Annyeongz One-shots

43. Date crushes ( 3 )

Yujin sat on the floor of his small room, cardboard boxes stacked unevenly around him. The place felt emptier than usual—not because things were gone, but because his life had finally outgrown it.

Six months ago, this room had been everything he owned.

Now, he could afford more.

The promotion had changed things quietly. Better pay. Stable hours. Enough savings that he no longer counted coins before buying food. Enough that he could finally move somewhere cleaner, safer—somewhere that didn’t smell like old wires and dust.

He looked at his phone.

The contact list wasn’t long.

Coworkers’ numbers filled most of it. His supervisor. A few friends from work. But when it came to someone he wanted to tell—someone whose opinion mattered—there was only one name his thumb hovered over.

Wonyoung.

He stared at it for a long moment.

Then he pressed call.

—

Wonyoung was halfway through folding her clothes when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen—and froze.

Yujin.

Her heart skipped, fast and traitorous.

She answered almost immediately. “Hello?”

There was a brief pause on the other end, like he was choosing his words carefully.

“…I moved today,” Yujin said.

That was it. No dramatic buildup. Just a simple statement.

“Oh,” she replied softly, then smiled without realizing it. “You did?”

“Yeah. A different house. It’s… closer to work.” He hesitated. “I thought you should know.”

I thought you should know.

Those words wrapped around her chest warmly.

“I’m happy for you,” she said, genuinely. “You worked really hard.”

Another pause. This one felt different—lighter.

“I wouldn’t have lasted there without you,” he admitted quietly. “Back then.”

Wonyoung leaned against the edge of her bed, fingers tightening around her phone. “Yujin… I didn’t do much.”

“You did,” he said, firm this time. “You noticed me. That mattered.”

Her throat felt tight.

“Do you like the new place?” she asked, just to steady herself.

“I think so,” he replied. “It’s empty right now. But it feels… peaceful.”

She smiled again. “You’ll make it feel like home.”

On the other end, Yujin glanced around the bare living room—the unassembled furniture, the unopened boxes—and for the first time, it didn’t feel lonely.

“…Yeah,” he said. “I think I will.”

When the call ended, Wonyoung stared at her phone for a long moment.

Of all the people he could’ve told first—

It was her.

She lay back on her bed, pressing the phone lightly to her chest, heart racing.

Whipped didn’t even begin to cover it now.

The call came late, when the night had already settled into something quiet and honest.