Wonderland || Park Sunghoon

twenty-two

Heeseung walked over to them, a small smile on his face as he looked between Nari and Sunghoon. 

"I was hoping I'd find you here," he said bashfully to her. "Am I... intruding...?" He asked, looking at Sunghoon. 

"No, not at all!" Nari said quickly, reaching out and touching Heeseung's arm. "You were looking for me? Let's talk. Sunghoon... I'll be right back," she said, looking apologetically at Sunghoon. 

She saw the boy's face fall a bit, though he obviously tried to hide it. She felt a pang of guilt but ignored it as she pulled Heeseung away. 

"What... what did you want to talk about?" she asked Heeseung, when they were further away from Sunghoon. She didn't want him to overhear their conversation. She didn't want him to get hurt. "Why were you looking for me? Aren't you busy at college?" 

"I'm on break now," he told her, studying her face. "You... do you...?" 

He didn't finish his sentence. 

"Do I what?" 

"Nevermind," he sighed. "I just... how have you been? Especially lately, I know-" 

Nari put a hand on his arm, cutting him off. "Heeseung," she said gently. "Stop stalling. What did you want to talk about?"

"I... I want to get back together with you." 

She pulled her hand away, staring at him for a long moment. It was her turn to study his face, and all their memories together flickered through her mind. They'd had a lot of good times. 

When they'd broken up, she'd been sad. She'd imagined them getting back together so many times. She'd played moments like this out in her head, and in those moments she'd imagine herself crying happily, being held in his arms. 

She wasn't doing that now. 

They'd broken up cause it had been too difficult. He'd gone off to college, and was so busy and so far, that they'd just drifted apart. 

Nari looked up at Heeseung's hopeful face. Then she looked behind him, to where Sunghoon was sitting on a bench, alone. Waiting. He was staring at his shoes, and even from far away, she could see his sad, nervous expression. 

He'd been about to tell her something. 

She looked at Heeseung again, not feeling the same butterflies in her stomach that she used to. Not feeling the way she did with Sunghoon now. In fact, the way she felt when she was with Sunghoon was different than she'd ever felt. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered. And she was, really sorry. Heeseung was a precious person to her, and she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to lose him either. He'd been a good friend to her, and then a good boyfriend. "I'm sorry, but I like someone else," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. 

"Hey, what are you doing that for?" Heeseung said gently, reaching forward and catching her tears with his thumbs. He stepped forward, hugging her. "Don't cry," he said softly. "It's okay. I figured that you liked him, the moment I saw you." 

She laughed, relaxing a bit in his embrace. "Is it obvious?" 

"Both of you are," he teased, pulling away and looking into her eyes. "Are you dating him?"

"No."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go." 

Nari smiled, reaching up and touching Heeseung's face. "I'm sorry again," she whispered. "Are you terribly hurt?" 

He considered for a moment. "I miss you a lot," he said softly, unable to meet her eyes. "But you look happy with him. That's all that matters, right?" he said, ruffling her hair playfully. "I'll just go back to being your friend, I guess." 

"I hope you find someone else, someone who's perfect for you," she said sincerely. 

Heeseung looked at her for a long moment. "Me too."

***

A/N 

I know I wrote this and it's not real but... I feel bad for Heeseung, can I just give him a hug?😂 I'd happily date him😉