WHICH ONEᯓ★
WHERE ─── three breakups later, yn and niki are still holding onto a relationship they've outgrown but can't seem to leave. meanwhile, maki has spent years watching from the sidelines, keeping feelings he was never supposed to have. some stories end where they started—others don't.
the terrace was almost empty, save for a few plastic chairs, half-broken fairy lights hanging from a wall, and the distant noise of traffic somewhere below.
sunghoon sat on the ledge while maki sat on the floor, a cigarette burning between his fingers and a bottle resting beside him, already half empty.
sunghoon watched him for a while before finally speaking.
for a moment there was only the wind between them. another drag. another sip.
maki dropped his head back against the wall.
"i said horrible things."
"the kind you can't unsay."
sunghoon didn't answer immediately because he already knew. maki had called him an hour after leaving, voice shaking, sounding worse than yn probably did.
"did you mean any of it?" sunghoon asked.
maki stared at the city lights. somewhere out there was yn. probably crying. probably curled up on her couch.
"everyone has moments where they're annoying."
"that's not what i asked."
the admission sat heavily between them.
"she's not a narcissist," he said after a while.
"she's not hard to love."
his voice came out quieter this time.
"she's probably the easiest person i've ever loved."
sunghoon's expression softened slightly.
"how long have you been in love with her?"
maki took another drink, thinking for a second before letting out a small laugh.
"i genuinely don't know."
because there wasn't a beginning.
there was no grand realization. no specific moment.
yn had simply always been there.
sticky fingers and scraped knees. school uniforms. birthday parties. movie nights. inside jokes.
every version of himself somehow had yn standing next to it.
another silence settled between them, comfortable and heavy all at once.
"you know you're gonna apologize."
maki didn't even hesitate.
"i'll probably apologize in like..." he checked his phone. "three days."
"she might not forgive you."
maki looked down at the cigarette between his fingers, watching the ash crumble away.
"and i'll still apologize."
because whether she forgave him or not wasn't the point.
the guilt was already eating him alive.
sunghoon studied him for a moment before sighing.
maki laughed, but it sounded exhausted.
the bottle passed between them while the city kept moving below. cars. lights. people. life.
meanwhile, maki couldn't stop thinking about one girl.
"you know that theory?" he asked suddenly.
"the seven-minute thing."
"that narrows it down absolutely nowhere."
"the one where your brain supposedly replays your life before you die."
sunghoon immediately groaned.
"it's not even scientifically proven."
"i'm like two hundred percent sure yn's gonna be eighty percent of mine."
"that's the most pathetic thing i've ever heard."
actual laughter this time.
sunghoon threw his head back.
another laugh escaped him before his smile faded slightly.
he looked out at the skyline.
"i don't remember most birthdays. don't remember what i got on my fifteenth christmas. don't remember half my soccer matches."
"i remember when she lost her first tooth. i remember when she cried because a butterfly died. i remember when she got her braces. i remember when she cut her hair in tenth grade and spent three weeks pretending she hated it."
sunghoon covered his face.
because the truth was, if his life flashed before his eyes one day, it wouldn't be achievements. or trophies. or graduation.
it would probably just be yn.
calling him at three in the morning.
and somehow that felt enough.
sunghoon looked at him for a long moment before shaking his head.
"you're never getting over her."
the kind that already knew the answer.
he took another drink, staring at the skyline.
"i figured that out years ago."
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