The confessions in Italy only weighed heavier once back on home soil. Although you tried not to let it bother you, it did. There was so much more to Junmyeon than you had even expected. And whilst it was rather innocent and came from a genuine heart, you were uneasy.

Not by him, but by yourself.

Did you always have this habit of jumping into things too fast? You admitted to him that you were falling in love. Now over something small, you were backtracking as if those ardent confessions didn’t mean anything.

Because they did. You weren’t joking about feeling what you did for him.

However, Junmyeon was right. You should have waited. There were moments in the relationship thus far where you could tell he wanted to tell you that he had liked you for so long. You were certain it would have naturally come out at some point and in the right setting you probably would have been touched.

To some point, you were now, even if you couldn’t quite comprehend it.

“He’s liked you since forever?” Ayla asked after you explained to your best friends what had happened for you to return home and not gush a mile a minute about how fantastic everything was.

Nodding slowly, you looked to Kelsi, waiting for her to pipe up about how Junmyeon was still the dream man. Instead, she looked puzzled. “If he liked you so much, why didn’t he just do something about it?”

“It was when I dated Kyungsoo in high school so it kind of occurred around the same time.”

“Yeah but you just said he crossed paths with you more than recently. He’s an adult, he could have approached you now,” Ayla mentioned and Kelsi nodded along.

You sighed. “I know. But I can also understand why he didn’t. It’s rather odd though, don’t you think? Junmyeon and I are adults yet a lot of this relationship has been built on juvenile things like my plan to escape if necessary. Those first few dates were definitely a mess.”

“Yet, he still liked you,” Kelsi offered but Ayla scoffed.

“Yeah because he’s liked Y/N forever. He’s living out his teenage fantasy right now. How long will that last?”

“He’s genuine,” you grappled at a defence for the man. You didn’t appreciate hearing it from your friends like that, even if you had thought it all yourself. “He’s been nothing but a gentleman. He never forced me to do anything, and he never rushed a thing. It’s me who did. I think I’m the one with the problem. Each person I’ve dated, I would tell them I loved them and then something would come up. I don’t wait long enough to understand what is really love and what is just lust.”

“You live in a fairytale over romance, you always have,” Kelsi explained. “That’s why I thought if I sent a prince your way, maybe you’d snap out of that way of thinking. Kim Junmyeon is a great man and it’s uncanny that you both have a history that wasn’t clear from the start. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be your happily ever after if that’s what you want, Y/N.”

“The problem is, I don’t know what I want. I confessed to feelings that maybe were too premature and now it feels like a mess. Everything was going so smoothly.”

“And now you have an obstacle to face,” Ayla concluded, staring at you carefully. “It’s in every story, Y/N. It’s up to you whether you think you can get passed it or if you should give up before you try.”

Lowering your head, you didn’t know what the right answer was anymore.

You were thankful for your return to work. It kept you busy during the day and with a new team project, you were able to extend it into the nights.

Still, you knew you couldn’t avoid Junmyeon either.

“Hey,” you spoke into your phone as you leaned back in your work chair. It had been a few days since you last talked and you swallowed back the distance you felt pushing in between you.

“Hey.”

“How’s work?” you started, cringing silently at how ridiculous that was to ask. Spinning around in your chair, you clamped your eyes shut and tried to think of something better to say whilst Junmyeon gave a