hidden love
yejun x reader
genre: jealous childhood friend, childhood friends to lovers, fluff (i guess? hahaha)
💙 i love me some jealous! yejun 🤭 like ugh wanted to be in this love trope so bad had to write it instead. anyway enjoy!
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the city streets buzzed with life, the neon lights of downtown casting long shadows as the night settled in. it was a familiar rhythm, one that you and yejun had danced to for years.
the bookstores, the cafés, the late-night walks; they were all part of the landscape of your friendship. however tonight, something was different.
you both had wandered into a quieter corner of your hometown, far from the crowds and noise, towards the old bookstore the both of you used to visit back in high school days.
the place was exactly how you remembered it. dimly lit, with the smell of coffee and old paper weaving through the air. it felt like stepping into a memory.
yejun seemed distant tonight, his usual calm demeanor now tinged with something you couldn’t quite place a finger on. he’d been unusually quiet, his gaze flickering to you more often than usual but always pulling away before you could catch it.
it was like he was keeping something to himself, something important.
you were both standing in the middle of the fiction aisle, surrounded by novels you’d read a hundred times, the worn spines like old friends. you reached out to pull a book from the shelf, but yejun’s voice stopped you.
“are you still close with hamin?” his tone was casual, but there was a slight edge to it, as if he was treading carefully.
you blinked, surprised by the question. “uh.. yeah? of course we are! he’s… well, he’s hamin. you know how he is, always being clingy."
yejun’s jaw tightened slightly, his fingers twitching at his sides. you didn’t catch it at first, too focused on the conversation, but something in the air had shifted.
“oh! i just saw him at the café last week,” you continued, oblivious to the tension building up.
“hamin was being his usual self, lots of stories to share.” you chuckled at the memory. “i can’t believe he still clings on to me this much even after we’ve graduated!”
yejun stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the floor. you didn’t know it then, but that little mention of hamin from you was like a spark to dry tinder. the jealousy simmering beneath the surface had been waiting for a reason to surface.
“well, it’s good you two still talk,” yejun said, his voice tight.
you turned to face him, curiosity piqued. “are you alright? you kinda seem... off."
the blue haired boy didn’t immediately respond. he stood there, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as if he was wrestling with something—something he wasn’t sure how to say. his eyes flicked toward you and then quickly away.
“it’s nothing,” he muttered, but there was a weight to his words that didn’t match his tone.
this wasn’t him, you didn’t let it go. “yejun-ah,” you pressed gently. “what’s going on with you?”
for a long moment, he didn’t say anything. then without warning, he reached for a book on the shelf, pulling it down in one swift motion.
“it’s just- hamin always seems to know what to say, doesn’t he?” he said, voice strained and words hanging heavier than usual.
you frowned. “what do you mean? you’ve always known how to talk to me.”
a bitter chuckle came out from him but it didn’t reach his eyes. “yeah, well... maybe i haven’t been good at saying the things i should.” he let out a breath, turning away from you slightly.
“maybe i’ve been saying the wrong things for years.”
you were starting to catch on, the pieces starting to click together in your mind. you stepped closer to him, a sense of clarity creeping into your chest. “so what are you trying to say, yejun?”
his jaw clenched again, his hand tightening around the book in his grip. he looked down at the cover for a moment, as if the words he needed to say were trapped somewhere between his fingers and the paper.
“i’m saying i’m tired of pretending,” he finally said, his voice low but steady. “i’m tired of pretending that it doesn’t bother me when you talk about him like that. tired of pretending that it doesn’t hurt when you’re with him and tired of pretending that i’m okay with just being your friend.”
time literally felt like it froze, your heart pounding in your chest. the quiet that followed his words was thick, oppressive. there it was—the truth you hadn’t realized you’d been waiting for, hanging in the air like a confession long overdue.
yejun looked at you, his eyes dark with something more than just frustration. something raw and real.
“i’ve never been good at this,” he said, voice softer now, almost hesitant. “and i know i’ve probably messed things up a hundred times by not saying it before but i can’t stand by anymore and pretend that i don’t feel this way. not when i see you smile at him the way you do. not when it makes my heart stop just thinking about it.”
you swallowed, your mind spinning. this wasn’t just a confession from any guy. this was yejun—your childhood friend, your constant and right now, he’s laying his heart bare in a way you’d never expected.
“i’m in love with you,” his voice quieter now but firm as if he had finally found the strength to say it. “i always have been.”
you blinked, the words reverberating in your chest. the confession was both a relief and a shock. you’d definitely known for a while, deep down, that there was something more between you two. but hearing him say it out loud—was like a rush of emotion you hadn’t been ready for.
the silence stretched out between you, thick with the weight of his confession. you didn’t know what to say at first. you had imagined this moment in a hundred different ways, but none of them had prepared you for this rawness.
finally, you took a step forward, your voice trembling just slightly as you spoke. “yejun, i—”
before you could finish, he reached out, his fingers brushing yours. the touch was tentative at first, as if he was afraid you might pull away. but you didn’t. you stood there, your heart pounding in your chest as his fingers laced through yours.
“i know,” he said quietly. “i know i probably waited too long but i had to tell you. i can’t keep pretending like i’m not in love with you, not anymore.”
you swallowed, feeling the emotions swirl inside you—confusion, relief, excitement, fear. it all hit you at once but the most overwhelming feeling was that of rightness.
you took a deep breath and smiled softly. “yejun-ah, i think i’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
his expression softened, and the tension that had gripped him slowly melted away. “wait, you mean to say that you feel the same?”
you nodded, your hand squeezing his, the weight of everything finally settling into place.
“i think i’ve always felt the same way.”
you could feel the air shift around you and the space between you both pulsing with the unsaid words, the raw emotion, the love that had been quietly building between you for so long.
with that, almost instinctively, you leaned in. his breath caught as you drew closer, your faces just inches apart and the world outside the bookstore disappearing entirely. there was no more hesitation and no more waiting.
when his lips finally met yours, it was a slow, soft press—a tentative kiss that grew deeper as the realization of everything that had been unsaid between you flooded into that one moment.
his hand cupped your face as if holding you close to make sure this was real, that it wasn’t just some dream or fleeting fantasy.
you melted into the kiss, your pulse racing and heart finally feeling like it was exactly where it needed to be. yejun pulled back for a moment, his forehead resting against yours, both of you breathing heavily.
“i don’t think i’ve ever been more sure of anything,” he murmured.
you let out a smile with your fingers still tangled in his.
“me neither.”
and in that moment, surrounded by the quiet of the bookstore, it felt like time had stopped. everything was uncertain. life, the future, what this all meant but for the first time in forever, it felt like the only thing that mattered was that you were finally here, together.
