The next few weeks, his feelings for her grew. She was still shy to talk to him, talking for not more than 5 minutes each time. However, things were starting to improve. Their conversations now lasted more than 15 minutes, and Kyuhyun smiled a lot more than before. Kyuhyun also realized that the monster had not crept up on him for a very long time, not that he was complaining. Thinking that it was safe, he had finally confessed to her after 10 months of knowing her.

He took her to the Han River one night, since he loved this place so much. “Joo-Joohyun-sshi.” He wondered why he spoke in honorifics, but continued anyway. “Please do not hate me for what I am going to say.” Joohyun stopped in her tracks, and looked up at him with her innocent eyes.

“I-“ He mustered up every inch of courage he had before letting out, “Joohyun ah, I… I like you. No scratch that, I think I’m in love.”

Joohyun stood there dumbfounded. She could not comprehend what her friend had just said. He was her first male friend, or more of her first friend in college, and to her he was a precious friend. The sudden confession made her uncomfortable. Kyuhyun held onto her hand, but Joohyun pushed it away. “I’m… not ready for this yet. I’m… sorry.” The words left her beautiful lips coldly, just like the air in the night. With that, she walked away, leaving Kyuhyun more hurt than ever.

For the next 2 weeks, they avoided contact with one another. Every second was torture to him, and he could feel that monster come back again. ‘No, not now. No.’ He thought. Kyuhyun fought the monster away, almost fainting after every lesson due to the amount of energy he used to pay attention to the lecturer and suppress the pain. It did not go easy for Joohyun either. Somehow, she felt her heart waver. She had never felt so much sorrow ever in her life, for she had lived like a princess all those years. When she talked to Ryeowook, who was a friend of both her and Kyuhyun, about it, he chuckled.

“You know, you’re really like an innocent kid.” Ryeowook commented. He thanked the cashier before passing Joohyun her iced caramel macchiato. “Maybe…” He swallowed. “Maybe you like him too.” Joohyun stopped walking and looked up at Ryeowook slowly. Her eyes dilated at his words. ‘Maybe…’

The next day, Ryeowook asked Joohyun out to the Han River. He was walking along the river bank with Kyuhyun and they talked about class and life. Ryeowook had known Kyuhyun for more than a year, and it was the latter’s parents’ wishes to have Ryeowook by Kyuhyun’s side through college, to watch over him. He didn’t mind, they shared similar interests anyway. “Ryeowook-sshi!” A familiar voice travelled to their ears. Ryeowook turned around and waved, whereas Kyuhyun froze. Joohyun saw Kyuhyun’s back and froze too. Ryeowook patted her head when he stood beside her and whispered, “Settle it with him okay?” With that, he left his friends alone at the river bank.

Kyuhyun turned around and their eyes met. Despite the darkness of the night, he could see that her eyebags were more serious than before. ‘She must’ve been too tired.’ He thought. Joohyun slowly walked towards him, head down. Neither of them made a move, the only sounds were the chatters of the people nearby and the movement of the grass.

“I…” Joohyun started, speaking in half-honorifics. “I’m sorry about-about 2 weeks a-ago.” Seeing that Kyuhyun did not even move an inch, she continued.

“I think-I think Ryeowook-sshi was right.” She looked into his eyes. ‘Come on, you can do this.’ She shifted her weight uncomfortably, adding onto the awkward silence that enveloped them. She tugged on the side of her pants nervously and bit her bottom lip. She took multiple deep breaths and finally opened .

“I like you too, Kyuhyun-sshi.”

It was like time has frozen for the two of them. Kyuhyun’s lips parted slightly in shock. Never would he have dreamt of such words escaping her delicate lips. And yet, what reached his ears were words he longed to hear. A smile slowly crept onto his face, and he took a small step closer to her. Kyuhyun did not know what happened to him, but before he knew it, his lips were touching her forehead.

‘Finally. I can be myself again. I can finally love again.’
 

For those who are curious about what Kyuhyun's "monster" refer to....

Wait for like 2 or 3 more chapters(:

Experiencing major writer's block now so... hope I can finish chapter 3 and start on chapter 4 by the end of next week. ><

Thanks for reading~~