can't help falling in love — eom seonghyeon
synopsis: y/n has grown tired of relationships with men who rush into her life, only to leave her overwhelmed and disappointed. Then she meets seonghyeon, who takes his time and never asks for more than she's ready to give, only for Y/N to slowly realize that sometimes the person you never expected to fall for is the one you can't help falling in love with...
listen to "Can't help falling in love - Elvis Presley" while reading for a better experience . ܁₊ ⊹ . ܁ ⟡ ܁ . ⊹ ₊ ܁.. ܁₊ ⊹ . ܁ ⟡ ܁ . ⊹ ₊ ܁.. ܁₊ ⊹ . ܁ ⟡ ܁ . ⊹ ₊ ܁.. ܁₊ ⊹ . ܁
you had started to think there was something wrong with you.
not in a serious way.
just enough to make you wonder if maybe you were incapable of picking the right person.
every relationship you'd been in seemed to follow the same pattern.
at first, everything was exciting. they would text you constantly, ask to see you every day, tell you how different you were from everyone else they'd met. they'd make plans weeks ahead and talk about things that hadn't even happened yet.
and you liked it.
of course you did.
who wouldn't like being wanted?
but eventually, the excitement would wear off.
the things that had initially made you feel special became exhausting. constant messages became expectations. sweet gestures became obligations. their certainty about you started feeling less romantic and more suffocating.
and eventually, you'd leave.
then you'd meet someone else.
and somehow, the cycle repeated itself.
yunah had started noticing.
"you need to stop dating men who act like they're proposing after the second date."
you looked up from your drink.
"i've never dated anyone who proposed after two dates."
moka raised an eyebrow.
"metaphorically."
"still."
"you know what i mean."
you sighed.
"i just want someone normal."
yunah laughed.
"define normal."
"someone who doesn't act like we're soulmates after knowing me for three weeks."
moka nodded.
"reasonable."
"someone who doesn't need to talk to me every second of the day."
"reasonable."
"someone who doesn't start planning our future before i even know if i like them."
yunah looked at you.
"also reasonable."
you smiled.
"see?"
"you still somehow manage to find the opposite."
you frowned.
"that's not my fault."
"it kind of is."
you kicked her underneath the table.
she laughed.
you laughed too.
but the conversation stayed somewhere in the back of your mind.
maybe she was right.
maybe you had been looking for the wrong things.
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you met seonghyeon on a friday night.
it wasn't romantic.
it wasn't even particularly memorable.
yunah and moka had dragged you to a small get-together because they'd decided you had been staying home too much.
you didn't know most of the people there.
you knew james vaguely.
you'd seen martin around.
juhoon had been introduced to you once before.
keonho was impossible not to notice.
and then there was seonghyeon.
you had seen him before.
you just hadn't spoken to him.
he was sitting at the end of the couch, listening to something james was saying while everyone else argued over what movie to put on.
you didn't pay much attention.
until you ended up sitting beside him.
"you're y/n, right?"
you looked over.
"yeah."
"i'm seonghyeon."
you smiled.
"i know."
he laughed quietly.
"right."
"you're friends with james."
"and martin, juhoon, keonho."
"makes sense."
"what does?"
you looked toward the other four.
keonho was arguing with martin over the remote.
"you all seem like you cause problems together."
he glanced at them.
then back at you.
"mostly them."
you laughed.
"so you're innocent?"
"absolutely."
you smiled.
"i don't believe you."
"fair."
and that was basically it.
you talked for the rest of the night.
nothing deep.
nothing dramatic.
just easy conversation.
when you left, he didn't ask for your number.
you didn't think much of it.
until you got into the car.
yunah turned toward you.
"you liked him."
you blinked.
"who?"
"seonghyeon."
"he was nice."
"that's not what i said."
you looked out the window.
"he didn't ask for my number."
moka smiled.
"interesting."
"what?"
"nothing."
you ignored them.
but you couldn't help thinking about it.
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you saw him again the following week.
then again the week after that.
not intentionally.
at least, not at first.
your friend groups overlapped enough that it happened naturally.
a café.
a friend's birthday.
a late-night food run.
every time you saw him, you talked.
and every time, it was easy.
he never made you feel like you had to impress him.
he didn't interrogate you about your life.
he didn't try to turn every conversation into flirting.
sometimes you talked for twenty minutes.
sometimes five.
sometimes you barely spoke at all.
and then you'd go home.
there was something strangely refreshing about it.
he never seemed to need anything from you.
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one afternoon, you were sitting at a café with yunah and moka when your phone buzzed.
a message from seonghyeon.
seonghyeon: you left your charger yesterday
you stared at it.
you hadn't even realized.
you: oh my god
you: i completely forgot
seonghyeon: figured
you: can i get it later?
seonghyeon: yeah
you paused.
you: today?
seonghyeon: whenever
you looked at the message for a moment.
whenever.
no pressure.
no "when are you coming?"
no expectation.
you smiled.
yunah immediately noticed.
"what?"
"nothing."
"who texted you?"
"seonghyeon."
moka looked at you.
"and?"
"he found my charger."
yunah leaned back.
"you're smiling."
"i'm not."
"you are."
you locked your phone.
"shut up."
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you started noticing the little things.
seonghyeon remembered that you hated overly sweet drinks.
he remembered that you preferred sitting near windows.
he remembered that you didn't like driving when it rained.
but he never made a big deal about remembering.
he just did.
one evening, everyone was meeting for dinner.
you arrived late.
there was an empty seat beside seonghyeon.
you sat down.
he pushed a glass of water toward you.
"you always forget to drink anything when you're busy."
you looked at him.
"you noticed that?"
he shrugged.
"you do it every time."
you smiled.
"thanks."
he nodded and went back to his food.
you stared at him for a second longer than necessary.
something about it made your chest feel warm.
not because it was romantic.
because it wasn't.
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then someone else started talking to you.
he was exactly the type of person you had always fallen for.
confident.
forward.
charming.
he asked you out after barely knowing you.
he texted constantly.
he told you he liked you.
he wanted to see you every day.
and for the first few weeks, you loved it.
it felt familiar.
safe, almost.
you knew how this worked.
he liked you.
you liked him.
everything was moving.
until suddenly, it was moving too fast.
he started asking where you were.
who you were with.
when you were free.
what you wanted from the relationship.
you didn't even know.
one evening, he asked you if you could cancel plans with your friends to see him.
you said no.
he got upset.
and for the first time, you realized you were already tired.
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you ended things a few days later.
it wasn't dramatic.
you just knew.
you didn't want to spend another relationship trying to convince yourself that being overwhelmed meant being loved.
afterward, you went to your usual café.
you weren't expecting anyone.
but seonghyeon was there.
he looked up when you walked in.
"hey."
"hi."
you sat across from him.
he looked at you for a moment.
"you okay?"
you shrugged.
"yeah."
he nodded.
then went back to his drink.
you stared at him.
"that's it?"
he looked up.
"what?"
"you're not going to ask?"
"you'll tell me if you want to."
you looked down.
and suddenly, you wanted to.
so you told him.
you explained everything.
how you thought you liked the guy.
how it started feeling like too much.
how you hated feeling like you had to constantly reassure someone.
how you were starting to wonder if there was something wrong with you because every relationship ended the same way.
seonghyeon listened.
he didn't interrupt.
when you finally stopped talking, he said quietly,
"i don't think there's anything wrong with you."
you looked at him.
"you don't?"
"no."
"then why can't i make anything work?"
he thought for a moment.
"maybe you keep trying to make things work with people who aren't right for you."
you smiled sadly.
"that's a nice way of saying i'm bad at dating."
"i didn't say that."
"you thought it."
"i didn't."
you laughed.
and he smiled.
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after that, something changed.
not between you.
inside you.
you started noticing how comfortable you were around him.
how you didn't feel like you had to perform.
how you could sit beside him without talking.
how you could take hours to reply and never worry he'd be angry.
how he never made you wonder whether you were enough.
he simply liked being around you.
and slowly, you started liking being around him too.
more than you probably should have.
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you began finding reasons to see him.
you'd ask the group if they were going somewhere.
then secretly hope seonghyeon would be there.
you'd send him pictures of things you thought were funny.
he'd respond whenever he saw them.
sometimes immediately.
sometimes hours later.
and somehow, you didn't mind.
because there was no pressure.
one night, you sent him a picture of a dog you saw outside a store.
you: look
seonghyeon: that's a very ugly dog
you: don't be mean to him
seonghyeon: i'm sure he has a great personality
you: unlike you
seonghyeon: exactly
you smiled at your phone.
and realized you wanted to send him another picture.
then another.
then you stopped yourself.
because suddenly, you were doing exactly what you'd done with everyone else.
except this time, you weren't doing it because you were trying to make someone like you.
you just wanted to talk to him.
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yunah noticed before you admitted it.
"you like him."
you sighed.
"i know."
moka looked up.
"you actually admitted it?"
"i think so."
"how long have you known?"
you thought about it.
"i don't know."
"are you going to tell him?"
you shook your head.
"no."
"why?"
you smiled.
"because i don't want to rush it."
yunah stared at you.
then laughed.
"look at you."
"what?"
"finally learning."
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you didn't tell seonghyeon.
and he didn't ask.
weeks passed.
you kept seeing each other.
sometimes with everyone.
sometimes by accident.
sometimes because one of you had asked the other if they wanted coffee.
you started realizing that your favorite moments weren't the big ones.
they were the little ones.
sitting beside him in a crowded room.
walking beside him after dinner.
sharing a bag of chips in the car.
talking about absolutely nothing.
you didn't need him to tell you he liked you.
you already knew.
and maybe he knew you liked him too.
neither of you needed to say it yet.
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one night, everyone had gone out together.
you and seonghyeon ended up walking behind the others.
the street was quiet.
your hands were tucked into your sleeves.
"cold?"
you shook your head.
"no."
he looked at you.
"liar."
you laughed.
"okay, maybe a little."
he took off his jacket.
you immediately shook your head.
"no."
"why?"
"you'll be cold."
"i'm fine."
"seonghyeon."
he held it out.
"take it."
you sighed and accepted.
"thanks."
he smiled.
"you're welcome."
you walked a little farther.
then you stopped.
"can i ask you something?"
"yeah."
"why didn't you ever ask me out?"
he looked at you.
"when?"
"ever."
he smiled slightly.
"would you have said yes?"
you hesitated.
"maybe."
"then i would've eventually."
you laughed.
"eventually?"
"yeah."
"why?"
he looked ahead.
"because i didn't want to rush you."
you were quiet.
"you knew?"
"you've dated people who moved too fast."
you looked at him.
"how did you know that?"
"you talked about it."
you smiled.
"right."
he shrugged.
"i figured you deserved something slower."
your chest tightened.
"something slower?"
he nodded.
"something you could actually choose."
you looked down at the jacket around your shoulders.
and suddenly, everything made sense.
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you didn't fall for seonghyeon because he made you feel like you were the most beautiful person in the world.
you didn't fall for him because he promised you forever.
you didn't fall for him because he swept you off your feet.
you fell because he never tried to.
he gave you room.
he gave you time.
he let you decide.
and somewhere between all the ordinary moments, you'd made your decision without even realizing it.
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a few days later, you were walking home after meeting everyone.
seonghyeon was beside you.
you had spent the entire evening debating whether you should say something.
finally, you stopped.
he turned.
"what?"
you smiled.
"do you want to get coffee?"
he blinked.
"we've gotten coffee before."
"just us."
he understood.
a small smile appeared on his face.
"yeah."
you smiled back.
"okay."
he didn't make a joke.
didn't tease you.
didn't suddenly start talking about what this meant.
he simply started walking again.
you followed beside him.
after a few steps, he held out his hand.
you looked at it.
then at him.
"what?"
"nothing."
you smiled and kept walking.
your hands never touched.
not yet.
and somehow, you liked that.
because for once, there was no rush.
there didn't need to be.
you could take your time.
you could let something grow naturally.
and maybe that was what made it different.
you had spent so long believing love was supposed to come rushing toward you.
something sudden.
something overwhelming.
something you couldn't stop.
but with seonghyeon, it was quieter.
slower.
almost ordinary.
until one day you looked back and realized you'd fallen anyway.
you just hadn't noticed when it happened.