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Café Stranger | knj.

✾ synopsis: After having trouble sleeping you go to your favorite late night cafe where you meet a kind stranger who tries to make you smile.

✾ pairing: artist!namjoon x female!reader, ex-boyfriend!OC × reader

✾ word count: 1.5K words

✾ warning: infidelity (reader's ex cheated on them), reader feeling insecure

✾ genre: fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, strangers to lovers

✾ playlist:《enough for you by olivia rodrigo》《reckless by madison beer》

✾ masterlist

You tossed and turned in your bed restless, dreaming about him. Your ex-boyfriend of two years. First he was smiling at you, bright and dazzling, like he would when he said something cheeky and wanted to see how you'd react before his face morphed into a stone cold expression that sent chills down your spine, dead eyes that held no remorse as he simply said "I don't love you anymore" after you caught him red handed with another woman.

He had become distant at the time. Calls fewer, texts even more and he cancelled on you more times than you can count in the last 3 months of your relationship. Whenever you brought up how he had been acting all he said was it's all in your head, that he just needed space sometimes. He used your insecurities against you, your tendency to overthink, your need to be physically close or to cling  as he had once put it while he can go days without hearing from you and be ok. In an effort to not be a clingy lover, you tried to give him his space, he then in turn cheated on you for a month.

You thought you'd make a surprise visit and bring him some of your grandmother's macaroni pie. You had been practising making it when you remembered how much he loved it when you both went to visit her back home. You had been excited to have him taste your cooking and then you saw them kissing outside his apartment.

You marched over to confront him when you didn't want to believe what was clearly in front of you. That had to be a man that only looked like your boyfriend right? Not once had you suspected he had been cheating, but you should have. You were naive to think he wanted space to himself. What he wanted was space away from you.

You remembered how he looked at you as if you were an inconvenience. A fly that that just wouldn't go away no matter how many times he swatted you away. You remember the girl's triumphant smirk as if she were fully aware of you and she was proud of what she did. You remember your heart breaking leaving your chest behind empty and hollow. You remember your voice cracking, eyes shining with unshed tears as you grabbed his shirt collar, aggressively shaking him by the shoulders, questioning him. Why? Had you really meant nothing at all to him?

That moment in your life when you saw them together kept replaying in your mind like a broken record. It had been more than 2 weeks since then but it was as if your subconscious wanted you to constantly relive that pain. Tempting you to knit pick what happened so that you could come to the conclusion that it was your fault what happened. You were too clingy. You weren't enough for him, too affectionate, you overthink too much, you didn't fight hard enough to keep him. You couldn't let yourself fall down that rabbit hole. You had no control over what happened or what he did. You couldn't blame yourself when you weren't at fault so you got out of bed, got dressed and went for a drive.

You often went on late night drives when you couldn't sleep and while out one night you discovered a small, unique café that quickly became your favourite. It was where you managed to find yourself tonight, another sleepless night.

The low hum of the air conditioner, the chime of the bell above the door and the quick ticking of the clock all greeted you as you entered the café. 12:37 a.m. it read. Choi Soobin, the young owner of the cafe, wanted to make a peaceful place where people could come read a good book, paint, write, have a cup of tea and maybe eat a baked good or two made by him and his staff. The owner loved late nights and early mornings so the cafe was open from 3pm until 3am.

The day you discovered this place, you were in the mood for something sweet that day and after trying their strawberry tarts you completely fell in love with the café. Overtime it became a safe space for you and whenever you had trouble sleeping this is where you would go.

You gave a small smile to the worker behind the counter whose face you had grown familiar to. She returned your smile, recognition flashing in eyes as she playfully asked, "The usual?"

"Yes please," you walk over to your usual seat near the window, after paying, admiring the night sky as the same worker from before walked over with a cup of chai tea and a blueberry scone.

Warmth of the tea, the soft melody playing in the café and the taste of the scone all helped put you in little bit of a better mood. Soobin definitely knew what he was doing when he started his business. The ambience of the shop unfortunately couldn't stop the ache in your chest as you glanced over at a happy couple sitting at another table quietly giggling with each other in their own happy little world.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

You jumped at the sudden sound, a tall man with chestnut brown hair stood beside you, a friendly but hesitant smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He gripped a leather brown sketchbook and pencil to his chest as he waited until you shook your head before taking the seat across from you. He had seemed harmless but you weren't going to let your guard down if he were going to kidnap you he wouldn't have asked to sit down right?

You turned your body away from him, eyes glued to the window outside as to silently say "don't talk to me" however the stranger seemed to not get your message.

"The night's beautiful isn't it?"

The stranger glanced out the window then back at you, opening his sketchbook, pencil in hand.

"Yeah," your voice hoarse from lack of sleep. You eyed him with apprehension taking a dainty bite out of your blueberry scone in the presence of someone unfamiliar.

"Coincidence seeing you here," clearly the tall and handsome stranger wanted to carry a conversation, if only you were in the mood.

"Do I know you?" you asked as politely as possible, pressing two fingers to your temple as you felt a headache behind your eyes.

The chestnut brown haired man gave you another soft smile, dimples appearing on each cheek, "It's alright if you can't remember."

"Small town am i right?"

"Not really," you replied a little harsher than you had meant to.

"Right," chestnut trailed off, looking a little defeated.

You felt guilt eat at your insides, your headache subsided and you were able to mentally acknowledge the fact that it isn't chestnut's fault you were sleep deprived and a little cranky.

As you were about to apologize, he cut you off.

"Would you like me to leave?" worry marring his handsome features at thought that he was making you uncomfortable instead of comforting you.

The man had noticed your somber mood, it was the reason he thought he might go over and talk to you however he was just about to give up on his sad attempt at making small talk when you surprised him and you both, "No, you can stay if you'd like."

Your eyes were beautiful in the man's opinion but they were hooded and red, you seemed exhausted and he saw pain in them.

The eyes are the window to the soul after all.

"Well I really just wanted to say hello and see how you doing but you seemed down."

"I know, I am," you replied quietly looking down at your cup.

"Would you like to talk about it then?" The man knew that it may not have been the correct thing to say but maybe he could be listening ear for you.

"Not really."

Another beat of silence and the man perked up a little and quickly flipped to a clean page in his sketchbook.

You both sat in silence, him lost in his work, pencil scratching on paper and you lost in your thoughts.

At 1:41 a.m he ripped a page out of his sketchbook, folded it and slid it over to you.

"I have to go but I want you to have this," and as suddenly as he came he left, the bell above the door rang and signalled his departure.

Curiosity brewed inside you and you unfolded the paper.

There staring back at you was a realistic drawing of yourself, looking out the cafe window like you had been doing all this time except you were smiling. At the bottom of the page was a messily written signature with neat handwritten words that read:

No matter what life throws at you, you are strong enough to conquer it all.

I hope this makes you smile and your day a little bit better :)

Kim Namjoon

Purple Ink (RM)

[Words in bold are in Korean]

I begin another doodle on my arm. It's nearly filled now with sketches from my ballpoint pen.

"Seriously, I can't believe your soulmate's never asked you to stop. Your drawings are everywhere at this point" my friend Stacy laughs.

I finish up the rose I'm drawing, "I'm sure they love my drawings. They've told me themself."

Stacy sighs, "I wish my soulmate talked to me more.. do you think I'll ever find them?"

"Easy. Just write your name really big on your forehead, they won't miss you."

"That is FAR from a solution, Y/N."

I laugh and look back down at my arm. A small heart appears next to the flower.

----

A Weverse notification interrupts my thoughts as I walk through the door. "RM started a Live" I open the live.

Namjoon and Hoseok are painting. I giggle as Namjoon spills some ink on his arm. Shutting my phone off, I go to take care of the pile of dishes in the sink.

As I pull my sleeves up, I notice a splatter over my wrist.

"What the.."

I run over and grab my phone. Pulling up the app again, I stiffen at the sight.

Namjoon's purple ink stain covers his wrist, a few splatters on his palm. Exactly like mine.

"No way... it can't be" I mumble.

Slowly, I grab a pen and write a small note on my arm by the splatter. Like clockwork, it shows up on his arm: "Namjoon?"

-----

The next few days, twitter had been blowing up about us.

"Namjoon's soulmate is an ARMY?"

"Guys! She knows! She found him!"

"Aww, that's sweet. Let's be happy for them."

"Wait, you mean they haven't met yet?"

I sigh, bringing my head to my hands.

"What do you want to do about it?" Stacy asks.

"I don't know.. I'm happy but I'm sad and I just don't know what to do. I'm surprised that he's someone I've admired for so long, but I feel dumb for not ever noticing. And I never imagined meeting my soulmate would be like... this. What if ARMY hates me? I don't want to cause him trouble. What if-"

"Relax, girl. I've only seen supportive comments so far. Everyone knows that you can't control soulmates, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I just, i dunno." I slump down in my chair, "it's not like I'll ever get to meet him anyways. It's a lost cause."

"Hey! Chill out. What you need to do is give him a way to find you."

"Such as?" I grumble.

"Such as posting your art online. I've been telling you forever, your creations are too good to keep to yourself! And if you post them, soon enough either he'll find you or ARMY will"

"That's... that's not a bad idea."

And that's how you got here. You'd been posting for two weeks now, but only had about 12 followers.

"Trust the process! He'll find you. It takes time to build an account." Stacy assured you.

"I just feel like the art should be for me, not a faceless algorithm."

"I'm sure he'll find you. He sees your art every day."

"I hope so" I mutter.

-----

I scrolled on my phone half-awake. I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to explore my feed on instagram. Suddenly, I received a like. And another like. And a follow. And soon enough, a message.

"Who..." I mumbled.

My eyes widened as I see the message they sent me. (Messages by them are in THIS COLOR, messages by you are in THIS COLOR :))

"I'd recognize your art anywhere"

I shiver at their words. Looking at their account, it doesn't help in figuring out who this is. A part of me carries a small hope. It must be Namjoon! He must have found me! But I don't want to get hurt.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Namjoon :) You draw on my arm all the time.."

No... no way. It can't be. What am I supposed to say to my soulmate? What if it's just Stacy pulling some sick prank on me?

"Hmm, prove it then."

Suddenly I feel a tingling sensation on my wrist as words begin to appear.  'Hello artist'. I quickly scratch out a message in our chat room.

"Oh my god, it's really you! I never thought I'd find you.."

"Well you did :) I love your drawings by the way. I'm a big fan."

"No, that's what I'M supposed to be saying. You're music is seriously amazing. I can't believe I get to be your soulmate.."

"You're so cute"

I blush. Not sure what to say, I wait for him to speak again.

"How long have you known?"

"That I'm your soulmate haha"

"Oh, uh, I was watching your live with j-hope"

"Ah, so when I spilled the paint on myself? That isn't very romantic..."

"Well, I'm glad you did regardless."

A question sits at the back of my throat. Suddenly my fingers begin to type it.

"How did you find me?"

He begins to type.

"It's actually kind of similar. I've been following you for a while now. I found your page maybe, two weeks ago? You didn't have too many posts up at the time but as you started posting more, I guess I just kinda realized one day. Like your drawings felt like home to me. And one day I was looking at your art on my Lock Screen, and then down at my arm, and it just hit me. So I decided to message you haha"

"Dfbivaldhflvahf ok wait you made my art your Lock Screen?"

"Shoot. Shouldn't have sent that part"

I giggle.

"Um, I guess where do you live?"

"No no not like that-"

"I feel like I'm messing this whole soulmates thing up already??"

"Like do you also live in Korea or..?"

"Ah, no.. sorry. I live in (INSERT COUNTRY NAME)"

"Don't be sorry! Y'know.. we're actually going to be doing a comeback soon with a tour :D"

"I'll talk and see if we can go there!"

————

I shiver in the cold hallway. He told me to meet him here, is he still coming? Maybe I should leave.. NO! That's silly. He's coming, Y/N. Just be patient.

Suddenly I hear sneakers squeak against the tile. Turning to my left, I notice him. Him. The boy I've been messaging for 7 months now. The one I've been waiting to meet. The one I love.

His dark hair bounces as he runs, star-like shimmers glimmering in his eyes. He slides in front of me, skidding a bit on the slick floor.

"It's you, you're here, I" He pants.

"Hi Namjoon" I smile.

Suddenly my head goes blank. All those months of texting, and I have nothing to say.

"Erm, good luck with the concert."

He checks his watch, "Oh, right, haha. I was so excited to meet you that I forgot about the concert."

"Hey! ARMYs paid good money to be here tonight. Don't forget about them because of me"

He smiles and pulls me into a hug. We swing from left to right as we talk. After around 15 minutes, a staff member informs us that we have to go for him to perform.

Once he leaves I sink down to the floor, clutching my phone to me. I daydream about reality, the moments only seconds ago that somehow already feel so distant. Wonder when I'll see him again. Wonder if it'll be soon.

"I can't believe she's his soulmate"

"I know, right? I mean, is the universe sure that they're destined?"

Laughter from the two staff members pulls me out of my lovely daze. Why are they so rude? What did I do? Do they assume I don't know Korean just because we spoke in English?

A third girl working there spoke up, "C'mon guys, let's not be so mean. We don't even know her yet!"

"Yeah, but like, have you seen her?" The previous staff questions.

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She's just... not what I thought she'd look like."

"She could be listening now," the third girl said, "I think she seems perfectly nice. You should give her a chance."

Without another word she walks out of the room and into the hallway, where I was listening. I look up to her from the floor, my eyes glistening with tears.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! You must have heard them. They're like that to everyone, don't worry."

I nod and turn away, "Yeah no, it's just... old insecurities coming back"

"Well don't let them," she smiles, "I, along with I'm sure Namjoon, think you're gorgeous."

I laugh, "Thank you. You are too"

"I have to be! It's hard keeping up with my worldwide handsome boyfriend" She jokes.

"Wait, are you?"

"Minji, Kim Seokjin's soulmate" She grins.

We talk together while we watch the concert from the waiting room. Apparently she's been with the boys for 2 years, which is a little intimidating. Am I going to have to meet them later? What if-

"Everything alright?" Minji asks.

"y-yeah!" I nod.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay"

I turn to her. Did she know? Suddenly, Namjoon and the rest of the members pour into the room.

He pulls me into a hug, "How did we do, baby?"

I blush at the nickname, mumbling, "You guys were amazing"

"Were you nice to Y/N?" Seokjin asks Minji.

She sighs, "yes, but Ari and Chaeyeong said stuff about her"

"What did they say?" Namjoon yells.

"They were just being rude. Talking about what she looks like and if she's good enough for you, and...y'know"

Unknowingly, I had begun to tug harder at Namjoon's shirt while tears threatened to form. He pulls his arms tighter around me, "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're perfect. Don't listen to them, Minji's right. They're always like this. We are all here for you, we love you. None of the things you're insecure about mean anything to me. To me, you are perfect."

"I-I.." He pulls away to look at my face.

"You're crying but you're smiling.. I don't understand"

"They're happy tears" I grinned, "Because, I can't believe the universe thought to give me the luck that is you."

Written in the Pages (RM) CH5

𝄆 Namjoon POV 𝄇

"I have to go to bed. I'll talk to you later"

I frown at the blue screen. Was that too far? I shouldn't have done that. Now she probably doesn't like me. She hates me. She-

"Namjoon? Everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah." I say, still staring at the phone.

Hoseok takes the phone from my grasp, reading through the messages.

"Woah"

"Hey! Give it back!" I yell, trying to steal it away.

"I didn't know you were such a flirt"

"Well, it didn't do me any good. She hates me now."

"Why do you say that?" Hoseok asks.

"Did you read the message? She left immediately. I should've known it was too far."

"Maybe she just got flustered." He suggests. I shrug. "How about you go apologize to her tomorrow. I'm sure you didn't upset her that much. She just said she had to go, you probably didn't upset her."

"You think so?"

"Yes. Now you go to bed too. We've had a long day, you need your rest." Hoseok ushers me to bed.

𝄆 𝄞 𝄇

The next day I stumble up to her desk. She sets down her book and glances up at me. She flinches and looks away, staring at the birds out the window.

"Listen Y/N, I just.. wanted to say I'm sorry"

"What?" She asks, her sight going right back up to me.

"I'm sorry for the message I sent you last night. It was too far, I should've known you weren't-"

"It's okay! I know you didn't mean it that way" She laughs.

"What way?"

"I know you were only joking," she bites her lip, "people like you don't like people like me"

"I like you!" I defend.

"Yeah! As a friend. Ditto!" She says.

But..I like you as more than a friend.

I start, "but I-"

"We still on for lunch today?"

𝄆 𝄞 𝄇

𝄆 Y/N POV 𝄇

I frown as I think back to the moment from earlier. Why does he have to taunt me like this? Make me confused... I know he'll never see me as anything more than a friend. I have to be okay with that.

"Y/N, you okay?" Namjoon asks.

"Namjoon-Oppa!"

Two girls run up to us, "could we talk to you for a second?"

"Uh," he pauses, glancing over at us, "sure?"

"Alone?" She asks.

"If you have something to say, you can say it to all of us." Jin says, getting annoyed.

"Fine." She huffs, "Namjoon-Oppa, I like you. Do you want to go out with me?"

"U-uh.." he looks over at me. Why is he looking at me?? Rubbing it in my face? "I appreciate it, but I'm not interested."

"W-well you might have fun! At least give me a chance, oppa." She pouts.

"Sorry, I already like someone else."

A choke forms in my throat. I cough, bringing all the attention to me. Great.

"Y/N, you okay?" Jungkook rests a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah yeah!" I croak, "I uhm, I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Be right back"

I stumble from my chair to the familiar beige halls. Pressing my hands to the sinks edge, I glare at the image across from me in the mirror.

He likes someone already? I should've known, she must be pretty great for him to turn them down. They're beautiful.

No, no he's smarter than that. He wouldn't date someone for looks. She probably is amazing. And she's definitely lucky.

"Ugh, I can't believe that! That was so embarrassing"

"Don't even worry about it girl! He's stupid anyway."

Voices of the earlier girls echo against the brick walls. I rush into a stall, hands clutching the lock. I try to quiet my heavy breathing.

"I mean, who could she be?"

"I don't know!" Her friend says, "but it doesn't matter. He doesn't have any taste, clearly. He isn't worth it."

My grip tightens. Wanting to jump out there and defend him. Wanting to chew them out. I force myself to calm my nerves and slump down. To fade to the door until they leave.

"And that girl earlier?" The girl who confessed starts, "what a joke. Why is she even sitting with them?"

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying desperately to release the anger. My face burns. A tear slips down onto my shaking hands.

"She's been sitting with them for a few days now. They must be doing it as a joke, they would never sit with someone like her on purpose."

"After how that confession worked out? Maybe they would." Their laughs slowly start to fade as they leave the bathroom.

I creep out of the bathroom, checking first that they really left. Then I let out my frustrations, tears streaming down my face. I make no attempt to stop them.

𝄆 Jungkook POV 𝄇

I follow behind Y/N. I hope she's okay.. she seemed kinda thrown today. Plus I want to make sure she isn't actually choking. I duck behind the lockers as the two girls from earlier strut into the same room

Oh no...

They gossip for a bit. Bashing Namjoon-hyung and basically just feeling bad for themselves. Then they start to say mean things about Y/N. They must not know she's in there. I urge myself to stay calm and not go in and fight them.

How could they say such things? From what we know so far, she's just a sweet, quiet girl.

Eventually they leave and I move to hide again. I wait for Y/N to come out, but she doesn't.

I begin to hear shattered sobs. Twisting around the corner, I contemplate the idea of going in and comforting her. All before she starts to speak:

"Why... can I never be good enough. Why am I always lacking. Why can't anywone.." she cries.

I start walking in, "HEY! What do you think you're doing?" A teacher calls out.

I shuffle backwards, "what do you-.. OOOHHHHH, this is the WOMEN'S restroom, my bad!"

The teacher continues in. I spare one last longing glance towards where Y/N is, then rush back to the rest of the group.

Written in the Pages (RM) CH6

𝄆 Jungkook POV 𝄇

"Guys! Guys!" I huff.

"Woah, where'd you go man?" Hoseok questions.

"And why are you breathing so hard?" Taehyung jokes.

"I.. Y/N..."

Namjoon jumps up, "Y/N? What happened with Y/N?"

"She went to the bathroom, and I followed her, and, and those girls," I heave, "they were trash talking us and then they started bullying Y/N, she must have been hiding from them, and then they left and she was crying and-"

"I'm going to find her" Namjoon growls.

Suddenly, she strides up to the table. Grabbing her stuff, she bows to us, "thank you for lunch. I have to go now." Her eyes are puffy and her face is red from obvious crying.

"No, no no no." Namjoon pulls her to face him, "you don't look okay. We heard what happened. We-"

"It's fine. I'll see you around." She starts to walk away.

"Hyung, maybe-"

He bolts after her. They both exit the cafeteria. I turn to the rest of the boys, their faces showing equally confused expressions.

𝄆 Y/N POV 𝄇

I run into the library, the only place where I know I can be alone. Except I'm not. As I approach my favorite table in the back, Namjoon is still trailing behind me.

"I said it's fine."

"It's not fine" he says, "I don't know what they said, but I know they hurt you. And I never want to see anyone hurt you."

"Why do you care?" I sneer, "You guys aren't actually friends with me. I'm just your charity case. You don't want me around."

"Don't say that!" He cries, "I care because I lo-"

"Save me the pain." I whimper, "save me the pain of knowing you'll never feel to me how I feel about you."

As if on cue, the bell rings.

"I have to go, Namjoon. Just forget about it. I'll work on forgetting my feelings, and we can all just move on."

𝄆 Namjoon POV 𝄇

She walks back to her class. I stay frozen in the library, orange sun painting the shelves.

"But I don't want to move on."

Written in the Pages (RM) CH7

𝄆 Namjoon POV 𝄇

"So she must like you back! What else would she mean by 'feelings'?"

"You don't get it," I grumble, "she isn't interested in me anymore. She doesn't want to hear from me."

"How oblivious can you be?" Yoongi jokes, "they must have said something that made her think we don't want her around. She's clearly just insecure, so why don't you show her how much she means to you?"

I ponder that for a moment, "how would I do that?"

"We should write a song for her!" Jimin pipes up.

𝄆 𝄞 𝄇

𝄆 Y/N POV 𝄇

It's been a week since I've heard from Namjoon. It may sound ridiculous, but part of me had hoped he would continue to try and talk to me. I guess he gave up, just like that.

I walk home slowly, feet trudging against the cobblestones I once skipped on. Along the way, I see the two girls from earlier chattering. they walk in the opposite direction, snickering at a glance of me.

I pull my hood over my head and try to walk faster. eventually, I arrive back home. The silence pulls me in, no one to laugh at me now. I don't understand, things were so much less complicated before Namjoon. Yet somehow, I still feel the thrills. Him talking to me gives me enough energy to do anything.

Then I remember the words from earlier. "They must be doing it as a joke, they would never sit with someone like her on purpose." And my heart sinks again.  I'm tired of this. I'm tired of trying to figure out if he likes me as more than a friend just to be hit with the rejection of a punchline. I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to prove myself to people who don't care.

I need to love myself. Not the version others see. I need to focus on myself, and I can't do that if I'm trying to swim in pools too deep for me. Trying to date someone I can never have.

Trying to find myself in people who aren't me.

a knock on the door pulls me from my monologue. I open it without checking the peekhole.

"Y/N, thank god you answered. I need to talk to you. I know you don't want to listen to me, but please just hear me out. please" Namjoon begs from the doorway.

"How do you know where I live?"

"I.. I followed you home, I'm sorry, can I please come in?"

"You followed me home?" I demanded.

"Yes I,.. look I know this sounds bad but please just give me a chance. I can explain everything."

Sighing in defeat, I pull the door open wider and let him in. Leading him to the couch, he speaks before I can even ask.

"Okay. So, when you left that day at lunch, Jungkook had followed you to make sure you were okay. He filled me in on what they said and everything and I just want you to know  that I truly do care about you. We all do. And I wouldn't pretend to be friends with someone as a joke, the only person who would do that is someone like those two girls who I rejected. I need you to know all this before I continue."

"Okay, well, thank you for saying that Namjoon." I force a smile, "but continue with what?"

"What I've been hiding from you for the past week," He replies. He takes his phone from his pocket, pulling up an app and pressing play. Suddenly, a song begins to play.

He softly starts to sing, "Just one day, if I can be with you

Just one day, if I can hold your hands

Just one day, if I can be with you

Just one day

If only we can be together"

The music fades out. He brushes his hand next to mine on the couch, slowly intertwining his fingers with mine. I let him.

"Y/N, I have been pining after you for so long. If you don't feel the same, I understand... but I wanted you to know. Since last spring, I've been admiring you. Your hair, your smile, the way you talk and the words you choose, how you treat people with kindness, your quiet demeanor, everything. I'm obsessed with everything about you. And..."

He pauses and I can feel his hands sweat from nerves as he fidgets.

"I'm in love with you."