- about you ╭ park gunwook

12 - adoration

naeun's slumber was interrupted as the bus driver honked the horn. her eyes slowly opened as the sunlight was essentially blinding her.

before she could raise her arm to cover herself from the bright light, gunwook who had woken up much longer before her, sat up straight so his back could cover the window.

she smiled at his gesture. "you're always there to look out for me." naeun got out of her seat, reaching for her bags. gunwook hastily snatches her belongings out of her hands.

"i can carry it for you. you lead the way." he simply trailed behind her. gunwook liked it that way. it gave him an excuse to admire her from afar without her accusing him of having a so-called crush on her.

as they exit the bus, they enter the university. it was prestigious, with various statues and evident class.

only top students could receive the opportunity of the camping trip benefit. naeun felt lucky, and even luckier that gunwook had accompanied her.

as they sign in, they are required to share the tent. the same is required for everyone participating. gunwook and naeun stare blankly at each other when being advised so.

"gunwook. make sure you don't snore. or else i'll seriously suffocate you." she warned him, after all it was her biggest pet peeve.

gunwook (gently) shoves her to the side in response. "naeun. do me a favor. sleep outside the tent." he snickered, carrying their bags to their designated tent.

"doesn't sound too bad, actually. i won't hear your snoring if i did." she side eyes him. before he could utter out a snarky remark, naeun stopped in her tracks.

from a distance, she spotted him, lee jeonghyeon. what gunwook doesn't know, jeonghyeon transferred schools the year before.

naeun smiles, as jeonghyeon locks eyes with her. running up to him, she hugs him, as he reciprocated with open arms. gunwook immediately recognized him, the uneasy stomach feeling bubbled up inside again.

as naeun and jeonghyeon return to gunwook, she introduces the two.

"gunwook, this is my friend, lee jeonghyeon. he no longer goes to our school, that's why you haven't met him yet." naeun was softly smiling, but what put gunwook at ease was the way she clinged onto his arm rather than jeonghyeon's.

"nice to meet you, jeonghyeon." gunwook flashes a quick fake sarcastic smile then proceeds to stare at his surroundings then back to naeun.

"same for you, gunwook." jeonghyeon awkwardly nodded as he scratched his nape and stared off.

"well, this is awkward. jeonghyeon, let's catch up later. we can all hang out in a bit?" naeun did her best to clear the tension, gunwook wasn't the easiest to get by, it wasn't too surprising to naeun. what was more surprising was the fact that gunwook was an extrovert. 

jeonghyeon nods, patting naeun's head before making his own way back to the meet-up spot.

gunwook clasped onto naeun's wrist, pulling her closer to him. "who is heee?" he sang in a singy song tune (his way of trying not to sound jealous). naeun raised a brow, but all she could do was burst out into a giggle.

"i told you, he's a friend." naeun assured him, removing his grip from her wrist. gunwook quickly latched on once more before she could walk away.

"you should've told him i was your boyfriend." he flicked her forehead, looking down at her once more and shaking his head in a pouty manner. 

"since when have you asked me to be your girlfriend? stop being so jealous, jeonghyeon probably has a girlfriend by now." naeun, for the second time, removed his clasp onto her. she reassuringly smiles at him once more before walking off.

giggling to herself, she knew when gunwook was jealous. he'd always cover up by over-exaggerating his fake unbotheredness.

gunwook couldn't come up with a comeback. she was right, naeun was someone reliable. most importantly, she was trustworthy. he feared that he'd be the third-wheeler the whole trip. he had high hopes that naeun wouldn't let him down, and he continued following her wherever she desired.

naeun's focus was shifted on the host, summarizing the schedule for the day. gunwook knew it would be a smart decision to listen closely, but he couldn't. not when naeun was in his sight. naturally, she was his focus point.

not a second spent where his eyes aren't fixated on her. gunwook was practically spaced out, not a single thought of the trip on his mind. as the speaker finished up, the crowd of students from other schools began to move.

"gunwook? what are you thinking about? snap out of it, we have a tour to see." she turned around, trying her best to grasp his attention.

"i'm thinking about you." he blatantly sighed. naeun nervously laughed it off. he flirted so often she couldn't tell if it was superficial or not.

grabbing his hand as always, she led the way. "let's go find jeonghyeon!" naeun happily swinging their interlocked hands along her side. he'd be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't like it.

the tour of the university began, and students started to disperse and wander off in groups to get the best glimpse of the building, which could've been mistaken as a castle.

naeun had been unconsciously latching onto gunwook's hand, letting go once she spots jeonghyeon from close distance. "jeonghyeon! you should follow gunwook and i."

gunwook sighed. it's not like jeonghyeon knew her first. yet it felt like it, he wanted her undivided attention. but with lee jeonghyeon in the way, it just wouldn't be possible, he thought.

jeonghyeon catches up with the two. now naeun was standing in between them. the friendly pair converse, while gunwook listens in. he wishes he was the one standing in the middle instead.

gunwook's head was laid low, naeun wasn't an idiot nor was she oblivious, she could easily read the room. seeing gunwook so quiet, she holds his hand again while still talking to jeonghyeon. leaving gunwook out was something she wouldn't tolerate.

"gunwook, look at the bridge!" naeun smiled, pointing at the overhead view. he smiles back at her, her natural, effortless smile was the best.

"let's go, then." gunwook held her hand tighter. jeonghyeon noticed their interlocked fingers and smiled.

unknowingly to the 'couple', jeonghyeon had been taking candid couple photos of them the whole time they drifted around.

he shipped them. even though jeonghyeon did have feelings for her in the past, he knew it would've never happened even if he confessed. naeun would bring up gunwook in their conversations often. about how much he annoyed her.

back then, it probably wasn't so obvious to her, but jeonghyeon followed her eyes and intentively watched her expression. her eyes didn't lie. even if she spoke of guwnook lowly, the passion was there. she'd liked gunwook from the start, and she was the last to realize it. 

what had gunwook devoted was the fact that naeun was confident. he liked her confidence as it matched his own. he's also fallen for her long ago unbeknownst.
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a/n ₍ ᐢ..ᐢ ₎

i don't know why, but i think this is my fav chapter out of the whole story so far and its like extra super long so YAYAYAY

I LOVE NAEUN SO MUCH 😣😣😣😞😣😞😣😞😣😞😞😣 i want real love like theirs &&&& did u guys catch it.. he said "i think about you"  🩷