it’s tiring seeing her like this, not so much because it happens so often but because ten knows he’s unable to do anything about it. “you deserve better,” those three words stuck at the edge of his tongue, words that he wished so hard for her to hear to listen to.
but it was always the other way around, ten would listen to her as she spoke, try his hardest not to get lost in her eyes because the last thing he’d want was to fall again. but nayeon was so good at this (so good at tripping ten over and over again without knowing) and ten would probably always be a fool for her.
“how’d you find me again?” she asks and ten can only smile, he’ll always find her, somehow their paths will always cross again, but he doesn’t bring it up, instead takes a seat beside her.
“luck i guess,” is all he says and once again his heart clenches, he’s met with her eyes, glazed over by tears and he’s all too familiar with this by now. if it had been any other time –– if perhaps it had been some alternate universe where ten wasn’t with doyeon (wasn’t convinced that he loved her), he would’ve reached out to hold her hand, told her he could treat her better, the best.
“you have crazy luck then,” she laughs and ten forces a smile, your eyes are so sad, he wants to say. “you always manage to find me.”
he doesn’t tell her that he’d heard from a customer about the way jeongguk had been treating her, about his series of drunk episodes. he doesn’t tell her that he’d spotted her while out on a date with doyeon, had made an excuse about having to go home early only to run to her.
“is it him again?” he asks and immediately her smile falters, eyes looking down at her own two feet.
i would treat you better.
“yes,” she says, “i just... i should’ve just... not bothered.”
there’s a soft silence that engulfs them but it speaks millions. her hair against the summer breeze is beautiful and ten wishes she could adorn a smile that would match the sun once more.
“here,” he reaches out into his pocket before he pulls out a flower, a yellow tulip. “for you.”
it sickens him a little, that he’ll only ever be able to do this for her. when he’d want to do so much more, to protect her (at the back of his mind, maybe, be with her).
“a yellow tulip?”
“yes,” he replies and subconsciously he slides closer towards her, “it means that there’s sunshine in your smile.”
“oh.”
“so please smile more.”
and she does, she turns to ten and the corners of her lips turn upwards and ah, there it is, he thinks, and he wishes she could be like this forever, even if his own happiness is up at stake.
“like this?” she giggles.
“yes,” he turns away, suddenly too enamoured by the sunshine in her eyes. “you’re the prettiest when you smile.”
