until time stops (1/2)

It is October 20, 2009 and people continue to give her double glances as they pass her by.

She’s smiling softly as she listens to Woohyun chat about his day beside her. He talks excitedly as he always does whenever she is with him and she can’t help but nod and encourage him to talk even more.

“So earlier this day, there was this adorable puppy all lost and alone and no one would notice him…” he rants off, looking in front of him and doing exaggerated movements.

She watches him and nods her head whenever the need to arises, a small smile gracing her lips as she does so. She has always loved listening to Woohyun, whether he would be reprimanding her for doing something clumsy again or serenading her as an apology for doing something wrong again.

She loves listening to him, loves being with him, loves him.

“…but enough about that!” Woohyun suddenly calls and turns his head slightly to look at her. He smiles and his eyes turn into adorable upward crescents, showing also his slight dimple near the bottom right of his lips. Her heart flutters as he looks at her with those same eyes, so warm and comforting and she wishes she would never forget this, never forget him.

She wishes for time to stop right here, right now.

Woohyun chuckles and asks her, “How was your day?”

She starts talking in a fast pace, tells him how her day was, how her week was, how her year was. She only has a few minutes anyway, and the passers-by are staring at her even more weirdly now. She glances at him from the corner of her eye and is relieved when she sees Woohyun listening attentively, clinging on to her every word. She smiles faintly and continues talking until she doesn’t have anything more to say.

She panics and looks at him but he’s still smiling at her. She gives him a faint smile before she looks in front of her, lacing her fingers together and placing her hands on her lap. She’s fidgeting. She’s nervous. But she can feel him shift beside her, moving closer towards her until she can almost feel his warmth and she calms down.

There is a soft silence between them, and they both stare out in front of them. She hears him move beside her and she instinctively glances, a lock of hair falling in front of her face. Woohyun laughs softly and reaches out to move her hair away, but stops midway and drops his hand back on top of his lap. She bites her lip and looks away, hiding her disappointment and busies herself by simultaneously talking about how she plans on cutting her hair sometime soon and ignoring the passers-by staring at her strangely.

Because fuck, fuck, fuck this isn’t what she wants. This has never been what she wants.