𑣲𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱

tons of papers, books, and uncapped pens are scattered all over the room along with your mind — which can’t seem to take a break from all the tasks and exam reviews you have due on finals week.

a thousand caffeine intake has only brought you to more trips to the toilet than to actually mend your focus. you were locked up in your room with no time to do anything other than to keep both of your eyes busy from skimming and reading.

you glanced at your clock only to see it displaying how deep the night is, at 1:45AM; which means that you’ve spent half a day studying and yet, it still doesn’t feel like you’re learning enough. but it’s so late and you have class tomorrow so you’re really left with no choice but to finish everything all at once — realistically knowing you can’t possibly do it.

realizing this, you can’t help but plop your head hard on the table from exhaustion. your mind had fogged up even more due to restlessness, accompanied by the lingering feeling of being stuck; and not being good enough. you have a habit of outdoing yourself just to prove your excellence, to the point where you over-exhaust yourself. but instead of feeling better about it, you’re weighed down into more pressure because you simply can’t afford any failures or mistakes. as much as you want to stop, you can’t just give up now. not when the last term’s almost over.

and you were so pre-occupied the whole day that even messaging your boyfriend a simple text never crossed your mind. and before you can deeply ponder about the thought, two taps from your window caught your attention. you pry open your curtain only to see the speak of the devil in the flesh.

woonhak is sitting nicely at the gap of your window, acting like he’s been waiting forever.

“woonhak?? baby, what are you doing here in my window this late?!” you asked with a crumpled look of confusion.

he just looked at you with a beaming smile as a reply before jumping your room.

just seeing your face despite you frowning, was enough for woonhak to be filled with absolute joy and content. you see, a whole day without you is torture for him to say the least. he knew you were going to be busy, but not to the point where ignoring him became an option. the first few hours of waiting was already painfully unbearable, and when the night grew darker, he felt that he was only minutes away from going completely insane. and before that happens, he stepped out of the dorm and rushed to your place immediately.

and here he is, gaining his well-sought victory of having you right in his loving arms after a whole day of enduring not talking to you. his hands landed onto your waist keeping you steady with a subtle hint of possession.

“hey, pretty. thought you’ve completely forgotten about me.” he placed a soft kiss on your cheek, a simple seal for the cruel torment he experienced.

“i’m really sorry for ghosting you today. i promise, i didn’t mean to. i was way too focused studying the entire day that i basically forgot how to live and breath.” you sincerely apologized to him with tired eyes and a weak smile.

“i know that, love. i came here because i couldn’t resist not seeing you for another minute. yesterday felt like a death sentence, you know?” he spoke like it really is his last day on earth.

“now don’t be dramatic now. it’s only been a day.” you poked his chest as if to point out his overreaction.

“absolutely not. that’s more like a millenium to me, honey.” disagreeing with your answer.

“woonhak, you can’t be serious right now. come on! we’re always together 24/7, no miss. this is more like a break, don’t you think?” you teased him, knowing damn well your boyfriend would NOT like that excuse.

“excuse me?! don’t you ever say that! if there’s anything to describe what i went through, it’s a terrible nightmare i never wanna be in again.” you pulled him close to you to lay down your bed before he could even throw a tantrum, letting him snuggle onto your neck comfortably. his grasp on your waist tightens into an embrace with your invitation like he’s deadly afraid he might lose you again.

“alright, loosen up. you’re tackling me at this point, baby.” patting him as you feel most of his weight gradually plunge into you as the hug get tighter.

“well then, that’s perfect. you can’t go anywhere now. i won’t let you.” you can only laugh at how silly your boyfriend is because there’s nothing in this world more clingier than woonhak. he will practically lock his arms permanently if that means keeping you in him forever.

“baby, i need to go back studying now please.” you begged to be freed but in woonhak’s vocabulary, that means the other way around so he squeezed you tight in the hug even more.

“enough of that, please. you’ve done well. you can practically ace those tests with your eyes closed. just shut up and lay down.” he said firmly with his head still glued on your neck, not wanting to detach.

“oh please, don’t glaze me. and no, i have to finish it all now so let me get up.” your upper half hasn’t fully lifted yet when he plopped you back down the bed.

“no, you’re staying.”

“no, i’m studying.”

“no, you’ll lie down here with me.” he insisted.

“no, i’m escaping.” but you keep retaliating.

“don’t even try.”

“is that a threat?”

“only if you still insist letting go.” he really just won’t give you up.

you’re still both curled up on the bed, facing each other and arms linked in each other’s torsos. woonhak caressed your head as you perfectly align on his chest and you happen to sniff the mixed scents on his beloved hoodie. (ts doesn’t mean he awfully stinks btw)

“well, i don’t really like being stuck here with you now that i’ve smelled how stinky your hood is.”

“that’s just food.” he sniffed his own to make sure. “and sweat.”

“and that’s disgusting.”

“since when have you been sensitive about how i smell?” woonhak asked, surprisingly offended.

“since you started acting like a goddamn velcro baby.” you harshly pointed out.

“don’t say that.”

“say what?” you asked, confused of what he’s implying.

“that i’m a baby.”

“but you are.”

“i’m obviously not.”

“oh, you obviously are. look at you deathly clinging to me right now.”

“better stop saying that or else.”

“ ‘or else’ what?”

he suddenly got up from bed and removed his hoodie off swiftly. you happen to take a glimpse of his toned abdomen when he lifted it off alongside his shirt, giving you no time to react composedly. you stared at him fazed yet impishly smirking.

“got you staring there for a moment. not a baby indeed, right?” he playfully remarked, rewarding with you the same act of mischief.

you shook your head to deny but quietly admitting he’s right eternally. you snickered in defense to hide your admission. “you’re such a loser. why did you even remove it?”

he acted like he was trying to come op with a rational answer for a second. “uhhh, to distract you?”

“how is that distracting?” you raised a brow.

“it’s enough to keep you occupied.

see? you’re staring hard right now.” he teased you.

“oh wow, was that one of your trap?”

“you think so?”

“i won’t even doubt if it is.”

“well, it’s working.”

“close, but not quite.” the supposed ‘spell’ he willingly wants to put you under worked the other way around, causing woonhak to be the one distracted instead of you and that gave you the perfect window of escape from his cuddle entrapment.

“no wait, get back here, baby!” he immediately tailed you over your desk before you could even land yourself on the chair.

“woonhak, please. stop negotiating. let me fini—“ woonhak quickly turned your chair around so you could look at him directly in the eye. his whole expression changed coldly. barely lively than how he looked 2 minutes earlier. he looks real serious, definitely not joking around this time.

“quit it.”

“what?? i’m not really quitting.”

“no. drop it.”

“look, i just want to finish everything. this is getting out of ha—“

“you know i’m not talking about your tasks, right?” that silenced you. because you realized how he had read your mind the moment he entered your room.

but he actually knew the moment you stop texting back.

because unlike the other guys, woonhak knows how your silence is a cry for help. that you’re struggling internally, not letting anyone enter your bubble once everything feels overwhelming, and woonhak is not the type to brush it off and sit around to wait until you figure everything out by yourself.

he insists, he intervenes, in every way possible. stubborn, it may seem, but that’s because he cares. he truly loves you deeply that it shouldn’t be a mystery why he needs to be involved, to stop your endless mental torture.

that’s why him coming to pay you a visit shouldn’t come much as a surprise. he knows you’re definitely going to need someone even without asking.

he sees you more than a dreamer, an achiever, a hard worker. woonhak also sees you flawed, fragile, tired. and he wants to assure you that it’s okay to depend on someone when it gets heavy — especially on him, who cares a lot.

“baby, i know you’ve been drained lately. i can barely even see your soul in your eyes. it’s been hard these past weeks, isn’t it? as soon as you told me you were going to be busy, i already know you’re going to disappear from the world to suffer alone. and i can’t let you do that. not anymore. not when i know you have bottled up your pain, pressure, and anger; waiting to spill when you hit the curve once more.” you stayed quiet, letting your body absorb every word he said that you absolutely needed to hear.

“i know you, y/n. i know how much of a zealous stellar student you are. how you’re basically going to implode once you forget that one word on your presentation. you’re passionate in almost every thing you do. and i admire you for that.

but you’re also slowly losing yourself in the process. it’s basically sucking the life out of you. you no longer feel like living, just breathing and learning rather. admit it or not, you hate how you’re wired to do that. because you’re not a robot. you’re just a person, who simply needs rest. and right now baby, you need one.

so stop it. put those papers down. cut the act. you don’t have to pretend you’re indestructible. you don’t have to prove you’re good enough. not with me.

because in my eyes, you’ve always been the best.” that’s when you completely lost it. everything went blurry. your eyes cried the tears you’ve been holding back for quite a while. you’ve never felt this seen before.

all along, you never really needed those aced marks, perfect quizzes, countless recognitions. because all you wanted was to be seen, to be appreciated. that was something you were never granted of.

something you had to beg, that woonhak gave willingly; without hesitation.

and that made you cry louder. you collapsed on his arms fully, no strengths left to compose yourself. you really let go of it all. you never realized how much you’ve had them suppressed underneath your fervent persona. you have never been this vulnerable to anyone, even to woonhak. but he wasn’t surprised nor startled at all, because he knew how much you’ve had inside and how it would end up eventually.

“just let it all out now. don’t hold back. i’m right here.” he carried you in his arms, consoling you but not totally stopping you from sobbing. he wants you to let all your bottled up emotions out to empty your emotional baggage you’ve been carrying all alone.

“i-is this why you came here tonight? you just want me to c-cry so i can hug you, d-dont you?” woonhak looked at you displeased with what you just accused of him.

“it was never about the cuddles, sweetheart. i’ve been meaning to say all that to you but i didn’t want it to come off as overbearing. i want you to hear it when you really needed it. and it happens to be tonight, when you’re recalling like you’re chanting, summoning something ancient.” he assured you and mocked how you’ve been reviewing that night.

“w-wait, how did you k-know i sounded like that?” you asked seriously.

“i’ve been here since you opened that history textbook you despise reading about. it was concerning actually.” both of you now giggling with your own banters, completely forgetting how you were just inconsolably crying just moments ago.

“feeling better now?” he wiped away the tears in your eyes, smiling faintly while looking at you in a delicate manner.

“yes.” he raised his brow, not convinced enough.

“and i’m not lying this time.” you assured him with a kiss on his cheek.

“thank you.” you both looked at each other with much sincerity, incredibly thankful to have each other in times like these. someone you can rely on. someone who can hear your silent screams. someone who knows how to be there when you need them to.

“my service was successful, wasn’t it?”

you rolled your eyes at his cocky remark. “yes, it worked.”

“so now,” he held your jaw in place before locking his gaze on your lips then back at your eyes.

“you have to pay me back.” he kissed you deeply. his lips was so sweet that you can practically feel how much he yearned for this to happen. to finally make you feel alive and well. all those days he spent worrying about you and how you’re doing are finally over. because he finally got you feeling loved the right way now. and this kiss serves both as a payback and a present.

you pull back just to stare at him devotedly. both grinning to your hearts’ desire, enjoying this silent night of endless solace. he pulled you down to the bed with him which made a squeal come out of you. and just like that, you’re back to your former position a while ago.

woonhak’s arms latched onto you once more while you suffocate in the embrace.

“you’re clingy.”

“i’m aware.”

“that’s not a compliment.”

“i’d still take it.”

“you’re really impossible.”

“yeah well, only my stubborn ass can keep up with you, ms. no-pain-no-gain.” he roasted you unprovoked.

“hey, that crossed the line.”

“it better should, baby. learn your lessons.”

“wait, you want me to go back there?”

“no, fuck that! come on, you know what i mean!”

you end your night with laughter until your bodies soon gave up and for the first time in a while you both got to sleep peacefully. clear mind, eased heart, warmed souls, and linked bodies. this is exactly what you needed.