Namjoon was already at the park when Eunji arrived. Today, he was sporting sunglasses, but he took them off when she approached, revealing the rest of his face. He looked more tan than before, which only spurred her attraction towards him. "Want to go sit somewhere else?" he asked, standing up off the ground. "We can sit on a bench."

"Okay," Eunji replied. She noted the lack of emotion in Namjoon's tone, as if their developing friendship was nonexistent. Admittedly, she felt a bit guilty about ghosting him.

"Eunji-ssi," he said tiredly. "I'm so confused."

"As you should be." She began to draw away from him, like a turtle retreating into its shell.

"Did I do anything?"

She pressed her fingers to her temples, even though she didn't have a headache. "No."

"Then—I don't understand, Eunji-ssi. Why..." Namjoon trailed off, letting the silence hang between them. Suddenly, the clouds parted to reveal the sun's warmth. The sun warmed her shoulders, but it could not thaw her heart.

"Look," he said. "If you're going to break off our friendship, at least tell me why. Provide some closure."

"I never said I was breaking off our friendship," Eunji burst out. Then, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"It's alright," he said.

"It's only fair that I tell you my motivations. On one condition."

"Which is?"

"Please don't tell anyone about this. Not a word about today. Or else..."

"What?" he said.

"I don't know," Eunji mumbled. "Just don't."

"I won't."

"All right." Her fingers rubbed at the hem of her shirt, a nervous habit. She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat like glue. "I think...it started when I baked the cookies for you."

"What started?"

"Namjoon-ssi," said Eunji, dodging his question. "Do you like me?"

"In a romantic way?" he asked. She gave a small nod, and he said, "Maybe a little."

Bolstered by his confession, Eunji continued. "I realized my own feelings for you when we baked the cookies. And that's when it went downhill."

"So, in other words, that's when you ghosted me," said Namjoon.

"In hindsight, that was probably not the best thing to do," she said. "So...I'm sorry. I guess it was just my poor self esteem that caused me to do that. Because..."

"Because what?" he asked. Namjoon's voice had turned gentle, and a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"I don't deserve you, Namjoon-ssi," she said, so softly that even she almost didn't hear it.

"And who said that?" he replied, quirking his lips into a smile, dimples carving into his cheeks.

"This isn't funny!" Eunji complained. "I know you can't see it in yourself, but you're so cool, man. Open your eyes, Namjoon-ssi. You're too good for me. Why can't you see yourself as everyone else sees you?"

There was a pause as he stared at the river pensively. Finally, he said, "The real question is, why can't you see yourself as I see you?"

"What?" she breathed.

"I don't know what your friends think of you, but I think you're an amazing person. I don't know everything about you yet, but based on what I know already..." Namjoon chuckled to himself, covering his mouth with his hand. "I couldn't have fancied a better person."

Eunji sighed. "Why me, though? Why not any other, better girl?" Her speech was getting quieter with every word. "It's just that I don't want to push my problems onto you when you have your own things to worry about. I just really hate being indebted to people. And not to mention..."

"Not to mention what?"

"Nothing," she said, inching away from him. "I just don't think I'm ready for—for a relationship yet. Maybe later on, but not now. I'm sorry, Namjoon-ssi. For everything."

"It's alright," he said. "I respect your wishes. We can be friends." Namjoon took his sunglasses off his head and put them on.

"Sunglasses suit you very well, Namjoon-ssi," said Eunji, plucking the shades off his face. "But I prefer seeing your entire face." She grinned at him.

"I think everything suits me well," he replied, a smile tugging at his lips. His eyes crinkled into crescents, and her stomach did a flip.

"You're so cute, Namjoon-ssi," Eunji said. "But regardless, I apologize for my actions. I hope you can understand my motivations, at least. It's not you, it's me."

"Pulling out the cliche one-liners, I see."

"Aigoo. Shut up." Eunji couldn't resist; she put an arm on his shoulder and leaned her head on her arm. "You're so..."

"I'm so what, Eunji-ya?" Smoothly, Namjoon took her hand and pulled it down so that only her head remained on his shoulder.

"Eunji...ya?" she said abruptly, surprised by the informal honorific. Eunji would never have dared call him 'Namjoon-ah' without him saying it first. But she was also glad that he'd said it—Eunji was not, and would never be one to make the first move. She looked at him to assess his countenance, but he was still smiling as if nothing significant had happened.

"What am I, Eunji-ya?" he repeated.

She struggled to refill her lungs with air. It took all of her effort to push the words out of her mouth.

"You're so annoying, Namjoon-ah."

a/n: thank you so much to my regular readers LMAOO the week of 3/18-3/22 was a horrible week (probably the worst week of 2019 so far) but seeing your support made it a little better :')

 the day i'm typing this, stray kids just had their 3rd comeback (3/25/2019) and my wig flew all the way to south career omg you can bet i'll be streaming the f out of their album. i'm SO PROUD OF HOW FAR THEY'VE COME I'VE BEEN WITH THEM SINCE DEBUT AND I'M THIS CLOSE TO CRYING SKDJSKDJSKDJKSJ 

my favorite song is victory song, what is/are yours?

please vote & comment if you liked this chapter!!