In Between Worlds | Lee Juyeon x Reader

Chapter 19:

"Do you agree, Miss Hightopp?"

Chessur asks, raising his eyebrows at me as the others turn around to look back at me. I take a deep breath, clutching the sleeves of the coat in nervousness before giving them a single nod. The door later creaks open as Nivens enters the living room.

Is it already time to go back?

"Y/N! We have to go! Time is ticking and everyone is spinning!"

The white rabbit says, pointing furiously at his pocket watch as I gasp. I turned around to see Juyeon, still staring blankly at somewhere else as I walked towards him.

"Hey... I promise I'll come back."

I say, placing my hand on his shoulder as he fixates his eyes on me. The cat caresses my hand softly, smiling at it before turning to look at me once more. I felt myself shudder at what he did. Why does everything just feel so different now? Why did I feel my heart skip a beat?

Why can't I look at Juyeon the same way again?

"I know you will."

Juyeon says, taking my hand in his as he lets out a sigh before letting go. I stared at him for a while, feeling the need to stay as Nivens suddenly took my wrist.

"We must go."
"Alright."

I answer, facing the white rabbit as the two of us make our way to the exit of the house. The feeling of guilt still lingered in my head. I knew that I've never seen that look on Juyeon's face before and as much as I wasn't sure of what he's feeling, it just didn't sit right with me.

Did he want me to just stay?

As Nivens and I both walked the woods, he started to form small conversations once again. Maybe the awkwardness between us will decrease if we talked more.

"He seemed attached to you."

The white rabbit says as I look down at him, furrowing my brows.

"Who?"
"Juyeon, the nicer cat."

It was surprising that Juyeon was known as the nicer cat but he did turn nicer when I pleaded with him to act less uptight and pushy before.

"Well, I consider him as my best friend so I guess, we're close."

I giggle at the sudden memories of going to school with Juyeon and his weird antics. He can be really silly a lot of times and it's one of the things that make me feel happier. Nivens nods in response, probably understanding why the two of us are extremely close.

"You do know that there might be a possibility, right?"
"What possibility?"

I ask, tilting my head as the white rabbit stops from walking. Is this conversation about to go deeper than my friendship with Juyeon? God, I don't want to think of that yet. I know I'm not ready for deeper things, especially the future.

"That Juyeon adores you in a way that a lover would."

The rabbit answers as I gulp, widening my eyes in shock. I've never thought of that. Is there a possibility that Juyeon will like me more than this? I don't know. It's just not possible. Juyeon is the type to like someone who has a higher position in life. Maybe to Underlandians, I'm the daughter of their hero but to Juyeon, I'm just his best friend. I'm just never going to be someone's ideal person when it comes to dating and it's kind of upsetting but that's just how life is.

"No way that he's going to feel that way."
"How are you so sure, then? You never know what the future has for you."

He says with a rather playful tone as I shake my head, finding the rabbit quite funny. The view of the Salazen Grum later appeared in front of us as we both ran towards the entrance, making our way back as fast we could so that no one noticed anything suspicious. I didn't even practice my vows back there. Maybe if I act as emotional as I could be during the wedding, it might seem convincing.