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<<<
"we need to talk."
there's a lot of things you can assume with those words, the main one being that he was going to break up with her. that's what that usually means, right?
unexpected. out of the total blue. she thought they were getting along just fine.
"saturday at one? i'll take you out to lunch."
it better be the best lunch she'll ever eat. this boy should splurge for wasting her time... and her feelings. she did well at hiding these thoughts from appearing on her face, though.
"sure."
the remaining half of the week was horrible. her thoughts were running with things and scenarios. and some regret.
there was a risk in dating one of your closest friends. if the romance goes bad, then the friendship goes bad—their precious, since middle school friendship. ugh. even after all that reassurance that they would still be in each other's lives somehow, even if it were to go south, she wasn't sure if she could be able to go back to being friends.
because she liked this more than a friend thing.
beomgyu on the other hand, noticed something was up despite her well attempts at hiding it. oh no. did she find out? was she going to say no?
and most importantly, who the heck told?
<<<
saturday: her second favorite day of the week. after today, it might be knocked down to sixth place—right above monday.
"let's get coffee first," beomgyu said with a yawn as she got into the car. he didn't sleep last night. he was too nervous.
was this some sort of thing to soften her fall or something? but she needed the coffee as much as he did.
so they went to their usual cafe—the little one close to school. great. it was also where they first met.
he paid this time without reminding her that it was indeed her turn to pay for coffee.
now, she thought, it was confirmed. he was going to break up with her.
soobin, the barista, sensed the obvious tension surrounding them. he won't be surprised if they started a scene; in fact, he was expecting it.
when they got their coffee, they sat down at one of the tables by the windows. the soft sunlight filtered through the glass. at this time, the cafe's business was slow—only a few others were there.
there was a silence. that was rare among them. dread was beginning to build up as each second passed—for both of them.
they decided to try and break it at the same time. but ryujin crossed her arms and powered over.
"don't say it," she said, voice flat. her heart was cracking.
...ouch. he was going to kill who told her beforehand like it was their fault that she didn't want to meet his parents.
tears were beginning to fill her eyes—crap. she wanted to go back into her eye sockets where they belong.
"to compensate for being an asshole, let's fight," she declared, glaring at him. she brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face as she looked away, the tears nearly falling. "then at least i would know i can beat your ass any day."
he shrinked in his seat. did she really hate the idea of meeting his parents that much? that hurt. and not to mention that be wasn't sure if he would win against her.
he sighed, running a hand through his hair. but before he could even get a word in—
"actually, you know what?" she exclaimed, standing up and wiping her eyes quick. "i'm the one breaking up with you first!!"
she was pretty loud. soobin, on his break and sipping his tea almost choked.
beomgyu's mouth hung open.
"you're breaking up with me?!"
his heart might as well be torn out of his chest and onto the table. broken by her hand like she had just shattered it with a sledgehammer. she didn't love him as much as he loved her.
there was a silence where ryujin was trying hard not to burst into tears.
"...why?" beomgyu asked in a smaller voice than she was used to hearing. he looked at her with the biggest kicked puppy look. it would've made a hard criminal say sorry.
"you were going to break up with me first—weren't you?! that's why you wanted to talk!!"
he seemed to buffer for a moment as he processed the situation.
"i wanted to ask if you wanted to meet my parents?!"
again, more silence. it was a good thing they were rhe only customers in there now—he flipped the sign to "closed." not that those two cared if anyone was watching.
ryujin blinked a couple times before plopping back down on the seat.
wow. fat misunderstanding.
"...don't cry."
"i'm not crying."
she was, in fact, crying.
"i'm sorry for not being clear enough."
how else would he have said it though? that was what he thought but he apologized anyway.
she sniffled, pulling a napkin from the dispenser on the table.
"you should be."
he gave her a dead look as she dabbed her face like the makeup she was wearing was still intact. but he'll let it go this time—only because he didn't like it when she cried.
"do want to meet them or not, dummy?" he asked, taking a couple more napkins and setting them in front of her. that question was still unanswered.
they lived in the countryside and spring break was coming up. he wanted to study in seoul—to see the city. the bigger world.
"yeah," she replied, glaring, "how hard was it to just ask? of course i want to meet your parents."
he smiled, his heart remaining unshattered—glady. it might been beating stronger than before.
when she ran out of napkins, he handed her more and she snatched them out of his hands. her glare didn't leave her face as she muttered about how dumb he was. but breaking up with her had never crossed his mind, even with all the arguments they have on a daily basis.
well, he'll make it a point to never tell her that they "need to talk."
