Heartstrings || Joshua Hong

Chapter 12

Rina POV

BEEP BEEP "Sunday mornin', rain is fallin'..." 

My alarm and phone went off at the same time, nearly giving me a heart attack. (Yeah, don't ask me why I set my ringtone as Joshua singing Sunday Morning.) I quickly shut off my alarm and picked up the phone.

"Mm...mornin' Sera. It's 8AM, what do you want?" I asked in a groggy voice. 

"Rina, can you come over real quick?"

"Wha...Girl, I just woke up and you want me to--Yeah, okay I'll be there ASAP." 

This better be good.

--

"Wait, you did what? CONFESS??", I asked, eyes wide. 

She nodded. "And I got rejected." She paused, smiling sadly. "I knew it was coming, though. It's fine, don't worry 'bout me. This is your chance now!" 

My mind reeled. "Wait, what do you mean you're fine?? And what are you talking about, what chance? Huh-"

Sera reached out, patting my head and said, "Rina, you and I both know how you feel about him, alright? Trust me, just go for it." I looked at her incredulously. This girl had just confessed to the guy she liked for three years, gotten rejected, probably cried at some point, and was now telling me to go for it? 

Reading my mind, she went on. "I know it seems hard to believe, but after telling him yesterday, I realized I was satisfied after just saying 'thank you.' This whole time I'd never thought about dating or anything...it was more like I just wanted to express my gratitude and get some closure. I'm fine, Rina, don't worry." Her smile had brightened up.

"...I see. Um, yeah, that makes sense, I guess. Calling me at 8AM for this though, you're really something," I said, laughing, "Well, if that's it, then, I gotta go to church now. Tell me more later, a'ight?" Sera nodded and saw me out the door. I waved back at her, and she gave me a big thumbs up.  

How the heck was I supposed to face Joshua now??

--

Luckily I wasn't scheduled to play this weekend, so I didn't have to interact with him up close quite yet. I entered the church sanctuary and sat as close to the back as possible. Joshua was already sitting on stage waiting for service to begin. My heart quickened, noticing that he looked different. His black bangs were pushed back, revealing his forehead (he should do this more often...I mean, what?), and overall, he seemed...lighter and happier.  Was this the result of what had happened yesterday? 

Yesterday. Right. An image of Alex flashed through my mind, but I tried to bury it as much as possible.

After service ended, I saw Joshua heading in my direction and did my best not to panic. 

He smiled when he got near me and greeted me brightly, "Yo, how's it goin'? I missed you yesterday." I flinched at that word. Yesterday. 

"Y-Yeah...same! How was the dance?", I said, trying my best to keep a neutral expression.

Joshua didn't respond right away. Instead, he looked at me intently. "Okay Rina, what's going on? Why are you acting like this?"

"W-what do you mean?" 

He shook his head. "This won't do. Come on, you're gonna explain over boba. My treat." Before I could protest, Joshua had dragged me out to his car and drove us to the boba shop that he'd brought me to in the beginning of the school year. I could've fought my way out of it, but nothing could beat his determination at that point. After our drinks came out, we sat on a bench outside of the shop. 

"Alright, now talk." Joshua sipped on his Earl Grey Milk Tea, waiting for me to say something. 

"Uhh..."

He frowned. "Dude, I thought we could trust each other. Unless...", he dramatically acted hurt, "our friendship this year has meant nothing to you." 

"What the heck, Josh, okay FINE," I said, rolling my eyes. I took a deep breath. "So, remember that guy we met at the park a month ago?" He nodded.

Before I knew it, I had told him everything: who Alex Rhee was, how we had broken up, why he'd shown up out of the blue that day, and what he'd told me yesterday. 

"...then, he asked me for a second chance, and I don't know what to think," I finished and looked up at Joshua. He had been listening quietly the whole time, encouraging me to go on whenever my voice faltered. Now, he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Well," he said finally, "are you willing to give him that second chance?" 

I looked into Joshua's eyes, so gentle, yet so enticing. I blushed. In that moment, I knew I had my answer.

"Nah. I need to show him that I've moved on," I answered confidently.

"Hmm, I see," he said, "Tell you what, next time he bothers you, just call me over and I'll...pretend to be your boyfriend or something. That'll show him you've moved on, right?" 

"...Why pretend?" I asked in a small voice so he wouldn't hear.

"Huh, what was that?" Joshua asked, leaning toward me. 

"I said, 'why pretend?'" I was about to faint at how close his face was to mine.

He leaned back, eyes widening in realization. "Wait, Rina does that mean-"

"Yeah...I like you, Joshua." I had covered my face with my sweater sleeve, so my voice came out slightly muffled. 

"What? Sorry, could you repeat that?" he jokingly pretended not to hear again. I laughed and hit him lightly on the shoulder with my sleeve. 

"Shut up, I know you heard me the first time!" I said, giggling. 

"Wow, is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?"

"Huh, who said you were my boyfriend?"

"Well, am I not??" We were both laughing loudly at that point, our faces both blushing mad. 

"Okay, okay fine", Joshua said after we'd calmed down a bit, "Rina Song, will you be my girlfriend?" His arm encircled my shoulders, pulling me close to his side. 

"Ya didn't even need to ask", I teased and snuggled my head into the crook of his neck. His skin was warm and smelled nice. I could get used to this. We sat in silence like that for awhile, enjoying each others' company. 

"So tell me about yourself then," I said finally, "Anything good happen to you recently? You looked like you were in heaven this morning, or something." 

"Hmm, well I knew I'd be seeing my favorite person today. Isn't that a good enough reason?" I pretended to vomit at his cringey, but cute answer as he protested at my reaction. Grinning, I sneakily pecked him on the cheek. 

"Wha-Hey, Rina Song, that was completely unfair!", Joshua said. I was too busy laughing at how red his face had become. Before I could open my mouth to respond, he bent down and placed a small kiss on my lips, smiling triumphantly. 

"W-wai-HEY, WHO'S UNFAIR NOW?!" Now it was his turn to laugh at my red face. I was actually enjoying every minute of this, though.

I smiled and closed my eyes. My first kiss with Joshua Hong had tasted like milk tea. 

--

A/N !!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!

Long chapter, I know, but I was definitely fangirling by the end haha

It might seem like this ending soon, but we're just over halfway through so stay tuned~