CNU [4:42 pm]
"Let's just go together."
"Uh..."
You hesitated. Why were you hesitating? You wanted to walk with Shinwoo back to your apartment building, so why weren't you jumping at the opportunity? Your crush offers to have a nice walk alone with you, you take it; everyone knows that. Especially because you never got to walk alone with him. You were used to walking there with him and your friends, but this time...this time it would just be the two of you. And that alone made the butterflies in your stomach flutter uncontrollably.
"Come on, it's gonna rain" he said with a chuckle, grabbing your hand before hearing your response. But considering your unnecessarily long pause, he didn't expect to get a response anytime soon. You stumbled off the sidewalk with Shinwoo and felt your heart thumping in your chest at the simple fact he'd held your hand. It only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to get to you and you swallowed hard.
"You okay?" Shinwoo smiled playfully at you as you crossed the street, moving to find your gaze that was dropped to the ground.
"Oh yeah, I-I'm fine," you answered, face reddening. You chewed on your lip and pushed your hands into the pockets of your hoodie while he adjusted his grip on his umbrella.
The walk to your apartment was not very long, and the whole way you talked about the same mundane things you usually talked about. But you realized this was the first real one-on-one conversation you'd had with him that was longer than a minute or two. That made you wonder why you were so crazy about him; you barely knew him. Huh...the heart wants what the heart wants, I suppose...
Shinwoo turned on his heel suddenly, facing you and effectively surprising you enough to make you stop talking mid-sentence. You both stopped walking and faced each other and you just blinked, confused. He smiled at you knowingly and you felt your cheeks heat in a blush again.
"You like me, don't you?" He smiled cheekily at you, and you felt like a little kid being asked about their schoolgirl crush. But he wasn't wrong, so what could you say?
"I...Sure I like you, we're friends...aren't we?" You struggled to meet his gaze, too shy to face the truth. You felt a few raindrops start to fall on your cheek and shoulder, noticing the way they started to leave dark spots on the ground surrounding you.
"I know you like me as more than a friend." Shinwoo opened his umbrella and held it over himself, then stepped forward so you were under it with him. The rain picked up a bit, a light pattering filling your ears. You unconsciously held your breath, your heart just hammering so hard now you were sure he must be able to hear it. He'd never stood so close to you before. Today was full of firsts.
You lightly nodded, acknowledging that he was right. The way he kept smiling at you told you he was enjoying the idea of you having a crush on him. Now was that because he found it amusing or because his feelings were mutual...or both?
He didn't leave you to wonder for long though, as he leaned in quickly and pecked you on the lips, pulling back and studying your expression before you could even process what had happened. But it hit you and your whole face turned red, the butterflies in your stomach now fluttering like crazy and your heart pounding a mile a minute. Shinwoo smiled kindly at you, a fondness in his expression that made you feel more comfortable, as if you'd known each other for many years rather than a couple of months. "I think I like you as more than a friend too," he said. It felt like time stopped and you nearly forgot about the rain that surrounded you. The world outside the safety of his umbrella, a tiny but warm little world of its own, melted away as he met your gaze. He leaned in more slowly this time, and you met him in the middle, your lips touching gently and molding together into a soft, sweet, and perfect kiss.