Let In
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
One of the evil twins opened the door and threw him a frown.
"Ugh, you again..." She left the door open and meandered away. He took it as a cue that he could enter.
In a flash, he climbed the familiar stairs and ran down the hallway. The third door on the right was closed. Without asking permission, he kicked it open. Yoona was frazzled, sitting on the floor and packing a suitcase. She turned at his sudden entrance.
"Hoya! Go away, I don't want to talk to you!" She turned back to her suitcase, but Hoya walked to her and knelt across from her, taking her hands into his.
"Yoona, what are you doing? Stop!"
"LET GO! I'm... I'm getting out of here."
"Don't do this! Where are you even going to go?"
At that, she eyed him furiously. "Anywhere! Everywhere! Everywhere that's away from you!" She pushed him away hard.
"Please, Yoona, just listen to me!"
"NO. This whole time... you and Woohyun, brothers. And watching me. And I thought it was so cute that you both knew me so well..." She turned to glare at him.
"YOU'RE SUCH A CREEP!"
He got defensive. "YAH, you're the one who left your window open! It's like you invited me to watch!
"MWO??"
Hoya realized his mistake and regressed. "Look, Yoona please, I'm sorry--"
But she just kept shouting as she packed. "I knew I couldn't trust you! I knew I shouldn't have trusted anyone. Clearly, I don't even know you!" She grabbed her 'Be Mine' teddy bear and threw it at him.
Hoya looked hurt by what she said, but she didn't care. He tried to hold her wrists again to still her, but she kept pushing him away.
He felt on the brink of losing her, so he took a deep breath and offered one last chance at saving what they had. "Yoona... don't you want to know why I did it?"
"NO! No reason would be good enough." She frowned hard, etching a deep line in between her eyebrows.
Hoya looked at her with soft, warm eyes. She didn't look back at him yet. He felt his heart ready to spill over.
"Yoona, I love you."
"I can't believe I was so blind..." she muttered to herself.
He tried again, a little louder. "Did you hear me? I love you."
"And that Woohyun, with his greasy smile..." But then, Hoya's words finally broke through to her.
She froze in her packing. No one had said that to her before. Not any of her foster parents. No one.
Was he serious? Was he joking? But no, she thought. It's not possible. Who could love an abandoned foster kid? Who could love someone who's only known sadness and loneliness and brokenness? No one's ever wanted her, and she's never wanted anyone. How dare he toy with her emotions like this! He can't be serious! Right?!
Right?
She didn't know what to do, so she stayed frozen. Slowly, Hoya walked over to her. He tried to wrap his strong arms around her, but she pushed his chest away and held him at a distance.
Softly, he repeated. "Yoona, I love you."
A huge lump formed in , and her vision blurred. Hoya leaned closer, and she felt herself losing the strength to push him away.
"Yoona..." He took her into his warm embrace. "I love you."
She felt herself cave, shuddering into his chest and slowly reaching up to cling to his shirt as he cradled her. He kissed her softly, on her hair, on her ear, and on her forehead. She felt him sigh with the relief of finally saying those words out loud.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe, he was telling the truth. Maybe it's time I let someone in. The idea made her knees weak, and despite herself, she leaned further into him.
He held her a long time while she cried, those words washing over her again and again.
Then, when she finally calmed down, she realized something. He was waiting for her to say those words back. She could feel his iron grip loosen slightly around her, and when she pulled back, she read it in his eyes. He wanted her to say it back to him.
"Hoya... I need time." Suddenly, she was afraid that he wouldn't like that. Like it would somehow change his mind.
But he smiled, warmly but sadly. "I know." And then, he pulled her into him once more.
*******
Hoya took a seat on the bed, pulling her to sit with him. Patiently, he waited for her to fully calm down, supporting her as they leaned against the bed frame. She clung gently to him, and it made him smile.
The day was as ty as he thought it would be, but he was ethereally happy that, at its end, he still had her.
He kissed her gently on the forehead and her hair, feeling her drift off to sleep. "I love you," he whispered into her ear. He didn't want her to ever forget.
When her body went limp with sleep, he lay her gently onto the bed, jumped up, turned the light off, and slid under the covers next to her. Gently, he scooped her into his strong embrace. He wanted to be there, holding her, when she woke up.
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:)
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