After Dusk || Im Changkyun

45. Run To Me

Chapter Forty Five

You stared anxiously at the door, holding the phone to your ear while you listened to the voice you really didn't want to hear at the moment.
"So, my brother says that you're bringing me a new muse? He won't tell me who it is, so I'm a bit nervous but I trust in him. Kind of." Changkyun's mother laughed, her voice muffled from the way her phone speaker was picking it up. You tried to laugh along with her, petting Ollie who was resting on your lap while hoping that Changkyun wasn't going to walk out of the shower any time soon.
"It's nice to hear from him though. I've been on my own without any family for a while."
Little did she know that her new muse would be the closest family she's got.
"That's good." You answered plainly, still feeling unnecessarily awkward with her despite the four months you'd spent working with her. Your eyes widened as soon as Changkyun's bedroom door flew open, a towel loosely draped over his head and simply wearing a baggy t-shirt and some mismatched pair of silk pants.
He looked like he was ready to fall asleep.
It was 4 PM.
"Who are you talking to?" He mouthed, obviously not noticing the panic you were trying so hard to conceal.
He can't find out.
Not yet.
There's still more time.
"Work." You mouthed back, pointing to his damp hair, knowing that you weren't completely lying.
"Dry it."
Ollie jumped off your lap, instead cuddling close to your leg on the couch, for some reason deciding that that was more comfortable.
Changkyun rolled his eyes, looking unnecessarily annoyed, folding his arms and practically glaring at your phone. He threw the towel onto the ground and held his palm out, looking at your phone and then down to his hand. You shook your head instantly, you couldn't just end the call while she was talking.
You weren't even paying attention.
Changkyun scoffed, leaning forward to swiftly snatch the phone out of your hand, holding it to his ear. You jumped up in horror, watching him get on his tippy toes so that you couldn't reach him.
"Hello, this is Im Changkyun, I'm just going to assume you know me." He said into the phone casually, trying to push you away as lightly as he could since you kept trying to grab at him without hurting him.
Hurting him should be the least of your worries right now.
"Ms. Choi Y/N is on a week long break as of right now so if you have any questions or concerns regarding her work, please call her company and I'm sure one of our employees will be with you shortly. And if you're lucky, maybe you'll hear from me despite the fact I don't know who you are." He informed in a very telemarketer type voice.
He was talking to his mother.
For the first time in nine years.
"By the lack of response, I'm going to assume you understand. Make sure to call the entertainment company number instead of Ms. Choi's personal number for the next few days. Thank you, and have a good afternoon."
And he ended the call.
"Why did you do that?" You screeched, ramming your fists into his chest repeatedly, unfortunately only making him laugh.
He was supposed to be crying in pain.
You'd never seen him actually cry before.
You'd just assumed he wasn't the type.
"You're on a break and you just finished a massive trial. Plus, I'm still annoyed you never told me you had a boyfriend before me. You're not doing a single thing." He huffed, throwing your phone onto the couch, just barely missing Ollie's head which gave you way too much anxiety.
You touched his hair, instantly reeling back when you felt how frigid it was.
"You're going to catch a cold." You scolded, running over to pick up the towel that he had thrown so rudely and coming back to the living room, pushing his shoulders down and reaching up to rub the towel on his damp hair. Changkyun chuckled, bending down even more for you so that you could actually touch the top of his head.
"Tell me about this Minho kid." Changkyun ordered, but you could hear the pout in his tone, not even having to look at his lips.
"He was my first crush, and then my first boyfriend. That's it." You sighed, pulling him down onto the couch while you mercilessly dried the moisture out of his hair. It was probably painful but he didn't even dare to pull away.
"Did you like him more than you like me?" He questioned, making you choke on air. Changkyun gently pat your back as you recovered from that bullet to the heart.
"When did you become a teenager? Aren't you older than me?" You joked, placing the towel on the arm of the couch. You'd dry it later.
"I have the right to know about the past men in your life. I met your best friend, well, I knew him before I knew you, I met your father, I met the person that's going to jail, your boss is my uncle. There's no man in your life that I don't know about." He rapped out, making you burst out into laughter. He simply looked at you, more than unimpressed. You were pulled down beside him, Ollie jumping up back onto your lap while you settled on the couch.
"Protective much?"
"I could be more protective. I'm holding myself back." Changkyun snapped instantly, his hair still damp and in his face. You sighed while you made an attempt to try and brush it back but gave up as soon as you remembered that it was no use.
It always fell back.
"You do realize I knew you in high school too, right?" You asked, to which Changkyun practically snapped his neck to turn to look at you, flabbergasted.
"What?"
You shook your head at him with a grin, expecting him to realize who he was but obviously, by his lost expression, he wasn't thinking that far ahead.
"You were in a boy group, Kyun. I was aware of your existence. Plus, I watched your dramas."
You watched the shock melt off his face, seeming suddenly uninterested.
"Yeah, I saw the album in your room." Changkyun responded plainly, scoffing before saying one more thing,
"And I saw the Minhyuk poster hidden in your closet."
You choked on air again, but this time he just let you suffer. You forgot that he just dropped by at your mothers house more often then you did.
You forgot that existed. You swore you got rid of that poster when you moved out.
"Minhyuk? Really? In a group with me? You pick him?"
Someone was salty.
"Do you have to be so jealous of everything?" You teased, pinching his cheek with a giggle. You took his hand that was laying flat on his leg, closing his four fingers and intertwining your pinky with his.
Ever since you got those rings, it was one of your only way of expressing any sort of assurance or affection.
Best decision ever.
You gently tugged the fabric of his gray t-shirt, gazing gently into his eyes and tightening your grip on his pinky. He mirrored your same confidence, copying the same things you did until you eventually got shy and hid in the cushions of the couch. Ollie pawed at your arm, yapping quietly before seeking attention from his next victim, Changkyun.
You felt a pull on your arm, bringing you back out of the couch and facing forward.
"What did you do with this Minho kid?" Changkyun began interrogating, making you whine.
"What do you want me to tell you? That I didn't kiss him? I can't lie, Kyun."
Changkyun gasped.
"You were kissing boys at sixteen? Eggo, no." He brought you closer to him, wrapping an arm around your head and protectively rocking you back and forth, while patting you like a child.
Ollie yapped even more.
"Where can I find him? How dare he." Changkyun hissed and you genuinely couldn't tell if he was being dramatic or not. It was scaring you.
"I was with him before I was with you.
"Shut up and hold me, I'm hurt."
Changkyun took your arms and placed them around him, his head buried in your shoulder. You giggled, gently patting his head while humming softly, suddenly feeling the need to.
And then Changkyun's phone rang.
He groaned, looking at it for a second before pressing the screen to his chest, his eyes darting to the first open door.
"I'll be back. I have to take this."
He began to get up and walk away but you grabbed his wrist, making him hum in response.
"Who keeps calling you? This is like the fifth time today." You asked, looking up at him curiously, settling Ollie on your lap since he was getting fidgety.
"Sorry, Eggo. Work stuff, I'll make it up to you, okay?" He promised while your grip on his wrist loosened. He quickly squeezed your hand, his finger gently rubbing the ring on your pinky before shuffling into the nearest room, closing the door behind him.
You sighed, mindlessly petting Ollie while staring out the windows.
You still couldn't believe that the trial was over. It felt so quick yet so slow at the same time.
You should really stop thinking about it. It's over now. It's time for you to learn how to forget.
It would be hard.
But you could do it.
If you couldn't forget, at least you could try to accept.
You felt the couch buzz, your attention turning to the phone that Changkyun had left on one of the throw pillows. Your phone, specifically. You grabbed it, checking the notification, while Ollie began stirring again, until eventually he just jumped off and left.
An email.
Your new script.
You hadn't read the entire thing yet.
"Kim Younghoon, Kim Chanwook, Yoon Dasom, and Son Jinae." You read out carefully.
Big names.
Very big names.
This was going to be stressful as well. At least it was just a movie.
You skimmed through more of the cast and your eye was caught at a certain name.
"Lee Jooheon. At least I have a familiar face." You mumbled to yourself, not thinking much of it since from the looks of things, he wasn't all as important as the rest of the cast.
Last time you checked, Kim Younghoon was massive. This was going to be just great. You couldn't wait to have to break your neck to look the dude in the eye.
You threw your head back in agony while your finger scrolled through the thousands of words on hundreds of pages.
Thank the heavens it wasn't a drama script.
You probably would've gone insane.
You were pretty sure this was only going to take two months to film though, so it's not all that bad. You did have to do stunts though.
You hoped you had a stunt double.
"I'm back. See, I made it quick for you." A voice peeped from the now opened door. Changkyun practically launched himself onto the couch, his arm swiftly sliding across your shoulders while he peeked at your phone.
"What are you looking at?" He sang playfully, his hair still not completely dry. His eyes quickly scanned your screen, his expression melting into one of dissatisfaction before he turned your phone off.
"This is relax time." Changkyun reminded you, huffing while quite literally throwing your phone onto one of the lounge chairs.
You didn't even feel like arguing.
"When you're on set, for the love of god, please ignore Chanwook." He groaned,
"And avoid getting him and Jinae in one room. They'll kill each other. I don't even know how they both got cast together."
You smiled at him, tugging on his arm slightly.
"Why? Do you not like him?" You asked, but then immediately responded to your own question,
"I take that back, you don't like anyone."
Changkyun chuckled, shaking his head at you while pulling you closer to his side, the arm that was slung around your shoulder becoming tighter.
"I like you." He defended, craning his neck down to press his cheek to yours. You rolled your eyes, pushing him away gently but obviously, he didn't budge.
"I barely tolerate you."
"Shut up, you love me." Changkyun raised his eyebrow at you tauntingly, waiting for you to retort, knowing very well that you couldn't.
You didn't say anything, quietly nodding with an unnecessary blush creeping up your cheeks.
"You're so annoying." You awkwardly chortled, getting up to try and get your phone back but the arm on your shoulder reeled you back down.
"Mr. Annoying Hypocrite, at your service, madame." Changkyun joked teasingly, making you scoff.
"Madame is for married women." You corrected, learning your fair share from June and Eunhee, who were more than happy to teach you a lot of fun phrases.
Not really any of the practical ones.
"You won't be correcting me in a few years." He sang while twirling a strand of your dark hair around his slender finger, making you blush harder. He grinned in satisfaction.
"You've got to stop being so bold."
"Bold is my middle name, Eggo." Changkyun smirked proudly but you shook your finger at him, clicking your tongue.
"You don't have a middle name."
"Maybe I do. You'll never know."
Gosh, he was so annoying. Was it even legal to have people roam the world and be this annoying?
Your phone dinged, catching your attention. You looked at Changkyun pleadingly, hoping that he would nudge his arm off your shoulder but he shook his head, knowing exactly what your gaze was asking for. You bit your lip in frustration, trying to push his arm off of you but you forgot that his entire arm was practically half your width and half your height.
"No work." Was all he uttered before grabbing the remote and turning on some random show that was playing at that moment.
"Can't I just check? What if it's June? The wedding is in a few weeks." You whined, but Changkyun continued to disagree.
"June wouldn't text you, she'd come over. We can assume it's nothing important. I should be the most important thing to you." He whined back, practically mocking you. You elbowed his side, making him pop a smirk.
Changkyun rested his chin on your shoulder, leaning his head against yours gently while you both silently watched whatever was playing on the TV.
You both sat there for a while, supposedly watching whatever movie was playing on the local network. You were confident that neither of you were paying attention. Or maybe he was but your thoughts were beginning to drown you out of reality.
It was one of those moments where you slowly began to lose yourself in yourself. The feeling of Changkyun's arm was slowly fading and the sound of the TV and his heartbeat were going with it. If that made any sense. It would be impossible to explain to someone that hadn't experienced it. Almost as if a moment of faint fatigue, where everything around you slowly dissipated as you began to become more aware of your thoughts.
It didn't hurt, it didn't feel nice, it was just-
Thoughts.
The thoughts weren't coherent. You didn't know what you were thinking about, you couldn't explain it; not even to yourself. You would prefer if you weren't lost with yourself though.
It was kind of painful.
Not kind of actually.
It was pretty painful.
In a different sort of way.
"Hey." Changkyun's stern voice snapped you out of your daze, his finger lifting your chin up carefully to meet with his furrowed brows,
"Are you with me?" He asked gently, his sultry voice soothing you with every word he uttered.
"Yeah, sorry, Kyun." You smiled, poking his cheek for the effect but his frown didn't leave him.
He didn't have to look so concerned for you all the time.
Changkyun's arm on your shoulder tightened, gently massaging it with his finger still holding up your chin.
"Look." He mumbled, intently staring at your confused self. He tilted his head slightly, his hair falling to the side, which was slowly drying but he didn't seem to care in the slightest.
You were just worried he was going to catch a cold.
Changkyun snapped in your face, bringing your attention back to his gaze.
His hand went back down, blindly grabbing yours instinctively.
"Are you okay?"
You froze.
He definitely noticed.
"What do you mean? What makes you ask that?" You asked, your eyes wandering but the hand on your shoulder merely tapped you, making you look back at him.
He really loved eye contact.
You hated it.
He was melting you.
"I know you, Eggo. It's been a long and eventful day." He sighed, trying to read your stone cold expression,
"Are you really okay?"
At this moment in time, you were fighting back tears. Your father used to always tell you this when you were little. It was proven that if you ask a person if they're okay, it's more likely for them to start bawling.
You wouldn't be surprised if that was his motive.
It was certainly working.
"I'm fine." You lied, tilting your head down.
In your defense, you didn't know if you were lying or not.
You had no reason not to be fine, you just, didn't feel fine.
"You're not okay, and that's okay." You heard Changkyun whisper gently, coaxing you slowly with his words and his touch. You brought your face up to your hands, feeling the tears that were threatening to flow sting your eyes.
How many times were you going to cry today? It was driving you insane.
His arm slid off your shoulder, instead both of his hands going to cup your cheeks, lifting your face back up.
It only took a second of looking into his eyes before you unraveled.
Before you knew it, hot, confused, painful tears began streaming down your face and you just didn't know why. It hurt.
Changkyun didn't ask. He didn't question you. He just took you into his embrace and cradled you, letting you fall apart in his arms. He simply rubbed circles on your back, whispering sweet nothings into your ear while rocking your sobbing self back and forth.
You were apologizing through the tears but he just shushed you, letting you hide your face in his shirt while you cried. And you cried.
Your sobs shook your entire body, drowning out everything but the slow, steady heartbeat of Changkyun that you could hear from lying against him.
And that was what ended up calming you down. The sound of his heartbeat.
You didn't know how long you cried for. To you, it felt like an eternity but it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes.
Changkyun smiled softly at you, flicking your tears away and dabbing your face with the side of his shirt that wasn't soaked from either his hair or you.
"Crying is okay. It's good." His thumb was gently tracing up and down your arm and his breathing was slow and steady, unlike yours.
"You can cry around me, okay? I'm not the crying police, I won't arrest you for shedding a few tears."
You laughed at that, a few more tears escaping your eyes with Changkyun swiftly wiping them away. He smiled in satisfaction, happy that you were smiling.
"You've never cried in front of me though." You muttered underneath your breath, though he had definitely heard you.
He did not answer.
"I mean it though. This is what? The third time you've cried in front of me and we've been together for how long?" He continued, poking your hand,
"Kyun, why do you count?" You asked, sniffling and your voice still beyond shaky. He cracked a smile at hearing your voice and merely just shrugged.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked quietly, his hand traveling to the back of your head while your arms hung loosely around him.
You sighed, slamming your head into his shoulder a few times until he stopped you, raising an eyebrow with his forehead creased.
"I just- don't know what to do with myself." You squeaked out, fighting back more tears. Changkyun hummed, telling you he was listening while holding you tight.
"I've spent my entire life running away from something, trying to escape something. Now, I have nothing to run away from and I don't know what to do." You mumbled into the fabric of his shirt, which you were now hiding in.
"It's stupid, I know."
"It's not stupid." Changkyun refuted without hesitation, playfully stroking your hair.
"I think that you just need a new point of view."
He pulled you in front of him, making you face him with your red, glossy eyes, flushed cheeks, and bright pink nose.
"Rather than running away, think of it as if you're running forward."
Changkyun took your hand, lifting you up off the couch, making you stand beside it while he walked to the other side of the room, leaning his back on the kitchen island.
"You have nothing to hide from now, you just have to focus on running to all the amazing things that life has to offer. Sure, it sucked before but I'm with you now and I swear that I'll try to take you higher than you've ever been."
Changkyun smiled sweetly, his words dripping honey while he held a hand out towards you, coaxing you with his comfort.
"So, Run To Me."
You scoffed at him, feeling your heart beat faster with every passing second. You ran a hand through your hair before bursting out laughing,
"I hate dating a lyricist." You giggled before taking off into his open arms. Changkyun laughed with you, encompassing you in him, spinning the both of you around.
"But, I love that you're good with words." You clutched into his shirt, looking up at him with a grin.
"Do you have to be so amazing to me? I feel like I never do anything in return." You pouted, knowing that it was very true.
You'd never really done anything for him. It's not like you were of much use. Changkyun, however, flicked your forehead, making you wince and hide back into his shirt.
"The fact that you're in my arms is more than enough. I don't need anything else, I just need you."
You raised your eyebrow at him as soon as the pain subsided, your grip around him loosening.
"When did you become such a romantic?"
"I've always been a romantic, you just refuse to acknowledge it."
"Shut up."
"See~" Changkyun played, skipping past the island and into the kitchen with his hand grasped onto your wrist. You watched curiously as he pat the counter while looking at you. You, on the other hand, were rather confused to what he was doing.
Creating a beat? Abusing his hand? You weren't sure but you'd prefer to just not question his thought process.
Changkyun sighed taking his hand off your wrist and lifting you up onto the kitchen counter with no words said. You had zero clue how he lifted you up so effortlessly.
"What are you doing?" You asked while he began rummaging through his cupboards.
"Movie night?"
"It's the afternoon."
"You know what I mean." He glared back at you innocently, almost as if he were warning you not to get on his nerves.
He probably was.
"Yeah, but what exactly are you doing?" You questioned, pointing to Changkyun who was pulling out various food items that you didn't even realize he kept in his house.
"Cooking."
Silence.
"Absolutely not."
You began to push yourself off the counter but Changkyun dashed back over, hands on either side of your waist while settling you back in the center of the marble surface. He waved his finger at you disapprovingly, huffing.
"Let me."
"I don't want food poisoning, Changkyun."
He frowned.
"That one actually hurt."
You punched his chest lightly, giggling at his pout but you were more enjoying the fact that you were both the same height while you were sitting on the kitchen counter. His face was actually right in front of yours rather than above yours.
Was he still a bit taller? Yes, he was but this was as close as you were ever going to get. You were more than satisfied.
"Can I at least help?" You pleaded, slowly massaging his shoulders which almost made him hesitate in his decision but he wouldn't give in.
"No. You look cute up on this, your legs are just dangling." Changkyun gestured towards your legs which were very much dangling a foot above the floor with each leg trapping him in between.
"Do you trust me?"
"Not at all."
"Choi Y/N."
"Im Changkyun."
You crossed your arms and your chest and he did the same, not even trying to hide that he was mocking you. He took your hand, interlocking your pinkies and carefully butting your forehead.
"I'm not going to burn down the kitchen, okay? Literally, I'm just going to make fancy popcorn and you're going to sit here and be my moral support."
Changkyun quickly gave you a pat on the head before scurrying back and throwing a bag of instant popcorn into the microwave.
Quite literally.
That boy did not know how to gently place things down.
It was giving you anxiety.
Sooner or later he'd end up throwing Ollie.
Once the popcorn began spinning around, Changkyun too, spun around and took his place in front of you, sneaking his hands around your waist. You would ask him why he was being clingy but it's not like you were against it.
Also he'd give you some snarky response that would end up with the both of you bickering for ten minutes.
It's just how you both were.
"Eggo." Changkyun hummed, catching your attention.
"Yes?" You responded, feeling yourself being pulled forward just a bit.
"I'm really happy I have you, did you know that?" He muttered under his breath but definitely with the intention of you hearing. You broke out into a smile, nudging him with embarrassment as you said,
"Why are you like this?"
Changkyun simply shrugged.
"I'm feeling sentimental. It's been an eventful day."
He perked up at the sound of the microwave beeping, pulling away from you and taking out the bag, it jumping in his hands because he probably forgot that it would be hot. You laughed at that.
Eventually, you got bored of watching him, turning your attention back towards the TV, which was still playing whatever drama was on.
Last time you checked, the two of them were single and didn't even have feelings for each other but now they have a son.
Talk about fast paced.
He was a very cute kid though. Like those cheeks were so chubby you wanted to die.
You watched the couple on the TV, who now seemed to be married swing the child around happily in their living room, playing peek a boo and other fun little games that would appeal to an infant. You poured yourself a glass of water from the pitcher, adjusting yourself so you didn't fall off the marble counter while you drank the water and watched a cute child giggle at his parents being funny.
It looked so nice.
"Hey, babe." You heard Changkyun call out from behind you, and you hummed in response, taking a sip of your water.
"I want a baby."
You spit out the water, choking on it furiously, almost collapsing onto the ground if Changkyun didn't slip his arms around you. He gently pat your back, waiting for you to stop coughing so violently. You leaned yourself onto his chest, trying to catch your breath after that scare.
"You can't just say that out of nowhere!" You wheezed, still feeling immense pain in your throat,
"You've been hanging out with my mother for too long."
He chuckled guiltily, rubbing a hand on the nape of his neck while giving you a sheepish grin.
"She's got this dream like picture painted in my head with all she says." He starts, his thumbs going up and down your side.
"I like the idea. Of us. I really do. It's weird, I've never really liked kids."
At this point, you were both blushing dangerously hard. The drama played in the background while you both awkwardly stared into each other's eyes, neither of you looking away, though it was definitely for you to actually be at eye level with him.
You felt a surge of confidence rush through you, quickly pecking his lips before sliding off the counter.
"That's the best you're getting for now."
"For now, huh?" He repeated, following close behind you with that annoying smirk and wiggling eyebrows. You kicked his shin, making him fall to the ground while you puffed out in frustration, whining,
"Will you shut up? I swear to god!"

•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•

I'm alive
Did ya miss me??
Probably not :,)