teenage years ♧ lee minho

50

"soh..."
"lino i-" they were both startled at how they began speaking at the same time. sohee spun around, now facing minho as he kept his grip on her waist. she shivered slightly at the feeling of his cool hand against her bare midriff.

"you're thinking about it too, aren't you.." his voice trailed off, coming out barely louder than a whisper. he gave her hand a comforting squeeze, noticing how her lips turned downwards, frowning slightly.

"how could i not be..." she took a deep breath, taking a moment to organize her thoughts. sohee wanted to talk it out casually, but the tension between the both of them was too high. she felt as though one glance down from him and she'd give in.

minho on the other hand, wanted her. the tension that surrounded them became to thick and almost suffocating. her gaze locked on him, taking in every inch of him with just her eyes. he felt himself melting towards her, ready to risk it all.

"what happened to us? why can't we just-" his gaze softened, eyes unwavering from her own. chest rising and falling with the deep breath his body had just taken in.

her breath hitched, not actually expecting him to bring it up. but what can be said, it's minho. of course he was going to bring it up. he's blunt like that, when he wants to do something he will.

"we're idols now lino, we can't." her voice quivered, averting her gaze from his. finally breaking the intense eye contact they'd seemingly been holding with each other since they left the venue.

he let go of her hand, reaching down to place a finger just below her chin, lifting her head back up to meet his gaze once again. her heart skipped a beat, lips parting slightly in surprise.

"why must that have to come between us, i just want to be with you again soh. i'm still in love with you, i never stopped loving you." his confession took her by surprise, yet it also seemed to take him by surprise. he was slightly taken aback for being so blunt about it, unsure of where the sudden confidence had come from.

sohee's eyes glistened, he still loves me. she traced his eyes, looking for any hints of joke or mischief. after finding nothing but love and admiration, sohee felt her heart pang for the boy in front of her. a red hue painted her cheeks, feeling flustered under his gaze that was so full of love for her.

"i'm- i- you have a dating ban lino. you'll have one for another year and a bit. plus, we're both too busy now it's just- it's just not reasonable anymore" barely stuttering, she reached a hand to cup his cheek with care. he took her hand in his, sinking further into her touch while nodding sadly.

of course, she would put their careers first. after all, sohee experienced first hand how hard they'd both trained for their current positions. she saw his breakdowns, felt her own, saw friends crumble and give up around them. too much, they'd given so much for this to just throw it away.

"i just, i miss us sohee. why can't we go back to our teenage years, when we were together" his focus now turned to the ground, words coming off as a mumble. sohee carefully pulled him down to her height, placing her other hand on his vacant cheek and leaning her forehead against his. 

"i wish we could, but we can't." her voice breathless, as she carefully blinked away the tears that threatened to form in her eyes. she pulled away slowly, a sad smile plastered across her face. eyes meeting as they stared at each other, their eyes held a million words that weren't said. that couldn't be said.

"goodnight lino, sleep well okay? we've got the big day tomorrow" he nodded, trying to savour her touch as she slowly pulled her hands from his face. she grabbed her discarded crewneck and belongings. waving to him, as she left the practice room.

he bid her goodnight with a soft and loving smile on his face. ensuring that they depart from each other that night in a good mood. but once the door clicked shut, his smile dropped. walking towards a nearby wall, he leant against it, sliding down to the ground.

he pulled his phone, subconsciously opening the album that held all their pictures together. all his photos of her. he scrolled through them all, a bittersweet smile plastered on his face as a teardrop seemed to have escaped from his eyes, falling onto his phone screen.

on sohee's end, she kept a strong outer appearance as she exited the building to the secret car park. making sure to smile at everyone she passed. some seemed to pick up on her forced expression but didn't approach her on it, seeing as she was in a rush.

now in the back of her car, she let the tears loose. they'd been pricking at her eyelashes the entire walk down. her manager sent her a concerned look, moving to turn on her favourite songs in a silent attempt of calming her down.

as they reached her dorm, her manager sent her a kind smile. one that displayed that he'd always be there for her. she thanked him for the drive, rushing into the building and up to her dormitory.

it was late at night, sohee crept inside quietly. being careful as she didn't want to disturb her members that were resting soundly for their performance tomorrow.

with her eyes still glossy, sohee slipped her shoes off and tiredly walked further into the dorm. eyes widening as she spotted nagyung seated on the couch, holding a glass of water, staring at the door.

"hey... i was worried about you so i waited-" she was cut off by sohee scurrying over to her, engulfing her into a tight hug. nagyung didn't say a word, she carefully placed the glass on the table next to her, returning sohee's embrace.

sohee sobbed in nagyungs arms, she wasn't sure how long she had been crying there but the soothing rubs against her back from the other girl was enough to calm her down.

when the tears stopped sohee slowly pulled out of the embrace. nagyung scanned her face, trying to read for the cause of her tears. well it's not stress... looks more like heartbreak... a small smile rose on her features. she guided sohee back to their shared room with hyori, helping her get freshened up for bed.

"can i sleep next to you..." sohee asked shyly, not wanting to sleep on her top bunk. nagyung nodded, laying down and creating space on the bottom bunk for sohee. both girls lay in each others arms, sohee glad she had someone like nagyung to rely on.

seeing as though her troubled mind wouldn't seem to stop, nagyung drew circles on sohee's back. occasionally gently playing with her hair, in an attempt to lull the girl to sleep. sohee mumbled something before falling asleep, so quiet it was barely heard by nagyung. but she registered the words fast, heart hurting for the girl next to her. she pulled sohee closer to her, wishing her heartache would fade.

"why couldn't i tell him that i still love him too..."

OH SHIT