lee taeyong/im nayeon

(best friends to lovers)

“nayeon,” taeyong simply calls, “nayeon.”

the way he calls her name is light and dear, again and again. nayeon has perhaps missed the hint beneath each letter of her name whenever they roll out of his tongue. the secret how she would’ve always known how dear she is to him as a close friend. a person who taeyong has been stuck since they were sixteen.

now, it’s been a good six-year of knowing each other like on the significant scribbly lines across the palms of their hands. stars reading on the edge of the lines telling how they would never be separated when they went to a fortune telling booth for 6,000 won on a circus downtown after high school graduation, making her believe for the first time on foretold destiny. it still is ridiculous but that’s not the whole point.

perhaps, those are what nayeon thought. she has never seen through taeyong’s point of view, could never. they could never switch bodies or minds. perhaps she should have the decency to at least figure the underlining meanings. she’s too tactless and oblivious for her own good, sometimes.

softly, he reaches for her hand across the silence of their closeness. nothing really surprises her: they hold hands like every time, platonic-related, but this time, it’s different. she couldn’t remember what they are talking about; spring week? jennie’s puppies? spicy rice cakes? she doesn’t remember anything except for now.

taeyong possesses pale veiny hands and dainty fingers – two of the many things she finds so attractive about her best friend. she prays to mary as if she has sinned for having this kind of thoughts for him.

taeyong is so beautiful, in whosever eyes that are looking. the kind of grace that could make you fluster if he ever bats an eyelash at you, catching your eyes for staring at him too long. the kind of beauty that could sweep you off the ground, butterflies filling your stomach, and the type to steal your breath away in immediate.

he is too unreal to be human. yet he’s her best friend.

nayeon holds her breath for a while—she’s certainly flustered—before she realizes he’s kneading her knuckles gently with his thumb while them while clutching her fingers in his palm. such lovely.

“remember when we first talked? when you first talked to me?”

she nods. never would she forget the day when they talked for the first time.

(it’s on a sunny day; the day where there was sport’s day in school. sweaty teens in a school field, vibrant banners, and youth spirits everywhere. a telematch between classes was about to start.

“hey, you,” a second-year girl called out a second-year boy. the girl had messy braid, fringe almost sticking close to her forehead and a pair of bunny teeth. the boy had jet-black hair, broad shoulders beneath the blue tee, and a pair of dark mesmeric eyes.

she paused for a bit, making the boy frowned.

“do you want to join my team? it’s a class competition. we still need one more person.”

they were in the same class but never had the chance to talk. they were like two opposite polar. the sun and the moon, deem somewhere to complement each other in a conflicting attraction.

he stared at her back, lukewarm. it would be a lie if she didn’t feel upset by the time he rejected her. she would totally take it personally and this might be her last time trying to talk to him.

both hands slide into the pockets of his sweatpants. the girl almost scoffed, knowing how boys like him think doing that would make them look cool and intimidating. instead, she tried to not stare at how palpable the blue popping veins across his pale scrawny arms. looking away, blowing her bangs rather impatiently before fixing her thick rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose.

“sure,” he shrugged lightly with that signature disinterest look of his handsome face. a huge, bunny grin formed across her face, mixed in delight and surprised, but mostly the latter. the field was a little dewier and greener.

two souls were connected from that moment. there were stars aligned on their palms, somewhere similar at the pointy edge of the lines. sixteen and barely knew what the world was coming up for them.)

“i would never know how much you could mean so much to me if it wasn’t for you to talk to me first. i would never know that i could love someone this much. too much that i think i might have gone crazy. crazy of you, im nayeon. you.”

her eyes are on his soft, dreamy ones. chocolate and sincerity oozing from them. she only starts to blink when she could feel his hand enveloping hers, tight. the borderline of their friendship is nowhere to be seen at all. vanish upon hearing to what he just said. nayeon has gone utterly speechless.

he inhales deeply, fear smolders his once mesmerizing eyes, “i know. what i’ve just said would ruin everything we have and i might regret this a lifetime but i want you to know that i’ll always be here. i am. to tell you how precious you are. how worthy you are to be loved.”

and nayeon ruminates to the times where they’ve been friends for the past years. the fact that taeyong has never been obvious about his feelings for her. she tried to dig her memories up but she can’t even figure one out. was she being too dense and stupid to not see all these signs or taeyong was really good in hiding his feelings out of her sight? especially when taeyong is a walking definition of tsundere to begin with, like everyone knows. none of them actually know.

one hand slides on top of his head, rakes through strands of raven locks away from the forehead. taeyong is too nervous to even stay still. little and little, nayeon begins to find it amusing. seeing this unusual side of him. did she really make him like this? all jittery and unkempt?

“if you were wondering when i started having these feelings for you, i don’t even know. it just sort of happened. the next day i knew, i’m in love with you. i’m in love with my best friend. god, i’m horrible.”

hiding his blushed face in his hands before rambling about how he started to fall deep and deeper for her — “god, i just love seeing you smile. your bunny teeth just suddenly appear and i can’t see anything else but you. i thought i had gone blind that time. but the strange thing was you’re the only one i could see.”

on and on, everything is spilled in that spur of the moment. she couldn’t take it as her cheeks started to turn crimson hearing everything he said about her. stuff he loves about her. mostly the things nayeon find so unattractive about herself like how one time she felt asleep on his shoulder and talking in her sleep about foods. or that one time when she looked the happiest seeing pictures of his baby nephew. all those moments.

“taeyong,” he doesn’t stop when she calls him as he keeps on jabbering about him being a terrible best friend. something like he has been wanting to be more than a friend to her. being dramatic as usual.

“taeyong, you can stop now,” nayeon presses his cheeks with both hands, making him instantly stop from whatever he’s doing. looking straight into her eyes, startled. strings of small chuckles escape from her lips, remembering how adorable he was being a while ago.

squishing his face in the process before she wraps her arms around his neck into a hug and rests her chin on his shoulder – drawing him into pure confusion.

“i was stupid. i was blind to not see how you’ve always been there for me. being here with me. i’m sorry if i make you feel unappreciated and for being an awful best friend. for being difficult and childish. but i would love to start over to be more than just your best friend, lee taeyong.”

and nayeon means everything she said. includes the part being more than taeyong’s best friend. she might be reckless and clumsy on her own but never when it comes to people’s feelings. especially when it’s about taeyong’s feelings. she has had enough chasing people around. tired of being ignored and pushed away by some too-seemingly-perfect guys (jinyoung, joshua). maybe this time she should sit back and take notice of her surroundings more. be a little bit more thoughtful and observant. appreciate the ones who appreciate her. the ones who always see the good in her. precisely, the one who loves her for who she is.

taeyong is just perfect. better than perfect.

warm as his arms encircle around her petite waist. she could feel his smile pressing to the side of her head, against her cherry hair. he has always smell nice: squeaky clean, minty sugar and indefinite comfort. perfectly in place, on each slope of her body. the feelings have always been there, just left untouched for the right moment.

perhaps, nayeon didn’t know the chance of falling in love with her best friend. but never was too late for this.

not as much as i wanted but this would do. nctwice in kcon ny the other day! taeyong and nayeon did actually interact (but all the videos have been deleted due to copyright ;__;). idek how to start this bcs i was just so happy. sort of inspired by iu's dear name.