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“Bye, Hyuna! See you in the new year!” Yet another classmate had said when the bell rang, handing her a candy cane before running off.
“You too! And happy holidays!” Hyuna waved back, making her way down the hall towards her locker.
Finally, she thought. That should be the last of the gifts I’ll receive today.
It wasn’t that Hyuna didn’t appreciate them. In fact, she was extremely grateful to have so many friends and classmates that supported her. She can’t remember the last time someone’s been anything but kind, always offering to help with something, especially after all the contributions she’s made to the school. She’d been the girls’ volleyball team captain for her school, being one of the main reasons their school had won several medals for two whole years.
And she would have continued to do so this year and the next if it weren’t for the accident that made her lose a leg.
Hyuna could still remember that day like it was yesterday, when she was making her way back home from volleyball practice, and that car ran the red light, moving towards her at a rapid speed, and she just barely had the chance to push herself far enough to not lose her life.
For a moment, she didn’t even fully register what happened. It was only until she felt like she was crumbling apart when she attempted to stand up, her body not moving the way that it was supposed to.
The paramedics had apparently arrived within ten minutes of the accident, but to her, those ten minutes felt like an eternity.
Considering the amount of blood that was lost, she was told she was lucky to have only lost her leg.
It was beyond saving, and she had to accept that. It wasn’t like she was given a choice, after all.
But still, it was a hard pill to swallow, knowing her body would never be the same after that.
Just getting used to walking with a prosthetic leg took her months, and even now, she’s not sure if she’ll ever fully recover from the accident. It was difficult doing the things she once used to do so easily.
Though, it wasn’t like anyone expected her to bounce back as if nothing ever happened. She was given all the time she needed to get even just a little closer to the life she had before. She had to miss a couple months of school, and even now, when it’s all too much for her, she’ll take the day off, waiting for the pain to pass.
For a while, she thought it would be better to just lock herself away until she could become the version of her that everyone knew and loved once more, to never have to see the look of surprise on people’s faces when they saw that she wasn’t who she was before.
Had she known from the start that it wasn't possible for her to achieve, perhaps she would have done things differently.
It was weird when she thought about it. Hyuna, who used to never miss a day of school and had so many people who relied on her, was now forced into the position where she was the one asking for help.
She hated it initially. It was as though a part of her independence was stripped away from her against her will. She felt vulnerable in front of others, knowing that they knew she was nothing like she was back then, when everything was fine.
But when they all welcomed her back with open arms, she was surprised. They allowed her to lean onto them for support without the judgement she had assumed she’d get.
That never made her any less strong, she realized. Every step she took, every day that she continued to live on, was proof that she was more capable than she thought, because losing a part of herself didn’t mean her life was over. There was so much to continue for; she still had the freedom to choose how she wanted to keep going, in the end.
And so, she did. Getting back to school was a challenge, considering how much she had to catch up with her studies. But she threw herself into her work, determined to avoid missing even more than she already had.
She’d even reunited with her friends again, and not once did they try to treat her any differently. She was glad. She didn’t want to feel pitied. Sure, she noticed that they were a little extra careful around her, but they never made her feel like she didn’t have a place to belong. They tried to understand her, at least.
Though, Hyuna was most grateful to have Luka constantly by her side. It all started when she asked him once to help her catch up with all the assignments and lessons she missed, and then it became something regular. Since he was a grade above her, he was quite familiar with everything he’d learned from last year, so he breezed through each topic, and Hyuna was confused as to how he managed to remember so much material.
Even if Hyuna understood her homework and could complete her work without a problem, Luka would still show up, just to keep her company, and sometimes that’s all she really needed.
It kept her grounded, reminding her that she was alive.
Yes, she had been broken, in more ways than one, but she was still alive, breathing, living, and existing at the same time as everyone else.
He’d come over to Hyuna’s house with a huge textbook in his arms which would make her laugh, and they’d stay up studying until late, to the point where they’d even woken up a few times and realized they’d both fallen asleep at the desk. Unfortunately for Luka, he had gotten into big trouble those times for not returning home, his father even banning him from coming over for a while.
Still, Luka would always find a way to see Hyuna, no matter what, and if Hyuna was being honest, she was never more grateful for anyone else in her life as much as she was for Luka. He was always there for her, the same way she’d been there for him.
Hyuna couldn’t help but think they’d gotten even closer lately, probably due to how much time they’ve begun to spend with each other daily, so it was unusual for them not to be together.
So when she realized she hadn’t seen Luka at all today, she was confused as to why. It was the last day before winter break, after all. Who would want to miss such a day?
He didn’t walk to school with her today, he didn’t meet up with her during lunch, and now, when he was supposed to wait by the lockers to walk home with her, he was still nowhere to be seen.
He’s probably just sick again. She assumed. He gets sick often during the colder months. It’s probably just that.
She was all too familiar with Luka’s weaker immune system due to his health, making him prone to sickness. It had always been difficult for him during winter. She made a mental note to text Luka the moment she got back home to check in with how he was doing.
Still, it was strange to her, since Luka would always text her beforehand to let her know he wouldn’t be at school.
She just hoped she was just making things up and that he had just forgotten this time. It’s not like he was required to tell her anything, really.
Twisting the lock around, she opened her locker. She was greeted by the sight of the many gifts she received today, ranging from chocolate and candy canes to cards, stationery, and hot chocolate packets, all of which she was definitely going to share with her brother. There was no way she would be able to keep it to herself.
Luckily, she’d prepared for this and had brought a tote bag to school to carry all of these gifts back home, so it’d be no problem for her.
Clearing out her locker, she noticed the large rectangular box sitting on the top shelf.
Weird. She raised a brow. I don’t remember anyone giving me that today.
Sliding the box off the shelf, she touched it cautiously with the tips of her fingers, examining the box carefully before deciding to do anything.
The box was simple, yet beautiful. It was a cream white, with a yellow, glittery ribbon wrapped around it to keep it closed. She almost didn’t want to undo the bow with the way that it was so perfectly tied.
After a moment of deep consideration, she pulled the ribbon off, lifting the lid of the box to reveal what was inside.
It was nothing she had expected. Everything inside the box was so specific to what she liked, almost as if the person had gone inside her room and taken note of every little item that was in there. There were bracelets and necklaces with flower charms, gold hoop earrings, bright pink nail polish, fuzzy pairs of socks, claw clips of all kinds of colours and patterns, bunny sticker sheets, dozens of her favourite lemon-flavoured lollipops, and a soft plush bear keychain.
Hyuna didn’t even know what to say. Who could have possibly given her a gift like this? But first of all, how in the world did they manage to break into her locker?
Now that she thought about it, Hyuna had told her friends about her locker code. It's not that she ever had anything worth hiding in there. But if they knew it, then it must have been them, or at least one of them, who had left this gift for her, right?
Upon closer inspection, she noticed a letter tucked into the corner of the box. Perhaps this would give her the answer she needed as to who had made this for her.
Opening up the envelope, she unfolded a long letter that had clearly been printed out. She leaned against the lockers, sliding down to the floor, putting her attention entirely on the paper in her hands.
‘To my one and only saviour, the ruler of my heart,’
Hyuna let out a snort. First sentence, and it was already starting strong. It baffled her that someone would make such a bold statement about someone like her.
‘I do hope you’re reading this alone. I wrote this only for your eyes to see.’
Hyuna looked to her left, then to her right. There was nobody in her sight that was secretly reading along. And she doubted she would ever show her friends such a letter either.
‘There’s so much I want to express to you, so much I had planned to tell you out loud, in person, but I’ll never have the guts to ever do it. Hopefully this letter will suffice.’
Hyuna shrugged. She’d gotten confessions from her classmates a few times before, regardless of their gender, and she always made sure to reject them in the kindest way possible, not wanting them to ever feel embarrassed or heartbroken. She would hate to be in their position.
And though she’d gotten similar love letters, there was something about this one in particular, both the letter and the gift, that felt different—sincere.
‘I feel as if I’m the luckiest guy alive, just knowing you. But even after all these years, I can’t wrap my head around the fact that you continue to talk to me every day, when I don’t deserve someone like you. You’ve changed so much, in a beautiful way. You’re the light of my life, the air that I breathe. You give me a reason to keep going, to not give up.'
Hyuna had a lot of friends who were guys, but it was hard to believe any of them ever wrote something like this. Besides, she didn’t think she had ever made that great of an impact on anyone’s life for them to think this way. They were probably just lovestruck.
Still, she couldn’t help but find the words sweet. Nobody else had ever put all this effort into a confession for her before. She desperately wished to thank the person who had made this, even if she wasn't interested in them.
‘I truly mean it when I say that I love you. I’ve been in love with you since the moment you first approached me. It’s always been you, and it will only ever be you. You’ve never given up on me, no matter how many times I’ve messed up.
I don’t expect you to feel the same, but I no longer have the strength to keep these feelings hidden away. So, do what you will with this, but I’ll have you know that I’ll always be yours. I love you, Hyuna, for as long as I continue to live.
From yours truly,
____’
Hyuna read over the last line several times to be sure she was seeing things correctly, and unfortunately, she was.
There was no signature.
Had they just forgotten to sign the letter, or was it on purpose? How would she figure out who had written this now? The letter wasn’t handwritten either, so she couldn’t even tell who it was based on the handwriting.
Just exactly who was this person? Could this have been a sick prank pulled by her friends? She knew they loved to fool around, and she never minded, of course, considering she often engaged in their silly pranks as well, but going so far as to pretend to be her secret admirer? That felt like it was going a bit too far.
Speaking of friends, Hyuna noticed Till coming down the hall, clutching onto a red box of chocolates so tight as if he was afraid someone would snatch them out of his hands.
“Till!” Hyuna called out, catching his attention.
“Oh, you’re still here?” Till raised a brow, glancing down at her sitting on the floor next to a box. “I thought you would have gone home by now.”
“That was the plan,” Hyuna sighed, her gaze dropping back to the letter in her hands. “But I think I have something bigger to deal with right now.”
Till crouched down, running his hands over the contents of the box. “Nice gift. Who’s it from?”
“Mhm, it is nice. That’s the thing, though,” Hyuna huffed in frustration. “I don’t know who gave all this. I mean, they'd even written me a love letter, but there was no name written on it. Are you guys pranking me? Is this supposed to be a joke or something?”
Till scrunched his brows together. “What makes you think we’d ever do something like that?”
Hyuna shrugged. “Dunno. It just seems hard for me to believe this is real.”
“Let me see.” Till snatched the letter from Hyuna’s hands before she could stop him, his eyes skimming over the words on the paper. “I hate to say this, but whoever sent this to you really meant it. This is way too much effort for ‘just a prank’. And from what I know, nobody ever mentioned anything about pranking you today.”
“But then who—”
“Come on,” Till rolled his eyes. “There are plenty of people who have a crush on you but are just too afraid to admit it. Let’s start with some of the more obvious people, like Isaac.”
“Isaac?” Hyuna shot him a quizzical look.
Till stared at her blankly. “Did you really not know Isaac had a crush on you? Are you really that oblivious?”
Hyuna put her hands up in defence. “Hey, how would I have known? We’ve been nothing but friendly with each other this whole time. And I’m just really touchy with everyone. I treat him how I treat all of my other friends.”
“Have you not seen the way he looks at you? He blushes like an idiot every time you’re around.” Till crossed his arms.
Hyuna’s expression faltered. “I guess I never paid too much attention.”
Till sighed in frustration, getting up from his crouching position and offering Hyuna a hand. “Well, let’s go find whoever sent this gift to you.”
Hyuna shoved everything into her tote bag before accepting his hand. “You’re coming with me?”
“Obviously, because clearly you don’t know who likes you even with all the signs pointing at it. Besides, I need to meet with Ivan later as well. I just—I have something to give him.” Till looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.
Hyuna smirked. “I was wondering who that box of chocolates was for. I should’ve known they’re for your boyfriend.”
“Hey! He’s not my—” Till glanced around his surroundings before his voice dropped to a whisper, “I told you not to say anything. It’s supposed to be a secret. I’m not trying to get Ivan in trouble.”
“Sorry,” Hyuna chewed on her lip. “I forgot about that.”
Till led the way, since he knew exactly where Isaac was. For the past ten minutes, he was downstairs by the vending machines with Dewey, who was contemplating which energy drink he should get.
“Hm, blue raspberry sounds good, but I always have cherry. What if I don’t end up liking blue raspberry? What would I do then?” Dewey groaned dramatically, pressing his forehead against the glass of the vending machine.
“There you guys are,” Hyuna said as she and Till finally reached them. “What’s up?”
“Dewey can’t decide what energy drink he wants,” Isaac crossed his arms, staring at Dewey in complete disappointment.
“Seriously? Who even drinks those in the first place?” Till stuck his tongue out in disgust.
“You wouldn’t understand, Till. You just don’t have good taste.” Dewey responded, his eyes still fixed on the display of energy drinks in front of him.
“Hm, I’ve only ever had the lemon flavoured one, but you should try it.” Hyuna suggested.
“I think you’re the only one who likes lemon-flavoured stuff. You’re not helping, Hyuna.” Dewey grumbled before pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Actually, what if I just ask Jacob?”
Isaac shook his head. “Dude, he’s probably attending a lecture right now. Don’t bother him.”
“Too late. He already texted back and told me to pick watermelon.” Dewey tucked his phone away, pressing the buttons on the vending machine and inserting some loose change.
“Okay, since that’s done, could we talk?” Hyuna cleared her throat. “Well, specifically with you, Isaac.”
Till took the box out of Hyuna’s tote bag. “Do you recognize this?”
Isaac stared at him vacantly. “I have no idea what that is.”
“Are you sure?” Hyuna narrowed her eyes.
“Yes, why are you asking me this in the first place? What’s going on?”
“Well…” Hyuna paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Someone gave me this gift, as well as a letter confessing their feelings to me, but there was no name written on it, and Till said it might have been you.”
Isaac’s eyes went wide. “What? I don’t—”
“Damn, it’s been about time you confessed,” Dewey interrupted, wrapping an arm around Isaac’s shoulder. “What gave you the courage, bro?”
“Till, seriously?" Isaac sighed in frustration. “But no, that was not me. I can’t even tie a bow. It would be impossible for me to tie a box up like that.”
“Hate to break to you, but the truth was going to come out eventually.” Till just shrugged. “But if it isn’t you, then who else could it be?”
“Oh I know!” Dewey snapped his fingers. “It’s pretty obvious it’s Luka.”
“Luka?” Hyuna stared at Dewey in disbelief.
“You know for once, I think Dewey might actually be right.” Till spoke up. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of him sooner.”
“But how could it be Luka? He wasn’t even here today!” Hyuna argued back.
“What do you mean? I literally saw him in English class today.”
Hyuna froze. Luka was here the whole time? Then why hadn't she seen him at all today? She was worried that much for nothing?
But it didn’t make sense to her. Luka would always make time to meet with her, even if he was really busy.
So that only left one possible option, that he was purposely avoiding her.
But why? Had she said something wrong? Hyuna couldn’t remember the last time Luka had gotten upset over something she’d said.
Though, the more that she thought about it, perhaps the gift was the reason why he was hiding away from her. Hyuna knew Luka well. There were times when she’d been mad at Luka, but there was never a time where he was the one mad at her. She’d seen him mad at other people countless times, especially if it had something to do with her, but his anger would never be directed towards her. Sometimes it surprised her just how differently he acted around everyone that wasn't her. It probably wasn’t ideal, but Hyuna did appreciate his attentiveness so much that she could almost ignore it. Almost. Besides, he was trying to work on it, at least. He and Ivan had become rather good friends.
“So it really is Luka, isn’t it?” Hyuna thought out loud.
“I’m pretty sure.” Dewey tapped his chin, now focusing on the box while in deep thought. “Even the ribbon on the box is yellow like his hair. That seems way too intentional.”
“Maybe the person who made the gift just picked a yellow ribbon because they knew I liked the colour yellow?” Hyuna scratched her head.
“And why exactly do you like the colour yellow so much?” Till raised a brow.
“Who doesn’t? For me, yellow reminds me of lemons, flowers in the spring, and Lu—oh.” Hyuna suddenly went quiet, her gaze now fixed on the floor.
“Hyuna,” Isaac spoke up, his expression serious. “If it was really him behind the gift, then you need to talk to him now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, now.” Isaac urged once more, leaving no room for discussion. “I just—I don’t trust Luka. You never know what he’s thinking or what he’s going to do. You need to resolve whatever you two have going on as soon as possible.”
Hyuna nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Now how are we supposed to know where Luka is? He hasn’t responded to any of my texts.” Hyuna sighed as she and Till went back to walking in the hallways that had been long emptied out by now, the only people left in the school being a couple of teachers who were still busy packing up and students with after-school activities.
“Since Ivan has a student council meeting right now too, I’m going to assume Luka is there too. I mean, where else would he be? He’s literally the president. Isn’t it mandatory for him to show up?”
Hyuna nodded. “They would be in room 222, I believe. Let’s head up there right now.”
Hyuna and Till took the elevator back upstairs again, reading each room number that they passed until they found the one they were looking for.
Till was about to turn the door knob when Hyuna grabbed hold of it instead.
“Wait.”
Till narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“How come you never told me about Isaac liking me until now?” Hyuna asked hesitantly.
Till placed a hand on Hyuna’s shoulder. “Look, everyone just assumed that you’ve known this the whole time, but you just didn’t want to acknowledge it. You kind of did that with everyone else who’s had a crush on you. Besides, it wasn’t really my place to say it, and I know I probably shouldn’t have said it, but it was kind of necessary right now.”
“I really do love Isaac too, I mean it, but it’s not in the way that he sees me. I don’t know; I guess I’ve never really felt those sort of feelings when I’m around him.” Hyuna shrugged. “But what if things get awkward between us? I mean, he’s probably embarrassed already.”
“You won’t make it awkward, Hyuna. I don’t think you ever could, honestly. But after this whole situation gets sorted out, you should really talk to him about it properly.”
“Aw, you’re actually pretty wise, Till. I knew I could trust you.” Hyuna ruffled his hair teasingly. “But thank you, really.”
Till rolled his eyes lightheartedly. “Shut up. Let’s just go inside now.”
The classroom was practically empty. None of the members of the student council were here, and it was completely silent. Hyuna only noticed that Ivan was in the classroom when he stood up from the table in the corner, where beside him were two backpacks, a dark red one that was so clearly Ivan’s and another one that Hyuna knew all too well.
She still remembers that day, when there was only a week left before school began again, and she and Luka had yet to get new backpacks. Luka had said he knew a place that had some backpacks that Hyuna would like. She immediately picked the first option she saw and urged Luka to pick the same one as well. They picked two versions of the orange backpacks; one had white wings attached to it, and the other with black wings. They were simple, yet adorable. Hyuna ended up choosing the first, while Luka had chosen the second one.
But if Luka’s backpack was here, then that meant that he had been here, not too long ago.
That did raise the question though: if Luka wasn’t here, then where was he? Hyuna knew that Luka never went anywhere without his belongings. He didn’t trust anyone enough to keep them safe.
“Till!” Ivan ran up to Till immediately, wrapping him in a tight hug.
“Let go, idiot,” Till huffed, attempting to pry Ivan’s arms off him.
“Right—sorry.” Ivan let go immediately, taking a few steps back to give Till some space.
“Wait—I got you something.” Till shifted from foot to foot, holding the box of chocolates behind his back.
Ivan’s eyes softened, as if just the thought of Till getting him something was enough to make him melt, which was surprising considering how many gifts Till had already given Ivan throughout the entire year.
Till shoved the chocolate box into Ivan’s hands, not willing to keep it from him any longer.
They were dark chocolate—Ivan’s favourite. Just looking at the packaging of the box in his hands caused Ivan’s eyes to water.
“Why are you crying? Do you not like them? If you don’t like them, I’ll just buy a different one!” Till gritted his teeth, suddenly stressed.
“No, I just love them so much that—” Ivan sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve. “Thank you, Till.”
“You’re so confusing,” Till grumbled before looking left to right to make sure there wasn’t anyone around when he reached up to give Ivan a quick peck on the cheek.
“Till!” Ivan put a hand over his mouth. “You’re spoiling me too much today.”
“You’re acting as if you didn’t literally buy me hot chocolate and a muffin yesterday.”
“I know, but—” Ivan paused, realizing that Hyuna was standing not too far behind Till, waiting patiently. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you were here too, Hyuna. But it’s a good thing you came, actually. I need your help with something.”
“It’s alright,” Hyuna waved him off. “It’s about Luka, isn’t it?”
“How did you—yeah, it is.” Ivan’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I had a feeling something was up the moment he cancelled the student council meeting we were supposed to have today and straight up ran to the rooftop because he apparently really wanted to ‘get some fresh air’, but it’s been 15 minutes now, he still hasn’t come back yet, it’s freezing outside, and he didn’t even wear his jacket or—“
“Shit,” Hyuna bit her lip, taking in the situation. “It’s okay, I’ll talk to him, and I’ll get him back down, alright?”
Ivan’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you. I don’t think he would listen to anyone but you anyways.”
“Everything will be fine soon, I promise. I’ll see you both later, okay?” Hyuna offered them a reassuring smile, though it might have been mostly for her own sake.
“Bye Hyuna,” Till waved. “We’ll just wait here for a bit, though I can’t guarantee we’ll stay if you guys take too long.”
Hyuna dropped everything off to the side before pausing at the doorway. “We won’t. I don’t want Luka getting sick.”
It had taken Hyuna a while to find the entrance to the rooftop. She couldn’t even remember the last time she went up there—if she had ever gone up there in the first place. From what she knew, all students were prohibited from stepping foot there, and she was pretty sure the door was always kept locked. Perhaps the student council came with some perks that she didn't know about.
She was relieved to find that the door was unlocked, but that only confirmed that Luka was definitely on the rooftop.
She prepared herself ahead of time for this, dressed in her jacket, gloves, hat, and boots. If she had known where Luka’s jacket was, she would have brought it along too, considering how long he’d been out there without one.
Before taking a step onto the staircase, though, she heard her phone buzz in her pocket.
It was just Hyunwoo. She should have expected that.
Sighing, she opened her phone to send a quick text.
—————
Hyunwoo
How are you still not home yet??
Where are you?
It’s been 30 minutes since school ended
Hyuna
Sorry
Something came up
I’ll be home a little later
I need to take care of something first
Hyunwoo
Okay…
Don’t get mad if I finish the last Doritos bag then
Hyuna
I promise you I do not care about that right now
Take as many as you want
—————
Looking at the stairs now, she kind of wished there was an elevator to take her up to the rooftop instead. She was still working on getting up the stairs again through her physical therapy sessions, and although she was able to do so, it still took quite a bit of effort and time.
Taking a step with her good leg first, she swung her prosthesis over onto the step while gripping onto the rails with both hands, repeating the process until she reached the top and swung the door open.
It wasn’t hard for her to spot Luka. The navy colour of his school uniform stood out against the paper-white snow. He sat in the corner against the rails, curled in on himself, and just seeing him like that made Hyuna’s heart ache.
He’d waited for far too long. Hyuna felt stupid now. She should have figured it out earlier. Luka had been in love with her this whole time, and she’d been too dense to connect the dots.
And when he finally gathered up the courage to express his feelings, he’d become too ashamed to even confront her with them.
Luka was always like that—afraid to take risks. Hyuna was the exact opposite, constantly doing things that people warned her not to, which often led to many consequences, but through each failure she learned something new. Sometimes she was lucky and would be successful in what she had intended to do.
So, Hyuna will do it for him, take that risk, hold his hand, and tell him it’s okay.
Things might change forever, but Hyuna knew good things could still come out of change. Not everything turns out horribly.
Hyuna shuffled slowly through the packed layer of snow on the ground, not wanting to startle Luka. It seemed like he hadn’t noticed her yet, his head still lowered.
As Hyuna got closer, she noticed how Luka’s body shivered in the cold, the way the tips of his fingers were more purple than she’d ever seen them, and how his blond curls were tousled over his face, making it impossible for her to see his expression.
Luka had shown no reaction when she had crouched down on the floor and sat next to him. Hyuna had kept quiet, waiting patiently, the only noise being the gentle blows from the wind.
It may have been just for a minute, but the silence felt like it had stretched on for an eternity.
Even then, Hyuna would still have waited; she knew she’d wait as long as she had to for him.
“You saw the box,” Luka finally mumbled, still refusing to look up at Hyuna.
“I did.”
“I’m sorry, Hyuna, I—” Luka began, but it only ended up in a choked sob.
Hyuna finally had a look at Luka’s face when he turned to gaze up at her. His eyes were red and watery from crying for who knows how long, his cheeks flushed from the bitter cold, and his lips dry and chapped.
He looked hollow, empty of all feelings. Hyuna felt sick to her stomach. This wasn’t right. Luka should be happy and relieved that winter break was about to begin, not as if he was so close to completely shattering.
“Oh, Luka,” Hyuna rushed to wrap her arms around him, tucking his head underneath her chin and pulling him close. “You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
She heard the sounds of Luka’s hitched breaths and sniffles muffled by her jacket, feeling his body tremble a little more at every sudden gust of wind, which caused her to hold him even tighter.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was you?” Hyuna asked quietly, drawing lazy circles with the tip of her finger over Luka’s back. “You know I would never judge you.”
“I couldn’t,” Luka admitted, taking in a shaky breath. “I didn’t want us to stop talking because you don’t like me back or—”
“But what if I do like you back?” Hyuna cut in.
“Hyuna…” Luka lifted his head from where he had his face buried in Hyuna’s jacket, staring intensely at her. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”
Hyuna lifted her hand over Luka’s head, threading her fingers through his hair. “I do mean it, Luka. I do.”
Luka found himself leaning into Hyuna’s touch, blinking back some tears. “You promise?”
“I promise. Why would I ever lie about such a thing?” Hyuna tilted her head.
“Right, you wouldn’t.” Luka rubbed his damp eyes. “But what does this mean for us?”
Hyuna shrugged her shoulders, letting out a breathy laugh. “We’ll just see where the future takes us, I guess. We have all the time we need.”
Hyuna didn’t realize how much time had passed until she spotted the time on the watch on Luka’s wrist. They were supposed to return 15 minutes ago, but she stayed exactly where she was, her back against the rails as Luka rested against her chest. Ivan and Till were definitely not going to be happy with how long they were taking.
Luka now wore her gloves to protect his hands from the cold, and she practically had her jacket wrapped around both of them, keeping them warm and snug together.
Hyuna ran a hand through his hair absent-mindedly as she thought about how she would convince Luka to leave the rooftop. It took a while to get him to finally stop tearing up, so Hyuna had figured it would be best to stay put for a bit. But it was getting far too late now, and she didn’t think the school would allow them to stay up here for any longer.
Fortunately, it seemed as though the weather beat her to it, as she noticed small snowflakes landing over her and Luka. They were only some light flurries, but Hyuna didn’t doubt that there was still more to come, and Hyuna would rather that they weren’t outside for that.
“Luka,” Hyuna shook his shoulder. “We should head back now, don’t you think?”
“It’s nice here though,” Luka mumbled, wrapping his arms around Hyuna’s neck. “It’s quiet.”
“Yeah, but it’s also freezing out here.” Hyuna sighed, knowing she’ll get nowhere with this.
“I’m not cold anymore.” Luka smiled as he leaned in closer, batting his lashes. “You’re warm enough for me.”
Hyuna shook her head. “But it’s snowing now, and I don’t think you’d want to be buried in—”
As if the world had heard her complaints, she was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing several times in her pocket before she picked it up. Scrolling through her notifications, she realized just how many times Ivan and Till had messaged her throughout this entire time, but the poor signal outside caused the messages to be received late.
“Shit,” Hyuna cursed under her breath. “We need to go.”
Luka frowned as he reluctantly stood up, watching Hyuna dust off her skirt.
“Hey, don’t be upset!” Hyuna waved her hands in front of him. “We can go over to my house, and we can still hang out. You don’t have to go home just yet.”
“Okay,” Luka decided. “As long as Hyunwoo isn’t in the way,” he added with a tinge of resentment.
Hyuna rolled her eyes. “You guys will have to get along eventually. But I doubt he would want to be around you either, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Fine. Just stay with me.”
“Always.”
Smiling, Luka took her hand as they left the rooftop, walking side by side, the way he’d dreamed they’d be.
Together.