heavier atmosphere between them now- yes, even when they're eating chicken and the chicken has somehow come with free cans of beer for some strange reason because Youngmin swore he didn't ask for any.

"Would you drink them?"

"Not today. When I've graduated, probably."

Of course. He would never do anything bad on a school night. The worst thing he's probably ever done is stay up past midnight, which is what they're doing at the moment.

It's a few minutes past one in the morning, they're going through the last few pieces of chicken in the box while drinking cola he bought at the convenience store nearby before he went back up to the rooftop.

They haven't talked properly since he asked her to go up with him, they've only exchanged a few words each time. At this point, she doesn't really know what to do or what to say.

"Do you really like me? Honestly?"

Youngmin suddenly speaks when she's drinking her soda, and his voice is so casual that she almost literally chokes. He quickly reaches over and claps her on her back as she coughs; there's a soft sort of smile on his lips.

Yuna stares at him, her mouth falling open slightly as she swallows the lump in her throat, hesitating for a few moments before nodding and trying her best to avoid his gaze.

"Yeah, I really do like you."

He pauses, placing down his cup of cola on the cement and letting out a deep sigh before looking back up at her, his head tilted.

"So why did you tell me you didn't."

"Because you told me to."

She reaches over and pushes the box of chicken towards him while taking the bottle of cola to refill her and his cups while he continues to stare at her intensely.

"So that's my fault, then?"

Yuna glances at him while screwing the lid of the bottle closed, "Well, yes."

"You could have said the truth."

"Would you have even cared about the truth? You thought of me as like your little sister, and you already liked someone else. It's not like me telling you I like you would change anything, right?"

After she says this, she makes the mistake of looking directly at him and god, she probably shouldn't have said all those. He looks so shocked, his mouth hanging open with him closing it and licking his lips to open it again and only say nothing.

She grabs her full cup of cola and downs it in one go. He has also lowered his head and is scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Sorry for asking."

Wait, wait, wait, hold up-

"Why are you saying sorry?"

"Because..." He falters, his voice becoming quieter and quieter; his eyes flickering up to look at hers again before looking down. "Because as you know, I really do only think of you as my sister and a friend." He bites down on his lip, shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair, "God, I feel so guilty-"

"It's fine," she cuts him off, shrugging her shoulders. "Don't worry about it, it's all good."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Of course." Not.

"I'm just worried about you." You always are.

Yuna forces a smile, which hopefully does not look too forced. "Thanks for worrying, then."

__________

i'm sorry, the inevitable had to come... :(