Ophelia

But now it was really late, and sooner than he desired, you both agreed that it was time to go to sleep.

You always hung up first. It was an unspoken rule, born from the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to do it (not that he was ever gonna admit it). So he just threw his phone to the end of the bed, and then jumped to it himself, feeling his chest tight. This was the third time he yelled into a pillow this month.

“Why do I have to get so tongue-tied?” He whined and rolled up, facing the ceiling. His sheep plushie was within reach, so he grabbed it and, as usual, pretended it was you. “Really, this is too much. You can’t feel my heart racing through the phone right? Even my friends figured it out. They have been encouraging me to flirt, but I... I just can’t! How do people like Zen do this? I can’t just tell you that I think about you all day long, and that I want you to be mine! What if you think I am a creep?”

He couldn’t think anymore. He really needed to go to sleep.

Today he had been late to his class because he forgot to set his alarm, another consequence of you living permanently on his mind. So now, it was the first thing he was going to do, and the only reason he unlocked his phone…

… only to be greeted by your picture, and the screen that showed the call buttons.

A high-pitched squeal could be heard by your end. In a panic, Yoosung ended a call with you for the first time in weeks before you could even attempt to say anything.

If he believed that his pulse was fast before, oh boy, he was wrong. His head felt light as he backed away from the bed, and he genuinely wondered if he would throw up. Why hadn’t you hung up? Did you hear? How much? What did you think of him now?

His clammy hands were the reason that he actually rejected your call that came immediately after, which caused his mind to come up with worse thoughts, wondering if he screwed everything more. You called again.

“Hello? Listen, I can explain—!”

“Yoosung.” Your voice blocked every excuse he could have tried to come up with. His end of the line was completely silent. “Is it true?”

For a moment, everything stood still. Even his anxious thoughts gave him a break. There was nothing else he could say. And, to be honest, he didn’t want to pretend anymore.

“Yes,” he breathed out, relief instantly flooding through his veins. “Yes, it is true. One hundred percent true.”

Even if you rejected him right now, there was a weight off his shoulders. Yet, he didn’t have to think about that possibility too much.

“Good,” you answered. “I like you too.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

He collapsed on his bed again, this time wearing a big grin. Suddenly, all of his worries seemed to vanish.

“I didn’t plan to confess like this, obviously. And I can’t ask you out over the phone! So… Can we see each other?” Perhaps the nervousness wouldn’t immediately go away. That was okay. You felt the same way.

“Yes, we have to!” You quickly agreed, bringing a fluttering feeling to his chest. “Then you can flirt with me, like your friends suggested.”

“Ack— Don’t say that!”

“And I can flirt back…”

“No! I mean yes! I… Don’t tease me like that!”