- about you ╭ park gunwook

09 - infinite

naeun had fallen sick just the day after. usually, she'd be ecstatic since it meant she could stay home from school. but she wanted to see gunwook. quite literally, everything had changed within their relationship.

she couldn't describe what being with him felt like. it made her feel infinite. it felt like haven. apart from that feeling, naeun was scared. was it really okay to cross the line? they were never friends, and now he's her pretend boyfriend. whatever it was, she liked the change.

naeun replayed the moment gunwooks eyes glistened the day before. if only he had acted this way earlier, she would have fallen for him sooner. he always comes around when she doesn't forsee it.

naeun was nonchalant on the outside, but his presence was strangely compelling. she wanted to cling onto him so very badly.

detaching from her thoughts, she hurriedly grabbed her phone, seeing his caller ID light up on her screen.

"hello?" she answered quietly as she was still adamant on playing hard to get. naeun could hear his muffled laugh in the background.

"hi naeun. you sound tired. why'd you skip without telling me?" his voice was soft. it made her so excited that she got up out of bed.

"i'm sick, i am in no condition to come to class. are you worried for me, park gunwook?" naeun answers, with her best efforts of masking the rush of adrenaline.

"yes, i'm also calling because i miss you. get well soon, or i'll skip to come take care of you." gunwook answered too casually, as if it was a natural born reflex to flirt with her.

"you're good at pretending, aren't you?" she deadpanned, naeun reminded herself. they were only fake-dating. she wanted to slap herself for feeling so flustered. everything was superficial and she needed to get into the habit of reminding herself so.

"i'm saying it because you're my girlfriend." gunwook corrected her. a slow smile was forming on his face. she was so oblivious to his feelings - no matter how he displayed his affection.

"since when did you like me? i'm only you're fake girlfriend." once again, his laugh could be heard from a distance over the phone. she sighed, nervously biting her lip, anticipating his response.

"ever since i first saw you in the school uniform. let's date for real if you hate faking it so much." gunwook sounded bold, but on the other end of the phone his face was so red and on the verge of exploding.

naeun couldn't respond. she nervously laughed, hoping he was serious this time. she couldn't tell if he was playing with her feelings or not at this point.

"that's funny. i'm hanging up now." before she could tap on the end call button, he interrupted her.

"you'll never take me seriously, i'll just have to convince you face to face. anyway, it's lunchtime. i'm heading to the store. do you want me to drop off anything?" gunwook offered.

"no, thanks, though." she hung up. naeun was yelling at herself. how could he cross the line so easily. day after day, the distance just closes between the two.

hearing a knock at the door, she thought it was gunwook. sprinting downstairs, her expectations were ruined. it was just her mom coming home from work.

"hi mom." naeun monotonously murmered. her mom looked at her weird, placing her belongings on the table.

"you sound disappointed... are you that sick?" her mom teased. naeun didn't have the energy to respond. she just hugged her mom's waist, almost dragging her to the floor.

"what is wrong with you!" at this point, her mom was prying naeun off, but she wouldn't budge.

"having a crush feels like mental illness, mom." naeun was whining, slurring her words. she knew her family would never let her live it down, but she didn't care anymore.

"you like gunwook. don't you?" her mother knew all too well. no matter how much naeun would deny it, there was no one else out there for her. her eyes would always tell.

"mom, he's my fake boyfriend... it's a long story. but i think my feelings are real. i like him." she never thought she'd admit it, but naeun felt vulnerable if she kept her feelings bottled up.

"then you have to confess. you know you can never hide your feelings." her mom felt at ease. she knew gunwook was the right person - and now was the right time.

naeun detaches from her mom. "i need to go on a walk, i can't sit alone with my thoughts right now." her mom nodded, giving her space, still laughing under her breath.

she felt at peace as soon as she stepped outside. naeun chose to let fate decide what would happen. she'd just live vicariously through it. that was her final decision.

the boundary was already crossed the moment he stepped foot into the classroom anyway. naeun would confess when it feels right. she swore to herself, she'd treat him as a crush, and no longer a nemesis.

gunwook was now standing in front of naeun. she looks up, now staring at each other face to face. he had a bag in his hand, and the other, a bouquet of flowers.

she was confused, "why aren't you at school?" her head tilted 45 degrees, blankly staring at him.

"i know you said you didn't want anything. but i got you some medicine and... flowers." gunwook stared at the tulips in his hand. he didn't know why he bought them, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. tulips were naeun's favourite.

"why the flowers? i'm not dying." she giggled, naeun loved them, a blush was shown on her cheeks. she hugged him. not only because she was feeling emotional but because she genuinely appreciated him.

gunwook was towering over her, still taking her into his embrace tightly. he was confused why she was acting so clingy, but he went along with it nonetheless. "naeun? are you okay?" he whispers.

naeun nodded, letting go. "i'm feeling emotional." gunwook doesn't continue to ask. he just nods, handing her the flowers.

she smiles, admiring them. he was so endearing it made her want to smoother his face with butterfly kisses, but she stopped herself from doing so. gunwook vowed to never let her slip away.

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a/n ₍ ᐢ..ᐢ ₎

i want to delete this story😂😂😂😂😂 anyway long chapter because i haven't updated in a while 🤬🤬🤬🤬 and stop adding me to ur reading lists if ur not gonna vote !!!!!!!🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬😂😂😂😄😄😞😭 (just kidding i'm grateful)