waterfall // lee juyeon

18

seohyun's pov

we walked outside and back into the rain. the sky was illuminated by stars that even the city lights couldn't hide. juyeon's eyes darted over to the railing where he walked over and stared out at the view. city buildings and lights, cars rushing down highways, and the rainfall surrounding him. 

"woah, that's really pretty," juyeon turned to me as i walked over to him. "do you come up here often?"

"i come up here when i need to clear my head," i answered, standing next to him. "definitely during my parents' divorce before i moved to japan and when i broke up with eunwoo. i would just sit down against one of the railings and listen to music. when it rained, i would just sit and think. sometimes, i'd fall asleep. hyunjae's the only person that knows i go up here, so if i don't come back after a few hours, that probably means i fell asleep, so he would come up and bring me back home."

"your brother's really nice," juyeon mumbled. 

"i mean, we only really had each other in some ways," i sighed. "yeah, younghoon and chaeryeong were there, but hyunjae's my brother. we're siblings. he was the only one that actually comforted me a lot."

"how did you become close with eunwoo?" juyeon asked.

"well," i continued. "we were kind of friends before i left to japan but then he checked up on me a lot while i was gone especially since he knew about the divorce. so i guess i considered him the only one aside from younghoon and chaeryeong that actually cared. he asked me out when i got back, and i said yes, since i thought things wouldn't turn out the way that they did."

"what about your other friends that were at the mall?" juyeon asked, curious.

"well, they're all in hyunjae's grade," i replied. "i mean, yeah, i'm friends with them too, mostly changmin, but i'm not that close with them. younghoon, chaeryeong, and eunwoo were the only ones that talked to me when i was gone."

"oh," juyeon digested this information. 

"but yeah, that's basically it," i gave him a sad smile. "how about you though? did you ever date anyone?"

"kind of," juyeon shrugged. he pulled me down to sit next to him against the railing, with the rain still falling. "the story's kind of hard to tell, so sitting would be nice."

"of course," i answered quietly. "i'm here to listen," i said as he took in a deep breath before talking.

"i dated this girl named yeji in my sophomore year," he started. "she was basically my dream girl. she was kind and caring, funny when needed, and she didn't just use me for popularity. it was all going really well until the end of sophomore year."

"there was this other girl, jisoo," he continued. "she was kind of a stalker and would basically do anything to date me. so on our last day of sophomore year, we were all going to hangout. yeji told me that she needed to go back home first because her mom needed her, so she went and the rest of us went without her. however, yeji told us that she'd be there after an hour. hours passed and she never arrived. the hangout was basically over by that time, so i decided to call her. right before i could dial her number, she called me. i answered quickly, worried words coming out of my mouth, until i realized it wasn't her voice. it was her mom. her mom was crying as she just managed to utter, 'yeji died.'"

i froze hearing those words, not expecting that to happen as i could feel juyeon lean on my shoulder and his body began shaking. i stayed quiet as he gave himself a few minutes to stop crying. he wiped his tears and continued his story.

"i was devastated," juyeon said. "i looked on the news and saw the news about a car accident that happened that had turned out to be an attempted murder. the victim was indeed, yeji, and the suspected murderer, based off the license plate of the car and cctv footage, was jisoo."

"i was really scared and sad and i didn't know what to do," he looked down. "i became really introverted and i didn't want to keep going. i felt like i couldn't keep up with life and i just wanted it to stop. i had a lot of suicidal thoughts, but my friends stopped me from acting on those thoughts. it took awhile but i eventually healed after about a year. it's definitely still a wound, but it's getting better, and i'm more open about it now."

"wow," i gaped at the story. "why didn't you say this in the glass room?"

"i wasn't too sure if i should tell you," he answered truthfully. "but after you told me about eunwoo and you were so understanding about my other problems, i knew i could fully trust you. you also make me feel safe and, well, loved and cared for, so that's why i knew kissing you felt right."

"oh," i blushed slightly. "you know, you're only the second guy i've kissed."

juyeon whipped around and faced me with a look of shock on his face. "i'm sorry, what?"

"yeah," i nodded sheepishly. "i've only kissed eunwoo before you."

"i don't believe you," he looked skeptical. "i bet you've kissed a ton of guys."

"i bet you've kissed a ton of girls," i retorted.

"surprisingly, no," he shook his head. "only about five i think. and most of those were from dares and stuff. that's it. but still. how have you only kissed two guys? you're really pretty," he complimented me, making me blush.

"nah," i disagreed. "i'm average."

"that's what everyone says," juyeon snorted.

we sat there for awhile longer, enjoying the rainfall as it continued to pour down on us. i readjusted my position so that now i was the one leaning on juyeon, and he didn't seem to mind.

"you know, if we didn't live in two completely different countries, i would definitely date you," juyeon said suddenly.

"i mean, i would too," i answered. "but trust me when i say i'm normally not this fun."

"well, there's more to you than that," juyeon hugged me. "you're kind, caring, and understanding. today was really amazing and honestly something i would never forget."

"same," i agreed before checking my phone, which thankfully had been under a covered shelter. "wow, it's almost two in the morning. i wouldn't exactly recommend going back to your hotel all alone. if you want, you can stay over."

"are you sure?" juyeon said uneasily. "i don't want to be a burden."

"well, i'd rather have you stay at our apartment then you potentially being in danger," i told him. "trust me, it's fine."

"okay then," juyeon nodded. "thanks."

"we should probably go inside then, before we accidentally fall asleep in the rain," i said, making juyeon laugh softly.

"yeah," juyeon nodded. "but first..."

and as if i had landed in a fairytale, my prince charming, lee juyeon, pulled me in again and i felt his lips against mine once more.

a/n: lmaoo that was such a weird ending to the chapter but i didn't know how to end it so yeahhhhhhh:) anywho, i think there will be 2-3 chapters left of this book, which is kind of crazy since i wrote this so quickly but yeah~ hope you all have been liking this story:)

{written on august 31st, 2020}