sgnchanyeol:
❝ — refresh, ★°。
he forgot how striking the sight of her can be, that she’s a calming presence despite the chaos their interactions can become. why does running across campus feel like a lifetime ago? throwing her over his shoulder and making wagers on their food, on the ahjumma who adores the both of them, why does he suddenly think that if he went there now, she wouldn’t recognize him?
then again, does anyone?
the way yoohyeon smiles at him gives him some hope that he could be recognized, brought back, claimed again from whatever hell he sent his own mind to in order to avoid everything he didn’t want to face before, whatever that was and is. “ you’re right. for such long legs, you run more like a giraffe than a gazelle. ” he grins, quite proud of the comparison although he could keep going, say she has the appearance of the grace of a gazelle either way. could say something idiotic about animal attraction and he doesn’t know why he bothers with such thoughts, such jokes, or why he has to try to keep everything light. ah, actually that answer is simple. too heavy and he crumbles, weaker than even he knows.
“ maybe i’ll volunteer next time, ” he chuckles, glancing down at the luggage when she mentions it and he wonders how he missed it the first time. but he’s seen her with luggage before. hell, she’s had it to stay at his home before. why does now feel so different? “ gifts? oh, told you your mom loves me. so how much did she spoil me this time? you know i love her cooking. ” reaching for her arm, he guides her inside, taking the luggage for her and rolling it in, gesturing with a tilt of his head towards the kitchen.
it almost feels back to normal, the banter, the ease, but there’s a slight change there that she’s never felt before; it feels too far to call it discomfort, but it makes her feel on edge, as if were she to say just one wrong thing, this delicate game they’re playing, pretending like nothing has changed will all fall apart. and she can’t have that, doesn’t want that, because she doesn’t know what any of it means. “i would say that’s rude but giraffes are cute, so i will thank you for the compliment,” she responds, quick on the uptake as usual, sticking her tongue out at him for good measure as she begins to step inside.
but then he takes her by the arm, touches her, and it almost feels like freshman year all over again, a sharp rise in nostalgia, the elevated heart rate, the vaguely tinted cheeks, as if the mere weeks they’d gone without seeing each other had reset everything she’d worked so hard to build up. it nearly causes her to withdraw from him in surprise, but she manages to maintain her composure in the end, keeping a smile on her face despite it all. “you should,” she says with a cough, rolling the luggage behind her, bringing it to a stop once she’s inside. “i bet you wouldn’t be able to out run me, though. i can tell when you’re around. it’s my chanyeol senses.”
she bends at the waist to feel around in her luggage, making sure nothing spills over and out as she slowly unzips the bag. she’s careful and meticulous about it, but it all works out in the end, an array of plastic and glass containers, as well as repurposed jars. “i know my mom loves you, but the issue here is you think she loves you more and the answer is no,” she says, even with all the different side dishes and meats are on display for him to see. “but i will admit that you’re almost on the same level as me. and she definitely loves youngjin more than the both of us combined.”
