𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 / 𝐤𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐲𝐨𝐣𝐨𝐧𝐠

xii

the day was bland. somin spent her time in her room, locking the door because she didn't want him to barge in out of nowhere. hyojong was setting up for a party next door. he asked if she wanted to come, but as usual, she said no. there were going to be strangers there, and as much as she wanted to get high, she would prefer to get high by herself.

night came, and hyojong was out of the house. since she was alone, she decided to wander around the house just for fun. there was a sauna in the master bedroom, which was no one's because the two of them decided it wouldn't be fair if one of them got it for themselves. and there was a room with a piano in it, and some pieces. somin somewhat knew how to play the piano, so she decided if she could sight read the pieces. turns out she could, and it was enjoyable because the pieces were familiar to her.

hours passed, and somin was up, texting yeon. she told her friend where she was as of now, because she needed to know. a bowl of ramen rested in her lap, while the movie she was watching played in the background. not much later, hyojong came stumbling into the house, a red cup in hand. she heard him from downstairs, because he fell on the floor. "oh lord, you're drunk." he was laughing like a mad man and it was disturbing. she took the red cup out of his hand, threw it away, and came back with paper towels to clean up the spilled alcohol.

"can i tell you something?" a drunk hyojong asked, slowly walking up the stairs. his sight was blurred, and he accidentally walked into somin's room and fell on her bed. good thing the ramen was on the nightstand.

"go ahead." the girl sat across from him, placing her phone aside.

"i fucking love somin." the words rolled off his tongue like it was natural for him to say. his words were slurred, but she could clearly make out what he said. and those words left her speechless. "every time i see her, i just wanna hold her and pinch her cute cheeks. but i can't, because she has a fucking ice wall around her that prevents me from doing that."

his words were replaying over and over in her head like a broken record player. "how can you love me? we're strangers." she mumbled, not expecting him to hear her.

but he did. he heard her crystal clear. at first, he thought he was just rambling about somin to a complete stranger. then the moment she said those words, his drunk self realized he was talking to somin. "what do you mean we're 'strangers'?"

she looked at the boy, who was looking at her intensely. he didn't look so drunk now. he looked as sober as she does when she drinks five sangrias. "i didn't expect you to hear me."

"do strangers treat each other's cuts? do strangers carry each other on their backs? do strangers go to lotte world together and wear matching headbands? do strangers go together and run from the police?" hyojong asked. as she opened her mouth to say something, he quickly interrupted her. "somin, can't you see that i'm in love with you?"

the girl was speechless. she's never had someone confess to her like this, but she didn't believe him. "that's what i'm afraid of, hyojong."

"what's there to be afraid of, somin?" he took her hand in his, and lifted her chin up so they were looking at each other. "look at me and tell me what you're afraid of."

"i'm afraid of falling in love, i'm afraid that you're just drunk and you don't know what you're saying. you know how embarrassing it would be if i confessed to you thinking that you love me back, when in reality it was just you rambling while you were drunk?" somin experienced this once. she fell in love with some guy who made her think that he loved her back, and when she confessed she got turned down because he said he was faking it.

hyojong softly chuckled at her cute rambling, and pulled her into a tight embrace. "you should know by now that drunk words are just sober thoughts." somin didn't try to escape from his hug this time. she let it be, because she knew he was gonna hug her again. "and there's nothing to be afraid about somin. you trust me right?"

"yeah."

"then give me a chance. i'll show you that i'm truly in love with you, so you're not afraid anymore."

"why did you fall in love with me anyways?"

"why did i fall in love with you?"

"yeah."

"because i've never met a girl with a personality like yours, cold and sarcastic yet caring. and you have cute cheeks and a cute nose."

"wow. thanks."

"please give me a chance though. i promise you, i am in love with you han somin. you won't have to be afraid of falling in love anymore, because you're gonna fall for me."

"who said i will?"

"i did. because i know."