Sweet Summer (1/1)

Part Two: Sweet Summer“Shoot,” Jungmi cursed as she picked up her phone. She wrapped a towel around her body and sat down, unlocking her phone and reading through all of the messages she received.“What’s wrong? You in trouble?” Yixing teased as he dried his hair off with his own towel. He took a seat next to her, wiping off beads of water that ran down his arms and chest when needed.“He’s been trying to get ahold of me all day,” Seori muttered.“And you have been ignoring him all day,” Yixing presented. “He doesn’t know you’re with me, huh?”“Well...”“My offer still stands, you know. I can talk to him if he’s bothering you...”“It’s not exactly ‘bothering’ me...”“Right, of course he’s not,” Yixing said, surprising her by actually exhibiting signs of disappointment. “I mean, how could Kris ever bother you.”“It’s not that, it’s--”“Ah,” Yixing interjected with realization. “Maybe you’re not keeping it a secret that you’re with me. He knows, and he’s checking up on you because he’s worried.”“Kris has no reason to be worried,” Jungmi replied with pursed lips.“Doesn’t he, though? You’re with me, after all.” Yixing inched closer to her, teasing her, psyching her out.“Like you can do anything.” She scoffed, but as Yixing continued to approach her, Jungmi backed away nonetheless.“Can I?” Yixing asked mischievously. His approaching figure somehow forced Jungmi to lay back on the beach towel, and his body hovered over her with his face dangerously close to hers.“I already told you. You can’t joke about that stuff anymore,” she replied stoically.“Who says I’m joking?” Yixing taunted, his gaze not budging from hers. “What if I seriously want to kiss you?”“Yixing,” she cautioned.His eyes lingered on her for a while longer, absorbing their current state; he wouldn’t know when he could next get so close to her. He thought about Kris, who was like his brother, who had won her affection fair and square, who Yixing had allowed to get the girl for the sake of their friendship. He sighed and sat back up. Jungmi followed suit.“Kris has no reason to be worried,” Yixing decided a bit glumly. “Just tell him that so he can stop checking up on you. Even if it doesn’t bother you, it bothers me.”Jungmi was silent for a moment, comprehending their current situation. She bit her lip to hold back a nervous smile, quickly debating if she really wanted to bring up what was on her mind. Realizing there was nothing to lose, she asked, “Are you... jealous?”“No, I’m not jealous. I’m just annoyed.”Jungmi didn’t say anything and just smirked.“I’m annoyed.”“No,” Jungmi countered, now extremely amused at Yixing’s display. “You really are jealous. Finally, the Tinman has feelings!”“I’m not jealous.”“You are so jealous.”“Why would I be jealous?” Yixing snapped, knowing very well why, but choosing to be defiant nonetheless.“Yes, that is quite an interesting thought,” Jungmi hummed, tapping a pensive finger lightly on her chin. “Why would you be jealous? I mean, you’re the one that blew me off in the first place.”Such a low blow almost rendered Yixing speechless. “But... because Kris is my friend!”Jungmi made sure to look forward, away from Yixing, to make her next words easier to say. “You know, I was always going to pick you.” She risked a glance through her peripherals, hoping to gauge his reaction. “If only you had let me, of course.”“But...” Yixing’s eyes were narrowed. He was dumbfounded. He leaned in a little closer and brought a hand up to his mouth so he could speak in a more hushed tone. “Can you still say that?”“What are you talking about?” Jungmi laughed at her companion’s behavior. She had played along, though, by also leaning in to whisper.“I mean,” Yixing continued. “Is that an appropriate thing to say now that he’s your boyfriend?”“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jungmi stated in amused confusion.“But you spend so much time with him.”“We’re partnered up for this class project.”“You started avoiding me.”“Excuse you.Youstarted avoidingme.”“Well, okay. But that’s because Kris is my friend! I couldn’t just let some girl come between us,” Yixing conceded. Jungmi tilted her head, bemused, before shaking it to wave away his apologetic “no offense” that followed. When her phone started ringing again, he narrowed his eyes, still suspicious. “He’s still calling you.”Jungmi dismissed her call once again and laughed. She leaned in closer to him and whispered, “Do you want to know a secret?”“What?”“Most of these calls are actually from my little brother asking me to bring him some ice-cream and snacks -- those are his terms for covering for me at home.”Yixing looked betrayed. “So it was just Jongdae this whole time...”“No, Kris called and texted a few times, too...” Jungmi mused. “But that was just to confirm when we could work on our powerpoint together.”“I see. ‘Powerpoint.’” Yixing insinuated, throwing up air quotes. Jungmi narrowed her eyes at him threateningly and aimed another poke at the back of his neck. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”“Okay, now you must tell me: what was this whole thing?”“What do you mean?”“Today. What was today all about?” she asked. “You thought Kris was my boyfriend, and yet you still ask me to spend the whole day with you. I mean, what kind of girl do you take me for?” she joked.“You covered me in ice-cream. You owed me.”“Oh, right, of course,” she muttered sarcastically, blowing her bangs out of her face. “I almost forgot.”“Well, honestly,” he started off sheepishly after a light chuckle. “I missed you.”“You missed me,” she repeated dubiously, despite a small grin.“I mean it when I tell you that I like you,” he said seriously. “It’s a jerk move on my part, thinking that Kris was your boyfriend. But it’s also fun to see your reaction when you think I’m joking...”“Hey!”“Anyway, yeah,” Yixing continued, ignoring her interjection. “I really missed spending time with you and stuff.”“Well,” Jungmi drawled. “You wouldn’t have had to miss me if you just fought for me in the first place.”“Ouch.”“I’m kidding,” she reassured him.“A bit of truth with every joke,” Yixing argued.“Just a little,” Jungmi admitted with a laugh, holding up her thumb and forefinger in a pinch. “But I like that you didn’t let me get in the way of your friendship. It was very...” She paused to look for an appropriate word to use.“Attractive?”“Mature,” she decided, rejecting Yixing’s offer.“Hah, ‘mature,’ right. I am totally mature.” He peeked at her from the corner of his eye. “So... just out of curiosity, would you still pick me?”“Eh,” she shrugged before shooting him a playful grin.“I’ll just take that as a yes,” he replied.“So now what?” Jungmi hummed.“Hm?”“Where does this” -- she gestured to the two of them, still sitting side-by-side on the beach towel -- “leave us?”“Well,” Yixing started. He grabbed her outer leg and guided her so they were facing each other. He used his other hand to tenderly brush a strand of her hair behind her ear, being sure to gauge her response as he slowly and carefully brought his face closer to hers.  “Wait!” Jungmi raised her hands up in a T for time out, dodging his advances. “How about... we get ice-cream?”Yixing’s initial impulse to frown disappeared once Jungmi took ahold of his hand and intertwined their fingers.“Please?”Yixing stood up and took her other hand so he could pull her up with him. He wrapped her arms around his body so he could manipulate a hug. He mirrored the action, trapping her so that there was no escape for when he planted his chaste lips onto her unsuspecting forehead.“Sure,” he grinned, once again lacing their fingers. “Let’s go.”A/N: Ahhh, finally got to upload the whole story. Sigh, sad that I lost my subscribers from before the AFF server issue, but I am so grateful for you guys who are reading/subscribing/commenting (hint, hint) now~ Hehe ^^ Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this submission~ Wish me luck and let's hope I make it to the next round! On another note, if you have time, please check out my other long-term fics: Take Care of my Girlfriend (feat. BEAST) and The Girl with the Grey Eyes (feat. EXO) :D /end shameless plug kkk ^^And as an extra tidbit for those who enjoyed Sweet Summer...Epilogue“Here you go,” Yixing said, handing Jungmi a waffle cone. “Two scoops to make up for yesterday’s.”“Thank you!” she replied enthusiastically after involuntarily letting out a squeal. She immediately started licking the two scoops from all sides, allowing her palate to savor the moment -- she had ordered the cheese and corn flavor, for those curious.However, in all of her euphoria, she let out a sudden yelp.“What do you think you’re doing?!”“Revenge is sweet. Revenge is also best served cold,” Yixing stated proudly. “And what else is sweet and best served cold?” He pointed at her forehead, which now dripped vanilla. The sugar cone remained conjoined with the sacrificial scoop of vengeance, which seemed to melt faster as Jungmi’s face continued to heat up in anger and embarrassment.“I’M STICKY.”“Ice-cream!” Yixing sang, answering his own question.“I LOOK LIKE A UNICORN.”“I figured it was appropriate,” he continued, ignoring her complaints and dodging her fingers that very badly wanted to poke the back of his neck.“DO YOU WANNA DIE.”“I’d prefer not to...”“YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LIKE ICE-CREAM. YOU CAN’T PLAY WITH ME LIKE THAT. YOU CAN’T.”“Can I?”“UGH, I HATE YOU.”“Such a shame, because I like you quite a bit...”