For the past few days…
something felt different.
Not just for me.
For her too.
And maybe…
she couldn't ignore it anymore.
That day…
Somi came again.
Just like always.
But this time…
she didn't sit down immediately.
Instead—
she stood in front of me.
"Chi-Ho… can we talk?"
My hand stopped.
For a second…
I thought of avoiding it.
"I have some work—"
"No."
She interrupted.
Her voice wasn't loud.
But it was firm.
"Please… just for a minute."
I sighed.
"…Okay."
We sat in silence for a moment.
Then she looked straight at me.
"You've been ignoring me."
Straight.
No hesitation.
I looked away.
"I'm not."
"You are." —she said.
Silence.
She didn't look away.
And for some reason…
I couldn't lie anymore.
I took a deep breath.
"Fine…"
"You said… you only talk to girls on Instagram."
She nodded.
"But that day…"
"I saw it."
Her expression changed slightly.
"Samuel_99…"
I finally said it.
"And…"
"You were smiling… laughing…"
I clenched my fist.
"I just thought…"
"I didn't want your boyfriend to feel uncomfortable…"
"If some other guy was close to you."
Silence.
For a second…
nothing happened.
And then—
She started laughing.
Not just smiling.
Laughing.
Loudly.
I froze.
"…Why are you laughing?"
I asked, completely confused.
She kept laughing for a few seconds.
Then finally looked at me.
"What else should I do?"
"I thought you were smart…"
"And you ignored me for days…"
"Because of something so small that you didn't know about it?"
She crossed her arms.
"And yes, I'm angry at you."
I blinked.
Still trying to process everything.
She sighed.
"Samuel_99…"
"He's my cousin."
"…What?"
"My younger cousin," she said.
"He went to India for studies."
"And he keeps sending me pictures…"
"Of beautiful places… share funny moments…"
"That day, he sent something really funny."
"That's why I was laughing."
She looked at me again.
"Seriously, Chi-Ho…"
"You think too much."
She even showed the entire chats of her with his Cousin Brother.
And that's what she is saying.
I stood there.
Completely shocked.
Cousin…?
India…?
All this time…
I misunderstood everything.
"I…"
"I'm really sorry."
I said quickly.
"I'm so sorry… I didn't know…"
"I just…"
"I thought…"
I couldn't even complete my sentence.
She looked at me for a moment.
Then said softly—
"You call me your friend, right?"
I nodded.
"Then you should've asked me."
"Instead of playing ignore-ignore game for days."
That hit.
Hard.
"I'm really sorry…" I said again.
This time…
more honestly.
Inside…
I felt something else.
Relief.
Happiness.
Like I had just found something I thought I lost.
Something precious.
Something I didn't even realize I cared about so much.
We both sat down again.
And slowly…
things started going back to normal.
We talked.
Like before.
Maybe even better.
The awkwardness was still there.
But now…
it felt lighter.
Real.
As she was about to leave…
she stopped near the door.
Then turned back.
And looked at me.
"You overthink a lot."
I scratched my head awkwardly.
"Maybe…"
She smiled slightly.
Then said—
"Or…"
She paused.
"…are you starting to like me?"
My brain stopped.
My heart skipped.
"…What?"
She didn't wait for my answer.
She just smiled…
And walked away.
Leaving me there.
Standing.
Frozen.
With one thought echoing in my mind—
Was she serious…?
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