𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲 || 𝐤𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠.

7

"i'm sorry you had to go through all that. thank goodness seonghwa was there for you. he's a really good friend." she says after the boy finishes his story. "yeah, he really is," he pauses, a small smile gracing his lips. "hey thanks for listening, yeah? sorry it was all of a sudden."

"oh no, it's okay! thank you for sharing your story with me. it probably took a lot in you to do that. you're a strong person, you know that? but don't let that woman influence your outlook in life. you're not a burden at all. everything happens for a reason and who knows? maybe it was best that she left. let go of the past, hongjoong." her hand stay rested on his arm, rubbing comforting circles. hongjoong's eyes were glossy now. he was fighting the urge to break down in front of dahee. he's still the school's bad boy, after all. he has a reputation. he can't just cry in front of someone.

"let go all of the hurt you've experienced from this. let go of all the negative emotions in you. if you want to move forward, you need to let go of the past that drags you down. don't let it ruin your future. just because your sorry excuse of a mother left, doesn't mean you don't have anyone else who loves you. you don't want to disappoint your dad, do you? i'm here for you, joong. and so is seonghwa. we'll always be here for you." she tells him, now stroking his back gently.

he sniffled before completely breaking down. dahee immediately pulled him closer, still stroking his back comfortingly as she lets him cry into her shoulder. her heart breaks at the sight. the usually cocky and mischievous boy she's been teaching was now in her arms, falling apart. she doesn't know what more to say so she stays quiet as he lets out cries of all his pent up feelings.

he didn't know why he was even crying that much. maybe it's because of how the girl had mentioned his dad or maybe it was because she had reassured him that she would always be there for him. and that was the one thing he needed from her.

"it's okay," she whispers. "you're okay."

-

after a while, he finally stopped crying. he only looked down as he released himself from dahee's embrace, wiping all the remaining tears on his face before looking up at the girl. she only gave him a small smile but it was enough to have him smile a little too. "you feeling okay now?"

"much better." he says, leaning against the couch before letting out a loud sigh. strangely he didn't mind that someone, a girl for that matter, just witnessed him completely break down. he usually feels awkward when he even gets a little teary-eyed in front of seonghwa.

"sorry i got your jacket all wet. do you wanna take it off and let it dry for a bit before you go home?" he asks her, his voice hoarse after all the crying. "no, no it's okay. i'm gonna go home soon anyways," she tells him.

he wants to ask why she's never taken her jacket off but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. she's always avoided answering that question. he didn't want to drive her away. he wants her to know that he respects her.

"oh, okay. do you wanna get going now?" she nods at his questions, standing up to get her backpack. hongjoong stands up too, making his way to the bathroom to quickly wash his face before going back to the living room. "let's go."

the two leave his apartment, making their way to her place. "you know you don't have to walk me home every day, right? i'm fully capable of getting home safely," she says, fiddling with her sweater paws.

"no way i'm ever letting you go home alone at night. i don't want anything happening to you," he says quietly and dahee looks at his face to see any signs of joking but there isn't. this was the first time he's ever said something cheesy without a flirty tone to it.

the two teenagers continue their walk while talking like they do every other time. though that day had been an emotional roller coaster for hongjoong, he talked to her as if he didn't just reveal his whole pathetic, as he calls it, life story to her.

at one point, hongjoong decides to sneakily slip his hand into hers, thinking she wouldn't notice. but how could she not notice his warm hands contrasting her freezing ones? she looks at him questioningly as she stops mid sentence. "what are you doing?"

"i-it's cold so i thought you might need some warmth, you know?" he manages to get out. she raises an eyebrow, a mischievous grin working up her face. "are you sure it's not just because you want to hold my hand?" she teases the boy.

"shut up, your hands actually are freezing so in a way, i really am helping. now continue your story, what did seonghwa say after that?" he tries to get her back to her story so she lets this go but she's not going to. it's rare that the boy is the one being teased by her so she wants to treasure this moment.

"you're not denying it," she states simply, her smirk growing. "oh hey! would you look at that? we're here already!" dahee blinks profusely as she looks in front of her. they really were already at her apartment building. she was glad that hongjoong didn't live too far from her since it meant that it wasn't much trouble for him to walk her home everyday. but sometimes, she wished their walks home lasted longer so they could talk more.

"let's go up now before your parents get mad," dahee chuckles at him trying to change the topic, letting the boy drag her to the elevator. it didn't even bother her that he just assumed she had both her parents worrying over her. it was just too cute to see him act like this. she didn't know what got into him that he was suddenly acting like this but she wasn't complaining. it was adorable. he was adorable.

"so," he spoke as they stopped in front of her door. their intertwined hands stop swinging and hongjoong reluctantly lets go. "so.." she repeats after him, not knowing what to say. though they've done this almost everyday for the past weeks, today just felt a little different.

"thank you, for listening...to uh, everything." he says, a small smile gracing his lips. "it's no problem, really. i hope you got to let out everything you needed to. if you need someone, i'm always here, yeah?"

he smiles at her words, nodding. then he took a quick glance at his wristwatch before his eyes widen a bit. "it's getting late, i'll get going, yeah? get some rest, i'll see you tomorrow." he bids her goodbye.

after she replies him, he slowly turns around to leave and dahee could see the hesitancy in his step. and then everything happened so fast, dahee forgot how to function.

the boy abruptly turned back to face her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before sprinting off towards the elevator, not once turning back to her.

she stood frozen in her spot, not believing what just happened. she immediately felt her cheeks heat up and she fanned her face, attempting to cool it down. her heart was thumping loud in her chest and her hand slowly made its way to the cheek that hongjoong had kissed.

she didn't want to admit but she liked it. though it lasted less than a second and it was only on her cheek, it did something to her poor little heart. what are you doing to me, kim hongjoong?