WATCHING FROM AFAR | Sunoo FF

๋࣭ ⭑ XI .

We walked in silence at first, the cool evening air settling around us as we made our way toward a nearby convenience store. Sunoo still hadn’t let go of my hand, and though it felt a little strange, I wasn’t about to pull away. There was a kind of unspoken tension between us, not the uncomfortable kind from earlier, but something more... tentative.

When we reached the store, Sunoo let go of my hand and pushed the door open. The bell chimed as we stepped inside. The fluorescent lights felt harsh compared to the soft glow of the evening, but it didn’t matter. Sunoo headed straight for the cooler section, grabbing a couple cans of soju. I hesitated but followed behind him, picking out a bottle of water and a snack to go with it.

He glanced over at me as we stood at the checkout. “You don’t drink?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I smiled, shaking my head. “Not much, but I’ll have one.”

We paid for our things and headed outside, finding a small bench nearby. The street was quiet, save for the occasional car passing by, and the night air felt crisp against my skin. Sunoo handed me one of the cans, cracking his open and taking a long sip.

There was a moment of silence between us, and then Sunoo finally spoke. "Earlier today... I didn’t mean to act the way I did. I guess seeing you again just brought up a lot of old memories."

I looked at him, my heart heavy as I popped open my can of soju. "I get it," I said softly. "I left without saying much, and you had every right to be upset."

He sighed, staring down at his drink. "It’s not just that. It's everything that happened after you left. We were close, and then suddenly, it was like you disappeared. And now you're back, and I don’t know how to deal with that."

I took a sip of my drink, the alcohol burning slightly as it went down. "I never wanted to leave like that. It was complicated. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping my distance, but now I see how wrong I was."

Sunoo leaned back on the bench, his gaze fixed on the night sky. "I missed you," he admitted quietly. "More than I realized."

His words caught me off guard, but they brought a warmth to my chest. "I missed you too, Sunoo," I said, turning to face him. "I didn’t think it would be this hard to come back, but... I don’t want to lose you again."

He was silent for a moment, then he looked over at me, his expression softening. "We don’t have to figure everything out tonight. But maybe... we can start again. Slowly."

I nodded, feeling a small weight lift off my shoulders. "Yeah. Slowly."

We sat there for a while, sipping our drinks and talking about nothing in particular. It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be, and with each passing minute, the tension between us seemed to ease. Maybe things weren’t the same as they used to be, but maybe they didn’t need to be.

For now, it was enough that we were sitting here together, sharing a quiet moment under the stars, and taking the first steps toward rebuilding what we’d lost.