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they say opposites attract but this felt like an exaggeration of the idiom.
but if you ever asked them they’d tell you that their opposites fit perfectly together, like the two pieces that complete a puzzle.
the story of how they met is endearing only to them, as their friends have had to endure both of their versions of it, countless times…
‘more times that i’d like to mention, at this point it feels like it all happened to me!’
that’s what san says every time at least.
it all starts with the girl with a sweet tooth and the boy who can’t even bare to drink his coffee with a teaspoon of sugar.
when they first met, jongho would easily describe her as painfully sweet, having been introduced by a mutual friend who said they’d be the “perfect match” .
or at least that’s what yunho thought…
“it’s like all of the candy she eats goes straight into her nervous system, whenever she speaks i can taste it on my tongue… and when she’s around it always seems like someone’s hidden behind her making fresh cotton candy… it’s intoxicating” jongho said all in one breath, he felt strange, having never met someone like her before, someone who made life taste so sweet without even trying.
it was all so new to him and with only a few weeks of knowing her he knew there was something about her that wouldn’t allow him to stop thinking of her, or the way she spoke and could so easily carry a conversation with anyone she met, or the way she seemed to be enamored with life and everything around her, the way she sweetened the lives of those who knew her, he couldn’t get the thought of her out of his troubled head.
“for someone who hates sugar so much you really seem quite intrigued by her, huh?” yunho said with a sly smirk, he’s been there whenever the two opposites crossed paths, and just like he had predicted, they both seemed deeply infatuated by the others’ presence.
after yunho had left that night, the question lingered inside his head for longer than he would admit. why was his head so occupied with thoughts of her?
what was so special about her that he couldn’t even concentrate?
maybe it was her smile, her sweet and gentle smile, yeah, the one that can easily light up the entire room without even trying.
or maybe the way she always carries a strawberry flavored lollipop in her bag, how unwrapping it seems like second nature to her.
or how her pretty lips wrapped around it so nicely.
well, great, now he can’t stop thinking of how sweet she might taste after she’s done with the lollipop.
fuck, what’s gotten into him?
the answer was easy.
her.
now if you asked her about her first impression of jongho, she would say that she knew as soon as her eyes landed on him that he wasn’t like anyone she’s ever met before, and we all know that they say not to judge a book by it’s cover but it was hard when the book is dressed in all black and stares at you with little to no expression.
but god, did she want to read this one.
“i can’t really explain it but there’s just something about him… he seems so scary and yet has the voice angels could only dream of having. he’s always so sure of himself and so confident, i wonder how he does that? how he goes around life so effortlessly himself, with that steady strut to his step, like he’s got his whole life figured out…” she spoke in hushed tones, as if anyone other than yunho wasn’t allowed to hear her speak of the boy who’s got her head all clouded with thoughts of him.
she would never lie and say she’s met a fair amount of people, at least enough to call it a bunch, but she knew that meeting him was different than meeting just anyone. the way his eyes stayed glued to her whenever she spoke, his undivided attention on her, or the way the corner of his lips would go up ever so slightly whenever she made a dumb joke, the way he seemed to be so put together, so divine in what felt like a sinful way. and all she could think about is how she wanted him to put her back together, pick up even the tiniest of her pieces and build her back up, all she could think about was him.
yunho could only sit there with the smallest knowing smile, as he had heard both of them gush about the other until his ears almost bled.
and well so the story goes…
she’s not really the one that goes out and intentionally tries to meet new people, solely because people weren’t usually that interested in engaging with her.
the same can be said of him, he’s mostly a guy that likes to keep to himself, someone who enjoys their own company a little too much.
and to this day neither of them can really pinpoint what made them agree to yunho’s plea to meet ‘a friend of his’.
a girl who he said was “a bit shy and yet incredibly talkative, a sugar cube if you must”
and a guy who he described as “a little scary looking but actually pretty nice once you go through the tough exterior”
and well, the exterior was tough, oh it really was.
it took a handful of bad jokes and a couple sips of her favorite tea, which he always said tasted like pure sugar water, for him to somewhat soften up on her.
she really had to try to actually get him to smile at her, at least once.
and when he did she knew she had struck gold.
it was a bit funny, looking back at it, how they both sat in that café that they had gone to a few times, and the only voice that could be heard was hers, not because he wasn’t interested, but because she had so much to say, and he just wanted to listen to every single word that came out of her mouth.
it took a couple of coffee dates and walks around the same park for him to say more than a few words to her, and when he did she knew she wanted to listen until her ears rung.
he had never met anyone who was so interested in knowing about him or his life, so he just didn’t know what to say when she asked for a ‘fun fact’
“um, a fun fact? i… oh, i like my coffee black, it’s not really a fun fact but people seem to find it shocking whenever i don’t sweeten my coffee..” he said with a hint of embarrassment, mentally flicking his forehead for not thinking of something more interesting to say about himself.
and as they sat facing the other he saw how she raised her eyebrows in surprise, just before a hearty laugh left her chest.
“that seems fitting, in a good way, really!” she said with a smile, not missing the way his eyes never left hers. “black coffee is never only black coffee, it depends on how is brewed and where the beans are from, you know? um, i think it’s fitting because there’s so much of you that’s hidden behind what everyone sees, to others you might look like this quiet guy who seems bitter, but just like coffee, once you take a sip it all changes, the flavors are captivating, it’s warming and comforting, it keeps you up” a gentle smile had grown onto her face, and surprisingly, he had a small matching one to go with hers.
at this point, jongho knew he was done for because after this day his mind was covered in her, all of it was her.
and since that day she could only think of the gentle smile that settled upon his lips, how his hand had found hers, and just like she expected, she felt warmth.
even after months of these events you can still catch them having their respective drinks at the café they always went to, and on some occasions, their drinks sit on the opposite sides of them.