That Summer it wasn’t Lu Xuan who had experienced what it was like to be in love. There was someone else too. Someone who had yet to realise that he had long blurred the lines between friendship and love.

Gu Shangyan opened the door of the cafe that he frequented with Yoona after the library. They had known each other for almost one month. They went from fighting with each other for every petty thing to fast fasts.

As he opened the door, he saw Yoona smiling at a guy. It was Sunday which meant he didn’t have school. He scowled when he saw the boy making Yoona laugh. He didn’t know what possessed him at that moment but he shut the door and walked out of there in a fit of anger.

Yoona’s eyes fell on the door and she saw Gu Shangyan leaving. She looked at the boy who she had met in the library and recognised him as that friendly waiter in this cafe. She frequented this cafe enough to be friendly with the staff here.historical

“Hey, Shangyan!” Yoona called out his name as she ran behind him with her long legs. “Stop. Where are you going? Why are you throwing a fit?”

Gu Shangyan stopped and turned to look at her, “Really, Yoona? You said we can’t go watch a movie because you have to complete some papers. But there you were, laughing and grinning with that boy. I don’t like this.”

Yoona sighed as she looked at him. She tried to ruffle his hair but he took a step back. “Shanghai, stop being angry, okay? He is a nice guy. He asked me about some book recommendations. He works in the cafe. It’s his mom’s. What’s the harm in talking to someone who has the same interests as you?”

“Can’t you see what he was doing?” Gu Shangyan grunted. “He was talking to you about books because he knew it was the only way to talk to you. I am pretty sure he asked you to add him on WeChat to send him a book recommendation.”_.

Yoona looked surprised. “How do you know? We added each other on WeChat.”

Suddenly, his aura turned even icier and she couldn’t understand what had happened to him. He appeared more cold and unapproachable.

She heaved out a sigh and asked, “You can’t be thinking that he is hitting on me? I mean, just look at me. Do I look like someone who guys would hit on?”

Gu Shangyan glanced at her with an icy gaze. She was slim and tall. In boyfriend jeans, a white top and white sneakers, she looked just like one of the dudes. Not to mention, the boy cut hairstyle that she was rocking.

Yoona knew too well that what she was wearing most definitely was not what boys liked. She looked masculine with her appearance and she didn’t think there was anything feminine about her.

Why would guys even like her?

Gu Shangyan knocked her head lightly and muttered, “What if he is into guys and thinks that you are one?”

Yoona raged as she heard his words. “Gu Shangyan!!”

He laughed. “I’m kidding. “Then, he heaved out a sigh. “You are very beautiful and girls like you never know how beautiful you are.”

Yoona’s heart fluttered in her chest and the tips of her ears turned red. She turned her head in shyness.

He held her hand and both of them walked ahead. It was getting dark and he was walking her home. They were just a little away from her house when she suddenly paused.

Standing under the streetlight, her face was glowing because of the lighting falling on her. She looked even more beautiful with this lighting setting.

“Shangyan?” Yoona turned to look at him. She gulped and took a deep breath. It was now or never. If she didn’t ask him today, she didn’t think she would be this courageous again.

“Hmm?” Gu Shangyan blinked his eyes.

“You said I’m pretty?” Yoona whispered. “Am I pretty enough to be the girl you like?”

Gu Shangyan’s heart paused beating. For a second, he thought that he had died and gone straight to heaven. Was she pretty enough to be someone he could like?

No.

Because in his eyes, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She took a step ahead, her eyes still on him. It was a good thing that she was tall enough to not tiptoe for what she was going to do.

In a flash second, she kissed his cheek and ran back.

“Gu Shangyan, you know what I mean, ” Yoona said as she ran from there. “I’m giving you the chance to ask me out.”

Like a fool with wide eyes and a frozen body, his hand suddenly moved to his cheek, the place where she kissed him to be exact and moments later, he felt hot all over his body. His face was a sight to be seen. One could hear the loud beating heart from afar.

It was at that moment, that Gu Shangyan knew that he was screwed. He watched her running to her house without turning back. When she was at her house gate, she turned once and gave him a small shy smile before disappearing inside.

Later that night, he was sprawled on his bed staring at the ceiling in a daze. Do not ask how he reached home.

That night, Lu Xuan entered his bedroom.

“Come on, ” Lu Xuan said as he looked at his brother. He dragged his dazed brother to the terrace when everyone was asleep at his house.

On the perimeter of the terrace, he had placed two glasses and looked at his brother and grinned.

“What’s that?” Gu Shangyan asked with an eyebrow raise.

“Taste it, ” Lu Xuan grinned.

Gu Shangyan took a taste and he felt something bitter but delicious on his tongue.

“Mixed sprite with beer, ” Lu Xuan told him. “Don’t tell mom or uncle.”

“Fuck, where the hell you get beer from?” Gu Shangyan asked him in shock.

_____

A/N: Their Teenage years remind me of my teenage years. We all fall in love, experience joy and sadness altogether. I am missing those angsty feelings. Those I’m too good for the world attitude. The teenage year of every person is very special.

So, if I have any teenage readers, all I want to say is—- Live it the way you want to live your teenage years. You will make mistake. You will break your heart and others. You will fall in love. You will fall out of love. You will fight with your family. You will get new fake/real friends. You will make a lot of mistakes. Do not shy away from it. Don’t play adult. Be what you are. One day, when you will be in your twenties, thirties, forties and so on. You will miss those days no matter how shitty or good they were.

This is the magic of the teenage world. It’s magical, chaotic and everything.