What Can I Do

Chapter 24 ~I think that I have waited long enough for you

Wonpil tensed the moment Dowoon was pulled out of the room by Teacher Kim.

It was only him and Sungjin in the room now and Wonpil did not want to face the confrontation he knew was going to happen.

Wonpil had been thinking a lot since the day he had confessed to Sungjin. 

The throbbing in his heart hadn't hurt any less, but it had become less discomforting whenever Dowoon was near. The other boy made the pain recede to a slow throb, and made Wonpil smile a little more every day. Even if he didn't say anything, just his presence was enough to put Wonpil's mind at ease.

Thinking about Sungjin, however, still made him hurt, and being in the same room was almost unbearable. Wonpil tried to avoid him as much as he could but Sungjin was persistent in trying to talk to him.

"Wonpil." He called, stopping his scrubbing as he faced the other boy head on.

"Wonpil." 

"Wonpil."  Wonpil sighed and finally turned to look at Sungjin, who looked exhausted.

"Sungjin." He chorused, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.

Sungjin looked slightly pained at the cold tone Wonpil was using.

"Wonpil please, I know you're mad right now, but can you just act like you care for one minute?" Sungjin pleaded.

Wonpil tried to act indifferent but his facade broke the minute Sungin started talking.

 His anger spiked when Sungjin even dared to say he was the one who didn't care about him.   

"Act like I care? Me? All I have been doing is caring for you." He said bitterly. "All I wanted was for you to act like you cared for even a second about me. All you did was chase Haru, forgetting about me and making me feel as if I didn't exist." The words tumbling out of his mouth, unable to stop after he started. 

Sungjin truly looked regretful, his face scrunching at Wonpil's words. 

"I do still care about you." Sungjin claimed.

"You sure have a funny way of showing it, hyung."

"I just need time, Wonpil!" Sungjin pleaded. "This was a lot to process!"

"Time is all I've been giving you!" Wonpil yelled back, voice cracking. "I've been waiting for you for four years, hyung! Never once have you felt the same about me as I have about you!"

Wonpil knew his love was hopeless, Sungjin would never feel the same and he wouldn't want him to pretend, it would only hurt more.

"Because I never considered it! I never knew that was how you felt!" Sungjin said, sounding desperate.

"And even if you did? What would have happened then? Would you have said you felt the same about me? It would be all lies, hyung! And that's worse than you not loving me at all." Wonpil whispered, exhausted.

The room was silent and Wonpil knew he had already said all he needed to say.

Suddenly, Sungjin looked into his eyes and said, "Would you wait for me Wonpil? If I could return your feelings?"

Wonpil started, shocked into silence by the question. What was Sungjin saying? That he could love Wonpil back?

Wonpil thought about Sungjin's calm demeanor and his strong hands. About weekends spent aimlessly chatting about school work, and hours spent just the two of them. About staring at him as the other boy did his homework, eyes lighting up as Wonpil asked him a question about his project. He thought about Sungjin's dark eyes that stared into his, making him feel like he was melting sometimes.