Doojoon:
You swirled your drink with the straw in the glass, nodding and smiling accordingly. You laughed at some cheesy joke, taking another sip of water. Your eye caught a very familiar face, and you couldn’t help but feel your heart beat faster.
You made some sort of quick excuse as you left the table and hurried over to him. Once you were out of ear-shot of the man you left-behind, you called out his name. “Doojoon!” you yelled, waving an arm at him as you closed the gap between you. You grinned from ear to ear, hopping in front of him.
He looked surprised, but soon that smile was taking your breath away. The two of you had been friends for years, and he still managed to have this effect on you. “What are you doing here?” he asked, smiling and rubbing your arm. He was always a little touchier with you.
You grinned, jutting a finger out in the direction you just came from. “I was out to lunch,” you bounced on your feet. “How about you?” The two of you talked casually, once again forgetting that time existed while you were together.
Before you knew it, an arm snaked its way around your shoulder. “Who’s this?” the voice asked. You looked up to find the man that your friends had set you up with. This had been the fourth or fifth time out, so you didn’t feel uncomfortable with it, although the current situation made you feel a little bit that way.
You chuckled awkwardly, making introductions. You didn’t miss the shock that passed over Doojoon’s face, but he managed to compose himself rather quickly. They shook hands and remained casual, but he excused himself so he could pay the bill and the two of you could get going soon.
You smiled graciously at him before turning back to Doojoon. “Sorry about that,” you tried to grin at him, rubbing the back of your head. It was a failed attempt anyways. “I should… probably go with him.” As you turned to leave, a firm grasp was on your wrist. Your heart stopped.
He spoke your name, but his voice sounded choked. Slowly, you turned toward him. His eyes were closed, as if he had to concentrate hard on breathing. “You can’t be with him,” he sounded desperate. “You can’t.” He opened his eyes; they looked so pained.
You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. You stood there in a loaded silence, waiting for someone to break it. He heaved a sigh, his breathing staggered. “You can’t be with him… because you should be with me.” You stopped breathing. His eyebrows were pulled together, his eyes pleading. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I can’t watch you be with someone else, please…”
He sounded like he was going to go on, but once you remembered how to move your body you had your arms wrapped around him. You squeezed him tightly, face hidden in the crook of his neck, eyes beginning to tear up. “Thank you…” you breathed, burying your face deeper. “Thank you… for doing what I haven’t been able to…” you let out a long breath, wrenching your eyes shut. “I wouldn’t want to be with anyone other than you.”
Slowly you felt his arms wrap around you and he pulled you tightly against him. You felt his face lift up in a smile. “Would… would it be completely awful if I asked you to take me away right now?” He chuckled against you, releasing you slightly and wiping the tears off your face.
He peeked past you and looked at the man you were with as he paid the bill. “I think he’ll understand,” he ran his hand down your arm and smiled, squeezing your fingers in his.
.
Hyunseung:
“We can’t be friends anymore.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? You stared at the text message long enough that the letters didn’t even look like words anymore. You couldn’t bear the thought of ever being without him. What had you done wrong? What was even going on?
You were curled up on your side in bed, eyes tired from just staring at your phone for hours. He wasn’t even answering your texts. You didn’t want to seem desperate but really, there was only so much one person could take.
You two had been best friends for longer than you could even remember. You didn’t even know if you knew how to function without him being there. You were clinging to the vain hope that this was some joke; that one of his friends had decided to steal his phone and ruin your life or something. And yet… it seemed highly unlikely.
You wanted to cry. You shot up in bed, upset with everything. Irrationally, you threw your phone against the wall, not even reacting when it clattered loudly to the ground. “YAH! JANG HYUNSEUNG!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, as if the message would reach him. “NOT BEING FRIENDS DOESN’T MEAN WE CAN’T TALK!” you collapsed back onto the mattress, not fighting the tears that burned your eyes now. “Tell me what’s wrong…” you nearly whimpered.
You turned over, burying your face into your pillow. “Do you have to be so blunt about everything?!?” you screamed, kicking your feet angrily. You went limp, sighing hard.
A loud knock on your door brought you back to reality. Your eyes shot open, darting around the room for no reason. You groaned, dragging yourself out of bed. Whoever it was sounded desperate, for the knocking continued rather forcefully. “Coming!” you yelled at the door. The frantic knocking continued.
You opened the door, only to find a frazzled Hyunseung on the other side. Your eyes widened, and you had to physically stop your jaw from dropping. You frowned, ready to yell but you got a better look at him. He looked haggard, breathing hard and a little sweaty. “Did you… did you run here?”
“We can’t be friends anymore because I want to be your boyfriend instead,” he blurted out, still panting. “My phone died so I couldn’t tell you—-” he tried to catch his breath but he was still having a hard time. “What I meant—-” another heave. “I love you.”
You had already wrapped him into a hug. You honestly didn’t care if he was covered in sweat and could barely breathe. You squished him close, forgetting any anger you had just a few minutes ago. “Hyunseung…” you smiled into his shoulder. He hugged you back, almost collapsing into your arms. You laughed a little. “You couldn’t have just found a charger?”
.
Junhyung:
You arrived at the party a little later than expected, but you wouldn’t miss it for the whole world. A bunch of your friends were going to be there, not to mention your best friend that you hadn’t seen for nearly 24 hours. That was getting to be a little bit too much for you to take.
You ran into Junhyung a few times, but you were meant to mingle with more than one person the whole night. His eye caught yours, and it was really nothing. It was just a sideways glance, but he held your gaze. He smiled at you, and the look in those eyes was so caring it made your heart hurt. He was looking that way at you. You didn’t want to dare to hope but…
You returned the smile to him, that kind you felt with your whole self, where your eyes smiled with you. He dropped your gaze and it forced you to turn back the conversation you were in. Your phone began buzzing, and you grabbed it to check the new message. You raised an eyebrow, remembering that you got twitter updates to your phone. You smiled when you saw Junhyung’s name, but furrowed your eyebrows when you read it. “My heart breaks every time. Just… perfect.”
You quickly turned to look up at him again, but he was gone. You scanned the room, starting to get nervous. You briefly caught the back of his head move into another room, and you excused yourself to follow him. You rounded the corner, eyes peeled for him.
You noticed a figure leaning against the wall down an empty hallway, and you whispered his name. He turned his head, moving to get a better look at you. You approached him, still a little worried. You could feel your eyes soften, staring into his. “Junhyung…” you mumbled, ignoring the normal amount of personal space between people. “What hurts so bad it breaks your heart? Junhyung… are you okay?” You reached for him.
He watched your hand rest on his forearm before sighing and turning his eyes to yours. It was quiet for a time, as if he was battling with himself inside. The two of you stood there while the pounding music echoed in the background. He let out a long breath again, as if he had come to a decision.
“You,” he said matter-of-factly. You felt your heart stop for a moment, terrified that you caused him pain. “I… I know this is gonna sound crazy…” he rubbed the back of his head, words beginning to spill from his mouth a mile a minute. “I know we’ve been friends for a long time… but I don’t think I can handle us being like that anymore. Every time I see you smile… it’s the most perfect thing in the world. You’re perfect. I… I like you. …A lot. …As more than a friend.”
You stood stunned for a short time before looking down and chuckling quietly. “If that’s crazy… then I guess we both are…” you peeked a smiling eye up at his. He nearly beamed, his looks implying that he wanted to ask if you meant what he thought you meant, but the words wouldn’t come out right. You laughed, biting your lip in a smile and nodding. He looked so happy he didn’t know what to do with himself. Before you knew his heart-shaped lips were pressed against to yours.
It would have been impossible to measure the amount of happiness that coursed through you at this moment. Your arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace, arching yourself into him while your lips moved together. “Do we… have to go back out there?” you asked tentatively. He laughed softly, intertwining his fingers with yours.
“I don’t want to if you don’t want to.”
.
Yoseob:
You sighed, swinging your feet over the edge. You tossed another small pebble over the side and leaned back, resting your head on your arms. This is what you missed about everything: this simplicity in life. You closed your eyes and felt the wind on your face, hoping it would blow away all of your worries.
Whenever you had a lot on your mind you would come here. You turned off your phone and for a brief moment in time, it was like you were unreachable; lost from the world. Somehow you loved being alone, in a place no one would find you or contact you. For once, you were on your own.
You let out another sigh, getting up and leaning against the railing. Sometimes, it was just easier to let everything go. You closed your eyes again, listening hard. What surprised you was the sound of footsteps nearby. Shocked, you turned around to find a familiar figure coming towards you. His expression was hard to read. “Yo…seob?”
Before you knew it he had pulled you into a tight hug. You made a small noise, surprised at the sudden contact. He pulled you in tight, a hug that rendered you breathless. He buried his face in your hair, letting out a long breath. “Don’t do that to me…” he mumbled, gripping you tighter. “Don’t do that to me ever again.”
You stood in his arms, completely stunned and unable to move. “Do… what?” you somehow managed to get out.
“You didn’t answer your phone… no matter how many times I called… No one I talked to knew where you were… Nowhere I checked…” he held you in front of him, his eyebrows pulled together. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?” You could feel your face soften, his concern piercing you. “It’s a good thing you told me about this place or I would have completely gone insane.”
He brought one of his large hands up, cupping your face. His eyes traced yours, soft and caring. He breathed your name, placing his forehead against yours. “I can’t lose you…” He closed his eyes, biting his lip as he paused.
“I love you.” You felt your heart skip a beat, and soon it was pounding double-time. “I love your laugh. I love your smile…” he paused again, wrenching his eyes tighter. “I love everything about you. Please… don’t leave me behind again.”
You could feel his breath on your face, and bit by bit he moved himself closer to you. Automatically, you felt your eyelids close and softly your lips met. He moved his lips slowly in time with yours, and you felt yourself melt into him. You gripped him tighter, giving him enough of an answer right then.
.
Kikwang:
It wasn’t long after you met Kikwang for the first time that you knew you would be really close. Not long after that, the two of you had basically become best friends. You lived in the same apartment building and it wasn’t uncommon for you to just sit around and while away the hours together.
Lately though, life was getting in the way. Neither of you were in the same place at the same time it seemed. Days seemed longer without having him there. One day as you were leaving, you found a little post-it stuck on the outside of your door. You frowned at it, pulling it off and staring.
A grin instantly spread across your face as you looked it over. It was in Kikwang’s handwriting, simply asking you how you were. You read that little sheet over and over, smiling every time your eyes passed over the words. You went back inside, grabbing your own and writing one to him and placing it on his door. When you got back home that night there was another post-it from him.
The correspondence lasted for a few days. Your heart got used to fluttering every time you saw a little yellow sheet of paper. “I miss you,” the latest post-it read. You clamped your hand over your heart, probably audibly making an ‘aw’ sound.
You pulled out a sheet for your reply and posted it on his door, informing him that you missed him more. When you returned, you found one asking for you to come over that night at seven. You immediately hurried to his door and left him a note reading yes, in big bold letters.
You got yourself ready, excited to actually see him in person after so long. When you had settled everything and you figured you wouldn’t be too early, you headed for the door. You had grown so used to the little sheet of paper on your door that you didn’t even realize there probably shouldn’t be one if you were on your way to see him. You locked up and then lifted your head to read the note.
“I love you.”
You stared at it. You read it over and over and over again. Slowly, you lifted a shaking hand up and peeled it off, not believing what you were reading. You heard his voice speak your name softly, followed by him reading the words to you out loud. “I love you,” he repeated, coming close. “I’ve missed you so much it hurts…” You turned to him, still stunned. “I… I don’t want to be just friends anymore.”
You felt like your eyes were going to start watering but instead you let him pull you into a tight hug. He squeezed you tightly, wrapping a hand around the back of your next. You couldn’t even find the right words to say. You reached into your bag, pulling out your post-its and scribbling on one. You smiled, sticking it straight on his chest as you pulled away. He looked at it, reading it upside down. “Me too.”
.
Dongwoon:
Dongwoon called you earlier that afternoon, practically begging you to spend time with him that night. Of course you agreed, he had been your best friend for longer than you could remember and you loved spending time with him.
Oddly though, the whole night he seemed uncomfortable, as if nervous for something. You didn’t want to rush him, so you let him do whatever he pleased while the two of you just hung around. Eventually, he took a deep breath and turned to you. “I have to tell you something,” he said plainly. You didn’t want to make your mental relief too obvious, so you just turned to him and smiled.
“Okay,” you nodded encouragingly, hoping for him to go on. He furrowed his eyebrows together in hesitation, as if it was impossible to get the right words out. You were worried about it. You laughed nervously, trying to relieve the awkward energy. “Dongwoon… when have we ever kept secrets?”
He chuckled as well, and mumbled something along the lines of “oh, you’d be surprised,” but you wrote it off completely. He took another big breath, gearing up it seemed. “You promise you won’t let this change us?”
This was starting to sound serious. “Dongwoon if you killed someone…”
“No!” he waved out his hands. “Don’t joke! I’m being serious here!”
“Okay, okay!” you assured him, smiling and feeling better that he seemed a little more comfortable at least.
“Promise?” he asked for reassurance.
You nodded your head. “Promise.” He seemed to feel better about it after that, and he closed his eyes and took a huge, deep breath.
“I like you,” he said. You could feel your eyes widen, but had time to compose yourself by the time he turned his eyes to you. He said your name, in that way only he could. “I think I might be in love with you, actually. I really just needed you to know, I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore and I just—”
You don’t know what got into you, but all of a sudden he was shut up by your lips on his. It probably wouldn’t be a lie to say you were almost as surprised as he was, although it wasn’t exactly unwelcome.
“Do you mind… if I break my promise?” you ventured, speaking first and biting you lip shyly. “Because I think this changes everything.”
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