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Hwang Hyunjin.
Maybe you had fallen for him.
Maybe it was when you first met.
Days were long as a music major-every semester, you had to do at least two music ensembles, which met almost every day. This year you’d been dumb enough to take orchestra and be in the choir, which both met late at night.
Maybe it was fate that the day after the night you met Hyunjin, you had an orchestra concert.
Maybe it was fate that your director insisted you stay in a practice room until the song was perfected.
Maybe it was also fated that Hyunjin had a solo performance the next day.
Though you were familiar with them, the hallways of the Gallagher Bludorn Performing Arts Center were eerie at three in the morning. Every step you took echoed throughout the building, a reminder that you were here alone.
Until you weren’t.
You thought it was just your imagination the first time that you heard the music. The sound swirled to your ears for just a moment, causing you to stop in your tracks.
But then you couldn’t hear anything. A moment passed with no sound, and you managed to convince yourself that you were hallucinating because it was three in the morning and you were tired. So you continued to walk.
Right before you left, you heard it again. It was just a faint melody you could hear, but it was enough to pique your curiosity.
So you followed the sound.
The sounds of the slow guitar in a melancholy song drew you in, and you found the source of the music.
You didn’t even know there were dance practice rooms in the Gallagher.
The room that was the source of the music was dimly lit, so you couldn’t see the dancer very well. At first, you only saw a shadow through the small window on the door. Then you saw the person move.
Their movements to the music were fluid, and you were in awe. You never knew it was possible to so clearly understand the emotions of a person just by their dance.
Your eyes grew accustomed to the dark and you could finally see the dancer’s face.
He was breathtaking. He was covered in sweat, and you knew from his eyes that he was tired, but you would never be able to tell from his dance. Each move he hit to the music was sharp but had a certain fluidity to it, and he looked as if he had all the energy in the world.
But before you go, before you go,
I just wanted you to know
That I would, that I would
I would love you if I could
But my unsteady heart’s not ready
And you would only get what’s left of me
Only this, only this
Is gonna be the death of me
After the chorus, his movements became more fierce.
You were still watching in admiration as the boy missed a step near the end of the song. You jumped when he let out a frustrated yell and fell to his knees.
You waited with bated breath for him to stand back up, but the song ended and suddenly there was silence.
A broken sob echoed through the room, though it was small.
It felt as if this was something you weren’t supposed to see. Something private. You should have left right then, but something was pulling you towards this boy.
So you pushed the door open, wincing when it squeaked. The boy looked up, startled, and frantically wiped his eyes, standing up. As you got closer, you could see how bloodshot his eyes were.
“Um,” you muttered, not sure what to say, or even why you even entered the room. You took a deep breath and began. “You look like you could use a friend.”
The boy didn’t answer, and his face twisted into an emotion that you couldn’t quite identify.
“Do you want to talk about it?” You said as gently as you could.
The boy swallowed, shaking his head just the slightest bit, and turned on his heel, walking away from you.
Something in you took over just then, and you reached out to grab his wrist, stopping him.
He turned around, surprised but not scared, and looked down at your hand encircling his wrist. You looked down too and gasped, releasing him.
“Uh, I’m sorry I just...are you sure?” You stutter out an apology, and the boy looks you up and down for what must be a full ten seconds. He finally shrugs and sits back down. You sit down, too, and wait.
He doesn’t talk for a while.
When his voice finally breaks the silence, it’s weak and raspy.
“I have this solo performance tomorrow.”
“Are you a dance major?”
The boy nods.
“And you’re worried about it?” You prod gently.
“It’s really important,” he whispers, pausing for a moment. “If I don’t do perfectly, my parents are making me change my major to biochemistry.” His voice breaks, and so does your heart. For someone who is so clearly passionate about dancing to forcibly lose that, would be indescribably painful.
You imagine for a moment what your life would be like without music. Yes, sometimes being a music major is hard, but realistically, it was your lifeblood. If somebody cut off that source, you would be completely lost.
You nodded your head sympathetically.
“But you did so well just now,” you encourage him, and he shook his head.
“I messed up a part I’ve never messed up before. I need to practice more,” he said, resting his head in his hands. “In a minute,”
“You know…” you start, unsure if it’s your place to give advice. “There’s such a thing as over-practicing.”
“I--” you cut him off before he can continue.
“It’s currently,” you check your phone. “3:20 AM. If you don’t get home and sleep soon, you’ll do poorly because of lack of sleep. Not because you’re untalented. Because trust me, you are very talented.”
You stand up and offer him a hand. He hesitates, then takes your hand, heaving himself off the floor.
“Good luck,” you offer, before walking away. You’d overstayed your welcome anyway. You just hoped that he’d make it back home soon.
---------
The second time you met him, it was in broad daylight.
Your vocal performance class had been paired with a dance class for a project. The goal was for the vocal students to record a vocal track that the dancers could choreograph a modern dance to.
You were taken aback when the two classes met for the first time, and the boy from that night weeks ago was sitting across the room from you.
You admit that maybe you stared a bit, but that night in the Gallagher, you hadn’t realized exactly how beautiful he really was. That time, in the dimly lit practice room, you’d seen his inner beauty, but now you could see his outer beauty, and damn if it wasn’t perfection.
So it was almost inevitable that you made eye contact while you were staring.
Recognition flashed in his eyes, then another emotion you couldn’t identify before he looked away hurriedly.
You wrinkled your brow. This boy intrigued you endlessly.
Right before class was dismissed, the professor said that you could either choose a partner before next week or be assigned one at the beginning of class, and eyes flicked to the boy. He was already packing his bag up, and you realized you’d have to move quickly to catch him.
You threw your notebook in your bag, only zipping it up halfway as you watched him slip away. You slung the bag over your shoulder and jogged after him, catching up after a few moments.
“Hey!” you called breathlessly, realizing you had nothing else to call him.
He turned towards you, and that unidentifiable emotion from before flickered across his face. He inclined his head and continued walking.
You followed him.
“I don’t know your name,” you attempted to start a conversation.
The boy looked like he wasn’t sure if he’d give you his name before he finally mumbled: “Hwang Hyunjin.”
“Hyunjin-ssi! I’m {y/n},” you answer cheerfully. “Anyway, Hyunjin-ssi, I was wondering if you’d like to do the vocal project together?”
You were admittedly taken back a little bit when he didn’t answer right away.
“No,” He finally said, and you stopped in your tracks. He didn’t stop with you, and you watched, confused, as he walked away from you. He didn’t look back.
What was with that?
Sure, he didn’t know you very well, but was that really necessary? He didn’t even give you a chance. You huffed to yourself. He seemed different than he was when you met him that night, and you resolved yourself to find out why.
----------
The third time you met him, it was a complete coincidence. In between two of your morning classes, you had a 30-minute break. Normally you’d be doing homework or just watching videos in the union, but the last night, you’d been up until 4 after watching Avengers: Endgame at the midnight premiere, and you needed a freaking coffee.
You practically drug yourself to your favorite coffee shop on campus, the one in the library, and ordered a blonde caffe latte. You were waiting for your drink to be made when a loud group of boys entered the cafe. You tried to ignore them and just browse on your phone but soon were interrupted by a pure laugh.
This laugh was the most genuinely happy and pure laugh you had ever heard. It dissolved into a giggle after a few moments and you just had to see the owner of that laugh. You looked up, and once again made eye contact with Hyunjin. His eyes were squinty and his smile was wide, and you felt your heart stutter. He looked away from you quickly once again, and you did the same.
Maybe you were stupid for following him everywhere when he clearly had no interest in you, but there was something special about this boy. You could sense something deeper than just his appearance, something almost melancholic.
Maybe you were stupid but being a naturally curious person, you couldn’t help but investigate further. So once you had your coffee, you found yourself walking towards Hyunjin and his group of friends, a smile stretched over your teeth.
“Hyunjin-ssi~” you say brightly. Hyunjin looks up at you and his brows crease for a moment.
“Oooh Hyunjin, who’s this?” One of his friends asks, and Hyunjin reluctantly answered “{y/n}.”
“Hi, {y/n}-ssi! How do you know Hyunjin?” A hyper-sounding boy asked, his smile blinding even with his slightly crooked front tooth.
“Oh, our classes are doing a project together,” Hyunjin answered quickly, cutting you off before you can mention the first time you met.
“I see! Would you like to sit with us?” The boy asked eagerly, and you nodded. Hyunjin made an annoyed face, and you made one right back, surprising Hyunjin so much that he simply shut up instead of putting up a fight.
“I’m Jisung by the way,” the younger boy introduced himself, and soon so was everyone else. Hyunjin sure had a lot of friends for being so sullen. But it didn’t make sense. Just a few moments ago, he had been laughing, and you knew that it hadn’t been fake. He must be a decent guy, but you just couldn’t figure out why he didn’t seem to like you.
------
Trailing after Hyunjin turned into a habit. You became friends with all of Hyunjin’s friends, and they really seemed to like you. It got to a point that you met up almost every day.
You kept trying to chip away at the shield that Hyunjin put up around you for weeks. You would try to start conversations constantly and try to get him alone.
He was always busy.
But he couldn’t hide his true self forever. He began to wear down. He still didn’t react to you specifically, but he’d laugh at his friends jokes, and you saw glimpses of the real him.
You were falling for the little slivers of real him that you saw, and it was obvious. Every time he smiled, you smiled too, a triumphant look in your eyes.
Sometimes he’d accidentally stand too close to you and you couldn’t hear anything over the roaring of the blood in your ears, and his friends looked between you. He’d notice how close he was to you and step away slightly.
Though reluctant, he eventually let you call him casually.
“Hyunjin-ah!” You teased, and every time you said it, he seemed a little less annoyed.
---------
One day, you were invited to a picnic that Felix had been planning for a few weeks. You had been excited to go, but when you arrived, there was a weird feeling in the air. Everyone seemed to be excited, but Hyunjin simply sat in the corner of the picnic blanket, not reacting to anything.
Nobody seemed to acknowledge it, however, and you came to the conclusion that he was having a bad day, though you were the only one who didn’t know why.
Eventually, Hyunjin, who’d been picking at his food, stood, announcing that he’d go to a convenience store.
You practically jerked up, saying “I’ll go with you!” but he didn’t react, and was already walking away.
“What’s up with him?” you asked Chan who answered: “He’s just having troubles with his parents.”
You nodded, then trotted after Hyunjin, keeping a few feet of distance between you. That was one thing you knew about Hyunjin, was that his relationship with his parents was rough. They didn’t want him to be a dancer, and they often said that if anything went wrong at any point, he’d be pulled from the dance program and put into the biochem program. He’d be forced to become a doctor.
When you got to the convenience store, Hyunjin finally turned around. He looked annoyed, and you stepped back a little bit.
“You! Why do you keep following me around! I can’t stand you, just because you saw me one time when I was weak doesn’t mean we can just be friends!” He threw his hands up in exasperation and you swallowed the hurt. A moment of silence passed between you.
“I never thought you were weak,” you whispered, and Hyunjin bristled in anger.
“I was! You saw me at my weakest, and I’ve been trying to shake you off ever since! You just can’t take a hint,” his voice was dripping with poison, and you flinched.
“Oh...okay,” you tried to keep your voice level and started to back away slowly. You gave him time to apologize if he so desired, but he didn’t say anything. You nodded in finality and whipped around, trying to walk away calmly. It took everything in you not to cry, to run away in shame.
You’d been pining after this boy just from a few shared moments, and it had been completely one-sided.
You found yourself back at the picnic area sooner than you expected and as a result, didn’t have time to compose yourself.
“{y/n}?” Woojin said, his voice soft. That was all it took for the dam to break. You started gathering your stuff, muttering something about ‘thanks for the food’, while tears streamed down your cheeks.
“{y/n},” Woojin said again, this time placing a hand on your shoulder. “What did he say to you?”
“Oh, Hyunjin?” Your voice wobbled. “Nothing much. I just have to go home. There’s a family emergency.”
You didn’t fool any of them.
They let you go anyway.
------------
Hyunjin hadn’t seen {y/n} almost an entire month.
“What the hell did you say?” Woojin had asked, his voice dripping with parental disappointment.
“Nothing that shouldn’t have been obvious,” he’d answered.
Though he was finally free from {y/n}’s prying eyes and mind, he’d expected to be happier, but he wasn’t.
“Hey,” he’d approached Chan one day. “Is {y/n} okay?”
“Why should you care?” Chan answered matter-of-factly. “Listen. I don’t know what’s been up with you two, but I can tell that you miss her. I don’t know why, because you never seemed interested in the first place, but you do.”
“Yeah, right,” Hyunjin had scoffed and stormed away.
---------
Late night snack runs had always been a guilty pleasure of yours. Today was no exception, as you were fiercely craving a pint of cookies-n-cream ice cream and Cheetos.
There was only one convenience store open on campus past 11 PM, and you were well-acquainted.
It was eerie at night, but you were used to it. You were just about ready to pay for your things when the bell on the door jingled. You looked up, and there was Hyunjin, who was absorbed in something on his phone. Without even meaning to, you dashed behind a display to hide from him. He thankfully didn’t notice you and went to the opposite side of the store.
You practically ran up to the cashier, throwing your things on the counter. You paid as quickly as you could, but the cashier was being agonizingly slow. Finally, she gave you your change back, and you grabbed the bag, trying to escape as quickly as possible.
Your heart nearly stopped when a hand grabbed your wrist.
You turned around slowly, and there was Hyunjin, his eyes clouded with something that you thought might be guilt.
“{y/n},” His voice was low and sincere, and you shivered.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been told to stay away from you,” you mumbled, halfheartedly pulling at his grip on your wrist.
You walked out of the store, and he followed you but didn’t let go of your wrist.
“Hyunjin-ssi,” you said, turning back to face him abruptly. He winced at your sudden formality. “You told me to avoid you, and now you’re following me. Please, just...pick one.”
You waited for Hyunjin to let go of your wrist, but instead, he took the other one. He pulled you just a step closer to him, and your brain short-circuited. Though it was only a foot or so of distance, he’d never let the two of you stand this close before.
Your heart betrayed you by beating faster.
“{y/n},” He started again. “I didn’t realize how much I missed you until I saw you again today.” He was looking at his feet, and really anywhere but your face.
“You...missed me?” You whispered, looking up at him. He finally managed to make eye contact with you, and that was when he lost it.
He pulled you close.
He leaned in quicker than you could even react.
He kissed you.
It took you a few seconds to even realize what was happening, that Hyunjin was kissing you.
One of his arms was wrapped around your back, and the other was on your cheek, his thumb stroking your face gently.
You finally melted into the kiss, letting yourself enjoy it. Hyunjin kissed you urgently as if he was starving of your touch, and there was a chance he’d never get it again.
You were the one to pull back, and held back a chuckle when Hyunjin chased your lips unconsciously.
“I’m sorry I ignored you for so long,” Hyunjin whispered, his breath mingling with yours.
“You’ll just have to make up for it somehow,” you answered, leaning in to kiss him again, this time with a smile on your face.