Author’s note: This is the longest oneshot I have written for DAY6 till date (4.6k words combined)  and honestly, I’ve wrote so much and spent so much time on it because this is such a personal, heart wrenching piece for me to write. This is the little part of myself that I present to the world – and I hope that all of you will love it and be gentle with it (of course, critisisms is welcomed!)

Once again, thank you korean_but_abc for the lovely idea - this was an absolute joy to write about :')

PS: I've combined the last 2 parts together so don't panic, you haven't missed anything! 

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For an entire week, Wonpil continues to shadow you and the same cycle repeats itself. There wasn't a day where you slept before 3am and on the weekends it seems worse - you'll work overtime and not get any sleep at all. There were so many times when he wanted to storm up to your house and put you into bed but he didn't want to get arrested for trespassing or give your mother a heart attack. He stood by and simply watched as you worked yourself to the bones - both of you helpless and powerless.

The only thing he does to vaguely help is patronise the Aurora. He'll stay for as long as you did and then secretly tipping you at the end of every night. A small bubble of happiness raises in him when he sees the small glimmer of hope in your eyes but both of you knew that the help you needed was far greater than this.

He stayed in the shadows all this while, silently watching over you.

-

Until one day when you didn't turn up in school. Wonpil felt so odd that entire day - your absence screaming louder in the void of his mind. Irrational thoughts filled his head - did you drop out of school? Were you badly injured?

But it turns out that you simply sick.

"Wonpil-ah, this is Y/N address. Could you go down to pass her her work, and maybe just check up on her too."

But he didn't need the address anyways - it was already stored in his memory.

-

It took a few good moments of pacing around outside your house before he finally worked up the guts to ring your doorbell.

Y/N POV

I wasn't expecting him at all. He was the last person on earth that I expected to show up at my doorstep. But despite my usual nonchalance towards him, I still unconsciously ran my fingers through my hair, trying to tame it as much as I can. My eyes rapidly darted around as I chewed on my bottom lip; I was trying hard to look at everywhere but him.

"Hi Y/N."

"Hi Wonpil."

"Can I come inside?"

I stepped aside to let him before directing him around my house.

"Just step where I step. The rest of the floorboards are rotting."

I faced the front quickly before moving on - I can't stand to see his look of pity that I knew would surely come. Pulling out the wooden dining chair for him, I poured him a cup of water before setting it down in front of him.

"Here. I'm sorry but this is all I have to offer."

Staring at the tin mug and plain wooden furniture, I thought about how this was all such a stark comparision to the comfortable lifestyle that Wonpil has. My entire house is rotting and the interior is threadbare. Everything must look so pathetic and I became very self-conscious of this as I sank back further into the kitchen counter, my nails carving half-moons into the soft wood. A heartbeat later, his answer came.

"Don't be sorry, this is alright."

I snapped my head up to look at him and his eyes do not betray his words. In them, I saw no judgment and prejudice against me, only genuine concern.

Why is he being so nice to me? I don't understand.

He must have noticed my furrowed eyebrows because he was now doing the same.

"Are you ok? Do you need a rest?"

"No I'm fine. But what brings you here?"

"School work and..."

Both of us waited in silence for him to continue speaking and when he did, it was so full of sincerity that I continued hanging on to the last wisps of his words, desperately wishing that he'll say more.

"And I wanted to check up on you to make sure that you're doing alright. I was...worried about you." He then fiddled with his fingers, he himself unsure how the words he just said came out.

Worried for you.

Those words sounded so foreign. When was the last time that someone apart from my mother cared about me? Perhaps none. And now, a boy that I barely know says he's worried for me, that he cares about me. I knew better than to sink into this flitting sense of bliss but a part of me couldn't help but keep his words stored in my heart, caressing it like how a mother would to her precious firstborn. I let myself indulge in this delusional bliss before replying him.

“Thanks…”

“Don’t go to work today.”

“How do you know I work?”

The colour drained from his face rapidly but he managed to give me an answer nonetheless.

“Oh I was at the restaurant some other night and I saw you working. I didn’t greet you because I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Oh.” That is possible, he can afford to dine there and that fact is no secret.

“Promise me you won’t work today.”

Now my hackles were raised, and my defensive mode was on.

“Why? Why are you so adamant trying to stop me from working?”

“You’re sick Y/N! Look at you! You can’t even stand up straight, how can you expect to work tonight?”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I don’t own you an explanation!”

His constant prying was now pissing me off and the pounding headache wasn’t helping my case.

“Y/N…”