𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Sunoo x Reader

Chapter 9- Absence of Spring

"Sunoo... where did you run off to? I have been looking for you since forever."

You found Sunoo in the trees of the park, leaning against the rough tree trunk of a cherry blossom tree. There were no petals in the air and the scent of flowering romance was absent. Spring has not yet come.

"Sorry. I needed to take a quick breather," Sunoo said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Did I do anything to offend you?" You asked, trying to make eye contact with him.

"Where's Sunghoon?" He asked nervously, avoiding your question. His eyes darted around.

"I told him to go back home long ago. Now, look at me."

Sunoo kept on avoiding your eyes, looking anywhere and at anything except for you and your starry eyes.

"Look at me," You grabbed his face and tilted it down towards you. "Did something happen?"

Sunoo sighed, finally looking at you. He grabbed both of your hands and held them for a second, before removing them from his face. Giving them a gentle squeeze... as if saying goodbye. You looked at him, confused.

He took a deep breath before asking, "Y/n... How are things going on between you and Sunghoon?"

Suddenly, you felt like you were the one cowering before him.

"W-what do you mean?" You ask, feeling like a mouse cornered by a cat.

"I know you like him."

The words hit you like a truck, leaving you breathless. How did he know?

"You really can't keep anything from me y/n. I know you well... better than you know yourself. So just answer me truthfully. You like him... right?"

Part of him wanted you to deny it, but he knew that was a mere fragment of his fantasy.

"I don't like him," You tried to say it confidently.

Yes, Sunoo liked those words, but not when you said it that way. There was no ounce of sincerity in them, and he could hear the slight tremor in your sweet voice.

"Stop lying."

Those two words were sharper than a knife, and the invisible blade wrenched through your chest, ripping through the skin... the flesh... the muscle.... until it grazed your heart like a silent threat.

"If you know... why do you want me to say it?" You whisper, long black hair covering your pale face like a curtain of silk.

"I just need to confirm it."

I need to hear it from you to move on, he thought, ignoring the dull pain from his heart.

"Yes I like him. I've tried so hard to get rid of my feelings, but I can't. I know my feelings for Sunghoon are merely unrequited love... but I can't let go."

Sunoo's heart cracked like glass, on the brink of shattering. His eyes glistened from pain. Not physical pain, but the pain of love. No, he thought, You are wrong, I am the only one living in unrequited love. I see the way Sunghoon looks at you. I know.

"Sunghoon likes you," Sunoo said, amidst the battle that raged in his heart like a monster. "I know he does. The way he cares for you. The way he looks at you."

Your eyes widened and you took a step back. That's a lie, thoughts ran through your mind like a stampede of bison running across a lifeless grass field.

"You should confess y/n."

The last fine hairline cracked through his heart, finally completing the damage and shattering his heart. He held the invisible shards with his hands. Cradling them in his mind. Singing his lost love to sleep... the fruit of love he never got to taste.

"I'm your best friend," Sunoo said, a heartbreaking smile blossoming on his pink blossomed lips. He tucked your silk black hair behind your ear, eyes roaming your face with starved love. Slowly, he withdrew his fingers, every second passing slower than your quickening heartbeats. Usually, his heart would've beat just as fast, but in his chest, there was an almost empty vault that held the shattered pieces of his harvested love... the golden trophies of a broken man. "Trust me."

You could've sworn you smelled the faint cherries in the air and as you tilted your head up to the blue skies above, a pink petal wafted down and touched your nose with a gentle kiss.