All My Love || Jeon Wonwoo

IV. A Truth Universally Acknowledged

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - Pride and Prejudice; Jane Austen

"I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun."

Wonwoo set his book down to take a sip of his coffee. The chime of the door opening was followed by the sound of wind howling and Wonwoo tightened his grip on the warm mug in his hands. He let out a contented sigh as the taste of coffee filled his tired mind and the steam reached up to his glasses.

The end of the football season and the hues of oranges and reds painting the tree tops meant autumn had finally arrived. This was the time of year Wonwoo looked forward to the most, when his Saturday mornings were no longer reserved for football practice, but rather for spending time alone in local cafes after his morning run.

Most Saturdays he would spend hours working on homework, two danishes on a plate (one was free for being a regular) and a half-empty mug of black coffee (with two pumps of brown sugar syrup, a secret between him and the barista). However, on some Saturdays, like today, he could spend time rereading one of his favorite books, Pride and Prejudice. By now, his copy of the book was well-worn. After reading it for his literature class his freshman year, he had fallen in love with the book and reread it often. Most of the books in his collection were in the same condition, the margins covered in tiny and messy scrawled notes, and various colored sticky notes sticking out of the pages of the books. "Well-loved," he liked to call them.

Much like his coffee order, his inclination towards classic romance novels was indeed a secret. Even Wonwoo himself wasn't completely sure why he felt so attached to these stories. Was it because he related to Elizabeth's character? Or maybe to Mr. Darcy? Or maybe it was the way Jane Austen's humor seemed to jump off the page. Whatever the reason was, it was probably written somewhere among the margins and sticky notes that littered his book. But until he could figure it out himself, he refused to let anyone else know.

"Hey Wonwoo," a cheery voice called. At the sound of his name, he looked up from his book to see Seokmin smiling and waving at him with an iced coffee and a box full of pastries in his hands. He smiled and greeted him in response as he put his book down, making sure to slip his bookmark into his spot.

"Are you gonna eat all those croissants yourself?" Wonwoo joked, pointing at the box in Seokmin's hands.

Seokmin let out a chuckle before replying, "I wish, but this is for the party tonight. What are you bringing?" Seokmin laughed again at the blank look on his friend's face. "Did you forget Seungcheol asked us all to bring something?"

Wonwoo pushed his glasses up and tried to remember when Seungcheol brought it up. It was a few weeks ago, the night of the last football game... the night he had to spend taking care of you after you sprained your ankle. To be honest, he thought the call he got from Seungcheol that night was a part of a dream he had.

He remembered arguing with you about who the strongest avenger was – he said Thor and you said Wanda – and that was about the last thing before the sound of his phone cut through the silence. The bright light of his phone illuminated the room and Wonwoo had to squint his eyes to read Seungcheol's name under the time – 2:38 a.m.

"Wonwoo!" His voice came through the phone as an ear-splitting scream and Wonwoo pulled his phone away from his ear, only to hear a quieter grumble on the couch next to him. He looked over to see you sprawled out on the couch, your arm and leg hung over the side and he scoffed a little bit at how peaceful you looked despite what might have been a very uncomfortable sleeping position. He grabbed a pillow that had fallen off the couch and gently placed your leg on top of it, concerned about how your ankle would feel in the morning.