✓ sorry, i love you || hwang hyunjin

[03] old is gold

"Nabi-ah, will you go to the karaoke with us?" Chan asked me when the bell finally rang, and I paused. I didn't think that they would want to be friends with me outside of class; to be honest, I thought Chan was just doing his duty as class president. I also didn't want Jeongin to think that I was already deserting him after I got promoted.

Still, it seemed like a bad idea to tell him that I couldn't go with him; then I would end up as a loner, and that didn't seem very appealing. "Um... yeah, sure," I said, hoping my face didn't reveal how nervous I was. "But is it okay if my friend joins us? We've been friends for forever, and I don't want him to feel left out."

Chan glanced at Felix before looking back at me. He nodded brightly and Felix replied, "Yay! More friends!"

He did a happy little dance as Chan explained, "Some of our other friends will probably join us, too. You don't mind that they're all guys, right?"

Felix stopped dancing as thought crossed him. "I hope they don't, but we can tell them to eat somewhere else if you do," he said, and I smiled at their thoughtfulness.

Although the thought of eating with multiple boys I haven't met was a bit nerve-wracking, I plastered on (what I hoped looked like) a bright smile and responded, "No, I don't mind," I grinned. "My friend is a guy, too; for some reason, girls just seem to hate me." I shrugged as though that didn't bother me, even though it really did.

Chan frowned. "But I like you!" He exclaimed. "I mean- uh- like a friend. You're a really cool person, and I'm glad we're friends," He corrected, the tips of his ears crimson.

For some reason, Felix snickered when Chan was muttering his correction, but I couldn't focus on that. For some reason, I felt as though something heavy was sinking to the depths of my stomach. Why was I disappointed that he didn't like me that way?

I shook my head to clear those thoughts out of my head before I grinned at Chan (again). "Duh," I said with more confidence than I felt. "I'm just so likeable, not to mention my amazing friend-ing."

Chan's blush reduced a bit, and Felix laughed as he linked his arm with me. "Let's go!" I skipped next to him as he led the way out of the classroom. I was excited to see their friends, but I was even more excited to see my best friend. Innie would be proud of me for making new friends... right?

"Innie!" I exclaimed when I saw him in front of the locker. I unlinked my arm from Felix's and—after I shot him a smile, promising him I would be back with my friend— and ran to my best friend. "Hey, bestie boy," I greeted as I wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

He grinned at me and dropped his bags on the ground before embracing me, burying his face in my shoulder. "Hey, Nabi," he mumbled, his breath tickling me. I laughed and squeezed him. When he let go, he looked at me and said, "I missed you."

I smiled at him softly when I replied, "Yeah. Me too." For a second, I could see the soft boy who was scared to be alone, but his confident guise flickered back.

"So, do you have any plans? Can we go to your place?" He asked with a hopeful smile. Jeongin had wanted to come to my house for the longest time because I never let him. We always went to his place because I knew my parents would freak if they saw me hanging out with a boy at home.

I frowned in his direction. This wasn't how I planned out asking him to come with me. "Well... I do have plans, but I want you to come with me."

The boy's dark eyes widened in surprise. "You have friends?" I elbowed him. "Yah," he protested. "Fine, I won't be mean. Where are you meeting them?"

I smiled, glad that Jeogin was happy for me. "I'm going to the karaoke with them. I met two of them, but they wanted to hang out with me so I could meet the rest of their friend group," I explained. "And I told them you would come."

Jeongin responded in mock surprise. "You mean you invited me to hang out with your new friends without telling me?" When I sheepishly nodded, he smiled again. "Okay, I'll come."

"Thanks, Innie," I said cheekily before grabbing my stuff and his hand. I dragged him towards where I saw Felix and Chan standing with two more boys who I was yet to meet. "Hey," I waved.

Jeongin whispered. "Wait... you never mentioned they were all guys," he gulped. I elbowed him again, telling him it was too late for him to back out of it. He squeezed my hand. "Bitch."

Felix— who was obvious to the exchange of words between us— grinned back at me. "Nabi-ah," he started. "This is Hyunjin and Seungmin." He pointed to the two boys I had noticed earlier and I had to physically stop my jaw from dropping. The two looked absolutely gorgeous, even in their school uniforms. Seungmin looked at me and smiled, and I grinned back.

"Hey," Hyunjin greeted with a cute smile, and I noticed how his eyes crinkled into crescents. We made eye contact for a second before I dropped my eyes to the ground, my stomach on a rollercoaster and my cheeks burning red.

"Hi," I mumbled shyly, tucking back a strand of hair (which fell out, anyways).

There was a moment of awkward silence (I swear I could hear crows) before Chan said to me, "Do you want to, uh, introduce your friend to us?"

I looked up, glad that I had something to talk about. "Yeah, of course, I forgot." I glanced at Jeongin who smirked at me. Oh no. That boy was thinking about something, and that definitely wasn't good for me. "Jeongin, this is Chan, Felix, Hyunjin, and Seungmin," I introduced, pointing to each of them in order. "Chan, Felix, Hyunjin, and Seungmin; this is Jeongin."

They all smiled at him and Jeongin grinned back. "Nice to know Nabi isn't going to be a loner." I gasped and playfully hit his arm, but he dodged it.

Seungmin— the puppy-like boy— smiled at my friend and told him, "I think we're going to get along great."

I finally relaxed, letting go of the stress I didn't know I had. I suppose I was scared that my old friend and new friends wouldn't get along.

I'm glad they do. 

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A/N: Hey y'all <33 I'm happy that you're still reading, and I'm sure Nabi is, too. I'll try to update more often, but that might be hard due to school ;-; I appreciate all your comments, likes, and follows <33 

Love you all <4