Whispers Among Pages || Jeon Wonwoo

Chapter 7: Stories Between Us

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The next few evenings fell into a rhythm that felt both familiar and new. Jiyeon found herself returning to the library after her shifts, her steps lighter with each visit. And every time, without fail, Wonwoo was there, waiting in their corner.

It wasn't something they planned, but it became an unspoken agreement—this quiet sanctuary shared between them.

On this particular evening, the library was quieter than usual, the hum of the hospital fading into the background. Jiyeon settled into her chair, the notebook he had given her resting on her lap. She had written a few pages since he handed it over, her thoughts spilling out in moments stolen between patients.

Wonwoo noticed the notebook almost immediately. "You've been writing," he observed, nodding toward it.

"Some," she admitted, running her fingers over the cover. "Mostly little things. Nothing profound."

"Can I see?"

The question caught her off guard, her fingers freezing mid-motion. "You want to read it?"

Wonwoo leaned back in his chair, his expression calm but curious. "Only if you're okay with it."

Jiyeon hesitated. The idea of someone else reading her private thoughts felt daunting, even if that someone was Wonwoo. But then she remembered the pages he had shared with her, the quiet vulnerability he had shown.

Slowly, she handed him the notebook. "Be gentle," she said, her voice half-teasing, half-serious.

He accepted it carefully, flipping to the first filled page. As his eyes scanned her handwriting, Jiyeon felt a mix of nerves and anticipation, watching his expression for any hint of what he thought.

"You're good at this," Wonwoo said after a while, his tone sincere.

"At what?"

"Putting feelings into words." He looked up at her, his gaze steady. "It's not easy to write like this—to be honest without sounding... I don't know, dramatic?"

Jiyeon laughed softly, some of her tension easing. "Well, I've had a lot of practice thinking too much."

Wonwoo chuckled, handing the notebook back to her. "Keep writing. It suits you."

She smiled, tucking the notebook into her bag. "What about you? Still working on your own masterpiece?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. Just pieces of... something."

"Something is better than nothing," Jiyeon said gently.

Wonwoo nodded but didn't say anything, his expression thoughtful. After a moment, he glanced toward the shelves. "You know, I've been wondering..."

"About?"

"Why you come here," he said, his voice quieter now. "The library, I mean. Most nurses just go home after their shifts."

Jiyeon paused, considering her answer. She could have given him something light, something easy, but the weight of his gaze made her want to be honest.

"It's the only place that feels still," she admitted. "Everything else in the hospital is so... chaotic. Here, it's like time slows down. I can breathe."

Wonwoo's expression softened. "I get that."

"What about you?" she asked, curious. "Why do you keep coming back?"

He looked down at the book in his lap, turning it over in his hands. "At first, it was to escape. Then... I don't know. It felt less like escaping and more like finding something."

His eyes met hers, and the unspoken words between them hung in the air, heavy but not uncomfortable.

Jiyeon didn't look away. "Maybe we both found something here."

The corner of Wonwoo's mouth lifted in a small smile. "Maybe."

The evening passed in their usual quiet companionship, the unhurried turning of pages and soft rustling of books filling the spaces where words weren't needed. And though neither of them said it out loud, both knew that this corner of the library, once just another quiet place, had become something more—a refuge they had built together, one page at a time.

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