[EDITING]
When Jeon Jeongguk's sister gets engaged to his friend's brother, almost everything changes.
Desperate to hold onto a fragile friendship, Jeongguk is willing to get himself into sticky situations--even to the point of ruining his sister's...
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Chapter Thirty-Six: Rebuild Your Bridges
A million things were going through his mind, but there was one prominent theme to all of them, and that was the boy standing before him––his parted lips, his worried eyes, his tousled hair, his neck and his shoulders. At first, he could only stare, he could only gape, it seemed he was stuck in some kind of trance and it was only until Taehyung cleared his throat and took a step forward, speaking, that Jeongguk remembered where he was again.
"What ... what are you doing here?" Taehyung asked.
He didn't answer his question. He approached him instead, wasn't sure what he was going to say, until he opened his mouth and started to speak. "Taehyung, have I ever told you that you're a star?" His words were a little slurred. He stopped right in front of him. "You shine brighter than everyone, but you're always so far away. It's been that way since we first met. Do you remember when we first met? When I was swimming in the pool and you walked up to it? You said, I'm lost, that's what you said."
Taehyung shifted. Jeongguk felt like he was standing on clouds, the ground beneath him unreliable, unsteady, and he clutched Taehyung's shoulder to balance himself. "Taehyung, my friend. Are we friends, Taehyung? When did we last talk?"
He was half-aware what he was doing, half-aware that he was saying something he shouldn't be saying––or maybe he should, maybe this was exactly what he should be saying. Maybe it was time to get his thoughts out in the open. No secrets. Maybe being honest, speaking his opinions and thoughts and desires out loud was the way to go.
Taehyung gently lifted his hand off his shoulder. "Jeongguk ..." he tried, but Jeongguk cut him off.
"It's not that I don't want to talk to you. I do. I want to talk to you so bad. Every time I look at you that's all I can think of. All I can think of. How are you? Are you okay? I was going to follow you before, at the restaurant, but then ... but then ... she got there first."
He looked at her, then. He studied her, her legs, the way her skirt hugged her waist, her chest, her hair, which settled on her shoulders and on her forehead in soft waves. Her eyes were dark, her lashes long and thick, her lips were glossy and soft. She was gorgeous. "Hi," he said. He searched his memory to find her name. "Jisoo. You have very pretty eyes."
"Jeongguk are you ... are you drunk?"
And Jeongguk turned his head back towards the boy. Taehyung, who was usually lighter than air, seemed chained to the ground. It didn't seem like a question, more like an observation that confused him. He was looking at him as if he didn't quite know who he was.
"Are you okay? Did someone slip you something? "
Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "No, Taehyung. I drank because I wanted to. Because I can."
