chapter thirty one

wonwoo was in the middle of sketching—just lines, shapes, something that didn't need to mean anything—when his phone lit up with a call from an unknown number.

he stared at it for a second.

then answered. "hello?"

"jeon wonwoo?" the voice was unmistakable. sharp, fast-talking, and just a little impatient.

"...yeah?"

"it's yejin. i'm outside your house. come down."

he blinked. "what?"

"you heard me. i'm literally outside. downstairs. on the sidewalk."

he stood up, walking to his window and peeking through the blinds.

sure enough, there she was. arms crossed, tapping her foot, wearing sunglasses like she was about to interrogate someone.

"how do you even know where i live?"

"aeri told me forever ago. come down. there's no time for questions."

wonwoo hesitated, phone still to his ear. "why?"

"just get down here. trust me."

he met her outside five minutes later, pulling his hoodie over his head and sliding his phone into his pocket.

yejin looked him up and down, unimpressed. "took you long enough."

"you're being weird."

"you're being slow," she said, hands on her hips. "we need to talk. now."

"about what?"

"prom. duh."

wonwoo blinked. "...what about it?"

yejin sighed dramatically. "aeri."

his entire body tensed.

she noticed. of course she noticed.

"she's waiting for you to ask her," yejin said, like it was obvious. "and you're being dense and quiet and weird, and it's making her sad."

"i'm not—"

"you are."

wonwoo looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets. "i'm not even sure if she... likes me. like that."

yejin stared at him for a long moment. then, very softly and very seriously, said, "wonwoo. you're dumb."

he frowned. "thanks."

"do you know how many times i've caught her looking at you like you hung the stars or whatever?"

he didn't respond.

"she talks about you all the time. even when she's trying not to. she literally said she's happy when you sit beside her in the library. and she keeps replaying that music room video, by the way."

his head shot toward her. "she... what?"

"yeah," yejin said, arms crossed. "she recorded you playing guitar and it's basically her lockscreen soundtrack."

wonwoo felt the back of his neck heat up.

"she's not waiting for someone else," yejin added. "she's waiting for you."

he stayed quiet for a long second, eyes fixed on the ground.

"...i don't know how to ask her."

yejin softened a little. "okay. then we're gonna figure it out."

"we?"

"yes, we," she said. "you're going to do something that actually shows you care. because you do. and because you're not going to let some other guy swoop in while you sit there sketching sad drawings and acting like you don't have feelings."

wonwoo looked at her. "...you're intense."

"thank you," she said brightly. "now. do you want a simple ask or a dramatic one?"

he paused. "something... quiet. but meaningful."

yejin nodded, thinking. "okay. what if you left her a note? something personal. like... maybe with one of your sketches. and then gave it to her before class."

wonwoo considered it. "and what would the note say?"

yejin grinned. "you'll figure it out. you're good with words when you're drawing."

he looked up at her, and for the first time all day, he smiled. a small one. but real.

"thanks," he said.

"don't thank me yet," she said. "just don't mess this up."