#mismatch

since the first day he had met you, euijoo had been certain he would be able to make you his. you were just so perfect, he had to. not to be dramatic, but his life depended on it.

despite being a rather timid guy a lot of the time, when you were in the vicinity his demeanor shifted until something completely different. more shameless. more desperate.

he’d text you the same thing every morning:

- good morning!

- have a good day :)

and the same thing every evening:

- goodnight!

- sweet dreams, pretty

it was rare that euijoo would get a response, and even then they were brief:

- you 2

it frustrated him, but euijoo wasn’t one to give up that easily.

---

he would try during group hangouts after uni, moving across the couch until he was sat right next to you, thigh pressed against yours, and he would give you his signature smile.

“uh, hi, y/n. good day?” he would curse himself when you shift away, not interested in conversing with him.

“you’ll get ‘em next time,” his friend yuma would tease from his other side, nudging euijoo with an elbow.

---

euijoo constantly tried to make moves on you, and you somehow always managed to avoid him before he could realise his advances weren’t working. he was so confused.

it wasn’t that he thought you hated him, because you still willingly hung out with him (in a group setting obviously), but more so that he couldn’t figure you out. couldn’t figure out how you felt.

so he would test it, test your feelings for him. he just wanted an answer. and boy did he get one.

“y/n,” he whispered into your ear on movie night, careful as to not let the others hear. “this is fun. um… would you ever have a movie night w-with me? just me?”

you glanced at him, unimpressed. he was really asking you this now? in the middle of the movie?

“euijoo, come on. not now.” you brushed him off, turning back to the screen. euijoo turned too, cheeks burning in embarrassment.

fail number one.

---

another time, you and your friend group were on your way to the beach, walking down the sidewalk, soaking in the sun. each of your friends were split off into smaller groups, all busy and absorbed in their own conversations. you lingered at the back on your own, simply enjoying the view.

“hey,” euijoo said, slowing to match your pace. you greeted him briefly in return. “it’s such a nice day, don’t you think?”

“yeah, it’s pretty good.” you replied, giving him a small smile.

your expression quickly faltered when you felt euijoo’s hand slip into yours. his touch was delicate, careful, but that only made it all the worse for you.

“euijoo what are you doing? not now.” you whispered, pulling away from the contact. away from euijoo.

fail number 2.

not now. not now not now not now not now.

not ever, it felt more like.

euijoo was utterly hopeless.

---

every rejection left euijoo buried in questions he didn’t know the answer to.

did you hate him?

was he being too overbearing?

was he not trying hard enough?

why were you so distant?

questions, questions, questions. so many questions. no answers.

---

“hyung, i’m useless,” he whined, his long body splayed across his bed. fuma sat in the desk chair on the opposite side of the room. if anyone was to walk in, they’d think it was a makeshift therapy session.

“she never responds to my texts, like, ever. she hates me.”

fuma sighed, adjusting the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

“no, she doesn’t.” he replied, folding his arms. euijoo groaned. “i’d know better than anyone.”

“but… but she’s constantly rejecting me!” he let out a helpless huff. “do we mismatch? i think we do. every little thing i do somehow pushes me further from her-”

“-because you’re doing too much, euijoo.” fuma cut him off, causing him to sit up.

“huh?”

fuma cleared his throat.

“she doesn’t like all the grand, upfront gestures. that’s not y/n.”

euijoo listened quietly, fascinated at this new information. he’d been approaching you the wrong way the whole time.

fuma continued.

“she likes simple. she prefers the types of things that say more internally than externally. sudden confessions and bold touches aren’t what will work for her.”

all of the questions floating in euijoo’s head had finally snapped into place at fuma’s words, pairing with the answers he had been desperate for. everything made sense now.

“earth to euijoo~”

“oh! right, um… i’m listening.” euijoo shook out of his daze. “so, hyung, what should i do? to… to make her like me.”

he watched as fuma leant forward in the desk chair, elbows resting on his thighs.

“let me enlighten you.”

---

that day with fuma had changed euijoo for the better, and he was sure that he could make you his now.

even you had noticed the difference in how he acted. euijoo was no longer pushy, didn’t invade your personal space, and refrained from asking you out on a date a minimal ten times a day.

euijoo was more subtle now, his actions simple but still there.

he’d show up at your friend’s apartment with your favourite drinks and snacks in his backpack. you couldn’t recall telling him that these were your favourites, but he knew.

“i remembered.” he’d say, a timid smile on his lips. “you told me when we first met at freshers week.”

when your voice was lost in the sea that was your friends’ chaotic conversations, loud and energetic, euijoo would cut through, giving you a chance to speak. a subtle way of saying ‘i hear you’.

when you and your friends would be heading home from the library, late in the january evenings, euijoo would offer you his jacket, silently draping it over your shoulders. you had only shivered once.

everything euijoo did was subtle, and it seemed to be working. you were more comfortable around him, more willing to talk to him - he’d even managed to convince you to facetime him when the two of you couldn’t sleep.

it was going steady. it was going great.

---

friday’s movie night with the group had ended roughly 30 minutes ago, everyone dispersing from the apartment gradually. you and euijoo were some of the last people to leave; he was walking you to the train station.

euijoo had been fidgety all night, and you weren’t oblivious to this. a few blocks from the station, he had quietly asked you to stop, standing face to face with you.

“can we talk?” he asked, expression doing nothing to hide his nervousness. you nodded, urging him to continue.

“well, um…” a moment of awkward silence filled the space between you before he found his words. “i actually wanted to apologise for something.”

“go on.”

“listen, um… i’m really sorry for how i acted before. i was… weird. i was so pushy and annoying and it was all because i wanted you to like me. and i learnt that what i was doing was, in fact, what you hated.”

he could barely keep eye contact with you, eyes glancing around the street.

“so i went to fuma. he told me what you liked, what you didn’t like. and i changed. for you, i mean.” his voice cracked slightly, his emotions bubbling right below the surface. “i put so much effort into doing what would win you over. you should see how many texts i sent fuma. it’s embarrassing.”

he chuckled self-deprecatingly. you noticed how his bottom lip trembled.

“i just… i really want you to like me. because-” euijoo stuttered again, his hand covering his face for a moment. he was crying. “b-because i love you.”

you were shocked, to say the least. you knew that euijoo liked you, but to hear him actually admit his feelings to you was a whole different story. he was more genuine this time. he was laying his feelings out in front of you, raw and defenceless, hoping you’ll accept them.

“my feelings all depend on you. n-no… i depend on you.”

tears ran down euijoo’s cheeks, and his hands trembled at his sides. he didn’t want to wait anymore. all he wanted was you.

“i’m trying so hard, y/n.” he whispered, finally making eye contact with you. “i just… i just want to know if my efforts are paying off.”

you looked up at him, his tear-stained, pink cheeks, his big brown eyes, his hair that fell over them.

“please, y/n.” he begged, voice broken from crying.

you were quiet for a moment, letting the moment process in your mind before you said anything. here euijoo was - the shy try-hard that would rush to sit next to you in the car, the guy who’d be caught staring at you during movie nights, the guy who would constantly try to be the center of your attention - baring his heart out to you on a friday night. crying and begging. about a month ago, you would’ve told him to stop, probably even walked away. but now, you found him sweet, endearing.

“i like you too, euijoo.” your words cut through the silence.

“wait, w-what?”

“i said i like you too.”

euijoo wrapped his arms around you almost instantly, his wet cheek pressed against your shoulder. his arms were squeezing you so hard you could barely breath.

“thank you so much,” euijoo said, and by the sound of his voice you could tell he was crying again. “thank you for giving me a chance.”

“…you’re welcome.”

your hands rested firmly on his lower back, grounding him. letting him know that you were here now, and you weren’t going anywhere.

“i’m sorry i was so closed off before. i just didn’t know how to react to everything.”

“don’t apologise, pretty.” euijoo shook his head instantly. he didn’t like the idea of you apologising for how you were as a person. because in his eyes, you were perfect. “but… this means you’ll go on a date with me, r-right?”

he lifted his head, looking at you with such a desperate look in his eyes you couldn’t deny him any longer.

“of course.”

success number one.

---

euijoo had just got into bed when his phone buzzed. his face lit up when he read your messages.

- thank u 4 today

- goodnight handsome :)

success number two.

finally.