aversion | bbangnyu

63

*four years later*

Younghoon's hands tapped on his knees anxiously as he looked at the stage in front of him. "Are you nervous? I'm really nervous," he whispered to the girl sitting next to him. He'd never seen her before in his life, however, it felt as if he might explode if he didn't talk to somebody.

"Not really. It's just graduation. We've already done this at highschool," she muttered, not too interested in holding a conversation with him.

He hummed and nodded to himself, wishing he had at least one of his friends anywhere near him. Over the past few years at college, Younghoon had made tons of friends. He never had a problem making friends.

A lot of them had dropped the program before they graduated from it being too much to handle. Because of that, he only had one or two friends left from freshman year.

"It'll be okay," the boy to his left whispered after hearing heard the exchange between the two strangers, "it's scary now but it'll be so exciting when it's over. I don't know if you're going back for more schooling—but this is like the real starting point of our lives."

A smile flickered across Younghoon's face as he forced his hands to still, resting them flatly on his knees. "It is, isn't it?"

His moment of relief was quickly cut short as both the dean and principal of the school walked onto the stage, welcoming the graduates. He sat completely frozen as they finished up introductions and began calling students onto the stage to accept their degrees.

It seemed like time itself wasn't a thing while he waited to hear his name. Kim Younghoon. It felt like an eternity while he waited, but when he finally heard it, he didn't feel ready.

But by some miracle, he willed himself out of the chair and walked towards the stage. Younghoon wasn't quite sure if his mother had found the time to drive all the way to his school. When his name echoed through the speakers, he expected nothing but silence but in the sea of people seated in front, one person shot out of their seat and cheered.

Younghoon stared at the mysterious person that seemed to be so excited in confusion. He couldn't quite make out who it was at such a distance, but he was determined to do so.

He walked down the three little steps to get off of the stage and stopped dead in his tracks. "Choi Chanhee..." he whispered, feeling his heart skip a beat when he realized the boy he so deeply missed could even be in the same room as him.

✨✨✨

When the ceremony was concluded and all of the graduates were dismissed, Younghoon all but sprinted towards the door, his head whipping back and forth as he looked for Chanhee.

All of the students and family members made it almost impossible to see anything, but Younghoon wasn't going to give up. He searched and searched until somebody grabbed his elbow.

He turned to see his mother's smiling face in front of him, her other hand pulling somebody through the crowd.

"Younghoon," Chanhee breathed out as he found himself face to face with Younghoon, "You did it."

"How did you—how did you know—"

"Eric—he told me that your graduation was this week...so I drove over to your house that night and asked your mom if it would be alright for me to come with her."

Younghoon barely listened to a word he said and quickly wrapped his arms around the boy. "Your hair is so pretty," he said quietly, trying his hardest not to let the dam of emotions overflow.

Chanhee returned the embrace, letting his head fall to rest on the elder's shoulder. "Somebody told me a few years back that I should try blonde."

"They have really great taste."

"I always feel so out of place with you two..." Mrs Kim grumbled.

✨✨✨

"This is different," Younghoon pondered as he looked around the small cafe a few minutes away from campus.

"We've always gone to get coffee when we have stuff to talk about—it's just a different place."

"Exactly."

Chanhee rolled his eyes but still smiled at the boy. "It's nice though—seeing you."

Younghoon hummed, "I should've called you more."

"Wasn't the point of taking a break not talking so much?"

The elder only shrugged. He looked down at his drink for a few quiet seconds before taking a sip. "Are you done with school? I kept asking Yeri but she kept telling me she didn't know anything about your school."

"I graduated last week," Chanhee answered, "I asked her not to tell you because I wanted to be the one to do the surprising."

"Do you have a job?"

"I'm still looking—I just work part time at a restaurant right now. I hate it, but it pays the bills."

"I work at the hospital ten minutes from here—I love it there."

A small laugh slipped past Chanhee's lips, "you love working?"

"Of course it do. Sometimes the old people are mean to me—but most of the time they're really sweet."

"I'm happy that you're happy," Chanhee whispered.

Grinning at his words, Younghoon nodded and said, "I felt great to not play any sports for the past few years. I feel like my body is actually rested for the first time in my life."

A silence fell over the two while Chanhee examined every detail of his drink. "Younghoon...are you seeing anybody? Is there anybody?" He asked hesitantly.

"Four years would never be enough to get over Choi Chanhee."

"I'm not seeing anybody either," the younger added. His response was unwarranted, but it felt right. He wasn't seeing anybody nor had he even thought of anybody other than Younghoon.

Another smile formed on Younghoon's lips while he looked at Chanhee. He just looked at the boy's face, studying every detail—any little thing that was different. "I meant it when I said I wouldn't love anybody other than you," he blurted out, "I can do stuff like graduate from college without you, but I didn't want to. I want you by my side for everything...that hasn't changed."

"I want you by my side too, Younghoon."

"What does that mean this time?" He asked. "Are we ever going to be a thing for real in my lifetime?"

Chanhee laughed at the jab towards the couples commitment issues, but he still nodded. "Choi Chanhee and Kim Younghoon—they just go together." He paused for a moment and glanced around the cafe. It was late—anybody in there with them was either studying or engrossed in their own conversations.

Chanhee leaned across the table and kissed Younghoon's lips. He kissed him with four years worth of emotions and Younghoon did just the same. "Let's be together," he said as they parted, "you and me, let's try again."

"Okay..." Younghoon whispered as he stared at the boy in front of him with glossy eyes, "but this time I won't hide you. I want the whole world to know I love Choi Chanhee."

———
I want to say thank you to everybody who stuck with this book despite the lack of updates when I got stressed out.

No matter how cliche this high school enemies to lovers book is...I have to say I think this is my favorite work. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

And for the last time, thanks for reading

P.S. I wouldn't rule out a sequel in the future... :)