Chapter Text
“Jerk!” The first thing you shout when slender fingers grabbed your notebook. “Jae, give that back!” You stand up and advance to take your notebook back.
You roll your eyes as he lifts his arm up so you won’t be able to reach it. You furrow your brows.
“Fine,” you spit. “Don’t give it back if you don’t want to.” You sit back on your chair and get another notebook from your bag.
You start scribbling again when he slowly walks behind you and hastily takes your pad away again. You grip your pen, trying to remain calm. You slowly land your gaze on him and he flashes his cheeky smile. Your stare turns into a glare and you throw your pen at him.
“Are you guys at it again?” Sungjin chirps.
“Nothing new.” Younghyun butts in.
“I’m not in the mood to play with a child today.” You settle yourself on your seat and Jae looks at your other two friends, like asking them what’s with you lately and they just shrug.
You feel Jae striding toward you when a voice calls him. You don’t need to look at the door to know who the girl is.
“Lim!” He steps away from you to go to the other girl.
Wonpil nudges you so you glance at him. “So that’s what.”
You raise a brow. “What’s that’s what ?”
Wonpil tilts his head, motioning you to look at the door and you see Jae leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed, talking happily with Hyelim.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you remark as you take Wonpil’s notebook and drop it on your table.
On your way home, you’re walking with your earphones on and a sudden weight drop on your head. You exhale a sharp breath. As usual. You roll your eyes.
Jae’s other hand reach for one of your earbuds and put it on his ear but before he can even put it, you take it away from him and put it back on yours and you start taking big steps to walk ahead of him. Suddenly, a force pulls you back. His index finger is hooked in the hanging loop of your backpack to pull you back beside him.
“What’s with you lately?” He quizzes as he rests his forearms on your head again. “Is it the time of the month?”
No. I’m just jealous. Of course, I like you but I know it’s impossible for you to like me back. You? ‘The’ Jae? The Jae whom a lot of girls like? The Jae who has won a lot of badminton competitions? The Jae with those tiny eyes, cute smile, perfect jawline? The Jae who makes everyone laugh with his humor? The Jae who--
“So is it?” He interrupts your mental blabbering.
“Yeah,” you lie.
When you arrive outside your house, you stop on your tracks and look up at him. “You’re not coming straight to our house without going to yours first, aren’t you?”
“I am coming straight to your house without going to mine first, that’s exactly what I’m about to do.”
“Jae,” you point the house beside yours, “your house is just a few steps away.”
“So?” He walks past you. “Dowoon? You home?” He calls for your brother but there’s no answer.
You follow him inside. “He’d probably be late. He has band practice. Are you guys supposed to play today?”
“Nahh.” He ruffles your hair. “Go get change and I’ll look for something to eat.”
You turn around. “Don’t touch my yogurt, okay?”
“Roger, Sir!” He says as he shows a salute but when you get back, you find him sitting on the couch, focused on his phone with a spoon trapped between his lips and an open pot of yogurt in front of him.
You throw him a pillow and he drops his phone. “You just don’t listen, don’t you?”
He just laughs in response. “You’re doing homework?” He asks after seeing your notebooks in your hand.
“Move,” you demand as you sit on the floor and put your notebooks on the center table.
Jae does the same. As you both do your assignments, Jae scoops a spoonful of yogurt and places it near your lips. “Ahh,” he motions you to open mouth.
Your eyes don’t leave your notebook but your mouth reaches for the yogurt. Jae, as cheeky as he is, is slowly moving the spoon away from you but you unconsciously follow the spoon making your forehead bump into his lips.
You straighten up and look at him. He is grinning. “Gotcha!” He wiggles his eyebrows and you punch him on the chest.
You try to focus back on your notebook but his soft chuckles don’t help in making your heartbeat calm. Stupid Jae.
Just as you are about to write again, he grabs your pen. He stands up and you follow. He levels his hand with his eyes and he tells you to reach for your pen.
“Jae, you never get tired of this, don’t you?”
He chortles. “It’s cute seeing you try to reach for things out of your reach, you know?”
You bite your inner cheek. You won’t say that if you know I’ve been trying to reach you. Will my feelings be able to reach you someday, Jae?
“Come on, reach it. You need this to finish your homework, right?”
You glare at him and you exhale softly. You walk towards him and reach for your pen but every time your fingers are about to touch it, he stretches his arm higher. You jump. This goes on and on and his giggles continue.
“Is something wrong lately?” He suddenly asks as you continue to get your pen back.
“What do you--” you jump, “--mean?” You pant.
“You’re mad, aren’t you?” You raise a brow at his query. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Your forehead furrows. “What are you talking about?” You leap for the pen once more and lose your balance so you fall forward.
His arm is fast to snake around your waist. You can hear the loud thumping on his chest as if it’s beating on the same tempo with yours. You step back and the intensity of his eyes looking at you sends shiver down your spine.
He levels his hand with his eyes again. “Reach it, I won’t move this time.”
You study his face for a couple of seconds and you’re still thinking about his sudden questions. Then finally, you reach for the pen. Just when you get hold of it, he bends to reach for your lips.
Startled, you stay still as he straightens up.
“You were jealous of Lim, weren’t you? That’s why you’ve been acting sour towards me since yesterday?”
Your eyebrows knit together.
“I already kissed you so I guess it’s clear now who I like. And if it’s still not clear to you, then let me tell you. I like you.”
You take a gulp and blink. You remember the sound of his heartbeat mirroring yours. Then it dawns on you. You might not reach a lot of things, and he might seem unreachable but there’s something that can be reached despite the height differences. Besides, it’s with the same level of your head, your ears. The one that you heard earlier. His heart.
“I--” you look away, not knowing what to say.
He pulls your wrist and buries your head on his chest. “Cute,” he whispers. His lips against the top of your head. “Too cute.” He chuckles. “It’s cute seeing you getting jealous and although you look adorable getting frustrated, also when you try to reach for things I’m holding, I can’t help but give in. I can’t stand you getting frustrated for so long.”
He slowly untangles his arms around you. You still can’t look at him in the eyes for more than a second.
“You like me?”
“I--” your throat dries up and the next word comes out as a whisper “--do”
“I need to hear it.”
“I like you,” you profess louder than before but still almost a whisper.
“Hey,” he tilts his head, “look at me.”
You bite your lip and slowly oblige. When your eyes land on him, you gather up some strength to say the words again. “I like you.”
The small curve that his lips form doesn’t escape your eyes and he bends to kiss you again. You push him gently. “Dowoon might see us.”
“Dowoon?” He smirks. “Oh, you said he’ll be late, right? Don’t worry, I made sure of it. He’s with the guys right now.”
“The guys? Sungjin and the others?”
He does a small nod and you squint your eyes at him. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
He chortles breathily. “Maybe?”
You shake your head. "Dumbass." His lips stretch wider as he proceeds to reach for your lips again. This time, you respond.