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Everyone knows it's a certified death sentence to look Lee Seunghwan in the eyes.
People have fainted, devils have turned to the church, and even God considers coming back to humanity with one glance from the man. Every word you could say, he hangs onto like a lifeline. There's something dangerous in that: the pure attention of it, the raw focus he channels into his eye contact.
He sits pretty in the corner of this party, in the edges of your memory and in the crevices of your dreams. Dramatically, you want to say he haunts you. Haunts you with the full might of his stupid smile and his soft laugh. And those eyes.
These low lights and party noise and Him.
It seems wherever you go in this room, your eyes find him. You can't help but let your gaze linger as he laughs. But the way he stares though, is far from coincidental.
At first, you found it unnerving during group projects. You were never used to someone taking you so seriously and genuinely. His eye contact always so understanding and pure. But over time, you got used to it, and learned to open up to him and others. Even as time passed, and you both saw each other much less often, your feelings still remained.
Another flow of people ebbs into the room, and you stumble your way into friends and others. Here, lost in the crowd you can breathe, surely hidden away and far enough to let yourself enjoy Junhyeon's party and keep yourself away from thinking about someone far away.
Seunghwan's like that with everyone, is what some craven thing inside of you whines. Extroverts and their people skills! eye contact is their god given gift. Yet, nothing explains the flush on his cheeks when you talked or the way he lingered far longer than usual when he watched you.
"Y/n," a voice, far too close to your ear asks. "How's your night been?"
Two years' worth of sitting next to him in lectures must pay off, and when you nearly jump five feet into the air, you don't slap Seunghwan across the face in surprise.
Seunghwan stares. With those eyes that have you by the neck and God, you just can't bare it. Instead, you look between his brows - you don't want to die by blushing just yet.
"How's your night been?" he asks again, louder and closer. Must be thinking that the music was too loud after you probably gaped at him like an idiot for a moment too long.
"Busy." Is all you can say with how his gaze draws across your face. He doesn't gaze down, here - it's you and him, leaning against the wall together while the party moves around you - you're eye to eye. Under these dim lights, nothing lights up like Seunghwan and his stare. Despite all these people, it's all eyes on you. All of Seunghwan just for you.
"Busy?" he says casually. Of course, he's not the one having this dilemma, and you're still refusing to look at him properly. "To me, it looks like you've been in your head the entire party."
"You've been watching me the entire party?" You scoff, but you know he's lingered in your vision as well. "I've talked to someone," you huff instead. Eyes to his ears this time: adorable and pierced with silver charms. You bought him those on a study group session at the mall. He looks as cute in them now as he did then. Somewhere in your mind screams for you to reach out and touch.
And then he's closer, a breath away and now it's physically impossible to look away from him. A pout is so cutely etched across his face but so close you could count his lashes.
You must be horribly red now as Seunghwan leans close - aware or not of your blushing meltdown. "Who?" Look anywhere but his eyes! you mentally scream and keep your gaze instead on his stupidly kissable lips.
"You."
His pout turns to a smile. From how his eyes turn to crescents and you can almost feel the triumph in it.
There's a momentous pause. These low lights and party noise and Him. Time, for you, stops as you take in the sight. Lee Seunghwan gorgeous and endearing, looking at you with pure love in his eyes is when you realise that these years of pining haven't gone to waste.
"Hey," he murmurs, low and thick. Both the inevitable and the impossible is coming; a paradox in the making within a dimmed hallway at a drunk college party. "Look at me."
Your chin caught between his fingers - you can't not look away. Not when you've doomed yourself (and him) with one look in each other's eyes.
Seunghwan breaks eye contact for the first time you've ever seen in your life, and his gaze travels to your lips.
When you do collide, you know then, certified death tastes sweeter than a life not ever knowing.
