From Past To Present, I Still Love You 81 A Late Realization

When those words entered her ears, something in her mind switched. Instead of feeling warm and grateful like she should've, a deep gut feeling began to sprout as realization dawned her.

Yoona crossed her arms; her cheeks tinted red. "Stop staying those types of statements. Again your words have been dangerous. If it were anyone else they would've misunderstood you for being flirty. Multiple times."

This wasn't the first time she gave him a warning. That time he fooled around saying that he was going to marry her by confessing with ramen was the first. She thought that would be the end of it, however, clearly he was going to continue in this banter.

She wasn't dumb enough not to notice Minhyun's flirtatious statements. He was getting bolder as days passed by.

She knew he was joking, they were friends after all.

It was just that sometimes - she had a hard time differentiating between his jokes and his seriousness. There was something different about his words; the sincerity touched her heart because they sounded so real.

When he said statements like this too, it was hard to tell if there was romantic intent behind it or if it was purely platonic. Softening one's heart... To anyone else it sounded like a confession.

Deep inside, she always had these questions but for the first time today, she was confronting them in her head.

Could he possibly be interested?

Oh god. Even thinking that made her red. She wanted to hide in the corner.

Since Minhyun was so up there with his CEO status, looks, and brains, Yoona felt weird even assuming that he had any remote interest in her. After all, they had a childhood attachment to one another. This could purely be him being a very nice dude who likes to joke around.

But then again... Minhyun came right from work when he heard that she met with the Moon siblings out of worry. He also embraced her tightly, his touch soft, and made sure she was okay. His words were also thoughtful and he called her his date for the gala. What friend committed these types of actions?

When it came to other people, it was easy to decipher if the other person liked the recipient. However, when it came to Yoona herself, it was hard for her to figure it out.

She saw all the signs but considering their relationship, she couldn't help but deny everything. The boy in front of her was Chae freaking Minhyun, he couldn't...

Gah this was so hard. What should she do?

But the more important questions was: How did she feel?

Minhyun stayed silent for a moment, his eyes not leaving hers. The intensity in his gaze made her realize that he was engaging in a inner conflict with himself. She just didn't know what he was thinking.

"I can't stop. Remember when we promised each other to stay true to each other? That is what i'm doing. I am speaking the truth from my heart. If I comply with what you are saying, then there would've been no point in our past conversation."

Yoona froze in her spot. The words in her throat could not pass through her mouth.

Oh. My. God. Was that a confession or not? She couldn't tell!

After all, what he was saying wasn't wrong. In fact, they did say to be honest with each other and he was complying with those rules. Yet, his statement made the situation more confusing because she couldn't tell what the truth of his heart was.

"That's true..." She muttered. Her gaze was full of confusion.

Should she pry in again to get her answer? The curiosity in her was growing by the second, plus with the mix of adrenaline from earlier, she was all the more tempted.

Besides, didn't they promise to be honest with each other? She should just ask!

But even though curiosity raked her brain, something was holding her back.

"Well," she said after clapping her hands nervously. "That's good. I have no complaints. Keep doing what you were doing then."

First off, she wasn't sure what her feelings were. How would she answer him if he said yes? Also, this situation could also break their wonderful bond. She couldn't risk losing him. Though they had been with each other for a short amount of time, he had become an important person to her.

She needed to watch him some more to confirm her suspicions. Right now she was treading dangerous waters.

Minhyun raised an eyebrow. Something about Yoona's actions was off. She was clearly holding her words back. "I thought we were supposed to be honest with each other. Tell me what is on your mind."

Yoona cursed under her breath.

Of course he would catch that something was off.

She bit her lip. What to do? With her feelings unsorted, how was she supposed to ask about him?

"You know what. There has been something on my mind. Right now, I need to sort my feelings out," she said honestly. "I'll ask you later. Give me some time."

Being truthful was the right road to go. Minhyun had been patient with her the whole time and was the most kind to her, she couldn't let him down. He was the biggest help during whole Moon siblings situation being the sword to her revenge. If there was one thing she could offer, it was her sincerity.

Minhyun cocked his head. "Now i'm curious. How much time do you need?"

Perhaps the toughest question she had encountered in her life, Yoona was stumped with coming up with an answer. There were two things that she needed: time to sort out her own heart and time to find out what was in his. She couldn't just list the amount of days and hope for the best, there had to be thought put into her answer.

"The gala," she breathed. "I'll ask you at the end of the gala."

Not too long, not too short. She would have spent many hours with him as his date during this time. Since she couldn't leave him hanging, the gala seemed like the best time to tell him. Plus, she would have a few nights to think over everything.

Minhyun nodded. "Okay, i'll wait till then."

He needed mind waiting. In fact, after assessing the situation he had already pieced together what the question in her mind could be.

She finally noticed. The words he was speaking from his heart finally reached her sincerity and the shift between friends and potential lovers had occurred.

Even though she tried to hide it, Minhyun could feel the difference in her tone and eyes. It was very slight - almost invisible to the human eye and silent to the human ear, but he could tell. She was viewing him differently.

Now, it was her turn to figure out what she felt. And Minhyun was going to do whatever he could to obtain the happiest outcome during gala night.

It was going to be a busy weekend, but Minhyun was determined to secure two of the most important things in his life.

Yoona's heart and her safety.

Chapter end