ππππ β¦ "stay a little longer."
Summary:
After everyone leaves the studio, you find yourself staying behind, overwhelmed and unsure of what to do with everything weighing on your mind. When Ryul finds you, he doesn't push for answers, he simply stays. But as the quiet night unfolds, his gentle understanding leads to a confession neither of you expected.
Pairing: ryul x reader
Genre: fluff, romance, hurt/comfort
Warnings: emotional vulnerability, crying, mentions of feeling overwhelmed
Themes: mutual pining, friends to lovers, slow burn, soft ryul, late night conversations, confession, quiet intimacy, gentle affection, happy ending.
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You hadn't meant to stay this late.
That was what you'd told yourself an hour ago.
And somehow, you were still sitting on the cold studio floor with your back against the mirror, watching the city lights flicker through the windows.
Everyone else had already left.
The music had stopped a long time ago, but you could still hear it in your head.
And, honestly, you just didn't want to go home yet.
The studio door creaked open.
Ryul stood in the doorway, one hand still resting on the handle.
He looked just as tired as you felt, hoodie pulled over his head, hair falling messily over his forehead, a water bottle hanging loosely from his fingers.
His eyes found yours immediately.
You gave him a tired smile.
He looked around the empty studio.
He walked over and sat down beside you, leaving barely an inch between your shoulders.
You could sit beside Ryul for hours without saying a word and somehow feel more understood than you did after talking to someone for days.
He glanced at your phone.
"You waiting for someone?"
"Then why haven't you gone home?"
You turned your head toward him.
"You could've gone home."
"Guess we're both stupid."
A quiet laugh escaped you.
Ryul smiled when he heard it.
Then his expression softened.
"You've been quiet lately."
There were a hundred things you could've said.
You picked the easiest one.
Not in an uncomfortable way.
Like he was trying to figure out which parts of you were real and which parts you were putting on for everyone else.
He looked down at his hands.
Something about those five words made your chest tighten.
You looked away before he could see it.
"I don't know how to explain it."
He leaned his head against the mirror.
Your eyes burned slightly.
"You'd really sit here with me?"
He looked at you like the answer should've been obvious.
You laughed quietly, but it came out shakier than you'd intended.
He reached over and gently took your hand.
His thumb brushed over your knuckles once.
"You don't have to pretend around me."
You stared at your hands.
"I don't know how not to."
For a moment, neither of you moved.
There was something different in his expression.
Something you couldn't quite name.
"Why do you care so much?"
You almost wished you hadn't asked.
Then he looked down at your hand in his.
"I notice when you stop laughing."
"I notice when you say you're okay but don't look okay."
His voice was quieter now.
"I notice when you leave early. When you don't eat. When you're pretending to listen because you're actually somewhere else in your head."
He gave a nervous little laugh.
"You're really making me say it?"
"I just... don't understand."
He looked at you for a long moment.
Even your heartbeat felt too loud.
Ryul looked away almost immediately.
"I wasn't going to tell you."
"Because I didn't want to ruin this."
He gestured vaguely between you.
You looked down at your intertwined hands.
"You thought you'd ruin it?"
"I thought you'd get uncomfortable."
You smiled through the tears that had finally slipped down your cheeks.
He stared at you for a second before letting out a breathy laugh.
You wiped your cheek quickly.
Then, carefully, he lifted his hand and wiped the tear from your cheek with his thumb.
His touch was so gentle it almost hurt.
"You know," he whispered, "I've wanted to do that for a while."
And suddenly, you understood.
It wasn't some grand confession.
It wasn't flowers or perfect words or a movie like moment.
And the quiet realization that maybe you'd been looking for somewhere to belong when he'd been sitting beside you the entire time.
Ryul rested his head against your shoulder.
You leaned yours against his.
"Can we stay a little longer?" he murmured.
His fingers tightened around yours.
For the first time in a while, you didn't feel like you needed to leave.
You didn't need to explain yourself.
You didn't need to pretend.
that was what falling in love was supposed to feel like.
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