"Why didn't you say anything? She was clearly bothering you."

Jeonguk turns to face me, fingers still paced within my own.

"She's my best friend, " I reply softly. "My only friend really."

He frowns, and then guides me to the couch where we sit together.

"Doesn't seem to me like a friend should make you uncomfortable, " Jeonguk replies, frowning slightly. "Not like that anyway."

I sigh, and nod my head.

"You're right, " I confess.

"Something happened between the two of you, didn't it?"

Again, I nod my head.

"It was about a year ago," I reveal warily, "I was dating this guy that I was honestly really into. He seemed so sweet, and caring. But of course, Lani noticed this too."

I take a moment to compose myself, trying my hardest not to cry over what I've often told myself is little more than spilt milk.

"Things started to get weird. Suddenly, he wasn't answering my calls, or he'd reply to texts hours later than he used to. And out of the blue, he just didn't seem to have time for me anymore. At the time, I was too naive to figure out what was going on, so I trusted him."

Against my will, my eyes begin to tear up.

"Even once Lani too begin to flake on me, I didn't connect the dots." I pause for a moment, wiping my eyes in a desperate attempt to dry them. "It wasn't until one day, when I let myself into Lani's apartment because I was concerned about her, that I finally figured it out. The two of them had been sleeping with each other behind my back for months. Since then I haven't been able to date. I was too afraid of it happening again."

"Is that why you never properly introduced us?"

His question strikes me mute and dumbfounded. I hadn't even thought about it, I'd been so wrapped up in Jeonguk. And honestly, maybe a part of me just wanted to keep him all to myself.

But I can't shake the uneasiness that fills me up as I realize that, subconsciously, I probably was afraid to introduce him to Lani.

"Noona, " his voice is soft, and filled with compassion. "You don't have to worry about that with me, I promise. I know it might be hard to trust after such an experience, but I only like you. I wouldn't betray you like that."

For a moment, I am caught off guard. Not because I don't believe him, but rather, because I do.

Honestly, as crippling as his shyness was towards even me, I have a hard time imagining Jeonguk even really talking to other women. And I have to admit, that even if he wasn't cripplingly shy around women, Guk doesn't strike me as the unfaithful type.

"I know you won't Guk, " I say, smiling softly despite the wetness on my cheeks.

The smile that he gives me in return melts my heart, and leaves my stomach in knots. He's just so beautiful when he smiles, and it makes me want to protect that smile. Makes me want to ensure that he can always smile, just like this.

I yelp in surprise as Jeonguk's free hand grabs me by the arm and pulls me into his lap. Astonished and beet red, I look down at Jeonguk's smiling face and realize that perhaps we've made more progress than I even realized.

Instead of that sweet, innocent bunny smile that he usually gives me, Jeonguk is smirking. Clearly he is enjoying my embarrassment.

"What are you doing?" 

My voice is breathless, and high pitched with discomfort.

"I really want to kiss you noona, " he whispers softly.

The smirk which has thrown me so off guard is now fading as insecurity begins to set in. I can see it in his eyes, the way that they change alerting me to the fact that my Guk is still there underneath these bouts of incredible confidence.

Suddenly, he is embarrassed and red right along with me, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if I placed my head against his chest I'd probably discover that his heart is beating just as rapidly as my own. His large, brown, doe-like eyes can't seem to look away.

But then again, I can't seem to look away either.

With a soft smile, I lean forward and press my lips to his, heart racing about a hundred miles an hour. My hands, clenching the fabric of his shirt so tightly that my fingers nearly hurt, can feel the way his own heartbeat is fluttering against his own chest.

I smile softly against his lips, it seems I was right.

It feels like such a long time that we sit there, just like that, lips pressed chastely together and hearts beating together as one. But then, to my surprise, Jeonguk growls in evident frustration.

My hands latch onto the first thing I can find purchase in, his silken, golden-pink hair. I sigh as his lips overcome my own, as his will washes over me.

Like flower petals, his lips are soft, silky even. And there is something there, like a lightness in my chest as he continues to assault my senses. In the back of my mind, I register that he smells like coconut, and realize that he must have used my shampoo again.

My heart leaps in my chest, and I am overcome with overwhelming fondness for the boy beneath me.

"Noona, " he moans softly, breaking away from the kiss to bury his face into my neck. "What have you done to me?"

From this angle, I can't see his face. But the tips of his ears, glowing brightly red, give him away.

"I could say the same, " I reply, with a voice far more husky than I've ever heard come out of my own mouth.

In my embarrassment, I shift my weight, attempting to let myself off of Jeonguk's lap. But his hands grasp my hips firmly, and he nearly whimpers, pushing his hips up and against me subconsciously with half lidded eyes full of desire.

"I want you noona."