MONSTER || Hwang Hyunjin

Chapter 23

You stare at your phone, contemplating whether to send a text message you had written and deleted over and over again.

After thinking about it on repeat for days, you still weren't exactly sure of what to say to Hyunjin. The kiss you shared with him had left you somewhat confused and even a little anxious to be honest.

Did you like him?

Well, yes. You liked him a lot.

In a romantic way?

For some reason... the answer to that didn't seem so black and white.

You've pondered on how Hyunjin's always been there for you ever since you had met him that strange night—the night when a shadowy figure lurked and followed you to the library.

And then that same psycho (at least you're convinced it's the same one) decided to return and knock you unconscious inside your dorm. It truly was one of the most horrific things you've ever experienced and it left you feeling distraught and paranoid, especially after the police had refused to believe your "fabricated" story. And just when you started wondering if you really had lost your mind and began questioning your own memories, Hyunjin had shown up and...

And he listened.

You had cried getting everything off your chest that day. It was so unlike you to unload and vent like that in front of someone you barely knew at the time, but... it meant a lot he happened to be there in your time of need, listening to what you had to say without judgement.

And ever since then, Hyunjin was someone you began trusting. You found yourself wanting to be friends with him. Despite some of the bumps along the road, you got along fairly quickly and you valued that because it wasn't easy for you to make new friends in college.

It's strange; the more you thought about him, the more muddled your feelings became. You struggled to make sense of your own jumbled emotions and the unknown scared you.

Changed scared you, too.

But one way or another, you know you have to talk to Hyunjin. He's given you space and has never asked for an answer since he had confessed, but leaving things in limbo like this was only worsening your anxiety.

You press your lips together as the grip on your phone tightens.

With a surge of courage, you're finally able to hit 'send' and simultaneously let go of the breath you've been holding.

┌ ————————1:03pm——————-—┐
[You]
                                         Can we meet today?
└————————————————————┘

◈ ◈ ◈

It's overcast and snowing that evening.

You scurry down the sidewalk peeking at the time on your phone before shoving it inside your coat pocket. Great, you were already minutes late meeting Hyunjin. Feeling the need to rush, you set aside your jitters about seeing him and begin breaking into a light jog. Your eyes busily scan the surroundings for the cafe he said he'd wait at.

I'm positive it should be right up ahead—

Your arm suddenly collides into someone walking in the opposite direction and it throws off your gait. Instinctively, your foot moves to steady your balance, but instead the damn foot catches on a patch of ice and it slides forward. There's that momentary panic as you feel yourself hurdling back ungracefully towards the concrete below you.