in the end, he was there | hui
w.c ↠ 3.8k
pairing ↠ hui x fem!reader
genre/s ↠ fluff, angst, heartbreak, friends to lovers au!, childhood friend!hui, neighbour!hui, pining, infidelity, featuring hongseok, smut, soft dom!hui, overstimulation, petting, v intimate and loving sex, virgin!reader, virgin!hui.
description ↠ he meant a lot to you, as something more than just friends, and so watching him date someone else was world-shattering. despite everything that happened between you both, in the end, he was there for you.
warning/s ↠ lots of heartbreak, difficult emotions, tears, jealousy and angst, suggestive themes, hongseok cheats on the reader, unprotected sex, hui is dangerously sweet ;-;
a/n ↠ as I began to write this fic, I started falling deeply in love with it. I wanted to write something sad, and yet something that showed off Hui’s softness. what came out of it is perhaps the most beautiful relationship I've written. although, I feel like I have to apologise, dear anon, because I realised you requested minor pining/jealousy, and I feel like this is pretty major. I hope you enjoy this regardless~
requested by anon
-
It was a humid summer’s day when you first met Lee Hoetaek.
You were at the age of attending primary school, and you had followed your mother into the front yard, as children often do. You were sitting on the grass watching her tend to the garden.
“Hey!”
You turned your head to find whoever had called out to you, meeting eyes with a young boy peering at you through the fence separating your house and your neighbour’s.
He had the brightest, biggest grin you had ever seen. Beneath his attention, you quickly grew shy, managing a smile and a small wave.
A friendship blossomed between you and your neighbour, especially once you learned each other’s name and discovered you were of the same age. You learned to associate him with those nostalgic summer afternoons when the sky was a brilliant shade of royal blue, afternoons in which you would run bare-footed with him across the blistering bitumen roads.
Hoetaek was something special, a source of warmth in your life. He would always hold your hand, always greeting you with overwhelming excitement and that impossibly large smile.
One evening, as you both laid on the dry grass of his front yard, watching as puffs of cottony clouds drifted by, he took your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours, turning on his side to stare at you directly.
“I’d like to be friends with you forever, (F/n),” Hoetaek said with surprising maturity, “is that okay?”
You thought it was quite silly that he was asking for permission. You had already assumed that was going to happen because, at that age, you did not have a firm grasp of what forever meant, except that it sounded incredible with him.
“Isn’t that obvious?” You replied with a grin.
That was the first time Hoetaek had made your heart flutter, though you would not realise that until years later.
The memories of primary school seemed to fade and evanesce the moment you began to attend high school. Hoetaek changed, although not in a bad way. He mellowed out, losing much of that goofy glint in his eyes. But there were still shards of his younger self left behind.
Hoetaek was still physically and verbally affectionate. He frequently reminded you that he loved you, and you had memorised how he felt to embrace. As a result, you often dealt with questions asking if you were dating him, much to your embarrassment.
And every day without fail, you left and returned home with Hoetaek at your side. You had only rare moments without him, and in those moments, you were plagued by thoughts of him.
One evening, it clicked.
Hoetaek had accompanied you to your front gate, the sun setting against your backs. Marmalade light painted his tan skin, catching in his tresses of raven hair. The moment you turned to face him, to bid him goodbye, he called to you, “I love you, (F/n)!” And you realised it.
You were in love with him.
It cascaded over you like a warm shower. Everything began to glow vivid colours, streaking together like a rainbow. Hoetaek’s pleasant smile as he sent you off was suddenly the most beautiful smile on this planet.
Everything changed from that day onwards.
Every small gesture he initiated, every slight touch, made you startled and flustered. You could hide it, for now, but your feelings were veiled thinly, and that veil would soon be torn, and then he would know. He understood you well, after all. Better than you understood yourself.
And eventually, he noticed. Just like you dreaded.
You were seated close to each other in the schoolyard, sharing your lunch break, when Hoetaek rested his head upon your shoulder. He had caught you off guard, and it had stunned you. You went rigid beneath him.
Hoetaek lifted his head, peering at you blankly, surprise gradually seeping onto his expression.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong? Do you … not want me to do that?”
“Sorry,” you hastily responded, feigning a smile through your nerves, “I didn’t mean to flinch.”
Hoetaek’s thought process reflected on his face. He silently realised something - that he should not touch you so casually. That it was wrong. That your relationship, under his control, had grown inappropriate for mere friends.
None of this was true, but your reaction had whispered these anxieties into his ear, and soon he was corrupt with doubt.
Distance began to grow like unwanted weeds between you both without the physical closeness. It was tragic; it made you feel ill. Seeing Hoetaek less frequently made the world turn grey. You wept the first morning he did not wait for you at your front gate.
Hoetaek was afraid, afraid of feeling you freeze beneath him again out of what he thought was discomfort. And you were afraid of him discovering your true feelings for him, and so you would only watch as he was swept away from you like he was being carried away by the tide.
One day, months later, he came to you, and your hopes rose upon seeing his wide grin once more. Was he coming back to you?
“I met this girl, Seungyeon,” he began, and dread settled into the crooks of your body like cold snow, “I finally asked her out today, and she said yes! Do you want to meet her?”
No, you thought, that’s the last thing I would like to do. You had to wrestle back tears, biting your bottom lip urgently just to shock you out of your deep despair. It barely worked, and even then, you were masking to hide the remainders.
“I’m happy for you, ‘Taek. I’ll meet her.”
It was a somewhat bitter smile that you left him with, and he acted as if he did not notice it. Perhaps he did see it but was not saying anything.
Perhaps he was already absorbed in his girlfriend.
The latter soon revealed itself to be the truth. You would meet Seungyeon, a girl who seemed perfectly nice and yet you hated her with all of your being.
You had to observe them. Hoetaek treated her the same way he had treated you. He would hold her hand, kiss her knuckles, draw her closer to him to share his warmth with her. Watching them made you feel like throwing up. You could feel the blood rushing from your face to your churning stomach, and you quickly excused yourself.
You stumbled through the empty school corridors as if intoxicated. Your legs were swiftly bleeding strength, and before you reached the bathroom, you collapsed onto the cold floor and began to cry.
“Are you okay?”
Amidst the fog of your depression came a gentle voice, a subtle hand on your shoulder. You looked up, knowing you were a mess, but it was too late to hide it now.
A boy was leaning over you; his eyebrows scrunched with concern. He offered you a hand, and you took it.
Hongseok was like a bandaid, temporarily covering up a wound that bled endlessly. He knew that was his purpose and dutifully performed it for reasons you could not understand.
You could not definitively recall when you first started dating him. Perhaps it was when he first took you in his arms or when he first kissed away your tears.
Years passed by.
You and Hoetaek took separate paths because you could no longer emotionally withstand being on the same path as him. Although Hongseok eased the pain, there was a constant feeling as if you were incomplete. Hongseok knew it, too, but he was kind enough to stay.
It was your final year of high school. Each of you had grown into adults, although you were yet to adjust to it. Your emotions surrounding your ex-best friend were hardly as jagged as when you were younger, but they were still a sore point.
One morning you rose for classes, dressed lazily and clasping a thermos of hot coffee between your fingers, as you had done so since the beginning of your frantic senior year. You opened the front door to greet the cold morning - instead meeting a familiar gaze.
“Hoetaek…?”
“(F/n),” Hoetaek managed a small smile upon hearing his name from your lips, “I-I broke up with Seungyeon. Last week. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I realised something wasn’t right. I missed you.”
He looked fatigued, dark half-moons beneath his eyes, his face fraught with anxiety. You could not help but match his worried expression, frowning out of concern, forgetting that you were heartbroken over him.
You tried to return his smile, although due to the mood, it came out crooked, “I missed you too, ‘Taek.”
“I mean, I missed you. I missed your smile. You’re the reason that I broke up with Seungyeon.”
Upon hearing those words, it felt as if your world came crashing around you. The castle you had built to protect your hidden feelings crumbled to dust, leaving you bare and vulnerable. You were unsure what expression you were currently making, but it was certainly bittersweet. All of a sudden, your love for Hongseok seemed small and naive.
“‘Taek…I-I’m sorry, I’m seeing Hongseok.”
Hoetaek tried to force a smile, but it disintegrated into sobs. It was the most pained look you had ever seen him make, a terrible, regret-filled expression that made tears burn in your own eyes. You could only wrap him in your arms and embrace him tightly.
“I’m sorry,” you repeated, and in a whirlwind of movement, he tore away from you and disappeared back through your front gate as if to save himself further embarrassment, and you could only watch his retreating back.
You stood frozen for a moment, trying to sort through what seemed like an immense storm of emotions and discovering you were unable to. Instead, you forced yourself to walk to school, all the whilst distracted by your thoughts.
Hoetaek was seared into your mind. That desperation, that rampant exhaustion that doused him from head to toe, the tears that paved a way down his cheeks. He was suffering, and the only way to relieve him was to go to him as more than a friend. However, after all these years he had spent at your side, it would be cruel to betray Hongseok like that.
You immediately found Hongseok, and to his credit, he knew something was wrong within moments.
You were honest with him as you cried on his shoulder, ignoring the sound of the school bell.
“I’m confused,” you mumbled, and Hongseok smiled, unbothered, “I know.”
You were wrought with guilt. You loved Hongseok, but that was nothing compared to how you loved Hoetaek. Your love for Hoetaek was as large as the universe, stretching further than you could describe with words.
Hongseok had known that the moment he had met you, and so the end of your relationship was inevitable.
It came only a few months later.
You were traversing the campus, searching for him to bid him a final goodbye before the weekend began. You turned a corner, and there he was. With another girl.
His face was angled away from you as he tucked hair behind her ear, leaning forwards and kissing her.
“Hongseok?”
He jolted away from her, turning to face you, guilt leaking over his features.
“(F/n), I…” he seemed to be struggling for words, so you concluded things for him, “I guess it’s over, isn’t it?”
Hongseok breathed for a moment, hesitating, chewing on his cheek.
“You know it never really started, don’t you? This relationship was just a distraction for you from Hoetaek.”
You somehow arrived home despite hardly remembering the walk.
His words should have stung. They were true and biting, and yet you felt nothing. Not even shock or sadness. Like a cut that should have bled, but didn't.
You simply left, not even shedding a tear for the unfortunate ending of a five-year relationship.
For a while, you simply drifted, numb and cold. Without Hongseok, you had to face things with Hoetaek. You could no longer pretend to ignore the matter with the forced pretence that you were already with someone. Because of that realisation, you left home the moment the sun set.
You wandered over to Hoetaek’s house. The same place it had been almost a decade earlier when you had first become acquainted with him.
You hesitated for just a moment before knocking. Hoetaek emerged, wearing sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. His hair was soft and bouncy, as if he had showered just hours earlier. He scanned you, his surprise melting into concern.
“(F/n)? Are you okay?”
You didn't know how to answer that, your mouth opening and closing as you searched for a response. Hoetaek smiled, soothing your hollow distress.
“Come in,” He offered, “it’s just me home.”
He led you through his house. It looked hardly different from when you were last here, and the familiarity put you at ease. He had you sit on the sofa before reclining in the armchair nearby. For a while, there was only silence as he stared at you, attempting to decipher your endless sea of emotions.
“Did something happen?” Hoetaek inquired slowly, treading carefully, “was it Hongseok?”
You were still numb as you finally responded, “yeah but, I don’t even feel that upset about it. He’s dating another girl, I think; I caught them together.”
Hoetaek furrowed his brow.
“You don’t feel upset about it?”
“I…no. It’s like I was waiting for something to happen, for an excuse to end the relationship.”
You erupted into tears unexpectedly. You did not even know why you did, but they were burning and almost relieving.
Before you knew it, Hoetaek had stood and guided you into his arms. It was just like the old days when you would trip and graze a knee, and he would hold you. Except now, the reason behind your tears was far more complex, and his embrace was secure and adult.
It did not take long for you to stop crying, but you refused to let go, and so did Hoetaek. When he finally withdrew, he hovered over you, his palm smoothing over your cheek. You recognised that look in his eyes but were suddenly too flustered to register it, not until he finally bridged the gap between you.
It was as if the world had collided with you when Hoetaek finally kissed you.
Nothing mattered anymore. Hongseok’s infidelity, your broken heart, the years that you had suffered watching Hoetaek date someone else. All of that felt a lifetime away as you kissed him.
Things quickly grew heated, which was unsurprising. It was a hot and dizzying kiss, overflowing with desperation. Hoetaek straddled your hips, pressing you against the back of the couch. You were both breathless when he stopped, staring at you through these dark, syrupy irises, pupils blown with lust and passion.
“Can I take you to bed?” He asked. There was no hesitation, no wavering of his confidence. He knew your answer before you gave it.
“Please,” you gasped, “I need you.”
Hoetaek drew his arms around you, carrying you to bed with your legs crossed behind his back. You clung to him tightly, your heart fluttering. He had always made you feel like a princess.
He laid you across his mattress carefully, as if you were fragile. You had been in his bedroom many times, but today there was something different in the air. It gave everything this surreal haze, thick and electric against your skin.
Hoetaek kneeled over you and removed his shirt, tossing it onto his bedroom floor. You took a moment to admire the ruts of his abs, obviously staring at his beautiful olive skin and his deep collarbones.
“‘Taek,” you mumbled, overwhelmed all of a sudden with shyness.
“Shush,” he replied, caging you between his arms, “let me make you feel good.”
Hoetaek kissed you again, slowly warming you up once more. His palms left your face, feeling over your waist, boldly grasping past your breasts and ending up between your legs. He pinched your inner thigh, a wordless warning that that was where he was headed with his intentions.
“Can I?” He broached the question politely, knowing it would cross a line that neither of you could return from. You nodded, swallowing nervously.
Hoetaek observed your face as he sunk his hand beneath the waistband of your shorts, finally making contact with your pussy, his fingers ghosting over the crest of your folds. You gasped and buried your teeth in your bottom lip.
“Wow, you’re pretty,” Hoetaek murmured, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. He slowly rolled his fingertip against your clit, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
“Does that feel good?” He hummed, although it was clear that it did. You were already raising your back from the mattress.
“It feels amazing,” you groaned, reaching up and intertwining your fingers with his hair, dragging him back down into a kiss and flitting your tongue across his lips. Hoetaek grinned, returning the favour.
He tasted sweet, utilising the sheer power of his kiss to eat up the noises that were swelling up in your chest. He was intensifying, losing the gentle grace he initially had treated you with. Soon his fingers were firm and fast, rubbing tight circles that shocked you with pleasure.
“‘Taek, I’m close,” you breathed. Hoetaek interlaced his fingers with yours, holding your hand as you came. Waves of pleasure washed over you, made easier to handle by the fluttering kisses he trailed across your jaw.
Surprisingly, he did not relent.
“Hoetaek, th-that’s-,” you hiccuped a sob of pleasure, realising you were hurtling towards a second orgasm, and he was adamant on bringing you there.
“Do it for me again, (F/n), come for me again. I know you can do it.”
And that you did, cumming far harder than the first time, writhing beneath Hoetaek. Beneath the buzzing of your ears, you could hear him chuckling softly.
“Do you want to keep going?” You heard him ask, your eyes fluttering open to catch a glimpse of his beautiful smile. The orgasm had overloaded your bloodstream with endorphins, amplifying that feeling of love and endearment.
“Of course,” you answered, “I want to feel you inside me.”
“Okay. Stand up with me.”
Hoetaek offered you a hand paired with a warm grin, helping you onto your feet. You stood shakily, still reeling from the overstimulation. He held you close, his arms slung around your waist.
“Take this off,” he tugged at your shirt, and you simpered shyly, pulling your t-shirt over your head. Hoetaek reached around and unclasped your bra as well, letting it slip away, revealing the peaks of your breasts.
Hoetaek remained wordless, but his face told you everything. Encouraged by the awe that painted his features, you dropped your shorts and your underwear onto the carpet, baring yourself in your entirety to the man you so dearly loved.
Now you reached for Hoetaek’s pants, glancing up at him for permission. He smiled keenly at you, and so you dragged the sweats down his legs. You made embarrassed eye contact with his cock, straining against the confines of his grey boxers, before removing those as well.
Hoetaek looked glorious, made of stretches of tan skin, toned muscles, and sharp edges. The evening light filtered through his bedroom blinds, colouring him a shade of warm orange. Last of all, but certainly not least, was his cock. Lengthy rather than girthy, but not lacking thickness either, with a soft, pearly pink tip that glistened in the light.
You realised you were holding your breath, releasing it in a heavy sigh.
“‘Taek, you’re gorgeous,” you mumbled dazedly, mesmerised. He could pursue a career as a male model, you thought.
He laughed, his fingers trickling down your bare collarbones, pinching your nipples teasingly, “I could say the same thing to you.”
Hoetaek rested his hands on your hips, and you kissed him. It was intimate, your nude bodies brushing against one another’s, warm even whilst bare of clothing. He pushed you back down horizontally on his bedding, raising your thighs at a ninety-degree angle. His cock rested on your lower belly.
“Are you ready?” He hummed, swirling his thumb over the tip of his cock in a circular motion.
You were more than ready; you were desperate. You needed him. The walls of your pussy were aching with emptiness.
“Please.”
Hoetaek nodded, his chest rising and falling erratically as his nerves began to sink in. As he aligned himself with your entrance, his hand was trembling, and so you reached down and assisted him.
Slowly, carefully, he pushed inside of you.
“Ah!” You both exclaimed simultaneously, and Hoetaek panicked visibly, “are you okay? Did that hurt?”
Hoetaek drew back his hips and worked his cock in and out of you, slowly, measuredly increasing his pace. It felt incredible, and you had to lean against him, wanting him deeper inside of you.
You shook your head feverishly.
“No, please, fuck me, ‘Taek.”
As he fucked you faster, the effort was discernable on his face. Sweat was gathering on his forehead in glassy beads, rolling down his face and catching in his fringe. He furrowed his brow, groaning with each thrust. He started to become rough, pleasure shocking through your core and across your skin.
“Hoetaek,” you pleaded, reaching for him for support. He found your hands, “I know, sweetheart. I’m getting close.”
His grip on your hands grew iron-like, his breathing coming out ragged, and so was yours; you wanted him to cum, to throw his head back and release a desperate cry.
And finally, he did, in precisely the same way you had just been fantasising about, pulling out of you all at once and spurting strings of hot semen all over your stomach.
You just stared at each other, somewhat out of disbelief. Finally, Hoetaek broke the short silence, laughing sheepishly.
“I wasn’t too rough, was I?”
“Mm, I liked it,” you smiled.
Hoetaek laughed again, this time freely, the pleasant sound bouncing around the still room, and he leaned over you to kiss you - uncaring that he was currently grazing against the mess he had made on your chest.
“Do you want to have a shower together?” He inquired; a silly question, really. He hardly needed to ask.
You locked your fingers with his, submersed in a strange and fuzzy nostalgic feeling as if you had been dating him for years and this was just another evening together.
And really, things were the same as before, but also different. This was where you were always supposed to end up with Hoetaek, with or without Seungyeon and Hongseok as distractions along the way.
You pressed a kiss to his cheek, replying whilst dizzied with unlimited enthusiasm for the future to come, “yeah. Let’s go.”
