digital heart | minsung | ✔

20

"We should start a guild together."

"Yeah, we- what?"

A little startled by Lino's sudden suggestion, I shift in the comfortable chair to get a better look at him. Seungmin's and Felix's reactions are equal to mine, while Chris raises an eyebrow questioningly and Bin doesn't respond at all.

It's been a few days since the embarrassing encounter with my parents during dinner and after the mental debate I had with myself, I completely stopped fighting the growing feelings I have for the raven-haired and I'm not even sorry. So here I am, sitting much closer than I probably should. But that's okay.

We're currently packed in the corner of a café in Nox, hiding from the temperatures outside. It's an exceptionally hot day in Seoul, which means it's almost unbearable in Parallel as well since the weather is set to match with Seoul. Inside this café, it's doable, seeing how it's hidden away in the shadows of the city walls. A few empty plates and glasses litter the table in front of us; we've wasted quite some credits on food and drinks.

"I'm interested, please elaborate," Chris urges, and Lino nods.

"Well, we basically always hang out together, either all or just a few of us. We're all not part of a guild while it has some nice benefits and it's cool because we're basically friends that already do everything together. So what's stopping us?"

The boy shrugs as he glances around the table, as if to say duh.

"That actually sounds like a good idea, I'm surprised to hear that coming from you, man," Bin states, playfully slapping Lino's shoulder, who scoffs in return.

"Shut up, dwarf," he counters, to which the boy in black just snorts.

"Your boyfriend is only two centimeters taller than I am, do you call him dwarf too?"

"Nah, I have better names for him," Lino comments, draping his arm over my shoulders with a smirk.

With a huff, I remove the boy's arm from my shoulders and send him a playful glare. "Stop acting like a big shot, you never called me any names. And to get you out of dreamland, I'm not your boyfriend. You wish."

I try to sound as confident as I can and I somehow manage to keep my voice from wavering. I'm certain there's a light blush coating my cheeks but the dancing light from the torches is there to help to cover it up. Two can play this game, Lino.

However, the boy doesn't back down. The smirk is still present on his face as he places his thumb under my chin and forces me to look at him.

"Do I wish, or do you wish, baby?"

A surprised breath gets caught in my throat and I start coughing violently, hunching over in embarrassment and discomfort -coughing like this hurts. The slight pink that dusted my cheeks at first must be bright red by now and I refuse to look up, staring at my leather boots instead, while trying to catch my breath again.

"Dear God, get a fucking room," Seungmin scoffs, his tone laced with disgust.

"I-It's not like that!" I counter, mustering up the courage to look my best friend in the eyes.

I glance over at Felix for the much-needed help and support but all he does is grinning smugly. Defeated and blushing madly, I slump back in the chair, stubbornly crossing my arms in front of my chest and refusing to look at anybody. My heart is still pounding rapidly and I swear my healt bar will explode if they keep this up.

"Anyway,  I think it's a nice idea," Chris suddenly speaks up, ignoring all the commotion. But when I send a quick glance in his direction, I see a faint smirk gracing his lips as well and I pout.