Out Of My League Pt.2
Park Minju x Male Reader
Fluff
It was finally time for what most high school students liked to call the highlight of their teenage lives.
Well...most of them, anyway.
For some, it was nothing more than an overpriced event designed to make students spend ridiculous amounts of money on clothes they would only wear once before shoving them into the darkest corner of their closets or returning them to the rental store.
For others, it was practically a holiday to an extent.
It was just one night but that was all it took for the school gymnasium to transform into something almost unrecognizable.
Gone were the squeaky basketball shoes, half-hearted morning assemblies, and painfully boring lectures that made students question every life decision that led them there. In their place were fairy lights draped across ceilings, elaborate decorations that tried very hard to scream elegance, and slow music that promised either magical confessions or deeply awkward dancing.
And most importantly, there were no uniforms.
No stiff blazers.
No wrinkled ties.
No skirts measured by strict school rules.
Just dresses that glittered beneath warm lights and suits tailored enough to make boys suddenly think fixing their hair once or twice would mold their attitude into gentlemen.
I'm talking about prom of course!
Which explained why Minju currently looked like she wanted to try each and every excuse to not go.
"This is stupid."
Her friend groaned for what felt like the fiftieth time that evening.
"You've said that twelve times already," Yunah said from across the room.
"Because it remains true all twelve times."
Minju stood in front of the full-length mirror in her dress shop, aggressively adjusting the fabric of her dress like she could somehow bully it into becoming less embarrassing.
"This feels weird."
"Did you suddenly develop an allergy towards dresses?"
"I might have at this point."
Yunah snorted from her seat near the fitting room platform, one leg crossed over the other as she watched Minju spiral in real time.
The shop was far too bright for Minju's liking.
Every employee looked far too excited and every rack around her hung dresses that looked like they belonged to people significantly more confident than she was.
The dress she wore was simple compared to the others she had been bribed into trying on.
And by that, she meant Yunah had to bribe her with a week's worth of free lunches and the promise that she would use her position in the media club to hide the unflattering prom photos before they were posted online.
Minju had accepted far quicker than she cared to admit.
The dress she currently wore was teal.
It hugged her waist before falling softly down her legs, the fabric smooth and tiny silver details lined the straps.
"Do I really have to go?" Minju asked.
Yunah had already stood up from her seat, already pushing through hangers of dresses.
"Yes," she answered immediately.
Minju frowned at her reflection.
"It sounds boring anyways. You just stand around while the loud music blasts into your ears and eat food no better than what the cafeteria serves."
"Don't be like that," Yunah replied as she pushed another hanger back. "You already submitted your attendance sheet plus (YN) is going to be there."
Minju nearly tripped over absolutely nothing.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Her head snapped toward Yunah so fast it almost broke off her head.
Yunah slowly turned to look at her then smiled.
Minju immediately knew she had fallen into a trap she should've seen a mile away.
"I don't know, I just thought that it would motivate you just a tiny bit."
Minju stared at her.
"...No," she said flatly.
Yunah blinked. "No?"
"No, it doesn't motivate me knowing he will be there."
"Don't be so rash, don't you want to see what he looks like in a tux?"
Minju opened her mouth and raised to point a finger at her yet nothing came out.
And that alone told Yunah everything she needed to know.
A grin spread across her face with the speed of someone who had just caught her friend in denial.
"Oh my god," Yunah gasped dramatically. "You do want to know."
"I do not."
"You practically blue-screened in front of me."
Minju turned back toward the mirror quickly, crossing her arms across her chest tightly.
"I was simply caught off guard by how ridiculous your question was."
Yunah hummed. "Mhm."
"It's not like I care what he wears."
"Yeah, sure you don't."
"He could show up in a trash bag and I still wouldn't care."
"That sounds weirdly specific." Yunah's reflection struggled not to laugh.
Minju narrowed her eyes at the mirror.
Annoying as it was, Yunah's question had already planted itself in her brain like a virus, already creating more thoughts and images in her mind uninvited.
What would you look like?
Would your hair still be slightly messy because you always forget to fix it?
Would your outfit stay smooth all through the night or would you move enough to mess it up and create wrinkles.
Would you somehow still look annoyingly comfortable with everyone else while she shoved herself to a corner?
But most importantly,
Why was she thinking about this?
"This is your fault," Minju muttered.
Yunah looked offended. "For being a supportive friend?"
"For being so annoying like everybody else."
Minju groaned and dropped into the small platform seat beside the mirror.
"I genuinely don't understand why everyone acts like prom is some grand event."
"Because for some people it is."
"It's dancing in the school gym."
"It's about the memories you make throughout the night."
"You get tabbed for pictures that are way overwise."
"C'mon, it's romantic."
"Disgusting." Minju made a face like she had tasted expired milk.
"That's very bold coming from someone who literally accepted crocheted flowers from a boy and carried them home like they were the ark of the covenant." Yunah laughed.
Minju went completely still.
"H-he was just being generous." She replied.
Yunah's laughter only grew louder.
"Generous?" she repeated. "Minju, he bought you handmade flowers because you once said real ones die too fast. That's not generosity. That's him remembering something oddly specific that came out of your mouth on a random day."
"That does not mean anything." Minju's face heated immediately.
Yunah stared at her as the expression on her face turned into the blank one her friend always used.
"It's very surprising how long you've gotten when you are this dense."
"I am not dense." Minju gasped.
Yunah let out a laugh so loud that one of the employees glanced over in concern.
"You absolutely are," she said, wiping at the corner of her eye. "You're academically gifted yet socially...dense."
Minju stood from her seat again, glaring as Yunah approached her..
"Let me ask you something," Yunah said.
"No."
"You don't even know the question."
"And yet I still know I won't like it."
Yunah ignored her.
"When he gave you those flowers, did you throw them away?"
"No." Minju's lips pressed themselves together.
"Did you leave them somewhere in your room and forget about them?"
"...No."
Yunah's eyes widened theatrically. "Wait. Don't tell me."
Minju immediately looked away.
"Oh my god," Yunah whispered like she had uncovered government secrets. "You kept them somewhere special."
"I did not."
"Minju."
"They're on my desk." she groaned.
Yunah continued to stare at her.
"They're on my desk," she repeated through gritted teeth. "And before you say anything, it's only because throwing them away felt wasteful."
"You stare at them before bed, don't you?" Minju gasped at how easy she was to figure out. "I hate talking to you."
"You like him." Yunah said, looking far too pleased with herself.
"No." Minju immediately shook her head.
"You do."
"No."
"You are literally blushing."
"It's just hot in here."
"We're standing in a place with air conditioning."
She scoffed as turned back toward the mirror and stared at her reflection.
The teal dress really did look nice and it was unfortunate because now she actually looked like someone attending prom with the possibility of being looked at by everyone else.
Her fingers lightly touched the frills of her dress.
"What if I look ridiculous?" she asked quietly.
"You don't." Yunah's teasing softened almost instantly.
"That's easy for you to say."
"No, Minju," Yunah said gently. "You really don't."
Minju met her eyes through the mirror.
Yunah smiled, "You look beautiful."
Just like that, all of Minju's sharp yet sarcastic defenses seemed to fade away.
Her shoulders relaxed, only slightly.
"And when (YN) sees you during prom, I hope he forgets how to breathe." Yunah immediately continued.
"Yah! Noh Yunah!" Minju nearly slipped on the platform.
"What? That's supposed to be a good thing."
"It is not a good thing if he actually passes out and dies in front of me."
"Fair point. That would ruin the mood." Yunah shrugged.
Minju turned to look at herself in the mirror once again. The skirt of the dress pooled around her shoes as she held them.
For a moment, she simply stared.
"This still feels weird." She narrowed her eyes at her reflection.
Yunah laughed from behind her. "Looking pretty?"
"No, that's normal. I always look pretty." Minju flicked some strands of her hair behind her.
Yunah tried to hold in her laugh before it bursted right out of her.
"Oh my god," She wheezed through a breath.
"Why are you laughing like you're choking?" Minju raised a brow at her friend.
Yunah clutched her stomach dramatically as she tried and failed to recover.
"You said that with a completely straight face."
"Because it's true."
"That might be the most confidence you've shown all year."
She rolled her eyes and stepped off the platform carefully before one of her sneakers slipped on seemingly air and almost sent her crashing into a rack of expensive dresses.
"Yeah, shown a lot of confidence with that one." Yunah was practically folded in half now, laughing so hard she had tears gathering in her eyes.
The rack of expensive dresses trembled violently as Minju grabbed it on instinct, saving both herself and a hundred thousand won worth of fabric from falling to the floor.
The heat started to build up around the rest of her face as Yunah gathered herself somehow and helped her up.
"If you're gonna break the dress already, at least go to prom first."
"I meant to do that," she said immediately.
"Yeah, yeah, just go get changed again then we could head home."
Minju released the dress rack slowly, using the thought of home to hide her embarrassment.
Once she had her footing, she muttered under her breath the entire way back to the fitting room.
I hate this.
Why is this dress so stupidly long?
I should've stayed home and done literally anything else.
As Minju stepped out of the fitting room, finally dressed in her usual clothes again and no longer one misstep away from ruining the entire store, Yunah waited for her in front of the register with the dress already protected under a plastic sheet.
"What are you doing? I've already decided that I'm not going."
Yunah smiled politely at the woman across the counter. "Ignore her. She says that every fifteen minutes or so."
"I'm serious this time."
"Yeah but you were serious the other times too."
Yunah handed over her card before Minju could reach out and stop.
The machine beeped, and soon after payment was accepted for the both of them.
Just like that, Minju's fate was sealed with one very cheerful receipt.
The employee handed over the garment bag with a smile. "I hope both of you enjoy prom."
Minju forced out something of a smile as gratitude while she imagined herself leaving already internally.
The moment they stepped outside, the cool evening air hit her face.
She inhaled deeply.
The city streets glowed under streetlights while people walked past carrying an assortment of things, shopping bags, purses and backpacks as they traveled through the sidewalk.
Yunah bumped her shoulder lightly, their bags tapping each other in the process.
Minju looked between them before looking away.
"Thanks for the dress." She mumbled.
"No problem! That's what friends with rich parents are for."
Minju let out a quiet scoff.
"That sounds unbelievably spoiled when you say it out loud."
"What? It's true." Yunah gasped loudly. "My mom said if I was going to spoil myself, I might as well do the same for my friends."
Minju rolled her eyes before she started down the sidewalk. Yunah soon followed her footsteps that led them to the nearest bus stop.
Along their little stroll, Minju had fallen quiet though that wasn't that much different to what she normally did but her friend felt something was off in her silence.
She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you silent?"
"Were you expecting me to start freestyling to keep the conversation going? Minju answered sharply.
Yunah chuckled as she shook her head. "Anyways, I was just wondering..." she said, moving on to something new.
"What if he asks you to dance?"
Minju stopped walking so abruptly that someone behind her nearly walked into her.
"What?"
Yunah turned around slowly, entirely too pleased with herself.
"At prom."
"I heard you."
"Then why do you look like your soul just left your body?"
Minju swallowed a breath then she started walking again at a pace that looked suspiciously like fleeing her question.
"That won't happen."
"You sound very sure." Yunah matched her pace.
"Because he would never ask me."
"And why not?"
"Because..." she started before she softened. "Because why would he? He's this outgoing, social butterfly that anybody could just walk to and I'm just...Minju."
"Saying that as if you didn't just call yourself pretty earlier." Yunah replied quickly after.
Minju froze on the spot as her breath stopped midway down her throat.
After another chuckle, her teasing expression softened slightly.
"You know," Yunah said quietly, "sometimes I think you're the only person who doesn't realize how much he likes being around you."
Minju laughed once in disbelief.
"That's ridiculous."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"He waits for you after class."
"That's because our classrooms are right next to each other."
"He bought your favorite snacks that one time."
"It isn't my fault he also likes the same flavor of chips and bought one too many."
"He remembers things you say that even you forget saying," Yunah continued.
Minju opened her mouth as she remembered the bouquet sitting on her desk.
"That proves nothing." she finally said after another moment.
"Minju." Yunah gave her a long look.
"What?"
"He bought you crocheted flowers."
"That is just a one time thing..."
"He bought them because you said people spend money on things that wilt after a week," Yunah said in one breath, "That's not something who just wants to be friends with you would do!"
Minju turned to face her, brows burrowed in slightly. "I remembered other things he says but I also remember things you say and all of our other friends said, it isn't unusual to do so."
Once Yunah was shut down, she turned to take more steps down the sidewalk.
"Then what about the way he looks at you?" She heard her say from behind.
Minju froze on the spot yet again.
She didn't turn around and she didn't breathe right away either.
"In what way?" she asked, but it came out softer than she intended as if it was from her own curiosity than to retort
Behind her, Yunah didn't answer immediately.
"The way he looks at you," she repeated, slower this time, "like—like he was always only looking at the moon in the sky and not the miniscule stars around it."
Minju let out another short and disbelieving scoff.
"That sounds like something straight out of a fairy tale."
Yunah gave a small, almost helpless laugh, like she knew exactly how ridiculous it sounded and still meant every word anyway.
"It is," she said simply. "That's kind of the problem."
Minju finally turned her head a little, just enough to glance back.
"You're saying things like that again," she muttered. "You're going to make me regret accepting that dress."
"No, you're going to regret not noticing things sooner," Yunah corrected.
Minju scoffed, but it came out weaker this time. "There's nothing to notice." she continued on, approaching the blue-roofed bus stop down the sidewalk.
Yunha quickly caught up with her, matching her pace before she asked another question.
"When he looks at you...do you really not notice it?"
Minju's steps slowed again.
Streetlights painted soft light across the sidewalk while cars passed in one by one beside them. Somewhere nearby, teenagers laughed too loudly outside a convenience store. The world kept moving as if Minju's heart hadn't suddenly decided to perform cartwheels against her ribs.
She tightened her grip around the bag she was holding.
Minju sighed through her nose.
"Of—of course I notice when people look at me," she said carefully.
Yunah tilted her head. "And?"
"And..." Minju hesitated as she realized the problem.
The problem was that she noticed everything.
The way your eyes always found her first in crowded classrooms.
The way your expression softened whenever she rambled about things she claimed not to care about or when she was proclaiming to the world how much she hated you.
The way you looked proud whenever she succeeded at something as if her achievements somehow belonged to you too.
The way your gaze lingered just a little too long sometimes before you awkwardly looked elsewhere.
And the worst part?
She noticed how her stomach flipped every single time.
Minju stared ahead at the bus stop.
“I think…” she said, softening her voice. “I think he looks at me like I’m worth more than what I am.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she wished she could grab them out of the air and shove them back where they came from.
“That’s not a good thing,” she added after a moment, more to herself than to Yunah.
Yunah glanced at her. “Why not?”
“I just…” she started, then stopped before she tried again. “I don’t know what he’s seeing when he looks at me like that.”
The girl next to her exhaled softly, like she’d been holding it in for a while.
They walked under the bus stop.
Minju took a seat first before Yunah sat down next to her.
“Do you think he’s wrong for looking at you like that?” she asked, placing the bag over her lap.
Minju hesitated, “I don’t know,” she admitted. Then, almost stubbornly, she added, “Maybe he is.”
Yunah hummed softly, her voice carried by the soft breeze that blew by. The light above them flickered then steadied. She leaned back slightly, letting the bench creak under her weight.
“I think I know what you're afraid of.” she finally said.
Minju looked over with the sides of her eyes.
“You're afraid of someone actually seeing you and for them to actually care.” Yunah said in a single breath.
She heard a scoff beside her.
“Since when were you this poetic?” Minju mumbled before she felt a soft shove against her elbow. She rubbed the spot slowly.
“Seriously though,” Yunah leaned forward, resting her elbows against her knees. “You’re scared that if you believe he likes you and you’re wrong, you’ll feel stupid.”
“That’s—” Minju tried to retort.
Keyword, tried.
Her shoulders eased either in defeat or they also grew tired of her hiding behind herself.
“I just think,” she said quietly, “that he'll just leave after he realises I'm not as interesting as he thought.”
Minju’s eyes dropped to the floor.
“My grades are good.”
“I know how to make myself useful.”
“I know how to be someone people can rely on.”
Minju looked up at the traffic in front of them.
“But when that’s gone…”
She swallowed hard.
“What’s left?”
Yunah looked at her like she couldn’t believe Minju could sound like this.
“What’s left?” she repeated softly.
“Mhm, yeah.”
Yunah reached over and flicked Minju’s forehead.
“Ouch!”
“What’s left,” Yunah said, ignoring her glare, “is the girl who argues with teachers when they grade unfairly.”
Minju blinked at her.
“The girl who pretends she hates helping the younger years but somehow always does when they ask, even if it's the simplest thing.”
“The girl who acts annoyed when her friends call her crying at two in the morning but still picks up every single time.”
Minju stared at her.
“And the girl who should come out of hiding and face her feelings head on.” Yunah smiled softly.
The bus stop fell quiet around them.
A bus roared past without stopping, wind following behind it hard enough to push loose strands of Minju’s hair across her face. She tucked them behind her ear absentmindedly.
Yunah smiled softly at her then her expression relaxed again.
“It shouldn't be that easy.” Her head dropped again. “When people like you,” Minju said softly, eyes fixed on the pavement below her shoes, “there’s always a version of you they like first.”
“The useful version.”
“The smart version.”
“The version that gets things done.”
Minju laughed bitterly under her breath.
“And when they find out you’re actually difficult or insecure or annoying or that sometimes you say the wrong things and push people away before they can leave first…”
Her throat tightened.
“They leave anyway.”
Yunah stared at her friend like she was seeing a side of Minju had been pushed away for years.
She reached over and grabbed Minju’s hand, warmly and sincerely.
“He already sees those parts.”
“What?” Minju blinked.
Yunah squeezed her hand.
“He’s seen you snap at people, seen you overthink, seen you act like you hate compliments and seen how cranky you are before tests.”
A reluctant laugh escaped Minju before she could stop it.
Yunah smiled softly at the sound like she had been waiting for it.
“And he still stayed.”
Minju’s smile slowly disappeared.
“He stayed after all of your bad moods, he stayed after your sharp words, he stayed after every opportunity he had to lose interest.”
Her voice softened again.
"And he still stayed, didn't he?"
Minju looked away first, her ears beginning to burn. She leaned back against the bench and looked up at the night sky.
There weren’t many visible stars tonight, just the moon still shining brightly high above the city.
Against all logic, her thoughts drifted back to you.
Your laugh.
Your stupidly kind face.
The way you looked at her like she was something soft enough to protect and strong enough to admire at the same time.
“So what if he asks me to dance?” she whispered.
Yunah turned so fast she nearly fell off the bench with a gasp.
“So you are imagining it!”
Minju groaned immediately. “Why are you yelling?”
“Because you want him to dance with you!”
“I said what if. That is not the same thing.”
“If he asks you to dance—” Yunah grabbed both of her shoulders dramatically.
“He won’t.”
“and that’s a very weak if, because I just know he will—”
“Yunah.”
“YOU are going to say yes.”
“I don’t dance.” Minju stared at her as if she was speaking in another language.
“You just sway awkwardly for three minutes and it'll all be over. That’s literally all slow dancing is, you just do the dance!”
“That sounds horrifying.”
Yunah rolled her eyes.
“And despite that, I think a tiny part of you wants it to happen.”
Minju looked away first, not wanting to give her friend any more fuel for her teasing.
As if it were on cue, their bus pulled up with a loud screech.
The doors pushed themselves open.
Minju stood up from the seat first.
“Go on, be careful on your way home.” Yunah said, standing up right after her. “I’ll take a cab back to my parent’s place.”
Minju hesitated before the first step.
Just a small pause, right there at the edge of the bus door, like her body had briefly forgotten which direction it was supposed to go.
“…you too,” she muttered, not quite turning around.
Yunah smiled, raising a hand at her. “Text me when you get home.”
“I always do.”
“I know. I just like saying it.”
Minju rolled her eyes at her then finally stepped onto the bus.
-
"I'm home!"
Minju closed the door behind her with a heel and locked it soon after.
Her voice echoed faintly throughout the house with no response coming from any corner.
She wasn't expecting any different.
Her mother often worked late shifts at the hospital as one of the nurses going through the halls and going room to room while her father usually didn't come home until long after midnight if he was buried under paperwork at the firm.
The apartment was quiet in the familiar way that felt neither lonely nor comforting.
It was just the way it normally was.
Minju slipped off her shoes near the entrance and lined them up neatly against the wall out of habit before dragging herself further inside.
She walked through the dark living room and to the kitchen where she turned on the lights.
Moments after, her footsteps carried her up the stairs and towards her room where she pushed the door open and flicked open the light switch for her to see the lightly pink walls and her bed that had sheets and pillows of the same color scheme.
She placed the bag over her bed and walked to the long mirror that stood beside her closet. Leaning in, she took a closer look at herself, carefully pushing some strands of hair behind her ear.
Minju grabbed a plush headband that hung from the side as she slowly got started with her nightly routine that she had done plenty of times before.
She began with a warm bath then began applying all of the facial products she needed in front of the mirror.
When she was back in her room, she quickly got changed before heading downstairs for her dinner.
The soft whirring of the microwave echoed through the home as Minju leaned against the counter waiting for the small cup of instant noodles to finish cooking.
This was how her nights normally went when both of her parents were still out by nighttime.
Not that she minded though, of course.
That was what she always told herself.
She thrived in silence anyways, that was where she felt mostly like herself. She could make noise all she wanted, make whatever she wanted to eat, accidentally drop a pan or two, shout down the halls and watch the TV loudly with no repercussions.
But sometimes, she wouldn't have minded it.
She wouldn't have minded if she came home to a freshly cooked meal.
She wouldn't have minded if someone asked how her day was.
She wouldn't have minded if someone asked how the dress looked on her.
DING!
The microwave came to an abrupt stop as the light inside died.
Minju stared at its small window for a moment before pushing herself off the counter.
The cup was warm in her hands as she peeled back the lid.
Steam rose upward, fogging her vision for half a second before disappearing just as quickly.
She grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the drawer and made her way back to her room.
Placing it over her desk, she crouched down under the table and after a couple of plugs being pushed into sockets, the computer whirred to life.
The screen blinked awake as it transitioned to her home screen.
Minju pulled herself back into her chair, crossing one leg over the other as she stirred her noodles absentmindedly. Her desk was cluttered in the very specific way only her desk could be, stacks of neatly highlighted notes, pens sorted by color., sticky notes with deadlines scribbled across them, a half-finished worksheet she had promised herself she would complete tonight.
She looked right beside her lamp, her eyes narrowed.
The crocheted flowers still sat where she last placed them, inside a glass cup she had stolen from the kitchen because she refused to admit she needed somewhere "proper" to put them.
The soft yarn petals were still perfectly intact.
Minju let out a dramatic sigh before taking a bite of noodles, reaching over to her mouse and clicked some apps open allowing her to spend time on another hobby of hers.
Video games.
She continued eating as a queue continued to count upwards on her screen.
She was almost finished with the cup of noodles when the words popped up on her screen.
'Match Found!'
"Finally." Minju straightened in her chair immediately, nearly dropping her chopsticks onto her keyboard.
She clicked accept without hesitation, adjusting her headset over her ears as the loading screen appeared. The game music swelled dramatically through her headphones while usernames slowly populated the lobby.
Sometimes, this was better than what real life had to offer because games are wonderfully simple.
You either won, lost or drew.
You either carry your team or watch them make decisions so catastrophically stupid that it makes you wonder how they managed to survive crossing a road in real life.
Her fingers moved quickly over the keyboard as the match officially began after bans and picking which champion to use.
-
The game went on as usual, taking most of Minju's focus.
Beside her keyboard was where her phone was, laying with a dark screen before it suddenly buzzed to life.
The vibration cut through the low hum of her computer.
Minju didn't notice it at first.
She was mid-fight, her fingers were prepared on her skills, eyes sharp, posture leaning forward like she could physically intimidate the enemies to feed their gold into her.
But then it buzzed again, then again and one more to fully gain her attention.
"That better not be Yunah."
She dodged another attack before quickly glancing down.
Her phone screen lit up and her entire body froze.
Your name with three unread messages.
Her character stopped moving entirely.
Which proved to be a catastrophic decision.
You have been slain.
Minju looked at the grayed screen in front of her with the timer ticking down.
With a disgruntled sigh, she picked up her phone to finally read what you had sent her way.
Her respawn timer continued ticking down in the corner of her monitor.
"What kind of question is that?"
She stared at the screen.
Was this normal?
Did people text each other about prom so casually?
Was there a hidden meaning?
Was he asking if she had a dress?
If she had plans?
Worse, what if he was going to ask if she had a date?
Her champion respawned but she didn't move.
She picked up her phone for a moment.
Three little dots appeared on her screen immediately.
Her eyes narrowed themselves.
The phone buzzed again.
Just like that, her stomach dropped.
For a second, Minju genuinely considered throwing her phone across the room. Instead, she stared at the message so hard it nearly burned into her retinas.
Hesitantly, she typed right back.
Minju stared at your reply in complete disbelief.
"What." her eyebrows slowly furrowed.
Was that really it?
Was that all you were going to say after causing her entire body to freeze in place?
Her phone remained still in her hand before her attention was pulled back by the familiar pinging sound. Her eyes drifted back to her screen where multiple question marks started appearing around her character.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Minju mumbled, placing the phone down and already reaching back for her mouse.
Then her phone buzzed again.
Minju didn't look at it.
Actually, she refused to look at it.
Her eyes stayed glued to her monitor, fingers snapping back into motion as if nothing had happened.
A picture passed through her imagination right after, one that was you staring up at your phone and waiting for her reply.
Maybe you were looking at your phone with stupid puppy dog eyes that would have totally worked on her.
Her jaw tightened.
No, she would have to reply to you right after the game.
She wasn't going to reward you for appearing out of nowhere, make her mind race just from one message then cower back to whatever hole you crawled out of.
Minju clicked furiously around her screen.
And after multiple team fights around the map, across the three lanes and inside towers, the victory carefully materialized itself on her screen.
Her phone buzzed a couple more times through all of it and she was proud enough of herself to not check it even once.
She reached for her cup of noodles instead only to discover the broth had gone cold.
Finally, she picked up her phone again and opened them to see the messages you've left.
And just like that, all of her irritation dissolved and so did most of her curiosity.
"...idiot." she mumbled.
Minju stood up from her seat, contemplating whether to still type up a reply.
Then she heard a sound from downstairs.
A rhythmic tapping against metal that echoed softly through the gap she'd left open on her door.
She was sure that she locked the front door when she got back and she was even more sure that neither of her parents left anything else open downstairs.
But still considering that she was home alone, she couldn't help but feel hesitant.
"What's that?" she dropped her arms back to her side, fingers grazing the screen lightly enough to tap the phone icon over your profile.
Then she walked out of her room.
-
Across the city, you stood inside of your room. Your hand rubbed a towel over your damp hair from the warm shower you just got out of.
Your phone vibrated suddenly against the pillow you left it on.
For half a second, you just stared at the screen.
You pressed it against your ear, towel still hanging around your neck while water dripped from the ends of your hair onto the floor unnoticed.
"Hello?"
From the other side of the call, you could faintly hear the faint sound of her footsteps.
"Hello?" you said again, a bit louder this time.
Silence followed until you heard a loud creak of metal come from her end.
"It was just the tap." Minju spoke, voice full of relief.
The girl stood in the kitchen, hand having just pushed up the faucet and oblivious to what was going on with her phone.
"Park Minju!"
The girl turned around the empty home, startled by the voice of someone calling her name. Looking across the dim living room to each dark corner, she could've swore she didn't imagine it.
"What the hell?" her grip on the phone tightened instantly.
"MINJU." On the other end of the call, you nearly choked.
She looked down to her hand as the realization slowly and painfully set in.
"Did you call me?" she asked, pressing the phone to her ear.
"What—No, you were the one who called me!"
"That must've been some kind of mistake," Minju scoffed. "I didn't call you."
"Well that's weird, I specifically remember seeing your contact calling my phone."
"Then it was an accident, that's all." She looked at her screen, "I'll hang up now, bye."
"Minju—wait!"
"...What." Her thumb hovered over the screen.
"What were you doing just now?" you asked quickly, words almost tumbling out of you.
Minju caught up half a second too late.
"Why are you asking?"
"I don't know, you seemed a little spooked when I picked up the call so I was wondering."
"It's nothing, I've already dealt with it. Is that all? Goodnight."
"Wait—wait! Maybe we could...talk for a bit." your voice trailed off on the line.
Minju's entire body went still.
The kitchen suddenly felt far too quiet.
The refrigerator hummed softly somewhere behind her. The clock seemingly ticked on louder than it was before. And through the phone pressed against her ear, your voice waited carefully on the other side with one foot tapping against your floor.
Talk?
For a bit?
Her first instinct immediately set in and almost acted on its own.
No.
Absolutely not.
Because talking to you for "a bit" somehow always became twenty minutes of bickering, accidentally saying something she shouldn't have, laughing at things she pretended weren't funny, and hanging up feeling strangely lighter afterward.
Yet.
"What do you wanna talk about then?" Minju leaned one shoulder against the kitchen counter, narrowing her eyes at absolutely nothing.
"Prom's soon, maybe that."
Minju immediately regretted asking.
Because now the topic somehow materialized itself in front of her again.
Prom.
She was once again reminded of that stupid dance occupying half the school's collective brain cells. The same event everyone kept talking about like it was some life-changing cinematic experience instead of awkward teenagers renting fancy clothes to stand around under dim lighting and pretend they knew how to dance.
"That sounds terrible already," she muttered.
You laughed quietly through the phone. "You haven't even heard what I was gonna say."
"I heard enough."
She wandered slowly out of the kitchen and into the living room, phone tucked against her ear while her feet dragged lazily across the floor.
On your side of the call, you dropped onto the edge of your bed with the towel still hanging around your shoulders.
"So," you started carefully, "are you excited for it?"
"No."
"That answer came out way too fast."
She sank onto the couch eventually, curling one leg underneath herself.
"I just don't really get the hype," she continued. "Everyone's acting like it's some grand and magical ball. And everybody's going in their own carriages with big dresses and flashy suits."
"Were you just describing Cinderella?"
"Shut it."
You laughed again.
That stupid laugh.
Minju stared blankly at the ceiling while listening to it fade through the speaker.
A short silence settled between you afterward. It wasn't awkward, it was simply silence shared across the line.
It wasn't long before you broke it though.
"Do you already have someone you're going with?"
She heard the question a second too late and didn't know how to act.
"Why?" she asked carefully.
"I was just wondering. Because if you were—"
"No," she answered quickly, too fast to sound casual. "I'm not going with anyone."
From your side, your shoulders loosened from the tension forming in them before you even noticed.
"Really?"
Minju frowned immediately. "Why do you sound relieved?"
"I don't sound relieved."
"You absolutely do sound relieved."
"I do not."
"You do."
You let out an exasperated breath through the speaker. "Fine. Maybe a little."
Her stomach flipped so suddenly she nearly hated herself for it.
Minju pressed her lips together hard.
"But why were you asking?"
For once, you didn't dodge the question because across the city, sitting at the edge of your bed with damp hair and your heartbeat trying to punch through your ribs, you figured you had already come this far.
"Because I wanted to ask if maybe you'd go with me and maybe save me a dance?"
Everything inside Minju stopped.
Inside her chest was nothing for a moment, absolute silence for one terrifying second then it all came at once.
Heat rushed straight to her face so fast she physically covered her mouth with her hand despite the fact you couldn't even see her.
You continued before she could respond. Probably because you were panicking too now.
"Not like a huge thing or anything," you rambled quickly. "And I know you said you hate prom and dancing and basically joy itself but I just thought maybe since we'd probably end up talking to each other there anyway and we already know each other and you wouldn't have to deal with random people asking you and I just thought maybe it'd be easier if we went together and I'm talking too much now, aren't I?"
The silence that followed almost killed you before you faintly heard something from her.
A short breath, one where you weren't sure if she laughed, sighed or scoffed.
"Idiot..."
"W—what?" you replied.
Minju slowly lowered her hand from her mouth though the heat in her face refused to disappear.
Her heart was beating so loudly now that she didn't know what to do with it.
How was she supposed to respond to that?
She pressed her lips together harder.
"Okay." she finally said.
"What was that? What did you just say?" you replied quickly, fumbling over your words.
"I said okay, I'll go with you. It's not like I have anybody else. Dancing on the other hand, I'll have to think about it."
"...Wait seriously?"
The sheer disbelief in your voice made Minju's eyes roll over themselves.
"No, I just said yes for fun," she replied, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. "Obviously seriously."
"I thought you were gonna reject me."
"I almost did."
"Thankfully you didn't change your mind."
A laugh escaped you then, like you were finally able to laugh without weights over your shoulders.
And annoyingly enough, hearing it did something strange to her heartbeat again.
Minju reached up and pressed the back of her hand against her cheek.
It was still warm.
"So this means you're my prom date now?" you asked carefully as if you still didn't fully believe it.
"Don't say it like that."
"Like what?"
"Like..." she faltered immediately. "Like that."
You grinned despite her not being able to see it. "You're blushing, aren't you?"
"I hate you."
"That means yes."
"It means shut up."
Your laughter crackled through the speaker again, turning the quiet apartment into something softer around the edges. The living room no longer felt so hollow now. The ticking clock faded behind the sound of your voice.
Minju stared at the dark ceiling above her.
"So," you started again after calming down, "does this mean I get to know what dress you picked?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll see it at prom."
"Right, guess I'll just have to wait and see."
Minju hummed through the line.
You snorted quietly, changing the topic. "You know, I was actually trying to ask you earlier through text."
"Then you cowered away?"
"No, it's just that." you started, "I just thought that if you heard it come from me directly, you wouldn't think of it as me joking around."
Minju's expression softened before she could stop it
The teasing reply she already had prepared dissipated.
Because somehow, underneath all your awkward rambling and stumbling over words, she understood exactly what you meant.
If it came through text, she probably would have overanalyzed it.
If it came through text, she might have convinced herself you were joking.
Hearing your voice now in its slightly breathless and embarrassingly sincere way through the speaker, made it impossible to misunderstand.
"Well, are you?" she asked more as a rhetorical question than anything else.
"What? No—of course not."
Minju let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm glad you called and asked though."
"Well, technically you called first."
"It was an accident."
"There are no such things as accidents only—"
"I'm hanging up now."
"Okay, okay, fine." you replied with a groan. "So um...I guess I'll see you then?"
Minju tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she stared across the darkened living room.
"Yeah," she answered quietly. "I guess you will."
On your side, you leaned your head back against the wall behind your bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with the kind of stupid grin that would've absolutely gotten you ridiculed if Minju could see it right now.
"Cool," you replied, and somehow even that one word sounded too happy as you said it.
Minju rolled her eyes instinctively yet the corners of her mouth betrayed her again anyway.
"You sound ridiculous."
"You agreed to go to prom with me. I think I've earned sounding ridiculous."
"I could always back out."
"Yeah right."
A quiet scoff escaped her.
Her home felt less lonely with your voice lingering through the speaker, with the warmth still sitting stubbornly in her cheeks and with the realization that somewhere across the city, you were probably smiling like an idiot because of her.
Minju shifted on the couch, pulling her knees closer to herself.
"You better not step on my shoes during the dance," she mumbled.
Your laugh burst through the phone instantly. "So you are considering the dance."
"I said maybe."
"I'm counting that as a yes."
She hated how easily you answered that.
For a moment, neither of you spoke again.
Minju then glanced toward the clock and sighed through her nose.
"It's late."
"Yeah," you murmured. "It is. We should get some sleep"
Neither of you hung up immediately.
"Goodnight, Minju."
Her heartbeat stumbled again at the softness in your voice.
"Goodnight..." she pulled the phone away first.
The call ended and suddenly the house became quiet again.
Minju stared down at the dark screen in her hand for a long moment before slowly pushing herself off the couch and making her way back upstairs.
The hallway lights cast soft shadows across the walls as she walked, her phone still loosely held in her hand while her heartbeat stubbornly refused to settle down completely.
Back inside her room, the light escaped through the small gap she had left behind. On her table, the crocheted flowers remained beside her lamp beside the rest of her cluttered things exactly where she left them.
Minju glanced at them briefly before dropping onto the edge of her bed.
Prom still sounded exhausting.
The loud music.
The crowded gym.
The dancing.
She still thought most of it was overrated.
Yet for the first time since everyone couldn't stop talking about it, the thought of going didn't seem completely unbearable anymore.
Maybe there was finally a reason to look forward to it after all.
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