Tonight was the night Jason was inviting a friend over for the frist time in a couple years "he's coming over tonight." Jason's voice echoed from the hallway. Seo-jin didn't look up from her phone. "Who?" She asked flatly. "Min-joon " that made her pause for half a second. "Oh." Jason leaned agianst her doorframe. "Dad wants to watch baseball with us.Don't make it weird." "I don't make things weird." She muttered.Jason scoffed."You literally disappear every time I have friend over." "Thats because there loud ." " Their normal." " their annoying ." Jason rolled his eyes "whatever. Just don't act antisocial." Seo-Jin dropped back on to her pillow dramatically. Min-joons coming over. It shouldn't matter. He used to come over all the time when they were younger. But that was before high school. Before everything got busier .before he and Jason were always out somewhere eles. It had been a while. Downstairs. She could hear her parents talking. " Dont overwhelm the boy." Her mom said from the kitchen. " Jason hasn't invited anyone over for a couple of years. " im not overwhelming anyone."her dad replied " We're just watching baseball." "You get competitive ." "It's baseball." Seo-jin snorted quietly in her room. Her dad loved acting like every baseball game was the championship. She glanced at her mirro. Why did she suddenly care about how she looked? She groaned and flopped back down. it's Min-joon. Jason's best friend basically family. Right? The doorbell rang. Her stomach did somthing small and annoying. Downstairs, Jason ran to open the door. "Hyung!" There it was that familiar deep voice awnsering him. Seo-jin stared at her ceiling. She wasn't coming downstairs. Not immediately. Let them have their loud baseball night. She waited 5 minutes. Ten. She could hear her dad already talking too much. " Come in,Come in! It's been a while!" Her mom laughes " Give him space." Seo-jin sighed. she was thirsty anyway.she opened her bedroom door and walked toward the stairs , trying to look bored even though no one was looking at her. As she stepped into the living room she saw him. Min-joon stood near the couch taking off his shoes. Black hoodie , Babby blue hair .broader shoulders. He looked at her. More mature. And then looked up. Their eyes met. For a second. Just one. But it felt longer. His expression shifted slightly like he hadn't expected her to come out."Oh." He said softly. "Hey Seo-jin." Not just hey. He said her name. Her heart skipped and she hated that it did."Hi." She answered , trying to sound normal. Jason looked between them " why are you both staring?" " we're not!" They said at the same time. Awkward Seo-jin quickly walked past them towards the kitchen. She could feel his eyes on her back. And she didn't know why she felt nervous. Behind her, her dad started loudly explaining baseball statistics. Her mom sighed. Jason laughed. And Min-joon? He stayed quite.But when she reached for a glass in the kitchen she felt it agian. That look. She turned slightly. He was standing in the doorway.watching her. Not smiling. Just …observing. And something about it made her chest feel tight. "Did you grow your hair?" He asked casually."What?" " It looks different." She swallowed."You noticed?" He shrugged lightly. " I notice things." Her stomachs flipped. Before she could say anything eles Jason called him back into the living room. Min-joon stepped away, but not befor saying quietly. " Don't look at me like that." Her brain short-circuited. Like what? She hadn't realized she was looking at him differently. But now…Now she was.
Chapter 1 part 2
Seo-Jin stayed in the kitchen longer then necessary. She didn't even want a drink anymore. She just needed a second. "Are you hiding in here?" Her moms voice made her jump. "No." Her mom raised an eyebrow. "Min-joon grew up nicely." Seo-jin chocked "Mom!" "What?Im just saying." "Im not hiding." "Then go sit in the living room like a normal person." Seo-jin sighed dramatically and grabed her glass. "Fine." She walked back into the living room.Jason and their dad were already arguing about something baseball realted. "It was clearly safe!" Jason said. "Out!" Her dad argued "That was out." Min-joon say in the middle of the couch, Slightly leaned back now, one arm resting along the top. He liked relaxed. Comfortable. Like he belong there.he glanced up when she entered agian. There it was. That look. Not intense.Just ….Watching. She sat on the far end of the couch. Leaving space between them.safe space. Her dad immediately got excited. "Seo-jin!Come here,look at this play." "I don't care about baseball." " You should." Min-joon huffed a laugh . She heard it.Felt it.She didn't Look at him. Then Jason stood up suddenly. "Im getting snacks." "Bring chips!" Their dad yelled."I'll help." Her mom called fron the kitchen. And just like that it was quite. Just her and Min-joon. On the same couch. Not far apart. The TV played loudly in the background, but neither of them were watching it. She could feel his arm still stretched behind her along the coach. Not touching. But close enough to make her aware of it. "You've been quiet." He said casually. " I live here." He smirked slightly. "Thats not what I meant." She swallowed. "Then what do you mean?" He looked at her fully now. And for a second it felt like the room got smaller. "You used to talk more when I came over." "That was years ago." "Still." Her heart was beating so loud.Why was it different? Why was he different? She finally looked at him. Big mistake. Because he was already looking at her. Not teasing. Not joking. Just studying her. Like he was trying to figure out somthing . And then very quietly " You've changed." Her breath caught " In a bad way?" He didn't awnser right away.instead his eyes dropped to her hands fidgeting on her lap. Then back at her face . "No." That one word felt heavier then it should have. Footsteps echoed from the kitchen. Getting closer. The moment snapped. Min-joon leaned back like nothing happened. Like he hadn't just made her stomach flip three times. Jason flopped next to him. "Why are too so quite ?" " We're watching baseball ."Min-joon awnserd calmly. Seo-jin stared at the TV. But she wasn't seeing it. Because all she could think about was the way he looked at her. And the way he said no. And she hated Absolutely hated that she wanted him to look at her like that agian.