"Are you sure you're feeling alright? Maybe we should have stayed at the hospital. If you want, we can go back. Should we go back? We should definitely go back."

Yerin giggled, enjoying Hyunjae's fussing. He'd insisted on carrying her upstairs, which had gotten a few strange looks from the neighbors. 

"I'm fine," she insisted. "We're all the way here already," she told him, watching as they approached his apartment door. Watching as he opened the door without taking out keys, without entering a passcode... nothing. 

"Wait," she said, causing him to stop on the threshold of the door. 

"What's wrong?" he asked, and she heard thinly veiled panic creep into his voice. "Do you feel sick again? Should we go back?" 

"Do you not lock your door?" she asked, ignoring all his questions. 

Hyunjae sighed, walking inside and somehow managing to lock the door while still holding her in his arms. 

"I walked into my apartment to find you unconscious on the floor," he told her. "Locking the door was the least of my problems." 

"You could have been robbed," she muttered nervously, looking around. Her arms were around his neck, and she held on tighter. 

"Ow," he muttered, kicking open the door to his room. 

"What if the robbers are still here?" she whispered. 

"Yerin, there aren't any robbers. What do I have worth stealing anyway?" 

"Your computer? TV? Phone?" 

"My computer is gone, remember?" Hyunjae said, gently placing her on his bed. "My phone is right here," he told her, pointing to the night table. "And the TV is still in the living room. So try again." 

"I don't know," she admitted. "I guess you weren't robbed, after all." 

"Stop worrying about useless things," he teased, ruffling her hair. "How are you feeling?" 

"Better. But Hyunjae... I have a question," she said quickly. She felt really, really nervous to be asking him this, but she felt as though if she didn't, she'd explode. 

"What is it?" he asked, absentmindedly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The breath caught, and she struggled to regain her composure. 

"About the kiss," she mumbled, feeling her face heat up already. "Um... did you really kiss me back just to show Hyewon?" 

For a moment, he didn't respond. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. 

"Yerin," he whispered, taking her hand. She looked up at him, and his eyes were gentle and serious. "At that moment, I wasn't thinking about Hyewon at all. I wasn't thinking about anyone else. I was only thinking about you." 

A smile played on her lips, and she tried her best to bite it back. "Me too," she admitted. "Hyunjae... I like you. I like you a lot. I'm really sorry but-" 

"I like you too," he said, interrupting her apology. "A lot." 

She couldn't stop the giant grin from coming to her face. 

"And I want to kiss you again," he said softly. "May I?" 

Yerin's eyes widened, and the only thing she could do was nod. Her heart was beating so fast that she was sure he could hear it, but when he leaned towards her and she placed a hand on his chest, she found that his heart was beating just as fast. 

He cupped her face in his hands, kissing her. He pressed her down into the soft pillows and her hands clutched the fabric of his shirt and he kissed her. 

It was perfect. 

She sensed that for both of them, it felt like their worlds were falling apart. They were both going through different crises and different hardships. 

But in that moment, everything was perfect.