I bite my lips, taking advantage of this, I toy with my tongue piercing and graze my teeth with it, then I make eye contact with her to catch her red-handed. She throws her eyes on something else as if she was suddenly shy, resting her jawline on her hand as if her head was too heavy. I do not lose confidence but leave my focus on her features, and I wait for her eyes to come back where they were.

I cannot lie about the fact that I miss the intense eye contacts we used to have every day, now we talk, we hang out, and we tease each other, but eye contact is way more infrequent.

A smile curves the corner of her lips up after a few seconds, knowing that I am staring at her and nothing or no one else. She glances back at me, and I do not permit myself to be a coward, so I make sure that my look is penetrating enough to cause her some shyness.

"Did you notice that we're matching today?" she avoids the main reason why we are both silent and brings up a random topic, and I cannot help chuckling at how cute I find it. "Hm. We are. We're soulmates," I say it as a joke, doing it the same way I would do it if it was Hojun.

The sentence she must not have expected to hear affects her reaction, and she titters. "You sound like those crazy people who believe they're connected to their celebrity crush because they have the same habits."

"I know, I'm delusional," I sigh out of despair, and she smiles but maintains eye contact. "And I'm joking, okay? Don't take it seriously. I'm not as crazy as you are."

"I'm not crazy, you're just normal, you're boring," she never misses to succeed at punching me with her comebacks, and my throat let the bitter saliva run down. I smirk, not even knowing how to reply to this aggression.

I pretend to be okay with this and look away to stretch and feel my back crack. "You're lucky we're in a restaurant," I breathe out in a sharp manner and set my eyes back on her, but she defies me by not breaking the exchange of looks. "Or else what?"

I drop my eyes to her lips to make it obvious I am being playful, and I lean back on the seats to tug my hands in my pockets. "You wouldn't want to know," I purposely let a vague answer out to create some curiosity inside her, and she takes her jacket off but comes closer. "I do want to know. I'm not scared of you."

"You aren't?" I show skepticism and confidence, but she confirms what she stated, peeking down at my lips that are parted as I cannot help moving my piercing over my teeth. "Why were you begging me earlier then?"

She does not find the right words this time but only smiles, and she leans forth but touches my thigh with her knee. "I wasn't begging, okay?" she lowers her voice. "And don't say that out loud."

"Why? Is there a problem with saying that you were begg—" a hit in my thigh erases the sound of my voice that I turned up to not do as told, and we both laugh like idiots. "Shut up."

"Don't tell me what to do, little baby," I remind her of her age, grasping this opportunity to call her baby. "I'm not a baby! We're both the same age."

"We're not, I'm older than you, and I'm taller," I point out what is unrated to this argument, and she mentions it. "Height has nothing to do with it."

"I know, but I still want to tell you," I brush this rude answer off, and the only emotion she expresses is amusement. Nothing like irritation that could be felt because of how I act.

I know I tend to be a bit immature and annoying when I like or am in love with a girl, but I cannot control it, no matter how hard I try, I always end up regretting some things I unconsciously did in the spur of the moment.

"Whatever," she holds her jacket near her body, and she looks away from me.

I know I should not, I know I should control myself, but I just crave for her attention so much that I cannot do anything about how this makes me feel and act.

"Where did you buy your chain?" I talk about this gold one with a heart pendant that rests over her black hoodie, and she peeks down at it to hold it up. "It's a gift from my best friend."

"Your best friend? Is she here?" I hope to not be too nosy, and she lets me know more about this. "It's a 'he'," she corrects me, and I hide the fear this just engendered.

No jealousy, I cannot feel that when she is not even my girlfriend.

"And no, he's not here," she answers the question. "He lives in another city."

"Oh," I run my fingers through my hair to pull them back, not interested in knowing more about him. He must be the guy who always leaves a comment on each of her posts with a red heart on it.

"And what's his name?" I cannot hold back. I need to know if he indeed is the one I think he is. "His name is pretty similar to yours, it's Junghoon," she finds it cool while I do not. I cannot because I just got the confirmation that he is the guy who calls her 'honey' and leaves his damn red hearts on her posts. "Oh, yeah...And, like, are you both very close?"

"Yeah, I mean, like best friends are," she does not get the meaning of my sentence, so I contain the frustration inside to not go too far and be interrogative again. "Good...That's great to have someone there for you, even if he's far away."

"Yes, even if there is some distance, I know he'll always be here for me. He's the greatest and most kind-hearted person I've ever met," she speaks highly of him, not aware of how insecure it makes me feel.

That ruined my meal that has not even started.

"What about you though? I saw your chain the other day as well," she returns the question. "I just bought it because I liked it, nothing special."

"Oh, and since you talked about my best friend," she changes of position to direct her body towards mine. "I noticed that you're very close to Hojun, are you, like, you know...? More than best friends?" she misunderstands our relationship, and I uncontrollably laugh at it. "Hell no. I'm not gay. We just have no shame."

"Ah, okay, because I often see the comments he leaves under your posts, and it sometimes can be mistaken for flirt or something like that. "I know, but we just piss each other off, it's never serious. He sometimes also says some things just to mimic Gayoon because he knows she's always checking my pictures."

"He seems fun to be with," she laughs in a whisper, but the sound of this sentence does not echo well on my head. "So I'm not. Is that what you're implying?"

"No! That's not what I meant, don't act dumb," she reassures me, and I take it with delight. I am pitiful, but at least, I admit it. "That's what I meant when I asked you if you're close to your best friend though," I fly my hand up to my neck to rub it. "By 'close' I meant 'intimate'," I make fast to not miss this luck.

"Oh, no. Not at all," she shakes her head and makes it pretty clear. "We're close, but there are no romantic feelings. Like, you know, sometimes you can feel some tension between two best friends, there's some ambiguity, but here, I know that I'll never catch feelings, we're like brother and sister. Nothing more."

"Ah alright, I see," I feel some relief, but still cannot help being doubtful.

•••

"This is so delicious, I cannot remember the last time I ate something that good," I chew on the warm beef, feeling some bliss the more I am consuming it. "I told you, this place is amazing after a long and stressful week," she fills her mouth with more meat and salad, both eating like hungry people.

"Try the dumplings too," she picks one up with her chopsticks and brings it to my mouth, and I open my mouth to let her feed me to taste what I forgot about.

"Damn, these are so good too," my body reacts as if I had been starving for weeks, and she smiles. "I knew you would like it," she moves the dish towards me to let me have more, and I swallow what is in my mouth to take another one, then drink my beer. "Do you want some?" I hold it near her, but she refuses. "No, thanks. I'll want more if I start."

"Good idea then, I don't want to have to order more and then carry you to your room," I sip more on it before putting it down, and she chuckles. "What if this happens one day?" she chews on the piece of meat she took, and she locks eyes with me, but her lips attract all my attention to them with how swollen and red they became. "I'll throw you on your bed, and you'll owe me something."

"Why throwing? You could lay me down on it in a gentle manner, cover my body with my blanket, give me a goodnight pat on the head, then leave my room? Is that too much to ask for?" she takes offense, but since I know it is fake, I scoff. "Uh. Girl. I'm mean. Did you forget?"

"Oh, true," she moves her head down, her brain working again. Without saying anything, I grab a dumpling and move it to her face, but she does not even find it weird or try to retreat, she leans forth to take it in her mouth, so I pull it down to tease her and see her shut her lips around air.

My stupid self chuckle, silently, and she complains but wraps her hand around my wrist to keep it still and eat the dumpling. "I'm going to sleep like a baby with all this food," I cannot wait to be in my bed and rest like I have not done for a while, and she giggles. "Same. It's going to feel so good."

•••

I leave the restroom after washing my hands and look for the table I was at with y/n, but I notice that she is not there anymore. I check around me wondering if she went to the restroom without telling me, but as soon as I stumble upon her at the doors, I frown and make my way towards her.

"Did you pay?" I get her eyes on me, the sound of my voice doing the job. "Yes, we can go if you're ready."

"Are you kidding me? How much was it?" I do not accept this, not liking the fact that she is the girl, and she is the one paying. "It doesn't matter," she shrugs and opens the door for us, and she steps out, but I make it quick to stand before her. "Tell me how much the check was. I'm the one who has to pay, not you."

"And why is that? I'm the one who invited you," she lets the door close behind her and hides her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. "But I don't care, I'm the man. The girl should never pay."

"I hate this type of thought. Just because you're the man doesn't mean you have to pay, and most men just do it because they think they have to, even if they don't want to, which is useless. So I don't need that," she asserts herself and already heads back to the university, getting upset.

"But at least let me pay for my food then, I feel bad as fuck for making a girl pay for me," I keep my phone in my hand to be ready to transfer the money, but she does not listen to me. "You didn't make me pay. I did because I wanted to."

"Give me your bank account number," I open the application and scan my fingerprint to log in, but she shakes her head to send me packing. "Hey," I grab her arm to stop her, and I halt her way with my body. "You give me the number right now. I'm not joking. I don't let anyone pay for me. You already bought food for me today, this is enough."

"I like to pay for others, there's no need to do that," she steps aside to go away, but I copy that move and make sure she remains on her spot. "If you don't give me that damn number, you're gonna regret it, y/n."

The sound of her name that left my mouth sets her mind in some doubt, her eyes staring into mine. "Make me regret it then," she does not give a damn about it but dares to play with my nerves, and she walks away.

"Alright," I turn around and grab her from behind, I hold her by the waist and lift her up the ground to carry her the bridal way and make it clear I do not like it when I do not get what I want.

"What the hell are you doing? Put me down right away," she gives me an order, but I turn a deaf ear the way she did it with me. "You shut up. You should have thought about that before telling me 'no'," I do not become weak but keep her in my arms, and I head towards the Starbucks. "Jungkook. I'm gonna slap you again."

"Fine, I'll poke your waist," I do not let her believe she has the upper hand on this situation, and I ignore the people that are passing by and glaring at us. "I'm gonna scream then."

A smile turns my lips up, and I peek at her features. "You wouldn't dare," I reject what is untrue to me, and she parts her swollen lips and points her finger at them. "I'm getting ready now, so put me down if you don't want a man to punch you and help me."

"The only thing that will happen if you do it is that people will glare and think you have a problem in your head, and you'll embarrass yourself," I continue to argue since there are only a few steps left before reaching the coffee shop, and she throws me a look full of wrath. "I hate you."

"No, you don't," I chuckle but check what is in front of me to not crash into anyone, and I heave y/n up to be even more of a little shit. "I do," she fights like a kid too, but I stop in front of the place and put her down, but without letting go. I hold her against me and take her hand into mine. "You stay with me," I bring her inside, and she does not even try to resist as if she was liking this as much as I do.

I cannot lie, I love it, I love this type of game.

"What are you going to do?" she steps in front of me to not allow me to go to the checkout and order for her, trying me with her smaller height. I smile but move forth, forcing her to go backwards. "I'm gonna get you the dessert."

"I don't want any. My stomach is aching after all the food," she lays her hand on my torso to make me retreat, so I peek down at her and pull on her arm to get her on my left. "You'll put it in the fridge and keep it for tomorrow," I find the solution to this problem, and I get closer to the man to order a piece of red velvet cake, a cookie and cream Frappuccino, and a strawberry tartlet. I pay for it, and I bow to the man to get to a table and eat the tartlet I bought to share with her now.

I sit down, and move the chair that faces mine to make y/n get right next to me. I place our dessert down, and I put the rest on the side to hold the spoon and try this.

This is truly delicious and so pleasant after a heavy meal.

"I'm not taking this, got it?" she mentions the small bag that contains her food and drink, but I scoff at her. "Yes, you are," I take the tartlet with my hand and carry it to her face. "Open."

She slightly parts her lips but only tongues some of the whipped cream. "There," she crosses her arms over the table, and a small laugh runs away from me. "Now that you licked it, you take it."

She creates a tiny gap between her lips and looks at me, her eyes provoking me with no need of words. Since she likes to play with me, I cup her face and push the food against her mouth to not give her a choice but to widen the opening, and she giggles but takes a bite. "You're a jerk."

"But you're a brat," I take another bite and watch her wipe what I left in the corner of her lips. "Sure."