keep a place for me. otl

love is not over

Following the end of the Eunhyuk Free Trial, everyone is miserable and in need of some open communication.

-'♡'-

Eunhyuk did not put much effort into dissecting his emotions. After years of frustration and confusion, it seemed frivolous. That's not to say that he was emotionally inept, but he made a choice to try and let things go, to not get swept up in them when he could help it. They were exhausting. This restraint shatters in the face of Shim Soo-ae almost immediately when she comes to home room with a thick bandage. Again. He's out of his seat, walking away from his friends, before can even think of what to do.

He is in front of her—carefully holding her wrapped wrist in his hands—when suddenly his mind catches up to his body. There's a tense silence, and he feels eyes on his back. They were both early, so there was only a few students in the classroom, but they must've been a sight to look at.

Eunhyuk recovers first. "What did you do this time?"

Soo-ae offers a weak laugh, "Hey, it's not my fault. I just have terrible luck." She wouldn't meet his eyes, looking down and covering them with her bangs. How long were they going to be like this?

You did this to yourself. You misinterpret everything and then put up the wall back up.

She curtly took her arm from his grasp, offering only a nod, and strode over to her desk to be alone. A heavy, dreadful feeling fills Eunhyuk's chest. His body itches to do something, anything, to talk to her. But he sits back down with his friends at his own desk instead.

Crushes, and he can't lie to himself anymore about what his feelings are, never felt like this before. It's always been easy to let go, it has never pressed so urgently down on him. He's never had an era where he could not think of anything else but that one person, to the point of emotional and almost physical burden.

He cannot let Shim Soo-ae go.

-'♡'-

He slips out of his group halfway though lunch, the mundane noise of the classroom and chatter making his skin crawl. Most of the time he could tolerate busy environments, but whenever he was stressed out natural sounds became uncomfortable and overstimulating. So he made a habit of bringing headphones with him most places.

He turns the corner to enter one of the empty classrooms, which was deserted after the drama club was cancelled for the year. It was a good place to be alone. At the sound of the door clicking shut, he hears a faint gasp and looks up to see Soo-ae, her good arm outstretched, taking a selfie. Considering the amount of times he'd see her do this, some would think she was vain, but he just kind of found it adorable.

Her eyes are wide in shock, but not displeasure. He doesn't really think when he walks over to her and sits down, uninvited. He doesn't think a lot when it comes to her period, his body impulsively reaches, strides and peeks before he can consider the consequences. Her hand is still awkwardly outstretched when she stutters, "Hi."

"Hi."

For a second they're quiet. The heavy feeling returns and makes breathing a conscious, focused task. Something is bubbling up inside him, and he has to say something before it bursts. He says—

"We aren't talking now."

And immediately feels so stupid.

Soo-ae is still quiet. She puts her phone down and stares at it.

Can you really not look at me? And What did I do? When did I upset you? And then, You know what. Stop pretending.

"Am I bothering you now?" She looks up at him, "Just be direct. You won't hurt my feelings." He tries to come off somewhat playful as he says it, but neither of them are convinced.