you were beautiful {k.nj} ⬛

⌘ five ⌘

"so what is the place?", namjoon asked, getting tired of walking.

"you'll see", haneul smirked, walking faster, "are you tired already?"

"you're young", he whined.

"aren't we in the same class?", haneul laughed.

"i'm older", he stated, "so i'm right"

haneul rolled her eyes.

"we're here", she squealed and entered the building.

namjoon stopped and looked at the building. "planetarium?", he read surprised and looked around. "does she go to these kinds of places?". he shook his head, reminding himself that he shouldn't judge people without really knowing them.

he stepped inside the building and his eyes landed on haneul, who was holding two tickets in her hand. he chuckled lightly and walked up to her.

"you should've let me pay"

"is this a date?", haneul asked sarcastically, handed him the ticket and walked in.

"why did she pay for both of them, then?", he laughed and followed her in.

haneul walked slowly through the familiar halls. she used to come here when she'd have an argument with her parents and would run away. the place seemed to have a soothing aura. haneul felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she walked further into the building. she realised she had missed the planetarium a lot.

she walked into one of her favourite rooms. the room was dark, the only light came from the constellations on the ceiling. as haneul took in the sight, she heard namjoon gasping.

"i can't believe i've never been here before"

haneul chuckled and looked up to namjoon, regretting it immediately. he was looking at her as well, and their eyes met. she felt her face burning up and felt her heartbeat getting louder.

'i don't like him', she thought, but her eyes were glued to him. the stars reflected in his dark eyes as he stared right into her soul. haneul felt the urge to hold him tight. she felt her hand twitch, but she controlled herself and broke the eye contact.

"he looks too cute", she mumbled to herself.

"what was that?", namjoon asked.

"no, nothing", haneul replied flustered, blushing harder. she sighed, going to sit on one of the benches on the other side of the room.

namjoon stared a little bit longer at the stars on the ceiling. he felt amazed by the place and touched by the fact that haneul decided to share it with him. he noticed she knew her way around, so, he thought, she must've come here often.

he went to sit beside haneul on the bench.

"are you coming here often?"

"i used to", haneul replied dreamily, "last year, when...". she was about to let loose, but stopped herself. 'no, he wouldn't care. he doesn't want to know'. she nodded to herself and didn't say anything else.

namjoon felt a bit disappointed. he felt like she'd be able to open up after a while, but he was wrong. he told himself he had to try harder to earn her trust.

"i need to talk to you about something", he said after a while. haneul looked up to him curiously. "i heard you're failing some subjects."

"how did you..."

"the teachers told me.", he cut her off. "they asked me to help you with studying. i know you'll say you don't need help. you think everyone at school hates you, but it's not like that. the teachers are worried about you. they don't want you to get expelled."

haneul stared at him in disbelief.

"well, actually, the teachers didn't have to ask. i told them i'd do it myself.", he added, looking down embarrassed.

"why?", she whispered, tearing up. 'why does he suddenly care? why does he suddenly talk to me and make me feel things?'. her hands trembled terribly as the thoughts kept coming. 'how can he see right through me... just like that?'

"haneul", namjoon said softly, taking both of her hands in his, to calm her down. but haneul broke down even more as she let her tears flow.

"i'd love to help you, if only you let me. and...", he hesitated, "and it's not because i feel sorry for you. or, or because i want to mess with you. i don't like seeing you giving up on yourself... just like that."

haneul wanted to yell at him, to tell him he was wrong and that she didn't need help, but she'd be lying. and he would know that. she was so tired of lying to herself and everyone around her.

surprisingly, her hands weren't shaking anymore. she took a few deep breaths before looking up to him. his eyes screamed sincerity.

"all right", haneul sighed, hating the idea already. "i'll do it", she muttered. "i'll give it a try, at least.", she couldn't believe that she was given a chance to pick herself up again.

namjoon smiled, his deep dimples showing. he carefully pulled haneul into his chest, embracing her gently. she tensed up at first, but relaxed eventually, hugging him back. 'he is so warm', she thought, closing her eyes.

"you smell nice", she whispered unknowingly, letting her head rest on his chest. 'just a little bit longer', she told herself, embracing every feeling she got in that moment.

"now", namjoon said after a few minutes of silence, "show me around, maybe?"

haneul chuckled lightly and nodded, realising that her chest felt much lighter.

they spent the rest of the day walking around the planetarium. haneul told him everything she learned about the universe from the times she came here alone. namjoon told himself he'll never forget this day, and the way her eyes lit up when she knew the answer to his questions.

"i used to come here to get things off my mind,", haneul told him as they walked to the exit, "whenever i had an argument with my parents, which was quite often."

namjoon smiled as he gently held her hand in his. he had to admit, he loved the way her cold hand felt in his.

"it's going to get better. from now on, you should take small steps and you are going to build yourself up again. you will grow. it just takes time."

haneul smiled genuinely at his words and thanked him. she let go of his hand slowly.

"i'll see you tomorrow", namjoon said once they were outside. he waved and rushed off, taking out his phone.

"yeah, see you", haneul waved back and began her walk home.