Third Wheeling For Dummies | on hold

fourteen

Next time they meet, it's at his house.

"This is a development."

"Yeah." Jungwoo nods slowly, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "It really is."

This is also the first actual sentence put together by either of them in a whole five minutes.

Jaesun stands awkwardly at the head of the room, next to his pin-ups, her arms folded at her chest and fingers tucked under her underarms. "I didn't expect this to end up this way."

He cracks a smile. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, not like any way you're thinking, but," She pauses, takes a look at his shoulders straining to hold in his silent laughter, and rolls her eyes. "Ha ha, hilarious."

"No; how'd you know what I was thinking?" He grins wider. "Nothing, don't answer that, actually."

"Well, but at least we've got this conversation rolling, so don't back out now." She warns, and gingerly sits down on the edge of his bed, looking like she's ready to take flight at the slightest provocation. "I honestly didn't expect you to invite me in, though."

The blond shrugs. "Me either."

There's another moment as they regard each other, and wonder what to say next.

"You have girl problems, don't you?"

Jungwoo stares at her, half in dumb confusion and half warily. "Isn't that something girls are supposed to have?"

"No, no, no, I mean the other kind of girl problem." She bites her lips, feeling her face burn as she clarifies her words. "The—uh—more...I don't know how to say it."

"It's okay, I get it." He rocks back and forth on his toes and heel, not sure how to reply. Yeah, they'd hit it off, and he admitted he was very much inclined to her, but there's a certain weird feeling about being in a bedroom that belongs to one or the other that just...requires getting used to. "Why though?"

"You didn't answer my question." Jaesun makes herself more comfortable now, touching the blue strands in her hair and crossing her legs. "You're so awkward, it's cute."

He gives a short laugh, sitting down on the other end of the bed and scrunching up his nose. "You're awkward too."

"Yeah, but it's more obvious with you that you have girl problems." She shrugs. "At least I can talk about how painfully, eternally single I am. All you do is your awkward little eye contact and strangely sweet—though surprising—gestures."

"It's validated." He turns his face away, not sure what he's saying. "And this topic isn't what I had in mind."

"Yeah, let's talk about this." She says, waving away his uncertainty. "I don't want to be that assertive or rude person but I'm pretty sure you're not into men. But then, you have this weird vibe that just..."

"I think I'm asexual." He frowns. "Though I'm not sure. I've never had any, you know, experience."

She pauses, takes in his still face and the way he has his hands resolutely in his lap. "Keep going."

Jungwoo looks at Jaesun, who looks back. "No."

"Yes." She nods eagerly, trying to coax him into doing something he doesn't want to. "Remember the Fresh?"

The mention makes him smile a little, against his will. "I didn't think you'd actually remember that. I mean, the name, not the supposed deal that I never really agreed to."

"You said 'okay'," She points out. "That means you agreed to it."

He looks away, and pads her way over to his side of the bed, perching on the side next to him. "There isn't much to tell."

She nods thoughtfully. "I can see why, really."

"Is that an insult?"

"No." She laughs. "Just an observation. All I really know about you is that you babysit Lucas's brothers, and that he's your best friend, that you eat alone or with Ten, and that you have a lot of free time because you have girl problems."

There's a hint of accusation in her tone, a trademark look paired with it. Jungwoo chews on his bottom lip.

Jaesun has her own way of speaking, and he is, by this time, pretty aware that she doesn't appreciate playing keep-away. It's not that he doesn't want to speak, it's just that he doesn't want to speak about this. They're very different, and it could be both a bad or a good thing, depending on how he takes it.

She's already raising her eyebrows at him.

"Hey, that's not fair," He says softly. "All I know about you is that you like punk music and Lucas's brothers like you, and that you are very single and wear weird clothes."

Jaesun looks self-consciously at her battered jeans and t-shirt. "Wait, is this weird?"

"It's relatively normal today." He shrugs. "Otherwise you have logo pajamas and leather jackets."

She squints at him, and then smiles. "So we've officially established the fact that we need to talk more."

He doesn't even hesitate. "I think."

"Okay." She pats the mattress. "Speak."

"About what?"

"I don't know. What can you talk about?"

He thinks. "My friends."

"Shoot, then."

He shoots.

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gsjdgkd i was cringing throughout this chapter i'll really need to edit this later

though i don't think anyone really reads this *looks at comments* yEAH buT i wouldn't be satisfied until i do so okay. their relationship is developing so slowly i'm getting slow burn but then, this is how it would be irl and I'M SORRY IF IT FEELS LIKE THAT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ALWAYS WELCOME

i love you guys,
Manx.