Dust || Yoon Jeonghan

Set up

"you still there?"

i flinched as hara's voice broke my trance. i blinked trying to make sense of the sight in front of me.

jeonghan with a girl.

they were standing in front of a vintage claw machine installed for aesthetics and entertainment. she was holding his hand between both of hers as if trying to persuade him for something and he was laughing so fondly.

i doubt he ever looked at me in that way.

maybe i shouldn't be surprised after all. how long can someone like him be single. i scoffed indifferently. i don't care who he is with.

and then i slammed the metal chopsticks on the table.

"woah miss what happened?" hara asked and she followed my gaze when i didn't answer, her brows rising automatically.

"oh look there -"

i got up before she could complete her sentence. organizing my things because i doubted that any possibility of fun was left. hara followed behind me without saying much. i was at the door about to step through when someone called my name.

i turned around flustered by the unexpected event. someone - the girl - came up to me excitedly. i was at a loss of words as she beamed at me as if we were friends. jeonghan was no where to be seen.

maybe i could just pretend my name is not arin and get the hell out of here.

"you are arin right?" 

"nope." i replied confidently. her smile flickered. hara elbowed me shooting questioning glances my way.

"oh" she said awkwardly. "i really thought- i just wanted to tell her he is getting married. too bad you aren't her"

oh.

OH!

"WHAT?"

i couldn't help my reaction. horror etched all over my face. she stared at me innocently for a  couple seconds then she started to smirk. 

it felt surreal. 

after all this time. after all we went through i didn't believe it was really happening. through the corner of my eyes, i recognized his silhouette, frozen at a distance. in disbelief or perhaps in dismay.

"you are definitely arin" the girl said with a chuckle.

"and who are you?" i asked, an unintentional edge to my voice. the girl looked taken aback.

"what?? don't you recognize me?" she asked.  "i am soobin!"

"jeonghan's sister?" i practically screamed, my face going red as i realized i was still in a restaurant.

"she thought you were-" i hushed hara before she could say it.

"i am sad you didn't recognize me. didn't that jerk tell you about me?"

"he did but it was a long time ago and it seems you changed your style." 

"i did" she giggled shyly happy that i noticed it. "now where's my idiot brother. there he is. HEY!"

hara and i exchanged an uneasy glance as jeonghan appeared in view. he smiled softly as if he couldn't believe that i was really there.

"i didn't know you were in seoul" he said awkwardly.

"i didn't know you were getting married." i said because - god forbid i don't embarrass myself for one day.

his eyes widened as if i had told him i was joining a circus. on second thought maybe that wouldn't be so surprising.

he raised a brow at soobin and she chuckled nervously.

"yeah. i lied." she confessed. my body relaxed as if my feet finally touched the earth after hanging from a rope for so long.

"well" she clapped her hands together. "what a coincidence!" 

"right! what a coincidence!" hara grinned. hara and soobin looked at each other as if they knew something i didn't.

"so why don't you talk" soobin said as she pushed jeonghan out. hara doing the same to me. 

it was dark outside. a faint fog lining the streets. i stuffed my cold hands in my pockets, looking everywhere but at him when i didn't want to see anything but him. 

but it was so hard. 

i didn't know how to approach. what to say. i didn't even know if it was worth it anymore. after the time and distance we had spent apart, can we ever be close again?

"should we go somewhere else?" jeonghan asked, his voice soft and careful as if i would disappear if he breathed too loud. 

"i mean standing in front of a restaurant is pretty interesting too but i prefer not to freeze. at least not today."

i chuckled softly, finally mustering the courage to look at him. i didn't know if he was just pretending to be okay or not. but he felt the same as always.

so easy to fall in love with.

A/N:

YOON JEONGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!

anyway.

this pic immediately reminded me of apricity. so iconic.