butterfly || heeseung ff

reuinion

the day passed by in a flash and i was soon discharged. i opened the backpack my mother packed for me only to be greeted with the sight of the ugliest clothes from my closet. a red basketball jersey that i have been wearing since high school and orange shorts. just great. i put on the clothes reluctantly and avoided the gaze of others before making my way to the lobby. i could feel the stares on me and i hated that. this was so embarrassing. i was honestly more concerned about what caerin would think.

i stared at the people walking past me and dozed off several times. i pinched myself to stay awake. it was only 8.37pm. i still had some time before caerin arrived. i closed my eyes to get some rest.

i felt a light pat on my head and opened my eyes to see caerin. she burst into laughter, making me confused.

caerin's pov
i stepped out of the lift and searched for heeseung. it wasn't that difficult when he was dressed in striking colours. i smiled to myself and walked towards him. he was sleeping peacefully, his soft bangs covering his forehead, his arms wrapped around his backpack. my heart instantly melted when i noticed the matching keychain we had on his bag.

after a moment, i decided to wake him up. as soon as i patted his head, his eyes fluttered open. i couldn't restrain my laughter as i saw what he was wearing once again.

"what so funny?" he asked, confused as to why i was laughing. his bambi eyes slightly teary from his nap. i pointed at his clothes and he instantly understood what i meant. his cheek  flushed and he quickly tightened his grip on his backpack before standing up, his backpack slinging on his right shoulder. he avoided my gaze, resembling a shy kid.

cute... i chuckled.

"um... let's go" he said before walking away with me tagging from behind. just then, he turned around, waiting for me to catch up before matching my pace. i was rather touched by his kind gesture.

along the way, we talked about our lives since the trip and just everything and anything. suddenly he stopped walking.

"what is it?" i asked.

"it's closed" he chuckled sheepishly. and that's how we ended up outside the convenience store eating cup noodles, which turns out to be both our favourite.

"so are you going to tell me how you ended up in the hospital?" i questioned.

"hm... how should i put this... i guess i have been over exerting myself at work" he replied.

"you shouldn't be putting yourself through this" i said empathetically. he sighed before picking at his food.

"you're right. but what can i do?" he looked up at me. time seemed to freeze at that moment. i could see the pain in his eyes and a sense of guilt hit me as i felt as if i had neglected his feelings. honestly, i knew this look. i saw it during our past conversation about his job in taiwan but shrugged it off.

"enough about me. what about you? how have you been?" he asked.

"pretty okay but really busy... you could probably tell" we both broke into laughter.

we chatted for a while more till it was past midnight.

"i'll see you again" he said before i boarded the bus, sending me a smile from the bus stop.