Woonhak is amazing when it comes to academics. He ranks high, never low, in any result he receives. English is his best subject, and yet, his book smarts fail him when it comes to reading himself—why is he all flustered around you, the girl he's strictly only supposed to tutor?
OR IN WHICH . . . Woonhak trying to figure out his feelings for you is like a test that isn't open book. Something he's good at, but struggles when it comes to a real life situation. If he is to say that he loves you, he only wonders how you'd reply.
THE PAIRING -> nerd!woonhak x fem!reader ( ft. jaehyun from boynextdoor )
⤷ THIS CONTAINS ────୨ৎ──── oneshot school au ( they are juniors ) romcom tutor x tutee loser!woonhak ( pushing that loser!bnd agenda lool ) ( 6O18 WORDS ! )
NOTE -> thank you soph for sending me that glasses woonhak edit yesterday morning we say in unison... it was lifechanging guys ( literally lifechanging because i spent a good twenty minutes binging woonhak edits a little after.... found one to the song loser by cheeze and now here we are!!!!!!!!!! ) playlist is linked in the title too!
QUESTION ONE — WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
It’s happening again. Woonhak’s face is running red, his palms are becoming sweaty, his glasses are slipping down the bridge of his nose, and he’s stumbling over his words. And it’s all because you’re in front of him.
Today’s a Monday—the day where he tutors you. Unfortunately, it’s the only day he tutors you too. He regrets not deciding on more days when the two of you first started planning out a perfect schedule. It’s not like he has to devote his time to his six hour study sessions everyday. He could definitely spend another day or two with you.
“That’s not right.” He says, followed by a swallow. He pushes his glasses, bringing them back to their original spot as he points at the right answer.
“It’s this one.”
Math is also something Woonhak is good at. He loves it. The satisfaction after seeing his final answer match the answer key. It’s the best, really. He wishes he could feel the same satisfaction once he figures out why he feels this way when he’s with you. What overcomes him, making him react in a way he’s never reacted before?
His attention shifts from the worksheet to you. The puzzled expression on your face as you try to piece together the steps in your mind makes him smile. It always does, but he doesn’t know why. Is it because it gives him a reason to explain the answer even further? Or is the reason the fact that he gets to spend more time with you without needing an excuse?
“Oh! I get it now.” You gasp and pick up your pencil to write down notes before you forget. Woonhak’s happy at the fact you’re starting to understand the unit more and more every time you meet each other.
It’s torture.
It’s torture because it only happens once a week. When you ask to meet an extra day for an upcoming test or extra practice, he's overjoyed. Although those are rare occasions, he’s always crossing his fingers behind his back whenever you come up to him. He wants you to ask. He’d gladly give you his time. Even if it never comes, he continues to hope it will during every other interaction.
“I’m glad…” He mutters, the same soft smile on his face.
Your eyes widen at the time, noticing how you’ll be late for dinner if you don’t leave now. You gasp again, gaining the boy's attention almost immediately.
You’re hastily packing up your things as Woonhak watches in silence. He knows what words are about to leave your mouth. It’s not like this would have stayed forever, though he wanted it to. He can’t do anything because he’s not in control of it.
“Sorry, I have to go.” You apologize and swing your backpack over your shoulder. He gives you a small smile, followed by an ‘it’s okay’ which pains him to say. It’s not okay. He wants to be near you longer. Today felt so much shorter than before.
But why does he want to be near you longer? You’re just the girl he tutors… and the girl who makes him feel things he’s never felt before. Things that he can’t seem to put his tongue on. He can't name it because he doesn’t know what it is. The only obvious thing to him is the fact it’s not normal. Woonhak has never felt some type of way with his other tutees. So, why is it different with you?
Why are you different?
His hand finds its way into his hair, softly pulling at the strands. He’s frustrated. And it’s not because of his homework, it’s way more frustrating than any words on the page are. It’s you and the way your voice wouldn’t leave his head. It’s on repeat—looping like the same videos he watches to teach him extra things everyday, making him go crazy.
What are you doing to him?
He stares at his chemistry notes. If only understanding what the feeling he has when he’s around you was as easy as solving a chemical reaction using the Ideal Gas Law. How many moles were produced in the new chemical? Easy. He can solve that with his eyes closed.
This isn’t a chemical reaction. The way he feels is nowhere near it. He can’t easily solve what he’s feeling with a formula created by men from the 1830s. Perhaps if he prays hard enough, they’ll come back alive and create one for him personally. Just one to help him organize his headspace better.
Tough luck. There’s no way that will ever happen. Nothing works in his favour. If he were to receive a test about this, he wouldn’t even know what to study for. The results would be his first ever zero—not even a passing grade at this point. He wouldn't even be close to earning something like that.
Woonhak groans, clawing at his scalp with both hands. It’s only 8:30 p.m. A few hours before he has to sleep according to his perfect sleep schedule. The one he’s perfected as a child: sleep at 10:30 p.m. every night to wake up at 7:00 a.m. every day. A perfect eight hours and thirty minutes of sleep is enough to keep him going through the school day.
A perfect sleep schedule that he’s perfected as a child.
The one that he perfected as a child only to ruin it as a 17-year-old. Woonhak’s lying on his back and staring at his ceiling fan that spins slowly. His room is pitch black, due to the black out curtains he invested in. They help him stay focused when he studies because there’s no light to distract him.
But right now? Right now they’re suffocating. His room is so quiet—too quiet for him to sleep. His thoughts are overclouding him. They are all too much for him to have a peaceful rest.
Fuck it.
He flips over onto his side, reaching for his phone on the nightstand in a swift motion. The screen is blaring and bright in his dark and gloomy room as he squints. The clock reads 2:23 a.m., which is obviously way past the time he gets into bed. The fact he’s been trying to sleep for the last four hours only clicks moments after.
He’s failing miserably.
The voice in Woonhak’s head is telling him to turn off his phone and try again, but his heart is saying otherwise. He goes against the voice and unlocks his phone. He flicks through his apps, avoiding the one he wants to click on badly. The app that could be the answer to all his problems.
Safari.
He pauses and stares at the blue, red, and white icon. He swallows thickly as his thumb hovers over it. It does circles alone, the circles over his other thumb, before he’s clicking the app with no second thought. It opens up a new web page—step two of reaching the solution to all his problems.
His bottom lip gets caught underneath his teeth as he presses letters on the keyboard. He starts with an I, then hits the space bar. It’s followed by four letters d-o-n-t, then another hit of the space bar. He halts his movements. He doesn’t know why he’s so hesitant. This is something he wants to figure out, and yet, he’s holding back from doing so. It feels like he’s about to see his final grade for a course he took, but worse. Ten times worse.
Woonhak wishes he could use his knowledge and figures this out himself. He’s smart, but there are some things he doesn’t know. This is definitely one of them. He sighs as he continues to type the rest of words out into his search bar. Once he presses enter, he’s brought to the results. There are many of them. He doesn’t know which one he should click.
He reads. Scrolls. Reads. Then scrolls until he finds a result that matches his situation like a theory that matches its observations—perfectly—and clicks on it. It brings him to a website he’s never seen before because one, he’s never looked up such a thing, and two, when has he ever felt this way until now? Never.
I get flustered all over when I'm near a certain someone, what does this mean?
The original poster is in the same boat as Woonhak. They don’t know what their sudden feeling of happiness and the heat that rushes to the palms of their hands as well as their face means. Neither does Woonhak.
The comments appear as he scrolls. They are all saying the same thing, over and over again.
You like them. You have a crush on them. It’s feelings, you like them.
“Like, like like them?” Woonhak whispers to himself. He knows what crushes are. His friend talks his ear off about them all the time, but he never pays much attention to it. Either he’s reading a book or revising notes for his next period. However, now that he thinks about it, whenever Jaehyun boasted about his crush, he’s mentioned feeling the same way Woonhak does when he’s near you.
He likes you?
The two of you only met four months ago at the first ever peer-tutoring meeting. He remembers it vividly. The way you rested your chin in your hand, fingers softly drumming against your cheek to a rhythm you made. The way you chimed into the group conversation whenever you had a question. The way you looked around the classroom in search of a student whose name appeared on your acceptance form. The way you smiled at Woonhak when you matched his name to his face. The way his heart did a slight flip when he saw it. He thought you caught him looking at you, because, in all honesty, he was throughout the whole meeting. But when the meeting comes to an end, and you’re heading his way with the idea of starting a conversation and getting to know each other in your head, he knows that wasn’t the case.
When the words tutor and Woonhak leave your mouth within the same sentence, that’s what confirms his forming thought. He’s going to spend the next six months with you as your tutor, and you’ll be his tutee.
That was it.
His attention is brought to his phone at the sudden incoming notification. His gaze goes from the contact picture of the selfie you took of both of you at your second meeting, where you caught him off guard, to the contact name beside it. It’s nothing special. Everyone in Woonhak’s phone has their full name as their contact, yet Woonhak feels his heart rate increasing like the numbers on a number chart. (Last Name) (Name), it says with a message underneath.
(Last Name) (Name): ignore the fact that i’m awake so late, i was actually studying for once! but look, i got my grades back for the last test you helped me with. we passed with an 89!!!! we did it!!!!
He blinks. The first message disappears within the speed of light as another one appears, taking its place.
(Last Name) (Name): thank you woonhak! :) see you tomorrow, goodnight!
He reads it again and again, letting it register within him. You said thank you, and included his name in the message. You even said goodnight to him, hinting at the fact you’ll definitely see him tomorrow no matter the zero classes with each other.
Heat shoots up Woonhak’s neck and he’s turning off his phone, placing it back onto the nightstand with its screen facing down. He grabs one of his spare pillows and shoves his face in it all at once. He doesn’t know why such basic messages had this kind of effect on him. Maybe the comments he read earlier were right.
No, it’s not a maybe, they are right. He’s done questioning the way he feels when he’s near you, since finally—finally, he has an answer for it.
It’s because he likes you.
QUESTION TWO — IF I SAY,
“Jaehyun.” Woonhak calls from the doorway of his friend’s classroom. The boy takes out his left earbud at the sound of his name. He’s looking around the classroom for the culprit, but then his eyes land on Woonhak who stands at the door. He grins at the sight of his best friend and gets up from his desk as Woonhak moves away from their classroom entrance to let others walk in.
“What’s up?” Jaehyun asks, hand on the doorframe. “Did you run out of paper again? I have some lined paper in my backpack if you need.”
He points behind him and Woonhak reaches to put his finger down. Jaehyun’s left confused. He’s never this quiet, and neither are his responses ever late.
Jaehyun fully steps outside of his classroom, bringing Woonhak to the side. “Did something happen?” He whispers in case it wasn’t something he wanted to say out loud. Woonhak shrugs. He isn’t sure if it’s a bad thing that it happened, when it happened, or if it should even be put in the same sentence with the verb ‘happen’.
“Look,” he starts as Jaehyun leans in closer. “I know I’m not the type of person to talk about things like this but… Jaehyun, I like (Name).”
Jaehyun gasps, an alerting ‘what’ leaves his lips right after. Woonhak’s eyes widen through the lens of his glasses and he’s covering his friend's mouth fast.
“Quiet down!” He whisper-shouts, in hopes that it was enough to scold the older boy. “It’s shocking, I know. I’m the same boy who has his nose in any workbook possible. Trust me, I know that better than anyone.”
“Well, I mean, yeah, this is very extraordinary of you.”
Woonhak’s brows furrow at the usage of such an over-the-top word. “Is it that bad?” The boy asks, causing Jaehyun to fervently shake his head.
“Not at all. I was just surprised…” Jaehyun shoves his hands into his pockets. “Anyway, moving on from that, what are you going to do about it?”
“About what?”
Jaehyun blinks at the younger boy who innocently stares back at him. If he is to look any longer, he’s sure a question mark will appear beside his head. “Your crush, Woonhak. What are you going to do about it?”
Oh.
He hasn’t thought that far. He only came to terms with his feelings a few hours ago. Hell, he hasn’t seen you all morning. Honestly, he’s not sure how he will react if he does at all.
“I don’t know.” He says. It’s the truth. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do.
“Well, you should think fast because she’s actually coming our way right now…” Jaehyun says while looking over Woonhak’s head at you. The girl who has a stupidly excited grin on her face at the realization that the boy’s back in front of her is Woonhak’s.
“Goodbye!”
Jaehyun disappears from Woonhak’s sight, not giving him any time to register what is going on. The flats of his shoes are stuck in place when he tries to move. He can’t bring himself to do it. The way you’re calling his name from down the hall isn’t doing him any better too. His only other choice is to turn around and talk to you.
Not that he’s complaining, of course.
“Woonhak!” You cheer from behind, tapping his shoulder. He turns to the tap of your finger. It’s not like he wouldn’t have if you did anything else.
“Oh, (Name). Hey.” Woonhak gives you a small smile. His hands are behind his back, fingers twiddling with each other to keep them busy. He’s worried that if they stay still for so long, it’ll only cause his palm to become sweaty.
“I’m not sure if you saw my texts last night, but look!” You raise the marked test in front of him. He notices the 89% in red ink almost immediately and his small smile doesn’t falter.
“That’s great, (Name).” He praises.
He’s only praising you for your accomplishment and yet, you can feel your ears warming up. It’s the way he softly says your name that makes you react in such a way. It’s as if he’d wake up a predator if he said it any louder.
“Thank you…” You manage to say it even after a terrible attempt to clear your throat.
You aren’t sure when you started liking Woonhak. Was it the day of the first peer-tutoring meeting, or the day you took the pic of you two during your second tutor session? Was it way before that, when you first noticed him in your grade nine math class? You always found him interesting with how well he worked despite the loudness of your classroom. Maybe it was then when you decided you had eyes for him, but the constant tutoring sessions within the last four months helped finalize that feeling of yours.
It must have been fate with how you two ended up as tutor and tutee.
The hallways become crowded like they do during passing time, meaning the students’ lunch break has come to an end. Thank God for your luck because you aren’t sure how much longer you could last under his eyes.
“We should get going,” you begin, “I’ll see you whenever!”
Woonhak feels the same disappointing feeling he’d feel whenever you left at the end of your tutor sessions. Your interaction is cut short because of time once again. He really wishes he could spend all the time in the world with you whenever he wanted to.
His hands slap both sides of his face, causing his glasses to slip from the commotion. It’s like a repeat of last night, however this time, he isn’t confused about how he feels about you. Not at all. Instead, Jaehyun’s words play in his head.
They’re echoing through his ears as he tries to annotate a page of their novel study book in English. If he doesn’t focus, his assignment won’t get done. He always keeps his phone on silent and away from him when he’s doing work. He never reaches out for it—it was all a part of his ‘perfect’ routine growing up. But clearly, things changed with how he stayed up last night, and still are with how he’s reaching for his phone without completely finishing his work.
Wow, you really have an effect on him.
Once Woonhak unlocks his phone, he’s rushing to Jaehyun’s messages. There’s something bubbling inside of him like a chemical in a beaker on a hot plate. You don’t know what it is until you do your observations and calculations.
Maybe that’s exactly what Woonhak has to do.
Kim Woonhak: jaehyun.
Myung Jaehyun: woah, you scared me. what’s up?
Kim Woonhak: about confessing… how should i do it?
Myung Jaehyun: YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT?????
Kim Woonhak: i think that’s the best way to go about things, my feelings, i mean.
Myung Jaehyun: honestly, go with your gut!
Kim Woonhak: i’ve never done this before, you and i both know this.
Myung Jaehyun: then… give her a letter, you’re good at writing. do something you’re good at so it doesn’t screw you over.
A letter? He’s never written one before.
His English teachers during the past few years have said he’s good at writing, which always leads him to believe the same. Despite that, he doesn’t know if he’s capable of writing a letter—a love letter at that. And yet, here is trying.
He stares at the lined papers splayed out on his desk as he taps his blue pen against his jaw. It’s the pen you’ve complimented during one of your tutoring sessions. Apparently, it’s one of the best pens you’ve ever used.
It glides smoothly across paper with no bleeding or smudges.
Your words sound through his head as he writes on the page. You were right. He’s never taken note of the way his pens act upon paper. Now that he’s looking closely at the one in his hold, it is different from the other pens he uses.
Just like how you’re different from any other students he has tutored before.
The novel he was previously annotating is long forgotten as his focus continues to deepen in the letter he’s writing. It’s fine if he doesn’t get the assignment done now, it’s due in a few days anyway. He likes to be on top of his game, handing things in early so that he doesn’t fall behind with the rest, but here he is, writing an overdue letter pouring out his feelings for you.
It’s been a month or two since he’s started feeling this way near you. Not once did he ever think he likes you. Honestly, you’re the first crush he’s ever had. He always had his head stuck in notebooks, workbooks, textbooks, and fliers of new school supplies whenever he ran short. Not out, just short.
He’s used up a page and a half for this letter of his. Did it take a while? Yes. Whenever he made a mistake, he would restart, discarding the now scrap piece of paper somewhere on his desk. It’s not a beautiful sight to someone who’s all about perfection and tidiness. It would send the Woonhak from months ago into a spiral of emotions.
But now, he doesn’t care. All he cares about is putting in enough effort into this love letter and giving you his best words. The ones that manage to make all English teachers swoon.
QUESTION THREE — I LOVE YOU.
You’re in disbelief at the letter that falls out of your locker the moment you open it. It’s 8:27 a.m. on a Thursday—four days away from your next tutoring session with Woonhak. You held back from asking to see him sometime this week out of your shared schedule. It was a common occurrence in the past, nevertheless, things are different now. They aren’t the same—your feelings aren’t the same. They’ve intensified.
You even remember the way you panicked when sending him that late night text. You knew he wasn’t going to reply at the same time. There was no way he was awake, you know that, and still part of you hoped that he would. What would a perfectionist like him be doing awake during such late hours?
Pushing those thoughts aside, you stare down at the envelope in your hand. It’s signed off with the simple initials—the ones you always do a double take for whenever you see the two letters beside each other, KW.
Kim Woonhak’s initials.
Your stomach sinks. You have no clue what could possibly be inside the envelope. It’s too light to be anything other than a letter. But, what could he possibly write to you about?
After a bit of hesitation, you peel open the white envelope. The inside reveals a folded piece of paper. On the outside, there’s half a page of writing. Your gut feeling only gets worse. You’re not sure why you’re quick to think negatively. It might be the fact that you’re unsure if he likes you or not. Has he picked up on your feelings and this is his way of rejecting you? Woonhak doesn’t seem like the type to be able to come face to face with someone and tell them off.
You wouldn’t be shocked if this is his way of telling you off.
You’d unfold the paper, revealing a page filled with blue ink writing. With the way it didn’t bleed through the back and there are no smudges on the front, you’re able to tell exactly which pen he used. The one you took a liking to… the one you continuously saw him using after you said those things about it. The reason why you had some hope that maybe, just maybe, Kim Woonhak saw you the same way.
This letter will answer the question that roams through your head constantly: does he like me back?
Dear (Last Name) (Name),
I didn’t think I would ever write a letter nor did I ever think my first letter would be a love letter. To you. However, I’m not mad. I’m more happy that you’re my first. Honestly, I love all the time we spend with one another. It doesn’t fail to make me feel happy whenever I see your smile or hear your voice in the distance. Your company is one of my favourite things ever… but it’s also the thing that has the most effect on me.
The more time we spent with each other during our tutoring sessions, the more I realized, I don’t feel normal around you. I started asking myself questions almost three months ago, why do I feel a certain way when you’re near me? Why do my palms get sweaty and my face turns red when you’re beside me? Why can’t I get your voice out of my head even when it’s occupied with other thoughts during my studying sessions? As the numbers varied, the answers lessened. I couldn’t find the answer to any of my issues—the reason why I felt that way when you’re in my vicinity.
I wish love was as easy as mixing two chemicals in a beaker during chemistry class. I wish it was as easy as solving quadrantal angles, determining which of the primary trigonometry ratios are positive in what quadrants. As easy as annotating a book for English class, or writing an opinionated essay. Running laps in physical education, punching numbers into a calculator, or organizing my worksheets into a binder whenever I’m bored. But, it’s nowhere near that. It’s as chaotic as the chemical reaction between silver fulminate and potassium chlorate. It’s as confusing as your first glance at the unit circle. But it’s also interesting. It’s interesting to see how it can make one react. How much of a difference it makes in one's life.
You made a difference in my life. You’ve made me discover what it truly means to like someone. You’re the first person to ever make me feel this way. In every other life—universe even, to me, the answer will always be you. You’ll always be the person I’d want to experience this childish feeling with again. You’ll always be the first person on my mind every morning. If I ever lose my memories, you’ll be the first person I look for. I don’t care how long it’ll take me to remember, I’ll make sure I do, you can’t give up on me. You can’t leave my side because I would never leave yours.
I want all my firsts to be with you. My first kiss, my first ever date—anything and everything. I want to give you my all and spend the rest of my life with you. Spend the rest of our lives together.
What would you say? If I say, I love you. How would you respond, (Name)?
Sincerely,
Kim Woonhak.
QUESTION FOUR — HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND, (NAME)?
You don’t know what to say. You don’t know how to feel. You don’t know where you’re going. And still, you’re speed walking. The letter is held tightly in your hand. The pressure isn’t enough to crumple the piece of paper, but it’s tight enough to make sure it doesn’t fall.
The way he used the blue pen that you said you liked, the way he paid close attention to his formatting and indented all his paragraphs, and the way he finished the letter with a dumb question that sadly, only you know the obvious answer to.
It bothers you. In a good way.
Your heart is racing, your face is overheating, and your mind is going crazy. It’s not because of the fast pace you’re walking at. It’s only due to the words in that letter—nothing else. Despite how badly you want to, there’s no way you’d find Woonhak now. You never see him until lunch time, and from what you know, he doesn’t check his phone in the mornings either.
You don’t want to wait till the end. You don't want to give him a response too late. You don’t want to give him false hope. So, you do the second best option on the list—writing him a letter back.
QUESTION FIVE — I LOVE YOU TOO.
Dear Kim Woonhak,
I truly didn’t expect this letter from you, but I can’t say that I’d complain either. I don’t have a fancy blue pen that doesn’t bleed through papers or smudge like you do. I don’t have the creativity to come up with ways to use words like you do, but I still want to confess as well. I don’t care if I’m not as capable of things like you are, that’s my last worry in the world. Seriously.
I’m unsure of when my feelings for you sprouted into what it is now. You caught my attention all the way in our shared math class during the ninth grade. I didn’t know your name or anything about you since you kept to yourself, but I always found myself glancing at you whenever the lesson came to an end. Part of me hoped that you’d turn around and finally notice me, but you never did. It’s been a while since I last saw you since that year ended. You weren’t roaming the halls like I was. You weren’t in clubs or doing sports like I was. I even thought you moved schools and decided to let go of what wasn’t a thing in the first place.
But then, I saw you again. It was during the first ever peer-tutoring meeting. I was beating myself up for even needing a tutor in the first place… it made me feel like a sore thumb in a group of perfectly fine fingers. The odd one out. Nevertheless, that ill feeling went away when I saw you sitting down. The way your glasses dumbly rested on your nose bridge and how you attentively listened to everything the members said. It didn’t fail to make my heart flutter like the wings of a butterfly. When reading my acceptance form, I wondered, who’s Kim Woonhak? I’ve never seen or heard the name before during my three years of being at this school, yet I still found myself hoping that it was you. I wanted to get closer to you. I can’t even express the happiness I felt when I matched the name on the green sheet of paper to the one sewed into your felt name tag. That was the only thing we had in common, red felt name tags attached to the same uniforms we wore. However, it wasn't enough. I wanted something more.
As we spent more time together, the want was never fulfilled. Then I realized, I don’t think I want to be just your friend. The desire of wanting something more was you. I wanted you as something higher than the friendship title. I wanted us to be more than friends. I never thought that day would come—you feeling the same as I do. I always thought it was a fragment of a dream that would never touch reality. The one I desperately waited for and held onto. It took a while, but it’s finally here, and I couldn’t be happier.
I’m not as good with my words as you are, but I hope I conveyed everything I wanted to say to you. I know you might be waiting to read my response too, so I’ll let you off that high of anxiety now… Kim Woonhak, if you were to ever say I love you to me. My response would be simple. It would be simple and meaningful.
I love you too.
Yours truly,
(Last Name) (Name).
The bell rings. It rings the moment Woonhak finishes your letter. It’s as if it was waiting for him to do so. Like it was under a time limit controlled by him and not the other way around. All jokes aside, the timing is perfect. It’s lunch time—the only time Woonhak ever sees you during the school day. He’s rushing out of the classroom, making sure to make it out before the other students do. He’s unsure of where he’ll find you at a time like this. Your run-ins with each other are always a coincidence.
How does one make a coincidence happen on purpose?
Well, they just do.
Woonhak pokes his head around in random classrooms as he moves further down the school hallway. So far, there isn’t a single sight of you. He needs to see you. He needs to confirm that everything in your letter was true and not just a response to his own.
He needs to know.
“Woonhak?” A voice calls, flustered and confused. His consciousness returns as he makes out the sight in front of him through his glasses. It’s you, the person he was dying to see. He doesn’t even realize that he found you. He doesn’t know when he did nor does he know when he took your wrist into his hand, halting your steps.
“(Name).” He exhales. His cheeks are rosy and his chest is slowly rising up and down as soft breaths leave his lips. Woonhak doesn’t want to let go of your wrist. He doesn’t want to face the fact that you might walk away from him.
“Did you mean everything you said in that letter?” Woonhak questions. Your gaze shifts from his face to the letter in the hand that rests at his side, then back on him. You nod. It’s true. You meant every single word that you wrote letter by letter.
You take this as a chance to ask him your own dying question. “Did you mean everything in yours?”
“Every little bit of it.” He breathes, finally catching up to his breath completely. “If this were an exam, my answer key would have hearts instead of bubbled in letters. I like—no, love. I love you that much.”
“I don’t want to let go, I’m afraid you’ll leave.” He finishes as he glances down at his hand on your wrist. You smile and shake your head at his words.
“There’s no way I’d do that. Not after hearing what you said here, Woonhak.” You shimmy your wrist slightly out of his tight grip, enough to turn your hand and intertwine your fingers with his.
“My answer still hasn’t changed. If you were to say that you love me. I’d always reply the same. I love you too.”
He can hear his heart beating in his ears. He never thought he’d ever hear you say those words at all. Not just to him. In general. He feels overjoyed, holding back the smile that fights its way through his stunned expression.
“(Name),” Woonhak starts, gaining your attention. Your head tilts as you wait for his next words.
“Will you be my girlfriend?” He asks. He finally asks. The question you wanted to hear finally left his mouth.
You nod, your smile growing even wider. “Of course I will.”
The smile that Woonhak held back escapes. He’s too happy to even care about how stupidly in love he looks. It doesn’t matter to him. It doesn’t matter to you either. You’re both just happy at the fact you can finally call each other mine.
Honestly, Woonhak has learned a lot within the last week. There’s one more school day of the week with Friday being tomorrow. If there’s one thing that he’s sure about, it is his knowledge on love. Give him a test on it and he’ll ace it for sure. All thanks to you. You’re the one who taught him what he needs to know about loving someone. Something he’s never touched base on, excluding how he feels for his family. He loves them, of course he does, but he also loves you.
He’s learned a new concept in his life. One that he wouldn’t have been able to do alone—without you. Who would’ve thought your roles would ever change?
