The Genius

Chapter Fifteen

"Wyatt, I've been calling you for the past hour, Jesus," I heard Aiyana complain from the other end of the line.

I stayed quiet, cradling the phone in my hand as I listened to her fall into a line of complaints. It was Sunday, and I'd gotten home yesterday and immediately retreated to my room. I had a feeling that my thoughts would have been more collected by this morning but I guess I was wrong. I was still shivering at the thought of what I did with Ji-Hun, and my mind was definitely not any less foggy.

"You just left. What the hell happened?! All Ji-Hun said to me was that you were mad at him," Aiyana muttered. I felt my face flush at the mention of Ji-Hun. I wasn't mad at him. I just needed my space.

"I don't know. I just, left," I mumbled into my phone as I ran a hand over my neck, and remembering. I just couldn't forget. I wasn't sure where to place my feelings but confusion seemed to be the dominant one at the moment.

"Well suck whatever it is up because I told Ji-Hun that you'll let him see you—"

"No, I..." I cut in with a yelp as my eyes widened.

"No, why did you do that?" I complained as I sat up on my bed. I pulled the covers around my tired body, glancing at the closed curtains that had sunlight penetrating through its fabric. It was almost noon and I hadn't left my room to do anything aside from eating and take a shower and I'd done that sometime around four in the morning.

"He was so upset... He's still upset. He was trying not to cry when I tried to talk to him. I just had to come up with something." Aiyana countered. Her voice was strained and I heard the quiet sigh she let out in frustration.

"Look, he's coming over so just sort things out, okay?" Aiyana said. I stayed silent, listening to the sound of her breathing from the other end.

I nodded, mumbling a quick okay. I didn't like it when Aiyana was frustrated, and she was probably even frustrated because she didn't know what was going on but was trying to help out anyway. I would have told her what happened, but just simply thinking about it made my cheeks burn.

"Good, I'm tired of playing middleman, sheesh," Aiyana muttered before hanging up the call.

I sat there in silence, looking towards my study desk at my pile of books. I let my eyes move back to the curtained windows as I wondered when Ji-Hun would get here.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair as I decided to do something productive. Anything would beat just sitting on my bed and panicking. When Ji-Hun gets here I should at least have some sort of composure.

I got down from my bed, drawing the curtains apart before heading down with my books to do some reading in the study room. When an hour and a half passed by I started to relax, thinking that Ji-Hun wouldn't be coming over anymore. I was soon proved wrong when my phone startled me by buzzing in the pocket of my pants.

"Hello?" I muttered into the phone. I sighed mentally when I realized how shaky my voice was. I knew it was Ji-Hun at the end of the other line. I'd saved his number a while ago under his name.

"Hey," he started, trailing off. The line was silent for a while before I heard a choked chuckle. Ji-Hun seemed to do that a lot — laugh when things were clearly uncomfortable to him.

"I'm at the front door. I... I don't just want to press the bell and have someone else open the door. I mean, I'm not sure if you actually want me here..." he trailed. I felt my heart fall at the sound of his voice. He sounded worried, pained, and tired all at the same time. It was depressing to know I was the sole cause.

"I'm coming to get the door," I muttered, getting up from the side of my study desk.

"Oh, okay..." Ji-Hun mumbled, clearly surprised by my firm tone and how determined I sounded. I told him to wait before hanging up and leaving the study room. I headed straight for the front door, pausing briefly before grabbing the handle. I shook my head, telling myself to calm down before opening the door.

I tried to look at anything but Ji-Hun when I opened the door. I stared at his sneakers, before finally glancing up to look at him. He had black circles under his eyes, and his eyes themselves were swollen. It was obvious he'd cried at some point yesterday or earlier today.

"If you want me to leave, I can..." I heard him trail. I focused my gaze on him properly before shaking my head and letting out a sigh of confusion.

"I don't want you to leave... I'm just... come in," I mumbled deciding I wasn't making much sense. I stepped aside, providing space for him to walk into the house. He gave me an unsure look, but he walked in when I gestured for him to enter with my hand.

I closed the door behind us, asking him to wait in the living room before looking about for my mum to tell her that I had someone over.

"What's up with you? You look like you're about to faint," my mum said as I looked away from her after telling her Ji-Hun was here. I had shaken my head, leaving the art room before she could ask me anymore probing questions.

Paranoia soaked my pores as I thought about what Ji-Hun and I were going to talk about. I walked back to the living room, clenching and unclenching my shaking hands.

We were — we were really going to talk about that kiss.

Kiss, kisses? I'm not sure.

"Hey, let's go upstairs," I muttered as I got to the living room. Ji-Hun looked up from the sofa he was seating on, giving me a confused look.

"Are you sure?" He asked as his hand folded into soft fists on top of his thighs. He looked tense, like he was prepared to disappear into thin air.

"Yes, I'm sure," I mumbled, watching as he gave me a small nod before getting up from the sofa to follow me out of the living room.

I noticed the distance he tried to keep from me as we walked up the stairs to my room. He'd even pause awkwardly before starting to walk again when we were a bit close. When we got up to my room, he gave the door an odd look as I opened it and walked in.

"Do you want the door opened?" he asked, holding on to the knob.

"Are you afraid of anything?" I asked, taking a seat on the side of my bed. I'd somehow found the voice to speak that I didn't have this morning. Maybe it was because I'd decided that it was time we talked, or maybe it was killing me inside that Ji-Hun was obviously trying to walk about glass after what happened yesterday. My running away might have given him the wrong idea.

"No. I... I'm just... Are you comfortable with it? I mean, are you comfortable with me being in your room alone with you?" he asked as he shut the door slowing, still hesitant.

"What would I not be okay with?" I asked as I watched him look from place to place, probably looking for where to sit. I pat the space beside me for him to come and join me. He seemed panicked by my action, and he took the seat by my study table instead.

"You ran away, what was I supposed to think?" he asked when he pulled the chair from the table and sat down. I looked down at my hands as my cheeks became hot.

"I was just nervous. I don't know," I mumbled, sighing as I looked over at Ji-Hun who now had a frown on his face.

"I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm confused... I need time to think," I mumbled, hoping that I was making sense in some way. I watched Ji-Hun cover his eyes with his palms, sighing as he shook his head.

"I shouldn't have done that. I... I don't know what came over me... I'm sorry," he stuttered, taking his palms away from his face. His face was bright red. And his eyes looked like they were on the brick of confused tears. "I'm sorry Wyatt."

"There's absolutely nothing to be sorry about," I said immediately when I heard sobs. Ji-Hun had covered his face again as he seemed to try and control himself from bawling. I got and walked over to him, hugging his sitting figure. I felt him tense, but he was soon hugging me back with equal intensity as he buried his face in my chest. I could feel a wet little puddle forming on my loose t-shirt but I really didn't care at the moment.

"I just really like you... I'm sorry..." he muttered into my chest as he sniffled.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, I was just shocked," I tried to explain, letting my fingers brush the wet strands of hair that constituted his bangs away from his forehead.

"I don't want you to hate me..." He trailed bawling again. I held him, not really knowing what to do. I hadn't dealt with someone crying before and it was just awkward holding on to Ji-Hun as he cried and stained my shirt while snuggling into me at the same time. When he stopped shaking I pulled him away gently before raising the end of my shirt to wipe his eyes. The shirt already had a huge patch of tears at the center so there was really nothing to save.

"Listen," I started when I dropped the end of my shirt, "I was just shocked, okay? I didn't mean to make you worry..."

I paused, wondering what to say next. Ji-Hun had basically just admitted to having a crush on me, and I wasn't sure how to handle it without getting him upset, especially since I wasn't sure how I felt to start with.

Do I like Ji-Hun like that? I thought to myself, biting my bottom lip as I tried to process what had happened... How did I feel about him? Saying he was a friend made our relationship seem too small to explain how I felt, and thinking about it any other way made me panic so I refrained from that.

"You don't have to sugar coat things. If you were disgusted you can just tell me," He muttered in a low tone as he rubbed the side of his now red eyes.

"I wasn't, I actually liked it," I started, running a hand up my arm. "I was just... I was just confused."

Ji-Hun gave me a puzzled look. I looked away, knowing that I wasn't making much sense with my words.

"You don't... you don't hate me?" he asked, watching me calmly with his dark eyes. I nodded, humming as I withdrew my hand from his forehead.

"I'm very far from hating you," I muttered, biting my bottom lip. "Just give me time to think, to process all of this."

"We can pretend it never happened," he suggested, looking up at me.

I shook my head at that in disagreement. That would be taking a hundred steps backward. "No, I want to acknowledge it. I just need time like I've been saying."

"Okay," Ji-Hun finally agreed, looking down at his clothed laps. I smiled, patting his shoulder affectionately.

He looked up at me with a small smile soon after. "Can I get a hug, or is it too soon?" He asked, making me chuckle lightly.

"It's not," I assured him, hugging him to my chest again. We stayed like that for a while until Ji-Hun decided that he should probably be heading home. I escorted him to the front door, hugging him again before watching him leave.

I'm glad that's sorted out.

I smiled at Ji-Hun's text. He'd sent it to me a few hours after he left. I locked my phone before continuing to study. I was glad that it was sorted out as well. The only thing I felt uneasy about was trying to figure out how I felt about everything. Ji-Hun said he liked me, but I wasn't sure what my feelings for him meant. I like him a lot. Maybe I liked him a little bit too much, but was it enough to be considered that kind of attraction?

I let out a deep sigh, rubbing the side of my eyed in frustration as I stared down at my notes.

I'm not sure I want to think about it. Thinking was exhausting.