kwakaustin has invited ‘bin52, psw98, timeforus, junniepuff, moominerous, immercury, hyuntimes, and earlybird’ to the conversation
austin has changed the conversation to ‘small kids.’
austin: heyy, i thought it would be nice to just have a group chat with all of us together so we can plan things or something like that
austin: what do you say guys?
austin: sounds?? good?? 👍👍👍
austin: i mean if it doesn’t sounds good it’s okay i guess?? but we’re friends!
austin: so friends sticks together. buds for life.
“I… uh…” He finally broke his staring to drift his eyes overhead. Anywhere else. He didn’t want to show her how wracked with nerves he truly was. “I’m happy to hear that… That you didn’t think it was a joke or really… the other name I wrote.” But. He stammered, struggling to find the proper words. Writing them down was a walk in the park comparatively. But…“Then… do…ㅡ What do you want to do… about it,” he sighed in frustration at himself. “Sorry. Let’s… go… somewhere? Somewhere else? Maybe?”
After finishing his stumble of stringed together sentences, he removed one hand from his pocket with eyes still averted, smile hidden underneath black fabric. It was something of a silent offer.
the longer she stood, the longer the feeling of dread culminated at the pit of her stomach. because she did think this through, thread out the possibilities of how this could turn out. but, she thinks faster than she should— making thoughts unable to catch up with her already sprinting legs. because she possesses a reckless spirit, the root of all of her emotional impulses.
this was one of those cases where the ghost of her heart takes the reigns, not grasping all of the nonexistent loose threads. a huff of exhaustion slips as if oxygen finally had found the entry of her lungs. her hands unclench, letting all of the compressed muscles release the building tension. relief takes control of her limbs because she finally unveiled the words that her mind rehearsed the past days.
but, the repercussions of her actions settle on the air as hyunbi watches the other react. a part of her wants to sprint, morph with the wind and never return. but, a bigger and more carefree part of her simply laughs, a loud boisterous laugh resonates from her chest. her eyes fly to the sky as if it could dissipate her rampant nerves.
❝ i- i just- i don't know what to say except i thought with my gut! ❞ her hand goes upward, finding comfort on her loose hair strands. as her gaze wonders and finds his hand, her expression abandons her embarrassment and only holds sincere mirth.
❝ i admit i didn't think that far and just ran here because i just wanted you to know... but, ❞ her once fidgeting hand stops as it scopes the hand he offered. her smile stretches upward as she offers him a hopefully comforting grin. ❝ i... you asked what i wanted and well... ❞ she stops, rethinking her course of thought. ❝ actually, nevermind. lets get going! ❞
Daeyhyun kept his eyes on the scale model of a house he was currently holding in his arms. He still had a lot of work to do until it would be ready for his final project. Normally, he would work on it at home, but he decided to try asking one of the art teachers if he could perhaps leave it somewhere safe in one of the classes and come over when there were no classes to work on it. It would be incredibly helpful if they said yes. He was also hoping to charm his way into getting the teacher to let him use some of the art supplies. Of course he’d bring most of what he needed himself, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.
So because he was focused on his project instead of the path he was walking on, what happened next came as no surprise. There was a strong collision that sent him stumbling forward and his first instinct was to try to stop himself from falling hard face first, but to do that, he had to let go of the scale model. It crashed to the ground, splitting and small trees flying off even though they should have been glued down well enough to stick there Daehyun thought bitterly as he watched all this happen in what felt like slow motion. His knee met with the ground, hard, causing him to wince. It didn’t get better when his palms scraped over the concrete before his nose could meet the ground.
“Fuck!” He exclaimed loudly as he moved to sit down, rubbing his palms carefully over his jeans before wrapping his fingers around his knee. He’d have a nasty bruise later, he was sure of it. But even though his body hurt, he was more worried about his scale model and he felt his heart break when he saw the state it was in. So many hours spent working on it, and now he’d have to start over. He should have kept it at home. He slowly pushed himself up, wincing as his leg moved and then bent down to start picking up the pieces that had detached from the project and flown off.
Amidst all this, it took him a few seconds to notice that he wasn’t alone. It had all happened so fast after all, that he only realized there was someone with him when his fingers brushed over other fingers and he looked up to find a guy staring back at him.
there he goes again. at this point, seungwoo’s had it with the whole situation between his older brother and the young trainee. everything about it disturbed him -- from the way hyojong was dependent on the younger boy to take care of him like he wasn’t a responsible adult himself, to how the kid basically revelled in hyojong’s attention, probably looking up to him with wide, fascinated eyes -- not unlike seungwoo had done when he and hyojong were kids.
bending down to collect some loose fistfuls of snow, seungwoo was about to pat them into into firm balls of mass destruction when the boy’s voice halted him. he narrowed his eyes in response. oh no, he didn’t.
with the loudest war-cry he could summon, he bellowed out,
“PREPARE TO DIEEEEEEE!”
and pelted his snowball in the direction of the younger kid. this was war.
Firstly, I really hope that you waited until you are everything to read this!!
[ text doesn’t continue until the next page. ]
Do you remember what day it is today? Of course you would since you’re a nerd and all. But, well, the day doesn’t really matter too much since you probably finished the candy a few days after. It’s pretty sudden and unexpected, right? I’m sorry for that. I’ve been thinking about what to say for a while now. I guess I have a lot of things to say to you that I’ve been holding in.
Jeon Hyunbi. Your smile makes me want to smile back, and it makes my heart flutter whenever it’s directed toward me. Your eyes are pretty and full of light and passion. Even though you’re short, you reach higher than anyone else I know. You reach past my head, the heads of your parents, and into the sky.
And… That’s why you’re the sun to me.
Maybe this gushing and cheesy comparison will make you laugh a bit, but I really think it’s always been true even if it’s embarrassing to write these things.
And honestly, lately I’ve really got to really liking the sun.
I like… you! Well, there it is.
Love, Nathan Chen
From, Kim Seungbin
hyunbi is not patient by nature. she lets her patience run too thin where it easily tears. but, this time, her patience remains under control. it even makes her stall as she eyes the unopened envelope and now emptied heart box. a mixture of excitement and hesitance festers inside her. her heart ready to flee somewhere, too electrocuted by her nerves. her fingers fidgeted a bit before she reaches it.
she easily tears the envelope, leaving her the now seeable letter. she straightens the paper, lips already turning into a smile. ❝ i did, ❞ her tone is soft as a dash of pride ingrained in it. her grip unconsciously tightens, wondering what the sender wrote out. as hyunbi’s eyes meet the first sentences, a knowing emotion floods her system.
❝ nerd… ❞ she voices it out, the taste of familiarity sticking too closely. after all, only one person really called her that. his face pops up in a blurry flash, causing her already tired heart to sprint. but, she ignores and even scolds her brain for reaching into such conclusions.
as she reads, a seed of warmth implants within her. its branches stretch in her bloodstream, making it easier to burst the bubbles of laughter and embarrassment. one of her hands pressed against her cheek, hoping the bright flush to lessen. it does when she sees how they mentioned her height. but, this emotion is flushed out once she reads the name of the sender.
a small squeak of surprise passes by. it causes the sprint to come back because alas, her gut was not wrong. hyunbi leaves the letter back on her desk, now letting her heart go into a frenzied haze. as her mind enters into a blank space.
❝ so, he confessed… huh… ❞ the words escape and that’s when the reality of it sinks in. she thinks back, unable to see if he ever left hints for her to catch. but, she knew one thing and had to discover the other. she knew she greatly appreciated and valued seungbin in her life. but, she didn’t know for sure if her feelings for him could go beyond the line most stayed at.
her heart was saying something. but, she is failing to hear and couldn’t decipher what it was saying.
Bin clears his throat quietly before reaching over to tap Austin's shoulder. "Hey! I have a question. Would you mind helping me out?" he smiles slightly, "So, what do you do... if...ㅡ"
he turns around, his face (or more like his lips) was covered in ice cream. slowly, he puts down the ice cream cone and stares at bin with wide eyes. austin waits for him to at least finish the sentence but the pause was a bit unbearing at the moment. he purses his lips slightly as if deep in thought before taking another bite of his ice cream.
“what do i do if...”
finishing off his ice cream before staring blankly at his empty hand that once held his ice cream. taking a minute or two, he realizes that he had finished his ice cream. austin looks up at him and smiles at the other.
“i had another ice cream? is that what you’re trying to ask me, bin?”
It seemed like an innocent question and Seth was sure that Seungbin had no idea just how loaded it truly was. But in the end, he feels like it can all be boiled down to one thing. “Fear,” he replies as he pokes at the cherry tomato in his salad before roughly stabbing it and bringing it to his mouth to eat. “Isn’t it what’s usually stopping everyone from doing the things they’d like to do?”
It wasn’t always like this. He remembers being a child and being unafraid to try new things, to walk up to strangers and just talk. It had felt so easy back then. But then he had grown up, just like everyone else, and somewhere along the years, he has lost a bit of that courage. But maybe it’s just an excuse to protect himself, because he knows he’s not always afraid. That he often tries new things and that he’s able to talk to strangers without the conversation turning into a disaster.
But seeking help? That was the scariest. You had to be ready to be vulnerable in front of someone else and maybe a part of him felt ashamed that he had let himself reach a point where he needed help in the first place. Thoughts kept plaguing him at night when he couldn’t sleep. Whispers from his inner demons. What would your mother say? Your father would be so disappointed. They didn’t raise you only for you to end up like this.
“But it’s going to be fine,” he says as he pushes his barely touched salad aside and grabs his glass to take a long gulp of water instead. He’s not really believing his own words. He sets the glass down and starts playing with the watch on his left wrist. “Let’s talk about something less depressing. What have you been up to? Are you debuting soon?”
He saunters into Sophia's store for what seems like the hundredth time. This time, with a small box clutched in his hands. As usual, he sees the older woman behind the counter with her welcoming smile and decides to grin back before pushing the gift across the display case towards her. Inside are several carefully made pink and white macaroons. "Happy White Day, ma'am. Made these for you, but I don't think they'll be as good as yours."
placing the pastries into the display case, she hums softly to a tune. she didn’t notice bin entering the shop. sophia peeks up from the display case, and sees the gift being pushed towards her. she stands up straight, and smiles at the gift when she peeks inside the box. “thank you bin sweetheart. you don’t need to call me ma’am though. sophia is just good enough, and i’m sure that these will be just as amazing as mines because you made it yourself. be proud of the things you make even if it’s just a small gift.”
