Noona [Ateez]

Something More Precious Than Me

[Author's note: please read the author's note at the end of this chapter!]

That Night

Zico's Point of View

Everything had built up to that moment. When I grabbed her small, delicate face in my hands and enveloped her lips with mine, I felt my heart melt inside my chest. I felt warm and fuzzy inside, and I shut my eyes tightly as I just tilted my head and moved my lips against her own.

For a few precious seconds, I felt whole. Like a space in my heart that had been so painfully empty had just been filled and I was finally complete. But then moments later, I was ripped away from her by the guy who thought he could take her from me, who then socked me right on my jaw. I was already drunk, so I lost my footing almost immediately.

Who the hell did this kid think he was?

I have loved Bosam for the past five years, patiently and painstakingly. I've seen her cry, I've made her laugh, I've held her and kept her company when she felt like the loneliest girl in the world, but more than all of that, I've held myself back for long enough. I never once tried anything back then because I respected her relationship. Then I kept my distance when seeing me would be too painful for her, as much as it killed me to not be able to see her, and only now that she finally actively tries to hang out with me and wants to see me, when she has started to get over her ex, do I feel like I've held back for long enough.

But then in comes this kid... disrespectful and uncaring of her boundaries. Taking advantage of her. Trying to steal her heart, when this was supposed to be my chance.

These were the thoughts that swam around my head as we glared at each other.

I heard Bosam gasp in horror and cover her mouth in shock. "Oh my gosh! Jiho are you okay?" She asked, dropping to her knees by my side. "Did you hit your head?" She asked, her gentle hands reaching to touch my head snapping me out of the burning anger against Yunho that was brewing in my mind.

When I glanced at her, she had that effect on me all over again: one look at her cute, concerned face and it was like the rest of the world disappeared. No thoughts, no problems, just Bosam. "I'm okay, Sam. He didn't hit me hard, I'm just drunk." I said mostly to reassure her, because honestly, the spot where that brat punched me was starting to throb.

"Are you sure? It looked like it hurt," she said, her small, pretty hand delicately brushing over the spot on my jaw where he had punched me, making me wince slightly. "Just a bit. I'm okay," I said, but her face told me she didn't believe me. Her eyebrows were knit together with worry, and then anger as she let my face go to look up at Yunho.

"What the hell?" She asked. She didn't raise her voice, but she didn't have to. It was still obvious that she was mad.

Yunho's eyes widened as he looked at her and pointed at his chest. "Me? You're saying that to me? Am I not allowed to be angry?" He asked. "Rowoon came into my room, scared, in the middle of the night, saying his mommy was gone. I called you so many times and reassured the baby that everything was okay and even helped him go back to sleep, but of course I couldn't go back to sleep because I was waiting for you to come back, or respond or– I don't know, anything but this!" Yunho said, rudely gesturing at us with one hand.

"You said he was just a friend," he continued, his eyes looking at her with a look of pain and betrayal. Bosam stood up. "Look Yunho... He is. Whether you believe me or not, up until tonight I never once thought of our friendship as more than that." She said, walking over to him.