All of the lights in your house were on so it wasn't too scary.
"Leon, the lights kill the mood," you had told your friend, but he had insisted that the lights stay on as the two of you cuddled under some covers and huddled close together on a futon.
"It's, like, only a movie anyway, I suppose," he had said.
"Does that mean it's okay to shut off a few lights?" you asked confused about the context in which your Hong Kong friend talked.
"No. The lights will remain on," Leon answered, and it remained that way.
After a good period into the horror movie that Leon had put on, you heard a loud rattling noise outside.
"What if that's the noodle spirit…?" you whispered softly to Leon and leaned closer to him despite it being completely light in your house.
"Don't worry about things like that," Leon said dismissively. "I heard that, like, there was going to be a storm, I suppose. So there's really nothing to fret about—unless you want there to be something to worry about."
You didn't catch that last bit. "Wait, what did you mean by that?"
Suddenly, another loud rattling noise came from outside, and you dove under your covers.
"It's just the movie, ___________," Leon sighed and pulled down the covers so you could see the television screen again.
"You have no right to be acting all tough," you teased. "You'rethe one who wanted me to turn on all of the lights, after all."
"____________, I was just, like, hoping it could help you, too," your friend monotonously said and continued to stare at the screen. "Like, I don't want you getting all clingy and everything, but you still are, I suppose."
"It's not my fault…" you grumbled and tried to keep your full attention on the movie.
-----
When the movie finished and the credits were rolling, you and Leon began to exchange verdicts.
"That wasn't as bad with the lights on," you said. "But seriously, don't you think it would have been scarier if the lights were off?"
Leon paused for a moment. "Either way, I was, like, hoping that you would get totally scared and grab onto me."
Well, that couldn't have been more straightforward, you thought to yourself.
Your friend paused again. "_____________, we've been, like, hanging out together for a long time so, like, I wanted to be able to tell you how I feel, I suppose."
"What were you going to tell me?" you asked curious to know what Leon had to say about you. You couldn't make out your friend's facial expression.
There was another pause. "I wanted to say that ngóh oi néih."
Of all the things Leon would say in Cantonese, you were unfamiliar with that phrase.
"I've never heard that before, Leon," you admitted honestly. "What does that mean?"
You heard Leon sigh and grumbled softly. He sounded like he was having a hard time translating or something.
"It means, 'I love you,'" he finally said.
"Oh…Wait—wha…?" Gosh, this guy can be straight-to-the-point!
"I love you, _____________," Leon repeated trying his best to remain stoic.
"R-R-Really?" you babbled. Then that means he also…
"Leon…I love you, too," you confessed.
