Don't wait for me

Episode 8 - Are we dating or not

On the third day Yujeong had been spacing out, after class ended, Taehyeon casually grabbed Yujeong’s sleeve among the students drifting out of the classroom.

“Lee Yujeong! Talk to me for a minute.”

“Talk about what?”

“Come with me.”

“Not here?”

“It has to be just the two of us.”

“...Okay.”

Yujeong was honestly excited. But she was still confused.

So she kept her distance from both Ji-hye and Taehyeon.

In the alley behind the school, Taehyeon and Yujeong stood facing each other at less than a meter apart.

Taehyeon lowered his head slightly, so she couldn’t see his expression.

Yujeong felt uneasy, but deep down she was happy.

“Why did you call me…?”

“What do you mean, why did I call you…”

Taehyeon lifted his head and put a hand on Yujeong’s shoulder, gently pushing her against the wall.

‘Too close…’

“You said you like me.”

“Y-yeah, but back up a little.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

Taehyeon moved closer and closer to Yujeong.

 

“I-I wasn’t avoiding you.”

“You were avoiding me.”

“No, you’re the one who’s being weird.”

“...Because I’m worried.”

‘Huh?’

Yujeong looked at Taehyeon in surprise.

“You? ...haha, it’s not like you like me or anything, so what’s that supposed to mean?”

Contrary to Yujeong’s words, her heart was beating like crazy.

“So are you going to give up on me?”

“W-what? N-no, I... I don’t know... whether I really like you.”

“Then go out with me.”

“What?”

“Date me first, then decide.”

At those words, all of Yujeong’s years of fangirling flashed before her eyes like a panorama.

The moment she was briefly happy the first time she saw Taehyeon, the moment she went to an idol concert for the first time in her life to see Taehyeon, the moment she met so many wonderful people there, and so on…

“You... don’t like me, though. Why would you say something like that when you don’t even like me? Do you... understand how I feel?”

Her words came faster than she could think. Even Yujeong herself didn’t know why she was saying that. If her bias asked her out, wouldn’t that be a super happy thing?

“You... say things like that so easily?”

Tears fell from Yujeong’s eyes. Taehyeon looked at her in surprise, then pulled her into a tight hug.

Holding her, Taehyeon answered.

“It wasn’t easy for me to say. Just like you said you didn’t know whether you liked me, I’m not sure either whether I like you. But even so, I can’t stop thinking about you, and I get worried if I don’t see you. I don’t know when it started, but at some point, that’s just how it was.”

Listening to Taehyeon’s soft, careful voice as if he were comforting her, Yujeong stopped crying.

Taehyeon also stepped back.

“So, will you go out with me?”