- about you ╭ park gunwook

04 - indifferent

the school day had come to an end. naeun packed her belongings, exiting the school. too much had happened in one day for her. as she makes her way out, gunwook jogs catching up to her, stopping in his place.

"thanks for the help today. i suppose." he quietly utters, avoiding as much eye contact as possible. it was obvious he wanted to sound nonchalant. gunwook let his harsh demeanor down. it seemed like every time he did, it was for her, only ever for her.

he really was thankful towards her, though - after all she did, too, try her best to be cooperative with him throughout the day. it was new progress for the both of them.

years after years, things haven't changed. every time they did bond, they'd restart, back to zero and back to arguing.

"i'll see you at dinner, gunwook." she nods, making small strides. she picks at her uniform buttons. she doesn't know what to say. it wasn't like him to converse with her, especially without arguing. gunwook nods in response, following her lead. the two walk together in awkward silence.

that was until a fellow member of the student council followed them from behind. jung rora. she was quite loud and pushy, some might add. but nonetheless, she was nice.

"hi ... park gunwook, right? you're in my humanities class! i was hoping to become friends." she beamed shoving naeun aside. naeun was taken aback. but remained silent. gunwook saw naeun's discomfort.

it was too obvious rora had some interest in gunwook. which naeun felt indifferent. of course, she was put in an awkward position watching rora push herself in between the two. the tension was rapid.

gunwook knew naeun too well. when naeun is uncomfortable, she bites the inside of her cheek ever so slightly. he raises his eyebrow. "no, i don't know you. don't approach me again, and apologize to naeun. why are you pushing her, hm?"

rora looks down. she felt defeated and embarrassed. the first interaction with her crush, and he scolded her. she turns to naeun, bowing apologetically. not only was she rejected, but now, she knew all too well that she never had a chance with gunwook in the first place.

standing right there was kang naeun, never in a million years would gunwook choose any other girl over naeun. whether he knew it himself or not.

rora's eyes were teary. she avoids eye contact with the pair quietly leaving. naeun's eyes widened, "gunwook that was a little mean, she was about to cry." she nags, smacking his arm, lightly, of course.

he shrugs and continues to walk. "i don't plan on befriending anyone else. i don't mind hurting her feelings - she literally shoved you aside." he deadpans.

"i get that, but she's a nice girl. you should give her a chance." although rora did make a simple mistake, gunwook was quite harsh, he was aware, but had no regrets in the end.

gunwook disagrees, shaking his head no. "i don't like her. and if that was the case, you should've given junhyeon a chance too, right?" he utters breathlessly.

"well. you're right. i can't argue that." she sighs. gunwook plasters a smug look on his face. he liked when she admitted defeat. internally yelling at himself, he questioned why he didn't just let naeun walk home on her own. yet he didn't budge or make an effort to leave her be.

it was literally his first day of school, and he had rora swooning over him. he's been so unbothered all day long. naeun was jealous. nothing had an effect on him ever.

"anyway. it's good that you're going to reject junhyeon." he says blatantly. naeun tilts her head in confusion. walking at a slower pace than usual. gunwook continues,

"well. your dad is always asking for me to watch over you. even though you're annoying and irritating, i'm still gonna listen to your dad, you know." he explains.

"gunwook, you're only a couple of months older than me. i'm capable of taking care of myself, too. you're also super annoying. stop acting like you aren't the problem." she debriefs.

"7 month difference is a lot. anyway, i'll see you in a few." he says, stopping at the front of her house. he signals for her to go inside. naeun sarcastically waves bye, as he waits for her to fully enter her house before leaving to his own.

gunwook kills time by sitting at his desk thinking of naeun. she looked pretty in that school uniform. the way she presented herself with confidence, too.

those thoughts quickly left his mind after he realized what he had just done. he hated how he just replayed the following moments with her in his head.

he begins to question himself,

why did i walk her home?
why did i come to her for help?
why am i thinking about her?

whatever it was, he fully makes the connection that he didn't hate being around her. if anything, he wanted to hate her presence.

the longer he gazes at his ceiling, the more he realizes. he's always longing for her presence. the moment she's gone, he wants to argue again. (which was his way of saying that he wants to be around her).

gunwook felt like he was completely losing his senses. there was no way that he could ever have feelings for naeun - positive feelings at that. he spent all his life with her in it. he felt as if she was corrupting it.

he frantically runs out of his room. he needed a walk to clear his head. why would he ever even think twice about his feelings towards her?

whispering under his breath, "i need to be checked into a psychiatric hospital if i like her." he shakes his head. he's frustrated with himself as if it was a sign of weakness or vulnerability.

before he could make his exit, his mom came home from work, stopping him in his place. "gunwook-ah, where are you going? change out of the school uniform! the kang family is gonna be here soon. or did you forget?"

he glides his hand through his hair. he was so doomed. he couldn't run away from her; when in reality. he couldn't run away from his feelings towards her.

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a/n - ₍ ᐢ..ᐢ ₎

YUPPP extra long chapter (i think)..! exams aren't over for me but i fit in one chapter somehow. anyway, gunwook development happening 💁🏻‍♀️ he's in denial 🔥🔥🔥🫤🫤😢😢