Do I love you? || Woozi

Verse: 5

"Our future that has gone awry,
If I could go back in time,
Calling you with a voice that is more warm than rough,
Would I be able to let you go?"

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You cross paths with this world's Woozi on a whim; unable to believe it as you stand at the windows of the flower shop, watching him as he attends to the cecilias inside.

In your reality, you barely ever saw him after he proposed to you, the declaration he wanted to be adequate enough determined at first-- but soon you had realised he had let himself astray in the process of it.

However this Woozi was slower, ripples of low tides instead of crashing waves, early mornings instead of coffee and late nights, and only by observing did you see how this version of him walks instead of runs.

"Oh hey! Are you here again? Come in if you'd like." Greeting you, you two make eye contact at the entrance, your eyes falling again on how freely he moved, as if he had all the time in the world.

But the more you look at the male, the more you feel guilty.

Because in your other reality, you never made up with Woozi.

"It's weird how we clicked so quickly." Going inside to join him, you sat down whilst watching him tentatively trim the thorns of some roses. "I'm sure our first encounter was that time a few nights ago, but the moment I saw you, I just felt like you were familiar. And every action of yours feels nostalgic to me."

Me too, Woozi, me too. Was what you thought, every fallen thorn he trims off a sting in your heart.

You lift your gaze up at Woozi then, heart thudding under your tongue, each beat fleeting and sharp. "Really? How so?"

He chuckles, easy laughter drifting off his lips exactly like how you remembered; your heart blooming just at the sight of the benign look on his face.

"Well, it's hard to explain. But it's the way you put your fingers on your lips when you think. Or the way you are always so timid and careful, how you look at me... as if I'm a long lost friend."

You feel your heart jump, tasting static in your mouth for a brief second.

You have so much you want to tell him, yet at the same time, you have nothing to say; as here, he wasn't the person you were engaged to.

So, swallowing your words down, you tug the corners of your lips into a smile. "Then if it isn't obvious, I guess the feeling between us is mutual."

Eyes meeting Woozi's, your heart stings at the stars in his pupils. You wished he would say no, say this was all a make believe prank, and he would now find his way back to you. You wished he would say he still loved you, wanting nothing but you in his arms. That he would huddle you close for warm nights, saying sunrises and not sunsets, saying he only needed to see you possibly gone for him to realise he wanted you to stay.

Yet, you knew that was impossible.

"Do you want to work here for a bit? I could use the extra hands." Taking a daffodil randomly from the stands, he hands it to you, and your insides leap at the gesture.

"Do you want me to?" You take in the scent, making a mental note to yourself that daffodils are now your new favourite flower.

"Yes." He says, smiling at you as if it was the most natural thing to do.

You hesitate, about to answer, until the image of Seokmin appears in the back of your consciousness. "Ahhh... Sorry, but there's something I need to do before I see you again."

"Hmmm? Like what?"

"It's a personal thing."

Because whatever happens, you don't want to hurt him, a person who probably was happy with this world's version of you.

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