Page 42 of A World Apart
“Should we sit?” I motioned to the sofa beside us. He gestured that I sit first, so I sat down and crossed my legs. Jihoon sat beside me and folded his hands in his lap. He didn’t look at me, his eyes were focused on the view spread out in front of us.
“You must be tired,” I commented, “it’s been a long week.”
He pursed his lips as he cocked his head to the side, “Yes, but I’m used to it so it’s not been bad.”
“Have you been able to do anything fun while you’ve been here?”
At this, he looks at me. “I got to meet you.” My blush could have acted as one of the patio heaters, but I wasn’t sure he could see it, tucked away as we were.
“I’m not sure I count,” I mumbled, fiddling with my bangle.
“I think you do.” He nodded as he said this and I beamed at him.
“Can I ask you something?” The frown on his face made me pause, even though I thought I knew what he was going to ask.
“Anything,” I said quietly.
“Are you a fan?” So straightforward, but then what would be the point of beating around the bush?
I inhaled deeply. “Would it matter?”
Jihoon tugged on his earlobe and looked back over towards the street, his earrings glinting. “I want to say no, but I think it does.”
I nodded, looking down at my fingers
“I've been a fan for a couple years, although I’m not sure I’m at ‘Viber’ level,” I chuckled quietly, remembering the conversation Becka and I had had about this very subject.
Jihoon hummed. “Have you been to a concert?”
“No,” I answered honestly, “last time you toured the UK, I couldn’t get tickets.”
He tutted at me, “Next time, I’ll get you tickets, don’t worry.”
My heart stuttered in a way that reminded me who I was sitting next to. The giddy little flutter made me feel guilty, which in turn reassured me that his idolness was not the reason my breath caught in my throat to see the way he looked up at me from under his eyelashes.
I laughed, the tension rolling up my throat to bubble out in a burst of laughter that had me slapping my hand over my mouth. Jihoon smirked at me, and I leaned my head back against the wall as relief made my whole-body tingle. I was also woman enough to acknowledge I was buzzed from all the times the efficient servers had re-filled my wine glass.
“I was so afraid you were going to tell me to get lost,” I admitted.
He frowned and I quickly explained, “I thought you’d tell me you didn’t want to see me anymore.”
His eyes widened and his lips made a silent ‘o’ before he nodded, “Normally, it is hard to be friends with fans, they want you to perform all the time, to be the stage person, but you don’t make me feel like that.”
Before I could stop myself, hell before the thought even crossed my mind, my mouth opened and out fell, “Friends?”
Jihoon’s eyes shot to mine before quickly flicking away. He huffed a quiet laugh. “More?” he said, so quietly I leaned forward, but he still didn’t look at me, just fiddled with his thumb ring.
I felt like we were teetering on the edge of some precipice, still dancing around each other. There were so many reasons to hold back. A clean break, like Becka had said. I should stay away from him; I shouldn’t even entertain the idea of him. He was off limits and so far out of my league…
I opened my mouth to say something − what I don’t know because at that moment, my phone chimed with several insistent chirps.
Frowning, I pulled it out of my pocket and slid my finger up the screen to unlock it.
“Ah shhii…” I hissed quietly, reading the multiple messages from Becka.
Becka
Where the fk are you?
