Post by @anasthezia

pov: "I'm sorry, Y/N. I can't reciprocate your feelings for me," Jungwon said. For a few seconds, the world around you went silent. You had prepared yourself for every possible answer before confessing, but hearing the words still hurt more than you expected. Your fingers tightened around the small paper bag of cookies you had baked for him. You forced a smile. "It's okay," you laughed softly, even though your voice trembled. "I didn't confess because I wanted you to feel pressured. I just... didn't want to regret never telling you." Jungwon looked guilty. "I'm really sorry." "You don't have to apologize." You handed him the cookies anyway. "They're still yours." He hesitated before accepting them. "...Thank you." You smiled one last time before walking away, only allowing yourself to cry once you were out of his sight. The next day, everything was... normal. To Jungwon's surprise, you greeted him with the same cheerful smile. "Morning, Jungwon!" You still saved him a seat in class. You still shared your notes whenever he forgot his. You still waited for him after school if your schedules matched. You still laughed at his jokes, still argued over the smallest things, still sent him random memes in the middle of the night. Nothing changed. At first, Jungwon thought you were pretending. But weeks became months. You really treated him exactly the same. You never brought up your confession again. It was as if you'd quietly accepted his answer and decided that being by his side as a friend was enough. One afternoon, while the two of you were walking home, Jungwon suddenly asked, "...Why are you still so nice to me?" You blinked. "What do you mean?" "I rejected you." "So?" "You don't hate me?" You laughed. "Should I?" "I thought... you would." You shook your head. "I liked you because you're Jungwon. Getting rejected doesn't suddenly erase the person I cared about." You looked ahead with a small smile. "I still like you." Jungwon almost stopped walking. "But..." you continued, "...I know you don't feel the same." "So I'll just keep liking you quietly until the feeling disappears." You smiled at him. "Don't worry. I'm not expecting anything." That smile stayed in Jungwon's mind for days. Life continued. Your feelings never became a burden. You never crossed his boundaries. Never guilt-tripped him. Never asked him to reconsider. You simply stayed. And somehow... That made Jungwon's heart feel strangely restless. He found himself looking for you first whenever something funny happened. He started noticing the way your eyes crinkled whenever you laughed. He memorized your favorite drink without realizing it. He became comfortable enough to text you first. Somewhere along the way... Your presence had become part of his everyday life. But he convinced himself that was just friendship. Until one day... Someone else appeared. "Y/N?" You turned around after class. A familiar face stood by the school gate. He smiled brightly. "You seriously don't recognize me?" You stared for a moment before your eyes widened. "...Minho?" He laughed. "I knew you'd remember." Your childhood friend. The boy who used to live next door before moving away years ago. The two of you immediately started catching up. You talked about old memories. The tree you used to climb. The paper airplanes you threw from the rooftop. The time the two of you got lost trying to find a stray puppy. It felt like no time had passed. From then on... Minho often visited. He picked you up after class. You grabbed coffee together. Sometimes the two of you walked around until sunset, talking about everything you had missed over the years. Naturally... You had less time to spend with Jungwon. You still greeted him. Still smiled. But you were always rushing somewhere. "Sorry, Jungwon! I'll talk to you tomorrow!" "Minho's waiting." "...See you!" And you'd run away. Every single time. Jungwon hated it. He hated the empty seat beside him. He hated waiting for your messages that never came. He hated seeing you laugh at someone else's jokes. #jungwon #yangjungwon #enhypen