𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘-𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗘﹕ni-ki

－ 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄

Third person.

Because of the unfortunate incident that happened yesterday, Ni-ki and Yunmi have not spoken a word to each other, ignoring each other even today. While the girl was still too embarrassed to act like it never happened in front of him, the boy, on the other hand, was having more difficulty dealing with his feelings, towards her.

"Do you now have a crush on Yunmi?"

Sunoo's question replayed in his mind over and over again. He wasn't supposed to be affected by the answer he gave but saying "no" felt such a lie. But he said the truth, didn't he? He does not like Yunmi.

And yet his heart says otherwise.

As for Yunmi, she promptly went straight to class after that. She was a blushing mess and that didn't stop her classmates from giving her teasing remarks to make it worse.

The good thing is, she succeeded in deleting the seven photos of her sleeping with a mustache and tiny doodles drawn on her face. The bad thing? She hasn't stopped thinking of Ni-ki's face so close to hers. How it felt surreal because it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

She was aware of the fact that the boy had many admirable features, like his moles, precisely the one on his chin. He has siren eyes and sharp details that give off his intimidating aura. Yunmi knows this like everyone else does but seeing his face up close for the first time made her admit how- as much as she hated to agree- breathtakingly handsome he is, ridiculously.

"No! I will never have a crush on Choi!..." Perhaps he wasn't aware of raising his voice too much that Yunmi and a few people heard it loud and clear.

"Tsk, I will never like you too." That's good, the feelings are (not) mutual.

━━━━━

Kicking pebbles on the ground on his way home, Ni-ki entered the house kicking off his shoes. He saw Nari in the living room, laying on the couch while watching the tv.

Ni-ki went to the kitchen, looking at the pantry for any snacks available.

"Hey, I bought donuts a while ago. Check the fridge." Nari walked in, leaning on the counter. Her brother nodded and brought out the box of donuts from the fridge, opening it as the two siblings share.

They ate in comfortable silence. Ni-ki's fingers danced on the marble counter, unaware of the glances his sister was sparing at him per second. As if Nari wanted to tell him something she shouldn't think so.

Although, she did nevertheless.

"Hey, do you like someone?" Nari asked bluntly, trapping Ni-ki right on the spot with the same question he's been asked since yesterday.

Ni-ki dropped his donut before he could take another bite, frozen for a second while he looked at her bewilderedly.

"Do you? As of the moment?" Nari prodded him to answer. Ni-ki's eyebrows knitted together and hesitantly shook his head rapidly.

"Why are you suddenly asking me that? Out of nowhere?" Ni-ki retorted, attempting to hide his cheeks going slightly red.

"Oh, you know, just wanted to see how you'd react." Nari replied ironically, smiling in mischief.

"So nice of you, never do that again." Ni-ki said with full sarcasm.

"I think your reaction confirms that you do like someone, though." Nari snapped her fingers as Ni-ki shot her a grimace.

"Oh my gosh! Who is it? Come on, tell me!" Nari clasped both his hands in hers, to which Ni-ki quickly yank it back.

'Please tell me this is just a coincidence. My friends didn't tell you anything of what happened today, specifically about Yunmi, did they?' Ni-ki wanted to say but realized that it would only make Nari even more curious, and then it would make this thing worse.

"Nobody, okay? I don't like anyone. How is that so hard to understand?"

Nari shook her head unconvinced. An exasperated growl left Ni-ki's mouth and looked away from her.

"I don't know, brother...." Nari eyed him suspiciously. Ni-ki had enough and flicked the crown of her head.

"Ouch, hey! Have you forgotten I'm older than you?!" Nari exclaimed.

"Your 'older sibling card' is no use in the situation." Ni-ki said flatly.

"Fine! Whatever." Nari snarled. Ni-ki stood up planning to end the conversation on the spot until she stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Okay, okay, but in all seriousness? If you're confused about whether you like a person or not, then go listen to what your heart says. Don't choose to be in denial, it only shows how much of a coward you are. Give it a chance and confess, before someone else takes them away from you." Nari said in one go, winking at him afterward.

Ni-ki stared at her, trying to comprehend where she'd get that. As if she actually knows something of what's going on with him and [redacted]. Ni-ki shook his head, looking like he disagrees, but he was only shaking his thoughts off.

"Aish, you're creeping me out!" Ni-ki yelled and yanked his arm from her before quickly leaving the kitchen.

This must be all a coincidence.

━━━━━

Yunmi. Choi. Yunmi.

The name and the image of her have been running inside Ni-ki's mind for hours. He was doing homework in the middle of the night, his pencil spinning in his hand while struggling to concentrate because he swore how many times he had accidentally written her name on the paper.

"This is hopeless!" Ni-ki cried out, slumping on his chair. Maybe this math problem is also going through his head, which adds more to his problems.

But Yunmi can help him with this. She helped him once when they were both in detention. That exact day when they ran through the rain, coming over to his house soakingly wet from head to toe. She ate dinner with his family, and even though it was awkward at first, it was nice to see her get along with his mom and sister pretty well. They like her a lot.

Ni-ki didn't know why he was currently reminiscing that day. From worrying about his feelings and crying about his homework to smiling at himself while looking back on one of the best days. All because of Yunmi.

And then he realized, that days with her are always wonderful, always memorable. The feeling of comfort was always with her, may it be by her voice, her wide smile, or even joking remarks and horrendous laughs. As long as he's with Yunmi, he's happy.

It was strange that Ni-ki was not like this with Jungwon or the rest of the circle, not with anybody. With Yunmi, it's different. Something that defines them more than being frenemies.

Ni-ki heaved a sigh and closed his eyes.

"Yunmi, what are you doing to me?"

━━━━━━━━━━

I did not just gag while
writing this- I just don't
know anything about liking
someone at all 💀

Also writing a new story
coming soon!! I think.