The school was buzzing with excitement. Bright decorations lined the hallways, and colorful booths popped up all over the courtyard. Students rushed around in uniforms, costumes, and club shirts, preparing for the long-awaited school festival.
Jiwon stood in front of her class’s photo booth, tugging at the hem of her outfit—a cute floral dress paired with a flower crown. She didn’t even volunteer for this booth. Sunoo had signed her up.
“You look so pretty,” Sunoo beamed as he helped hang the last of the fairy lights. “Jungwon is going to combust when he sees you.”
Jiwon flushed. “Stop. He’s probably too busy with his own class’s haunted house.”
“Busy, yes. But not too busy to sneak glances at you every five minutes,” Sunoo teased.
Jiwon gave him a playful shove just as her phone vibrated.
Jungwon:
Meet me behind the gym later. I want to show you something.
Her heart flipped.
Jiwon:
Something scary?
Jungwon:
Depends. If you think I’m scary.
Jiwon:
I used to. When you sent me that ‘I’m cute’ text.
Jungwon:
I still am.
Jiwon:
Arrogant.
Jungwon:
Yours.
She stared at his last message, her lips curling into a slow smile. It was short. Simple. But it made her heart skip like it was in a hopscotch game.
-
Later that afternoon, Jiwon slipped away from her booth and walked toward the back of the gym. The school noise faded the farther she went, replaced by the soft rustling of wind and the faint music from the main stage.
She turned the corner and found him waiting.
Jungwon was still in his haunted house costume—a loosely buttoned white shirt with fake blood stains, his dark hair tousled and makeup slightly smudged. But when he saw her, his expression softened completely.
“You look…” he trailed off, blinking like he’d forgotten his words. “…unreal.”
Jiwon raised an eyebrow, pretending to examine him. “You look like you survived five horror movies.”
He laughed. “I’m glad you came. I wanted to get away from everything. Just for a bit.”
She sat beside him on the grass, cross-legged. “So… what did you want to show me?”
He hesitated, then pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “I found this. Do you remember our first message?”
Her eyes widened as he unfolded the page. It was a printed screenshot of their old chat:
Jungwon:
I'm cute.
Jiwon:
I'm cuter.
She let out a quiet laugh. “You printed that?”
“I wanted to keep it,” he said, eyes flicking to hers. “It was the first time I talked to you—even if you didn’t know it was me.”
A small silence settled between them. Then he asked, more softly, “Do you ever wish it happened differently?”
Jiwon turned to him. “No. Because if it did… maybe I wouldn’t have ended up liking you.”
Jungwon blinked. “You like me?”
She paused, then smiled faintly. “Yeah. I do.”
His expression froze, and then—
“Okay, wait—let me just—” He stood up, paced a few steps, turned around, then came back. “I thought you maybe liked me. Like... 60% sure. But hearing it? I don’t know what to do with myself.”
Jiwon giggled as he dramatically dropped to the grass beside her again.
“I was going to confess today,” he said, voice lower now. “For real.”
She tilted her head. “This doesn’t count?”
“I mean... this is better. But I still want to say it properly.”
He sat up straighter, turning to face her fully.
“Jiwon, I know we started off weird. A text. A game. A bunch of secrets. But somewhere along the way, I started looking forward to every message from you—even the ones where you ranted about your crush on me to me.” He laughed softly. “And I just want you to know… I like you. More than a little. More than just a silly dare.”
Jiwon stared at him, warmth bubbling in her chest.
“Then maybe,” she said slowly, “you should take me on a date. A real one. Where no one's in a costume.”
Jungwon grinned. “You mean like... normal people?”
She held out her pinky. “Deal?”
He wrapped his pinky around hers, his smile so wide she couldn’t look away.
“Deal.”
-
Back at the festival, the boys spotted them returning side by side.
Heeseung elbowed Jay. “Look at that. Our soft boy’s got game.”
Jake smirked. “Think they kissed?”
Ni-ki gasped dramatically. “In school?! Jungwon, I thought you were innocent!”
Jungwon groaned, dragging his hand over his face while Jiwon just laughed.
But this time, the teasing didn’t bother him at all.
Because for the first time in a long time… everything felt exactly right.
vote | comment | follow
YOU ARE READING
✓ 𝗜'𝗠 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗥. | enhypen .ᐟ yang jungwon
Fanfiction( 𝗜'𝗠 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗥 ) "One dare, one text, and a whole lot of feelings." --- It all began with a simple dare-one that led to an unexpected connection. Jiwon Park, a quiet transfer student, received a random text that read, "I'm cute." Thinking it was...
