★ | #15 | escape
"you'll find your peace soon enough."

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ nicole's radio station
is now playing...

i hate it here • taylor swift
"i'm there most of the year, 'cause i hate it here."

____________

HAEWON fell back on the floor with a huff, a random pillow she had stolen from his bed hugged to her chest as she stared up at the ceiling.

“We’re done, right?” She asked, as Heeseung chuckled, hoisting himself up from the ground as he leaned down to grab his things, placing everything back onto his desk where they belonged.

“Yes, we're done.” He replied with a small eye roll, stretching out his limbs before walking over to stand in front of her, hands reaching out for her to take.

“My brain is fried.” Haewon mumbled, taking his hands into hers as she allowed him to help her up from the group without a second thought.

“What brain?” Heeseung joked, earning a glare from the girl as she scoffed and pulled her hands away, plopping herself down on the edge of his bed, of which was pressed up against the wall beside the window.

“Aren't you supportive?” Haewon snickered, hands folded in her lap as Heeseung smiled lightly and shook his head.

“Oh, come on, I was joking.” The boy cooed, nose scrunched up slightly as he shrugged it off, hand reaching to the top of her head to ruffle her hair gently, fingertips grazing over her bangs as he pushed them out of her eyes.

“You're not a total idiot.” He added with a soft hum, as she rolled her eyes, biting back a smile as she took a small breath.

“Thanks.” The girl uttered, sarcasm evident in her voice. “Do you know the time?” Haewon asked, changing the subject as Heeseung pursed his lips, looking down at his watch.

“Mm, about.. four thirty.”  He replied, glancing back up at his best friend as she sighed and nodded slightly.

“I should head home soon.” The girl said, as Heeseung raised a brow, tilting his head as he seated himself at his desk, peering over at her from his rolling chair.

“Now? But your dad is home, yeah?” He brought up, as Haewon nodded quietly along.

“Mhm. But it's not like I can just stay here forever. You literally have family coming over for dinner.” Haewon reasoned, shrugging her shoulders.

“So?” Heeseung chuckled, not seeing much of a problem. “Why not stay for dinner?”

“That'd be awkward. I don't wanna intrude on your family time, and I've been here all day. It feels wrong to stay longer after your parents have already allowed me literal hours here.” Haewon declined, shaking her head.

“My parents don't care, I promise you. They love having you around. And, it won't be that awkward. I mean, we'll be having the same experience. Last time I saw my aunt, I was like.. five years old. And I barely remember her.” Heeseung confessed, narrowing his eyes.

“I don't know.” Haewon muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as Heeseung snickered and gently waved it off.

“If you're that concerned about my parents' opinion, I'll just go ask them if you can stay or not.” Heeseung said, pulling himself out of his chair as he walked to the door to his room. “Give me a minute.” He said, giving her a small nod.

“Heeseung, wait, what the h—” Haewon began, only to cut herself off as he had already left the room, footsteps carrying throughout the house as he carried himself downstairs.

The girl huffed, scooting further onto his bed as she pressed her back against the wall, slouched slightly as she reached out to grab a random stuffed animal he had laying around, having owned it since he was little.

She drummed her fingers against her stomach as her arms were wrapped around herself, eyes wandering around the familiar room adorned with posters of music bands, and random photos he had taken over the years hung on the walls, mainly with her and his family, whilst some contained him and his other friends.

Trophy's settled neatly on display on shelves built into the wall, vinyls tucked into a case as a vinyl record player sat at the corner of his desk.

The girl zoned out, small hums sounding past her lips as she lost herself in a train of thought before snapped out of her trance by the creak of the floorboards as a pair of footsteps grew closer.

Pushing the door open more, Heeseung wore a smile as he plopped himself back down on the chair at his desk, doe eyes staring back at her.

“They both said yes. They said they planned on you staying regardless.” Heeseung informed, as the girl raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Huh? Your parents are so nice, Heeseung.” Haewon breathed out, placing a hand over her heart as she furrowed her brows.

“I know.” He laughed, eyes forming two small crescents as he shrugged. “Anyway, you're staying.”

“Fine, fine. But I'll have to go home after dinner for sure. I know my mom knows that I'm here, but she'll still be upset with me if I'm out all day and staying over without telling her. And also, all of my school stuff is back at home anyway.” She rambled on, pursing her lips.

“Once again, not a problem.” Heeseung let out, sighing in content as he leaned back in his chair, fingertips drumming rhythmically against the armrest.

“When is your aunt gonna be here, anyway?” She questioned, picking at a loose thread at the hem of her jeans.

“My dad said in about an hour.” Heeseung retorted, taking a deep breath as he shifted comfortably in his seat.

“Your mom or dad's side?”

“Dad's side.” Heeseung said, spinning around in circles out of boredom in his chair.

“But, anyway, what do you wanna do while we're waiting?” He asked, head tilting upward to look at the ceiling, as Haewon shrugged and hummed.

“I don't really care. Honestly, I just want to sleep.” Haewon huffed out a small laugh, as Heeseung came to a halt in his movement, allowing his chair to slow down before coming to a stop as he faced her.

“What is it with you wanting to sleep all the time?” Heeseung raised a brow, curiosity growing within him as his tone was filled with interest.

“What is it with you not wanting to sleep all the time? Don't you love it? It's like an escape method. For example, when you don't wanna even think about schoolwork, you go to sleep.” Haewon attempted to explain, hesitating between words as she narrowed her eyes.

“How does that solve your problems though? When you wake up, you're just going to have to do your schoolwork in the end. Why not complete it and then rest afterwards?” Heeseung commented, as Haewon shot him a puzzled look.

“You clearly don't get it.” The girl sighed, clicking her tongue as she waved her hand around in the air, dismissing the matter as the boy snickered.

“I just think the reasoning you gave was impractical! I mean, why avoid your issues when you're just going to have to face them at the end of the day?” He asked in a soft grumble, tilting his head.

“Isn't that exactly what I'm doing right now, though?” Haewon countered, as he furrowed his brows.

“What do you mean?”

“With my father, dummy.” She rolled her eyes, a quiet ‘tsk’ sounding from her lips as his eyes softened in realization, lips forming an ‘O’ shape.

“Oh, yeah.” Heeseung uttered, pressing his lips together in a thin line. “But that's different.”

“Different, how? I'm doing the exact same thing. I'm avoiding my father; in this case, my problem. Currently, this is my escape.” Haewon pointed out, before continuing after pausing.

“Don't you have one too?”

“One of what?” He breathed out, blinking slowly in confusion as Haewon sighed and pulled her knees up, wrapping an arm loosely around them as she hugged her knees to her chest.

“An escape. Something you do, or somewhere you go to clear your mind and forget everything. Do you have one, too?” Haewon asked, biting down on the inside of her cheek.

“An escape, hm?” Heeseung repeated quietly, gaze drifting off to the wall in seemingly deep thought.

“I haven't really thought about it much. I mean, I don't think I have anything to escape from. So, I guess not.” He shrugged, shaking his head.

“Oh.” She raised her brows, lips closed tightly before she released a breath. “I wish.” She scoffed, in a joking manner as Heeseung chuckled.

“Relax. You'll find your peace soon enough.” Heeseung reassured, shaking his head.

“I better. I might go insane.” She joked, leaning her head back to rest against the wall.

____________________

★﹐authors corner ．﹗﹑ 1.4k words.
finishing this up before i sleep ^^

i absolutely despise these past few chapters oh my goodness. they just feel so much like fillers to me and it kills me inside for realll 😞🙏💔

but anyway, i'm trying my best to make chapters more lengthy and stuff because of how short they were early on in the book lol

apologies if going forward, any of you catch me slacking and having a short(ish) chapter !! pls call me out on it i find it funny and i will laugh 100%

guys champagne problems is playing i gtg

byeeee i love you all so much <3
april 22nd, 2024 — 12:18am.
not proofread.