21 | "All I want is to protect you."

"Wow, look at them..."

"President Moon and Vice President Lee are dating? That's a first!"

"Guess they're really representing the 'enemies to lovers' trope now..." Alright, the first two were fine, but now that one? They need to shut up. I don't need the truth nor writing superficialities to smack me in my face right now.

This speculation, or rather, the rumors that are 100% true, had unsettled my heart a bit–not because I was dating him, but rather from the roasts and responses I'd be getting in return. Some were supportive, the majority was, because I think they believed that we'd be done cat-fighting, but others were unsure. I could see their glares and avoidant gazes out of the corner of my eye, even the obvious grimaces that made sure I'd look.

I feel him squeeze my hand to bring me out of my trance. "Hayoon?" He whispers, causing me to turn my head and face him. He grins, and I awkwardly chuckle. "I know what you're thinking. Don't let it affect you."

"I guess being friends for years pays off. You can see right through me."

"No, it's that annoyed look on your face. If you glared back at one of them, I'm afraid you'd get in a fight," I elbowed him in the hip and he caves with a laugh. "I'm sorry, darling! You know how much I love teasing you."

"I wish I didn't," We turned the corner, and eventually, I came face to face with a foe–or really, a friend. He holds his books close to his chest, but seeing us holding hands, it drops to his sides, and he glares at Heeseung. However, turning to me, his glare softens, and he looks down. He tries to go around us, but I grab his arm.

He sighs, perhaps knowing it was unavoidable. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk," I replied, making him roll his eyes. "I know you don't want to, but I feel like I deserve some kind of explanation–"

Sunoo shakes his hand out of my grip, scoffing soon after. "You don't deserve anything from me, Hayoon," Heeseung squeezes my hand again, almost letting go to handle Sunoo, but I continue to hold him close. I didn't need him to solve this problem for me–this was something I needed to handle between Sunoo and I. "I mean, what is there to say? That I love you? That I'm supposed to give up? I had been by your side for years, Hayoon. I was there when you were trying to come back to school for the first time. I was there."

I could tell he was hurt–but he was blinded by love, and not by friendship. I wasn't going to get through his thick skull while he was upset seeing us. "Time does not define relationships, Sunoo. Bonds are defined by different factors."

Aimlessly, he lifted his head back, a sarcastic smile etched on his face. Then, he stares, glancing between us. "Well, your relationship with him says otherwise."

And he shoves my shoulder, knocks me back slightly, and keeps walking. The sass sets a flame in my heart, and I turn around, facing his back. "Whenever you stop being a priss, let's talk! You're so annoying!"

For a moment, he stops–but eventually, he keeps moving.

"You should've let me handle him," Heeseung pouts when he faces me, patting down my hair. "But if I'm being honest with you, love, I feel bad for him."

"I do too, even when he's at fault," I huff. "He's just being sassy as always. I hope, eventually, he comes through, and realizes that he needs to look for other fish in the sea. Tell me, Heeseung, am I being annoying?"

He ruffles my hair, that big smile soon falling. "You're always annoying, Moon."

My jaw drops, and as he walks forward, I push him. "You suck, Lee!"

Heeseung and I sit in my room, the door slightly ajar for the safety of my father's heart. The window's open to vent all the embarrassment and tension out of the room, even as both stay close when he brushes wisps of hair behind my ear. In one of our hands is a banana milk we picked up on the way home, and occasionally, as we talked, I'd take a sip to calm my beating heart.

"Hey, Hayoon," Heeseung lays back on my bed, and I turn to face him. He beckons to his arm, which I lay back on. Soon, our noses are almost touching, and I swallow my words. Instead of speaking, I nod. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," I fully turn so that my arm can hold him around his hip. I could see his face flush red, but I held in my laugh to save him from embarrassment. 

"What was the reason you didn't come to school for a while? Did you really go abroad?" He asks, making me nod. "But people don't just go abroad for no reason... Do you want to talk about it?"

I feel his arm slither around my waist, trying to replace my arm that leaves his to play with the side of his shirt. I didn't want to say no, nor did I want to say yes. The event that traumatized me and my family could easily repeat in my mind, over and over, but I've been using all my willpower to push it back.

Heeseung could see the uneasy expression on my face. I glance up, seeing his frown, and eventually, I sigh. "I'm sorry–"

He shakes his head, rubbing the side of my body. His fingers dance against my shirt, but I could feel the loving taps on my skin. It made my skin tingle, ticklish a bit that I'd jolt every now and then. However, he was reassuring me that everything was fine. "You don't have to tell me now. I just hope you open up eventually," He whispers, soon kissing my forehead. "I don't want it to be a bad memory for you."

I didn't say anything, just continued playing with his shirt a little longer. "After all," He adds, making me stare. "All I want is to protect you, Hayoon."

I begin smiling at his words, my heart racing at the mention of my name in a lowly tone. He was being cautious because my parents could come into the room at any moment, scare us, and be surprised seeing us laying on one bed. However, Mom was a fan of our relationship, and Dad was scared of the outcome of barging in my room.

I scoot up to give him a chaste kiss, one after another, enjoying his soft giggles that come from his enjoyment of our display of affection. Sometimes, I reflect on the fact I told myself I'd never fall for this guy–but here we are.

He begins to deepen one of my kisses, the palm of his hand resting on my cheek. We scoot closer, my arm wrapping around him to stop myself from screaming into his face. Heeseung, if you ever hear me say something about this moment, please, turn a blind eye. I don't think this moment could get anymore sweeter, anymore queasy... than this.

"Hey, lovebirds!" I hear Mom call. "It's time for dinner!"

I shoot up, sitting 90-degrees on my bed. I hear his soft groan, a shout of "Coming!" from him so mom doesn't have to worry. His hair's a disheveled mess when he sits up, a snicker leaving his lips.

"You're a mess," He comments, making me whip my head at him and glare. He laughs once more, patting down my hair. "Yeah, you're a mess."

He stands up, yawning, checking the time on his watch. "I'm surprised your parents waited this long to eat. They must've made sure that we'd hang out a long time."

I cleared my throat in response, trying to hide the fact that when I told my parents this morning that we were dating and he was coming over, not to call for us until an hour or two after dinnertime. I didn't know they'd actually respect that.  "It's because you're our guest, and we don't know what time you eat. Anyway, let's just forget what happened! I did not kiss you, we did not kiss on my bed, nothing!"

He raises his eyebrows in amusement as I stand up, pacing slightly before sighing. "Nothing happened–!" I run right for him, and carefully, he wraps his sleeved arms around me, head moving down before capturing my lips in another kiss.

It's short, an estimate of five seconds before he breaks it.

When he sees my wide eyes and dazed reaction, He lets go. "C'mon, Moon. Let's go eat dinner," I hum, even as my jaw is dropped. "Oh, and now, I've found another thing to beat you up over: kissing. Checkmate, Moon Hayoon."

My jaw drops even lower as he walks out the room, leaving me in an even bigger, emotional mess than I was before. I scream into my palms, feet antsy as I stomp the floor to get rid of the butterflies floating in the pit of my stomach.

God, Heeseung... he's so cute.

I can't take this. One day, I'm going to beat him into a pulp for being so sweet. Ugh, men!