“Hey Y/N, what’s that on your neck?”

You reached up, instantly finding the rings that you’d kept since you were 10.

“Um, they’re rings?”

“Well duh, but are they for fashion? Or are they, like super symbolic of something important?”

Although, you’d been friends for years, you hadn’t ever really told anyone what they stood for. And if anyone, Mashiho would be one of the few people that you’d ever trust to tell.

“So, um, the two gold ones are my parents’ wedding rings...”

His smile immediately dropped, giving you the saddest and poutiest face he could. And as always, he was totally unaware of how cute he looked to you and that nearly every expression he had on made your heart flutter just a bit.

“KIM Y/N~! Why don’t you tell me these things?!! Why?!! What happened??? I mean- well, if you aren’t ready to tell what happened, then don’t. BUT I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IF YOU TOLD ME!! <3″

You just shrugged, trying to stifle a smile. Better that you tell him rather than your dumbass for a brother, Junkyu. He was the more emotional between the two of you and it always broke his heart every time he talked about it. For days at a time, he’d become a very quiet person who only communicated through nods and frowns. After all, it had been his eleventh birthday when it happened.

“Um... my dad found out that my mom had been cheating on him for the past six years with some guy she’d met at lawyer school, like a year or two back. So they kinda just got divorced and I stole the rings before anything bad could happen to them.”

“Oh my God...”

“And you know the necklace that Kyu gave you? That’s the ring my dad gave my mom when they first stated dating.”

He held the ring in his palm, completely frozen in a state of shock and awe.

“Wait... then where’s his ring from?”

“There’s actually two rings, but he put one away for safekeeping since he debuted, because he literally loses something every five seconds. But anyway, they’re our parents’ engagement rings. And the one he put in safekeeping is the one that he’ll give to the girl that he’s going to marry.”

“AHHHHHHHH!!! OHMYGOSH!!!!! THAT’S SO FREAKING CUTE!!!”

You laughed as Mashi literally rolled off the bed with the biggest smile on his face. Who knew that he was such a softie for cheesy love stories?

“Right? He’s so cringey...”

“BUT I LOVE IT!”

You lay down on the floor next to him, literally dying of silent relief and happiness. You had been highkey terrified of Mashi thinking that it was the stupidest thing that he’d every heard. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. Evidence? The 20-year-old was rolling around on the floor, giggling, and his smile never dropped from his face.

You sighed in relief, touching the silver ring that was between the two gold ones on your necklace. Suddenly, you felt a weight on your stomach and looking down, you found Mashi’s head resting there peacefully.

“MASHIHO!”

“YES?”

“GET YOUR HEAVY HEAD OFF OF ME!”

But as always, he never listens and he rolled over so that he was literally crushing you.

“MASHI~~! Get your ass off of me~!”

Despite your annoyed tone, your heart knew you way better. And it knew that you were struggling to keep the lovely, fluffy thoughts and emotions out. But you! You felt like every time you guys made the slightest bit of contact, a whole new you was born.

“Hey Mashi?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you ever... stop being friends with me?”

At your earth-shattering words, he just gawked at you. He had never thought that those words would ever come form you.

“Of course not! Why would you ever ask that?”

You just shrugged, trying to stay cool, calm, and collected. (A/N: me on every test...XD) But the poor boy rolled over again so that we was basically pinning you against the floor. You faces were so close, yet so far apart... But his remained indifferent besides the concern for your friendship that was written all over his face. Basically, what did you have?

However, you knew nothing about the huge war that was being waged inside of his heart. The only reason he had ever talked to you, on February 29, was because Mahiro was ready to kick his ass if he didn’t talk to the girl that he’s stared at since the day she arrived. It had been five years since then and the whole time, he had battled himself on whether he should ask you to be his girlfriend and risk losing his best friend.... or to hide away his feelings but get to spend time with the girl he loved.

“Why? Do you not want to be friends anymore?”

He was not about to let the five years he had spent battling himself go down the drain, just like that. No way in hell was that going to happen.

You, on the other hand, were having the exact same issue. But being the person that you were, you hadn’t started having stronger feelings for him until this year. After watching what had happened to your own parents, you’d never really opened your heart to anyone. And all of these thoughts trying to be interpreted by your brain was not being helped by the fact that Mashiho was literally inches away from you.

“Of course not! Why would I not want to be friends with you?!”

“Maybe because you’d want more...”

Despite saying it to himself, you obviously heard because your faces were obviously not that far apart. And it took everything you had in you to not squeal right then. This was the one time you actually had leverage against him.

“What did you just say?”

And immediately, he rolled away from you to stare at the ceiling instead, ears burning bright red. But his eyes gave him away, seeing as they were darting between you and the ceiling in total panic.

“Nothing..!”

“Don’t lie to me Mashi...”

“Don’t you ‘Mashi’ me! You know exactly what I said and you’re just teasing me about it right?!”

“Wrong. What do you mean by ‘more’ Mashi? What are you telling me?”

“You know! Be my, uh.. you know??”

“I don’t know. You have to tell me what you want.”

You knew you were really pushing it here and you had absolutely no idea where any of this confidence came from. But it obviously worked because with just those few words, the floodgates opened and he just poured out his heart.

“Y/N, I really really like you and I have for the past five years. The only reason I first talked to you was because Mahiro was going to kick my ass if I didn’t. So yeah, that’s my stupid, sappy, cheesy confession. I like you a lot and I haven’t done anything about it because I don’t want to lose what we have. ARe YOU HAPPY NOW?!”

And your heart completely died and your body tingled all over like there were butterflies all over it. But you were Kim Y/N. So you had to do it.

“Mashiho? I’m sorry... but I... don’t feel the same way.”