#jm:f

[16:40]

you place a hand to your chest, pursing your lips as you take in a deep breath. it’s d-day. you’re finally going to be honest about your feelings towards jaemin. you’re finally going to be upright about things and tell him how you feel.

in contrast to the heavy burden you feel on your shoulders, your footsteps are relatively light as you make your way to the locker area where jaemin would be. you’ve rehearsed this countless of times in your head - you’re going to go up to him, and you’re going to ask if he wants to know a secret you’ve been hiding for a while now. sounds childish, yes, but you’re not going to walk up to him and just blurt out that you like him.

just as you round the corner, you see jaemin leaning against his locker, engrossed in a conversation with jeno and renjun, his smile still as charming as the first time he’s ever used it on you. you lick your lips, taking in one more breath to brace yourself. you need to make an excuse to get him away from the boys.

“hey,” you greet, giving a small wave and a smile to the three of them. jaemin turns and immediately makes eye contact with you, his smile widening. just as you arrive beside him, he brushes his fingers against your arm; it’s the way he’s always greeted you. when he first started doing it, it made your body tense up and your heart skip multiple beats. now, you’re kind of used to it, but it still makes you flip and flop on the inside. “i have something i’m dying to ask you,” you whisper, only audible enough for jaemin to hear. he nods his head, acknowledging with, “in a bit.”

“good, you’re here,” renjun says, pushing jeno forward, “jeno’s in a dilemma. if two people like each other, don’t you think they should just get together?” you open your mouth, about to give your input, but jaemin beats you to it.

“i don’t have to date someone just because i like them. i’d be happy just being friends with the person,” jaemin shares, shrugging his shoulders. jaemin glances at you - that’s exactly how he feels. he likes you, but he doesn’t know if you feel the same way too. so, at least for now, he’s happy enough to just be friends with you.

you feel your heart drop slightly at jaemin’s opinion. isn’t that already considered an indirect rejection?

“it’s a real shame nobody asked for your opinion,” renjun says sarcastically, turning to look at you. “we want to know what y/n thinks,” he says, looking at you expectantly. you force a smile, “i’d want for the both of us to be honest with our feelings. if the person likes me, i’d want them to tell me honestly, just like how i’d want to tell them about how i feel, too. when that happens, dating becomes the natural option, no?” jaemin raises both brows at your statement - is this supposed to be a sign?

renjun throws an arm over your shoulders, declaring proudly, “see? i told you we can always trust y/n to have the correct opinions.”

you give a pursed smile. “um, i got to go,” you say, looking up at jeno, “good luck with your crush,” you encourage, turning around to take your leave. you’ve only taken a few steps forward, but a warm hand holds you back by the wrist. you turn around, and jaemin’s looking at you, smile still as sweet as ever. “wait, are you really going to leave without asking me the question you’ve been dying to ask me?”

how are you supposed to do what you planned on doing knowing that jaemin doesn’t think he’d get together with the person he likes?

“it’s nothing,” you tell him, retracting your hand.

jaemin has made up his mind. since you’ve made it clear that you’d want the person to be honest about their feelings, that’s exactly what he’s going to do.

“then i have something i want to tell you,” he says, reclaiming your hand in his. he soothes the back of your palm with his thumb, smiling nervously. “i like you, y/n. i like you a lot.”

you gulp. is this real? is this actually happening right now?

jaemin chuckles, trying to release the nerves as he says, “i like you so much, i could kiss you right now.” your heart is thumping so hard that you’re almost sure jaemin can hear it. he raises a brow expectantly, “your answer?” he asks.

the bell rings, signifying the end of yet another lecture. it was your second one for the day, but you still had another two more to go, before you could leave campus.

given that you had stayed up the entire of the previous night just to get your group assignment done, you were low on energy and needed all the extra boost that you could get. slinging your bag over your shoulder and holding the remainder of your textbooks in hand, you decided to head towards a vending machine for an instant coffee fix.

you huffed, hugging the textbooks tightly as you scrambled through your bag, trying to find some change. you groaned in frustration, “where the heck are the coins when i need them most?!” you whisper-yell, deciding that this wasn’t going to work out.

just as you were about to bend down to place your textbooks on the ground so that you had both hands free to dig for change, your nose picks up the familiar scent that is telling of who is approaching, as he grabs your textbooks out of your hold, relieving you of your burden. you look up to meet eyes with the boy.

jaemin flashes a sweet smile at you, leaning himself against the vending machine as he waited for you to find the change you desperately needed.

“maybe you could give me some change instead of just standing there like that,” you say, still looking for your coins that you swear you had somewhere in your messy bag. jaemin’s smile does not fade as he raises a brow, lifting the textbooks up a little as though to gesture your attention towards them. “i’m already holding these for you, aren’t i?” he replies.

you roll your eyes, pulling out your wallet.

“besides, i like the view,” he says, sending you a wink.

you roll your eyes a second time, slotting the coins into the machine as you watch the buttons start to light up once you inserted enough coins. you press the coffee of choice, “do you want one?” you ask. jaemin shakes his head, “we can share.”

“sorry but i need all the caffeine i can get,” you say, already preparing the next set of coins for a second cup of coffee. jaemin places his hand over yours, inching his face closer as he says, “we can always make out when you’re done with your coffee, so that i can get my coffee fix too. you know, to save some money.”

you glare at jaemin, a smile uncontrollably spreading across your lips at his antics.

“dork,” you say, gently pushing his face away to retrieve your coffee from the machine.