Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"rosey?" jeongin whispered as he crouched beside her.
"i'm not in the mood to talk right now." her hands rubbed against her thighs as she mumbled.
"you can talk to me," jeongin sighed, "don't forget our promise."
rosey looked at him, then back at her hands, which were now playing with the hem of her shirt. she didn't want to talk, but the way he was asking was too good to pass up.
"can we talk outside?"
he nodded and stood up, reaching out his hand to assist her in getting out of her seat. they walked out of the room side by side, only a few feet from the closed door.
"what's the matter?"
he put his hand on the girl's shoulder. she could ask him the same question. why was he so selfless? why did she adore him for that?
"today has been stressful! first, unnie said that i have a crush on jisung," she paused before jeongin cut her off.
"do you?"
she was puzzled and let out a hum.
"do you have a thing for him?"
"no. maybe? i'm not sure!" she motioned with her hands in front of her.
jeongin looked down at the tile floor. rosey tilted her head, perplexed as to why he had suddenly hung his head. she called his name softly, capturing his attention. he raised his head to meet her gaze.
"are you okay?" the question had now flipped.
"i'm fine." jeongin assured, looking down at rosey's clasped hands in front of her torso.
he wanted to tell rosey he liked her, but he was afraid of what would happen if he did. why would he even consider putting that extra strain on her if she had something for another guy?
what would happen to their friendship after a year if he confessed right now? did she have a crush on jisung? what would he think if she admitted she like the other guy?
he had liked her for over a year now, since they were trainees, and he was now stuck with her.
he shoved all of the racing thoughts to the back of his mind. he had blown the opportunity he thought he had, and he was hurt, but he drew the girl into a hug. this hug was intended to hide his own sad face while also comforting her.
even though she claimed that everything began with momo's teasing, jeongin knew it meant so much more to her. her mind wandered and went in several different directions.
"it's upsetting, jeongin." as she rested her head on the youngest's shoulder, her voice cracked.
"i understand how your mind works. noona didn't mean it that way and she didn't intend for it to go as far as it did. i promise it was a joke."
rosey didn't respond to his words, not even a single squeak. instead, he heard sniffles and hoped she wasn't crying.
"everything will be fine! jisung is unaware of this and i'm sure that's what you're worried about."
she still didn't respond. he came to a stop with his words. he was aware that she was paying attention, but he didn't want to keep bombarding her. they stayed in a hug for about three minutes before breaking apart.
he couldn't hold her hands and tell her how much he liked her. not when she was worried about someone else.
"i know what will make you happy!"
"food?" rosey asked, smiling up at him.
"not food," he said, "but how about messing with seungmin?"
"much better!"
she grabbed one of his hands and began to drag him to the waiting room with her. he followed her until he felt compelled to do something risky, then drew her back to stop her.
"wait."
"what is it?" she inquired, letting go of the boy's hand.
"i really like—" he came to a halt in his words, what was he doing? he just confirmed to himself that he was not going to do this!
rosey's hand, which had previously left his, was now on the doorknob of the group's door. she was patiently waiting for him to finish his sentence. her eyes were pretty and he was lost in them, which was a good thing because he would have continued with his words.
"you like what?"
he rubbed the back of his neck.
"i was very impressed with your performance today; you did an amazing job!"
"thank you! now come on!" rosey said as she took his free hand in hers and opened the door.
rosey was always happy when jeongin was around. it may not have seemed significant to others, but he was glad he could help in any way.
