STRAY KIDS ONESHOTS/IMAGINES || OT8

sorry, i love you . changbin

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genre: school life, fantasy au 
word count: 9.8K 
curated playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38wowYWydpgSzMv8f4KOqf?si=df489e9234274a83 
!! story requested by mythicalCB , thank you !! 
a/n: this story took me 3 whole months to storyboard, develop and write! It's based on the song, Sorry, I love you by stray kids - composed by none other than changbin, and it's written based on its lyrics. I wanted to twist the plot a bit more - so without further ado, enjoy!! I will be going on hiatus after this fic but thank you again for your support! (23.1K is absolutely INSANE 🤍)
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[ changbin ]

freshman year

"Eh, sorry I'm late!" First day of school, already labelled as a punk. Could they blame me though? I couldn't really care less about school. The class stared at me in mild annoyance but mostly amusement as I plonked down in the only empty seat at the back of the class, next to a girl who's curtain bangs pretty much covered half her face.

"Hi, I'm Changbin" I nudge my deskmate who seems be concentrated in her book. She peeks through her ginger brown hair at me and smiles coyly, introducing herself as Y/n. Before I could continue, she turns back to her novel and continues reading, a pencil balancing on her right ear, and I think to myself, she's one interesting person.

At recess, I thank the heavens that I have a common break time with Chan. This hyung is crazy, I don't know how he keeps up with schoolwork and producing all at the same time. I'm glad to have a friend like him. I complain about the first hour or so of lessons, until I spy my deskmate sitting alone at the corner of the cafeteria.

"Eh Y/n! You can sit with us," I call from across three tables, waving, as several heads turn my way in bewilderment. She looks up and quickly down again, a faint smile spreading across her face. I smile back and wave her over, as Chan flicks my forehead playfully.

"She your girlfriend?"

"Wha- no-" Did you just stutter?

"Hah, whatever you say," Chan grins.

"I-"

"Hey," Y/n sets her tray down next to me and sits down, more confidently than I'd expected. "Hello, I'm Y/n," she introduces herself to Chan, who shakes her hand (ah aussies) for perhaps, a moment too long, and greets her. For that brief moment, I suddenly felt as if I was in a world apart from theirs, watching them interact through a screen. It didn't feel particularly nice.

"Oh yeah, Y/n we were supposed to finish up that art project our teacher gave us, right? Cmon let's go." Before I could stop myself, I blurt out the words forming in my imagination.

"Right now-?" She releases Chan's hand.

"Yeah, Chan I'll text you later!" I wave and Chan nods understandingly, as Y/n and I head to the library to find materials.

~

"Isn't our project due next week?" Y/n asks. The both of us are in the furthermost aisle of the library, backs facing each other as we look for books on separate shelves.

I give a genuine reply. "I wanted to start early, I guess." The row of books I'd been looking at stare blankly at me as my mind simply rests on the proximity of the two of us, alone in a narrow space. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, just as Y/n steps backwards and accidentally bumps into me. She startles herself, dropping the stack of books in her hands.

Instinctively, we both bend down to pick them up, and her forehead collides with mine. "Owww," we exclaim, then burst out into muffled laughter as we make eye contact. Her laugh is pretty, complimenting her soft features. Someone in the distance shushes us angrily, and she purses her lips together with a glint in her eye. I love how when we gather the books, the silence isn't an uncomfortable kind of silence, rather a mutual understanding.