choi yeonjun. 006

Rain had emptied the streets. Except for Yeonjun.

You found him behind the convenience store, a cigarette between his fingers. The moment he saw you, he hid it behind his back.

"...Hi."

"Hi."

Silence. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough."

He sighed. "...I'm sorry."

"You always apologize before I say anything."

"Because I know what you're thinking."

"What am I thinking?"

"That you hate this."

"I do."

"The smoking?"

"Watching you hurt yourself."

His gaze dropped. "I said I was trying."

"I know."

"I'm just... bad at it."

You adjusted the hood of his hoodie. "You don't have to pretend you're okay."

"...Maybe I'm pretending a little." After a pause, he asked, "You know what your dad said about me?"

"What?"

"That I'll drag you into a life you don't deserve."

"...He did."

Yeonjun smiled sadly. "Maybe he's right."

You grabbed his hoodie. "Don't. You've never asked me to smoke. Never asked me to skip school. Never made me choose between you and my future." He stayed quiet. "So don't let other people decide who you are."

After a long silence, he whispered, "...I'm scared you'll believe them someday."

Without thinking, you hugged him. "I'm scared you'll think I'd leave just because life is messy."

"...Your life isn't."

"No." You looked at him. "But yours is. And I still chose you."

He couldn't answer. Instead, he kissed you. Softly.

When you pulled away, you looked at the cigarette. "...Now?"

He sighed. "You're going to make me throw it away?"

"I wasn't."

"No?"

"I was just going to keep kissing you until it burned itself out."

He laughed. "You fight dirty."

"I learned from my boyfriend."

"The one you're supposedly too good for?"

"The one I love."

His smile faded. He quietly threw the cigarette into a trash can before walking back. "...Problem solved?"

You smiled, cupped his face, and kissed him again. The rain kept falling. But to you... He was still the boy you'd fallen in love with.