For: Han-Eun

A/N: I'm so sorry this is so late, school is crazy and I've just got my one week break \: hope you enjoy this nonetheless! On a side note, it's quite long for a scenario, but I hope it's still ok :)

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The day Dongho left marked one of the darkest times in Han Eun's life, but nothing prepared her for the day Dongho would come back.

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Park Han Eun is seventeen, and she's in love. (Or, at least, as much as love is to a junior girl in high school.)

"Girl, you need to stop this and go talk to him, you hear me? Didn't you just write that long- Valentine's Day card to him, too?" Han Eun's best friend, Hyuna, says sternly as she jabs Han Eun's arm with her chopsticks and glares at her.

Han Eun sighs and lets her chopsticks hang unattractively from her lips as she stares at Shin Dongho- school soccer superstar and object of every girl's affections (well, maybe except for Hyuna, but Hyuna's confident and hot and amazing and has guys tripping over their feet to get her, so it's probably an understandable exception)- who's sitting at the other end of the school cafeteria and laughing loudly with his teammates. Han Eun sees floating petals around Dongho when one of his favourite hyungs (yes, Han Eun knows just about everything about Dongho, don't ask), Lee Kiseop, ruffles his hair and sends Dongho's grin widening into the brightest of beams. 

"I did, that's why. I've probably screwed up all chances of being with him now," Han Eun whines as she claws maniacally at her hair. 

Hyuna flings her hands into the air as a sign of surrender and jabs into her kimchi. But before she can bring the food to , Han Eun is grabbing onto her wrist in a vice-like grip, something no one would ever expect from a girl who looked as sweet and delicate as her. 

"What- "

"He's looking, what do I do, ohmygod," is all Han Eun can manage because Dongho has tilted his head slightly and is currently staring at their table, eyes innocent and curious. 

"You should get up and go over there and kiss the living daylights out of him is what I say, because that's the only way you're going to send your message across before you both turn fifty," Hyuna deadpans. 

Han Eun breaks the suffocating eye contact with Dongho to glare at her best friend, but she can still feel Dongho's gaze on her and wow, since when did the cafeteria get so hot?

Hyuna clears awkwardly. "Just so you know, he's coming this way."

Han Eun's eyes widen in panic and ABORT MISSION!!! is screaming in her head, and she's just about to slide off the bench and make a break for it when she feels a presence beside her, right as her is half hanging in the air. Hyuna cringes slightly because it looks really embarrassing.

"Um, hi, are you Park Han Eun?" 

Han Eun is staring at Hyuna and very clearly trying to get the what the do I do help me message across, and because Hyuna is fluent in Han Eun speak she smiles blindingly at Dongho and nods on behalf of her friend, giving Han Eun the opportunity to sit back down properly. 

Dongho is fiddling with something in his hands and when Han Eun takes a closer look she wants the bench to melt and swallow her whole because it's the confession card she wrote for him on Valentine's Day, which was at the start of the week. It's Friday now, and Han Eun has spent the past four days agonizing over her decision to put that card in Dongho's locker in the first place. (Hyuna can attest to this because her phone had been exploding with Han Eun's calls of anguish every day, thank you very much.)

"I, uh, you wrote this for me, right?" Dongho starts, scratching the back of his neck. 

Han Eun squeaks out a "yes?" and Hyuna resists the urge to slam her face into the table. 

A hint of pink dusts at Dongho's cheeks as he tries to catch Han Eun's gaze. "Thank you, for the card. It, um, means a lot to me." 

Hyuna looks back and forth between the two mumbling teenagers and wants nothing more than to shove their faces together and tell them to just kiss and move on, but that would be highly inappropriate so she settles for alternative glaring instead. 

Eventually Dongho takes a seat because people are starting to stare, and when he tentatively reaches out a hand to touch Han Eun's fingers, Han Eun jolts and faces him with a start, and she can't say she's not surprised when she sees the red on Dongho's face. 

"Text me sometime, okay?" Is the last thing Dongho says before he lightly squeezes Han Eun's fingers, nods at Hyuna amicably and heads back to his table. 

Hyuna has to shove a spoonful of rice into Han Eun's mouth to prevent her from screeching when she uncurls her fingers and sees Dongho's note pressed into the palm of her hand. 

I hope you believe it when I say that I've been watching you since we were lab partners for that term at the end of last year, so thank you for writing that card to me, really. Here's my number, text me sometime and we could hang out, okay?

(Needless to say, Han Eun goes home, smooths out the note and tucks it away safely into the box under her bed.)

-

Park Han Eun is eighteen, and she's dating the boy she's wanted for too long now.

It took Dongho slightly over a month and five dates later to muster up the courage, give Han Eun a goodnight kiss to the cheek and ask whether she wanted to be his girlfriend. It wasn't done with a big bouquet of roses or under explosive fireworks in the night sky, but rather at the front of Han Eun's house and under a dingy street lamp. 

But still, it was everything Han Eun could have asked for and more. 

Very soon the duo were named the campus couple, waiting for each other after each of their classes, entwining fingers in the hallways and Han Eun going to cheer Dongho on in his soccer games while Dongho always surprised her with a rose after her drama productions. They shared sweet dates in quiet cafes and quick kisses by the Han River on warm nights, and not even Hyuna's constant teasing and Kiseop's wolfish smirks could yank either of the teenagers out of their little bubble of bliss. 

Just as finals were about to roll around and almost into the tenth month of their relationship, Han Eun grows even more joyous when she rounds the corridor in school one afternoon and sees her best friend getting kissed against the lockers by the dance captain of their school, Jang Hyunseung, whom Hyuna (although always vehemently denying it) has always had the cutest crush on since being dance partners for one of the school's annual performing arts showcases. Han Eun informs her boyfriend of this development and the duo let Hyuna have a taste of her own medicine all the way out the school gates that afternoon, until Hyunseung shows up with a confused look on his face that sends Han Eun and Dongho into a round of uncontrollable laughter at the way a red-faced Hyuna flips them the middle finger and tugs Hyunseung off with her. 

And as Dongho, still chortling, wraps an arm around Han Eun's shoulders and presses a kiss to her temple, Han Eun is convinced that nothing can go wrong; everything is perfect and everyone is happy.

(She thought wrong.)

-

Park Han Eun is still eighteen when her first boyfriend cheats on her and moves out of the country. 

The first blow comes right before the start of finals. Dongho sits her down at their bench in the park, curls a strand of her hair behind her ear and holds both her hands in his, telling her softly and carefully that his father just got a job promotion and wants the whole family to move with him to Hong Kong to accept the offer, and since Dongho had already applied to a bunch of universities with his soccer scholarship and one of them was in Hong Kong, they'd work towards enrolling him in that school, too. He apologises over and over and over again to Han Eun, who feels close up and a sick feeling coil deep in her stomach at Dongho's words and apologies as the tears trickle down her cheeks uncontrollably. 

(That night, Dongho holds her in his arms on their bench in the park and thinks it's funny how the sky looks so beautiful with all the glittering stars and the bright moon and yet, just here down below, he doesn't think anything could get sadder or worse than watching Han Eun sob into his chest like this.)

But Han Eun tells herself not to be a weepy, sobbing mess (Hyuna does, too, giving her one of her famous no-nonsense lectures before gathering Han Eun in her arms and telling her everything's going to be okay. Hyunseung apparently gets wind of the news, too, because when he comes over to Han Eun's house to pick Hyuna up for their date he presses a sweet, supportive kiss to the crown of her head, and even through all the sadness and tears Han Eun still finds it in herself to feel happy for her best friend), and instead makes the most of whatever time she has left with Dongho- studying together, going home together almost every day, eating together and just being together. She reminds herself to smile and be strong because Dongho can't shoulder their relationship all alone, and as a good girlfriend she was going to be supportive and give him all the love that he needed. She was. 

They all get through finals and the hectic period of university applications together, and when prom finally comes around Han Eun doesn't know whether to be happy or to be sad- happy that she's going to be attending the most important dance of her life with her first love, or sad that with every passing day it draws nearer to the inevitable Sunday when Dongho's going to leave. 

But still, Han Eun reminds herself to smile, laugh, stay strong, enjoy yourself, cherish this, and honestly it's not all that hard when Dongho shows up at her doorstep looking so absolutely perfect in all his boyish handsomeness with his straight-cut suit and tie, giving her a bouquet of a dozen roses and slipping a beautiful pink corsage around her wrist. He's respectful and mannerful with her parents and jokes around with her younger brother so comfortably that Han Eun has to look away, pain twisting in her chest at the sight. 

And then they're off to prom, and Han Eun truly forgets about the pain of Dongho leaving when she's swept away by the hustle and bustle of prom, meeting up with classmates from freshman year, drama club, and all the other project partners and lab partners she's ever had. Everyone is smiling and happy and enjoying one of their last times together as a batch, and Han Eun finds herself dragged from the refreshment table with her drama friends to a table with her classmates and to the dance floor with Dongho, and even though it's tiring (especially on the feet because of the heels), Han Eun finds that she doesn't mind one bit. 

Here's where everything goes wrong. 

Han Eun is laughing away with some of her friends from mathematics when the lights in the hall dim and slow music begins to play from the speakers. All around her, couples are gravitating towards the dance floor where some begin to spin in artful circles whereas others just hold each other close and sway. Han Eun giggles when she sees Sungyeol, their class clown, teasingly tug on his best friend's- Myungsoo's- fingers to pull him onto the dance floor, and Myungsoo's blushing face is visible even in the dark of the hall. Wolf whistles and laughter are directed at the pair of prankers, and Han Eun tears her gaze away from the funny sight and grins when she sees Hyunseung tug Hyuna onto the dance floor, wrapping both arms around her waist and pulling her close, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. 

She scans the hall for Dongho but sees nothing. About halfway through the song, Han Eun gets genuinely concerned (also, she doesn't want to miss slow dancing with Dongho for what is most probably going to be the last time in a long while) and decides to head out of the hall to look for her boyfriend. She pushes open the wooden double doors and hurries down the corridor, thinking the bathroom is probably her best bet. 

The sight that greets her when she rounds the corridor sends her heart to the soles of her feet. 

Pressed up against the wall is none other than Dongho (her Dongho), and the hands alternating between cupping his face and grasping his arms and pulling his tie belong to the school's head cheerleader, Jieun. Han Eun feels the bile rise up the back of at the way their mouths clash and teeth collide almost helplessly, and it's only when Dongho winds an arm around Jieun's skinny waist to yank her closer that Han Eun lets out a choked cry. 

Jieun pulls back, sees Han Eun and winks at her, eyes darkening in sadistic triumph as she cackles at the lone tear trailing down Han Eun's cheek. Han Eun shifts her gaze to Dongho for the briefest of seconds, and when his eyes focus and he realises who he's looking at, he can't even get the first syllable of her name out before Han Eun has whirled around to sprint back down the corridor and into the dark shadows of the night.

And even through the pain that's fogging up her mind and the tears that are blurring her vision, Han Eun still manages to fumble blindly with the corsage around her wrist before ripping it off and flinging it onto the cold, unforgiving ground before hugging her arms tight around herself and stumbling home alone.

-

Park Han Eun is nineteen and twenty as she spends heartbroken days crying her eyes out in the silence of her room and throwing away memories of what used to be her perfect first love. 

It's been almost two years and yet Han Eun can still so clearly remember the countless missed calls and text messages she had received from Dongho, from Hyuna, from Hyunseung and from all her other friends after her sudden disappearance at prom and all through the weekend. Of course, Hyuna (and Hyunseung) had come storming down her house on Sunday evening and when she had seen Han Eun's tear-stained face and messy room, she had known what had happened almost instantly, yelling out all kinds of colourful curses at Dongho as Hyunseung held Han Eun in his arms and let her alternate between crying at the pain of heartbreak and laughing at Hyuna's mad pacing and threats. 

But that was two years ago, that was when Han Eun was eighteen and naive and still unsure of whether she could turn up to school anymore to face Jieun, to face Dongho, when Han Eun couldn't bring herself to reply to any of Dongho's texts or answer his calls, all the way up till the day he left. And the next few months were filled with nothing but numbness and dying memories of what she thought would be her forever, a forever with Dongho. 

-

Park Han Eun is still twenty and just finishing her last semester at university when Dongho comes back. 

She had ended up in the same university as Kiseop, and after apologising on Dongho's behalf and trying to do everything he could to conjure up one excuse or the other for Dongho (he had stopped once he realised that Han Eun wasn't going to take any of it, and honestly he knew it was a losing battle but he just couldn't help himself- Dongho was his favourite dongsaeng after all), the two found themselves settling into an easy friendship. Sure, Kiseop didn't share the same charms as Dongho- adorable smile, shaggy brown hair and typical boyish confidence- but he was still a complete and utter dork with a really lousy sense of humour that somehow managed to pull Han Eun in. (Also, he treated her really well, joking and fun but attentive when he needed to be, and that was really all Han Eun could ask for.)

The duo were making their way to COEX mall to meet Hyuna and Hyunseung (the couple had managed to enrol in the same university and pursue a dancing degree together, and Han Eun was more than happy for them) and a bunch of their other high school friends they still kept in touch with when Kiseop suddenly screeched to a halt and stopped Han Eun with a hand to her wrist. 

"Don't look now, but it's Dongho," Kiseop breathed softly into her ear. 

Han Eun felt her breath leave her all at once as memories of a time when things were all okay hit her with the force of a freight train, and Kiseop curled his body around her to block her from any unpleasantness she didn't want to deal with, pulling his phone out of his pocket to call Hyunseung (not Hyuna, because Hyuna would no doubt come storming over in a fit of rage) and tell him what was going on, that they would most likely be held up. 

"Do you want to deal with it or walk away, Han Eun?" Kiseop asked softly as he pocketed his phone again, fingers gripping the straps of his bag. 

And a seventeen, eighteen or nineteen year-old Han Eun would most definitely say "walk away", but Han Eun is now twenty, and she's changed and matured from that weak, sobbing mess of a girl she once was. Her mother had always told her that the solution to your problems is never to run away, and Han Eun was going to put that piece of advice into practice right now. 

And so Kiseop stepped aside slightly and Han Eun, for the first time in almost two years, managed to get a good look of her first boyfriend. 

Of course Dongho was still as handsome and good-looking as ever, the smile Han Eun had fell for four years ago still intact on his face, eyes curved into crescents as he bid goodbye to the boy he was talking to. 

And then. 

And then.

And then he turned around and mid-laugh, mid-bow, his eyes locked with Han Eun's. 

Kiseop stepped forward protectively as Dongho automatically made his way over to where they were standing, hands pushed into the pockets of his jeans to prevent himself from doing something impulsive (like snatching Han Eun and running away. Kiseop didn't know why, but somehow the need to protect Han Eun was almost innate in him).

"... Han Eun?" Dongho began cautiously, hand reaching out as though he wanted to touch or hold or something, but one sharp glare from Kiseop and flinch from Han Eun was enough to send his arm back to hanging uselessly at his side.

"Dongho," Han Eun replied politely. Kiseop smiled at her. You brave girl.

"H-how are you? I've really miss- "

"Don't say that," Han Eun cut him off suddenly. "Don't say that you've missed me because you don't really have the right to anymore, Dongho. You don't, and you know why."

Pain streaked across Dongho's face. He stepped forward. "Han Eun- "

Han Eun stopped him before Kiseop could. "It's nice to see you after so long, Dongho, and I really do hope life's been treating you well. But this- " Han Eun paused to gesture between the two of them, "it's really over. It was over two years ago in that corridor in school and that's not going to change. This is just a meeting of closure for me."

Han Eun stepped back just as she felt a touch to her arm. Hyuna and Hyunseung had just arrived. Han Eun smiled slightly as she felt her best friend's fingers curl reassuringly around her arm. Yes, she needed to do this. This was the closure she needed after so long. 

Dongho seemed to shrink into himself at Hyuna's icy gaze directed straight at him, and he tried to ignore the intimidating presence of the two guys standing off to the side. But before he could say anything more, Han Eun gave him a quick, curt bow, and that one impersonal gesture was enough for Dongho to know that things were really, truly over. 

"Goodbye, Dongho. I'll see you when I see you." 

And with that, Kiseop gave Dongho a nod before slinging an arm around Han Eun's shoulder and leading them off, Hyunseung sighing and lacing his fingers through Hyuna's as his girlfriend tried to land a slap across Dongho's face, telling her calmly that as pissed off as she was now Dongho was still a guy and a pretty damn good athelete, so that slap wouldn't actually get anywhere near his face. 

And even though the hurt of getting cheated on by her first love was always going to be there somewhere, Han Eun looked beside her at her three amazing friends and realised that dealing with the pain might actually not be as hard as I once thought.

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