✔︎ SECRETS • sunghoon

01.ㅤOld Tradition

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irang and sunghoon now settled by the seol's backyard. seating at the beautiful wooden bench right by irang's mom's beautifully arranged garden, they sat quietly with each of their own cups of hot chocolate.

they now have to end the day, and it's now time for their tradition. only the two of them get to do it.

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"seol irang." sunghoon uttered her name softly before breathing in with so much contentment. they both looked up to the starry night above them.

the sharp and cold wind brush past them, but it felt rather refreshing.

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"honestly, earlier... i wasn't cheating so i can win the bet. i was cheating to annoy you." sunghoon chuckled and looked down momentarily, finding himself shocked to even admit it.

this is their tradition, telling secrets. every day they spend together, they must end it by telling each other a secret no matter how big or small it is.

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"i found it adorable whenever you'd glare at me, and for some reasons, i also like when you hit me playfully." he admitted. it was comfortable to do this. everytime that they have done this, both of them found comfort and relief to confide in each other.

they have all the time in the world, yet they chose to spend it with each other.

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"park sunghoon." irang smiled. "honestly, i was feeling sad earlier because these days, i feel neglected by my family. these days, i feel like they only ever notice me whenever you're around." she confessed. no one dared to utter a word about each other's confession for today. it was one of their rules.

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"no matter how big it is, we can't confront each other right at the time where we tell secrets. this is how we'll keep our friendship, hoon!"

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they don't even need to talk, they wordlessly knew about each other's feelings today. it was understandable that irang felt neglected these days. her parents are often busy with building their small business and working their respective jobs.

her brother also rarely comes home ever since he was promoted to a job. irang's older brother would always have business trips here and there.

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oftentimes, she'll be alone in the house. sometimes her parents would even forget leaving her with food because of how busy they've gotten. at 17 years old, she should have learned how to cook already, so partially, it's her fault for not looking after herself too.

there weren't really any hard feelings, but irang was just scared. is this the life of independency? she asked that herself these days.

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sunghoon, on the other hand, well... there wasn't anything to explain about his confession for today. he always loved teasing irang, ever since they were toddlers, sunghoon always display his brotherly affection to the girl by constantly teasing her.

maybe he found her adorable just as how he finds his younger sister, yeji, adorable too. no one knows for sure.

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sunghoon took a sip of his hot chocolate and gazed over to the girl beside him. right now, their positions made it possible for him to see every detail not everyone would see. irang isn't much of a sociable person after all.

with his arms hovered around the backrest, irang was indirectly leaning to him.

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sunghoon liked it. right now, he loves this moment. he felt like a man with irang around. he felt responsible, he felt needed, he felt wanted. overall, being with irang makes him feel good.

her eyes reflected the starry sky, and her lips were a pink as they can get, just like her cheeks and nose too.

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she was always sensitive to temperature, sunghoon noted that fact years ago. and it's like an instinct to check up on irang if he notices that it's too hot or too cold.

meanwhile, irang took her cup of hot chocolate with both of her hands in attempt to warm them up. she knew sunghoon was staring at her, but she didn't mind. she never did.

irang knew that it was probably just him zoning out and happening to look at her before doing so, or there's something he wanted to say, yet he's not ready yet.

for 14 years, that has always been the way between them.

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it was ironic how they never really became uncomfortable between each other, despite being of the opposite gender.

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"what course will you take once we go to college?" sunghoon asked out of the blue as he swirled the cup around to watch the chocolate beverage follow the motion.

"i don't know, but i'm most passionate about my sports so i guess sports science?" irang hesitantly answered, still uncertain of her life choice.

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"what about you?" irang looked back to sunghoon, their eyes making contact. "do you still want to pursue music?"

sunghoon simply shook his head. "i don't think so. i thought i'd have heavy passion for it but it just turned out to be a small hobby. i don't see myself pursuing anything related to it." he answered while irang only nodded.

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"i don't know what to take though. but hey, we still got seven months to figure that out." sunghoon puckered his lips and sipped on the remaining hot chocolate.

"come on, let's go inside. i'm sleepy already."

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and yes, sunghoon has his own toothbrush and stuff in irang's house. it's the same with his too. by the unbelievable times that they stayed in each other's house, they just decided to leave some things there as if it was also their home.

their parents didn't mind it. they were never bothered the friendship between the two.

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it's lovely to grow up on a healthy environment where their parents allow them to do the things they want but also make sure that they get the things they need to be done.

maybe that's why one is an effective team captain for the women's volleyball, and one is a growing rookie model.

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"g'night hoon."

"hmm," sunghoon hummed. "sweet dreams, irang." he said before drifting off to sleep with a smile on his face.

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and so, in each other's arms, they fell asleep. just like always. just like how they always end their good old tradition.

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