sunhi:
sooooooooo

sunhi:
how's your relationship with jisung??
this is date four right?? 👀

hawon:
has he asked you to be his gf yet?

jinsol:
not yet

jinsol:
probably tonight tho

sunhi:
oh??

sunhi:
you don't seem super excited ?

jinsol:
i am!

sunhi:
🤨

hawon:
leave her be sun

jinsol:
it's
different
from what i was expecting

jinsol:
idk

sunhi:
different like bad?

jinsol:
not bad. just different?

jinsol:
idk i've been pining over him for so
long but now that i have him it's weird.
he's exactly what i was expecting

hawon:
are you going to say yes if he asks
you to be his girlfriend?

jinsol:
he's here

jinsol:
text you guys later 💋

sunhi:
i'm worried about her
message deleted!

hawon:
same :/
message deleted!

"hey!" jisung greeted from the drivers seat, and jinsol waved back before climbing into the passengers side. she was suddenly hit with a memory of haechan holding the door for her and violently shook her head. she wouldn't let herself get distracted by practice jisung when she was with the real jisung.

steering her attention away and on the boy next to her, jinsol smiled sweetly. "hi. ready to go?"

while the first three dates had been fun, jinsol was still waiting for her chest to swell with the same warmth she'd felt during the practice runs. their fourth date would be a bit simpler, a food truck date, and if her friends were right, she'd be park jisung's girlfriend before the end of the night.

jinsol didn't know why the thought made her shake.

jisung must have noticed, because he placed a gentle hand against her knee and smiled when she looked at him. "you okay? cold?"

"i'm okay," jinsol managed with a small nod before turning her attention back to the window.

she didn't feel particularly social, so jisung turned the radio on quiet to fill some of the silence. he'd returned both hands to the steering wheel and jinsol let out a soft breath.

it didn't take much longer until the duo pulled into an open parking lot where they could walk around. the food truck was lit up a little ways away, but jinsol didn't mind the walk. she pulled herself from the car and waited patiently for jisung to follow.

they walked side by side, jinsol's hands in her pockets to combat the cold. jisung looked over at her after a moment, one eye squinted against the descending sun. "hungry?"

jinsol offered him a small smile. "yeah. do you know what you're going to get?"

"i think so. but we can take a few minutes to look at the menu, if you want."

"thanks," jinsol said back. they finally reached the little food truck and scanned the menu, settling on their desired meals and ordering quickly. the line was surprisingly short, and there were plenty of benches open for them to sit and eat at after getting their food.

jisung was talking to her about a math exam he'd taken (and bombed) and jinsol politely laughed along with him. she'd barely passed, so she understood his frustration for the course. the look on her face was more sympathetic than anything else.

they talked until they finished their food, and cleaned their table off together before walking side-by-side along the concrete path.

the sky was a beautiful shade of navy, and some stars were eager to prickle through the darkness. they didn't usually get to see stars, so jinsol found herself smiling as she watched the few twinkle above her.

jisung followed her gaze, his lips unintentionally copying her expression. "pretty, right?"

the girl nodded, her attention glued to the sight above. she finally tore herself away after a few moment to focus solely on her date. she remembered him mentioning something about gemstones and opened her mouth to add on when she suddenly realized how close they were.

jisung caught her flustered expression and slowed to a stop, stepping toward her so that he could properly face jinsol. "what is it?"

"i, um..." jinsol stuttered out, struggling to look up and meet his gaze. there was a soft twinkle in jisung's eyes as he dared another small step forward and asked, "yes?"

when jinsol couldn't continue, jisung carefully reached down to take her hand in his and held it in the right space between them. jinsol's heart skipped a beat, but her stomach felt more sick than full of butterflies. she couldn't meet his eye, especially not when he said, "i like spending time with you, jinsol."

jinsol hummed.

"and i'd love to spend more time with you."

a nod from the girl.

"... as your boyfriend."

she couldn't avoid his gaze any longer. lifting her head, jinsol saw just how close they were and before thinking, leaped out of his gentle grasp.

a look of confusion washed over jisung's face as he stared at her, and jinsol harshly bit down on her bottom lip before slowly asking, "i'm sorry, but... can we stay friends?"

jisung blinked the hurt out of his eyes and forced a smile that was too thin to be natural. jinsol felt terrible as he took a step back and slowly slid his hands back into his pockets. "yeah! friends works for me. we can still hang out, right?"

this time, jinsol didn't have to force her smile. "yes, let's still hang out."

—

alone in her bedroom, jinsol stared down at the neon purple giraffe in her hands with a hollow feeling in her stomach. she felt numb, even as heavy tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto the faded-shinchan tattoos stuck to the little hairs on her forearms.

it wasn't right. she knew it wasn't right. but even after all the time she spent with jisung, he was the last thing on her mind.

the only person her mind wanted to focus on was lee haechan, and it was positively killing her.

jinsol's trembling fingers clutched the stuffed giraffe harder, and it shook a bit in her hands. she sucked in a harsh breath before releasing it through grit teeth and pulled the plushie to her chest.

throwing herself back against her bed, jinsol hugged the giraffe against her and curled herself around it, letting her thoughts torture her a little before finally drifting off to sleep.

sunhi:
did he ask you??

hawon:
SUNHI

sunhi:
WHAT IM IMPATIENT

jinsol:
he did

sunhi:
aaaaaaaand??

jinsol:
i said no

sunhi:
😟😟

hawon:
oh babes :( talk to us

jinsol:
i just don't feel things for
him the way i want to

jinsol:
i like him as a person but
he isn't the person for me

jinsol:
im sad

sunhi:
do you want us to come over?
we can grab takeout?

jinsol:
i wanna be alone

hawon:
we will be there in twenty minutes
dont do anything stupid

jinsol:
lol

sunhi:
:/ you really don't feel anything for him?

jinsol:
it

jinsol:
😕

jinsol:
it's haechan.
i'm in love with haechan

•