★ | #26 | muffled
"shouldn't i at least walk you to the door?"

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

trouble • laufey
"i've been having trouble sleeping.
trouble dreaming, trouble being."

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WALKS home with Heeseung were never unusual, as it seemed to be routinely on nights they didn't have extracurricular activities to get to, or sports practices to attend.

Currently, the time is a quarter past six. The girl spent a few hours at his house to study, making up for the loss of time this past week between them.

It was only now that she was headed back home, accompanied by Heeseung, who refused to let her walk alone — despite being slightly annoyed with her after the constant teasing she had done during her temporary visit at his house.

The sky was fading into shades of dark blue, the sun set just below the horizon as the moon took its rightful place in the evening sky above them.

A gentle glow shined down on earth as with each minute, small twinkling dots began to appear to the naked eye, drowning in a sea of endless stars.

“Haewon,” Heeseung began, a sweet laugh sounding from his throat as his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, shaking his head softly side to side. “Your shoelace is untied.” The boy pointed out.

Haewon raised her brows, gaze drifting down to her shoes, landing on the dirty white shoelace of her sneakers that trailed along with her, dragging on the hard ground with each step she took.

The girl shrugged, brushing it off with a smile. “Whatever. We're almost home, anyway.” She dismissed, scrunching her nose up lightly.

Heeseung scoffed, shaking his head in disapproval. Although it took a moment, his hand reached out to wrap around her forearm, holding her in place as he uttered a soft “hold on.”

The boy shifted on his feet, crouching down in front of her as his fingers worked delicately to tie her shoelace into a neat bow shape.

“You'll end up tripping and falling if you leave it untied.” He scolded quietly, pursing his lips as he made sure the laces on her other shoe were pulled tightly together.

“Okay, for one, I wouldn't trip. And two, I've become a busy woman. I don't have time to think about that stuff.” Haewon snickered, watching as he stood upright once again, stopped in the middle of the street in front of her.

“You have to think about the small things too, dummy. Think of the butterfly effect. One small choice can lead to something big, good or bad. What if you didn't tie your shoelaces, and you end up tripping on them and injuring yourself?” Heeseung reasoned.

“And how are you supposed to go to work with a broken leg or something?” He added on.

“It sounds like you're praying for my downfall at this point.” Haewon huffed out jokingly, to which he rolled his eyes in response.

“Oh, please. I don't think I'd help you if I was.” Heeseung mumbled, his hand rising to rest on the top of her head, ruffling her hair gently.

“True, true. But what if that's just a part of your evil plan or something?” She raised her brows teasingly, pushing his hand away from her head as her own hand flew up to flatten her hair.

“How many movies do you watch, Seong Haewon?” Heeseung questioned, a soft breath falling from his lips.

“Not very many. Books, however..” Haewon trailed off mid-response, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

“Manhwa?”

“I don't only read that stuff, you know. I enjoy proper literature as well.” She huffed, nudging her slightly as he smiled teasingly, nudging her back.

“Surprising.”

“Shut up.”

Heeseung was unable to conceal the winsome smile spread across his face, giving the girl a nudge before he wrapped an arm around her, tugging her to his side as he laughed.

“Oh, come on, I was joking.” He laughed out, rolling his eyes as the girl grumbled to herself.

With her hands folded behind her back, Haewon let a soft hum sound from her lips, gentle noise mixing with the faint creek of bugs such as cicadas, and frogs hidden amongst the trees and grass.

“I’ll let it go, but only because I've got no energy to argue back.” Haewon sighed out, her hair swaying gently with her movement as she tilted her head upward to focus on him.

“Or maybe you've just got nothing to say.” Heeseung added, tilting his chin down to meet her eyes as he scrunched his nose up slightly.

“Don't embarrass yourself.” Haewon shot down, shaking her head as she laughed quietly, turning her head away from him as she focused on the quiet, empty streets they walked upon.

Soon enough, they paused on the street in front of her home, as almost immediately, the girl's face fell on a familiar vehicle pulled into the narrow driveway.

The smile that rested on her lips faltered, curving into a small frown as she let out a deep sigh.

“My dad is home.” Haewon said, gesturing to the white car in front of her house as Heeseung paused, tucking his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Why? Isn't he normally out late?” The boy questioned, releasing his hold on the girl as she nodded slowly in response.

Taking a brief moment to gather her thoughts, she took a deep breath before perking up, plastering a smile onto her lips as she shrugged it off.

“Well, I guess I'll find out.” Haewon said, as Heeseung narrowed his eyes at her enthusiasm, huffing slightly.

“Thanks for walking me home. And, tell your parents I said thank you for letting me come over. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?” She tilted her head, slowly backing away from the boy.

“Shouldn't I at least walk you to the door?” Heeseung asked, tilting his head off to the side as the girl shook her head.

Haewon came to a halt at the end of the small path leading from the street to her front door, one hand holding onto the strap to her backpack whilst the other threaded her fingers through her hair.

“No. Just in case he has something to say.” Haewon rolled her eyes at the thought, as Heeseung scoffed, feet carrying him closer to the girl.

“I really don't care what that man has to say.” He stated confidently, as the girl hummed.

“I know you don't. But, I don't care to hear it from him.” She sighed out, pursing her lips.

“Alright, fine.” He gave in reluctantly, reaching forward to wrap his arms around her frame as he tugged her to his chest. “Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Heeseung.” Haewon let out, pulling away from the hug after a short moment before walking up to her front door, waving him goodbye as she did so.

Waiting around for a bit, the boy made sure she was able to get inside safely before he began walking back to his own home, leaving her to her own devices.

As she stepped into the house, she heard hushed voices from the other room as she slipped her shoes off. A frown took place on her lips at the clear state of an argument between her two parents.

Tension filled the house uncomfortably as her socked feet padded against the wooden floors, stepping further into the house.

To the right, her head turned as she was met with the gazes of her parents. Her mother's compassionate eyes, and her father's empty.

“Welcome back.” Mrs. Seong greeted with a forced smile, wanting nothing more than for her daughter to be raised comfortably.

Haewon could only offer a small smile and a nod, refusing to meet the burning gaze belonging to her own father.

“I made you a plate.” Mrs. Seong added on quietly, as the teenager paused, shifting back and forth on the soles of her feet.

“I'm not hungry yet. I'll go wash up, and reheat it later. Thank you, though.” Haewon uttered, meeting her father's eyes for a brief moment before she turned away completely, making her way upstairs.

A few hours later, as the clock struck past midnight, the girl lay under her covers, comforter pulled up to her neck as she laid on her side with eyes wide open.

The muffled voices argued with one another and vibrated through the walls, bouncing back to none other than Haewon herself.

The girl took a deep breath, bringing her arm up to run a hand over her face, whispering a soft string of curses underneath her breath.

Haewon rolled over in bed, stuffing her face into her pillow in a useless attempt to drown out the noise.

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★﹐authors corner ．﹗﹑ 1.4k words
boring ! yawning ! sloppy ! lazy ! 😪

how i feel writing this entire chapter : 🤓☝️

guys this is so BORING. literally the most filler chapter to ever exist fr.

i SWEAR things are gonna happen very very soon but it feels so wrong just jumping right into the things i have planned so i want to write as much as i can leading up to that point

of course there will be time skips and stuff but i don't like skipping too far into the future (?) bc it makes me feel like a lazy writer </3

anyway guys i love you allllll thank you for reading this boring, agonizingly long chapter 😋🫶

my children frfr

okkk byeee ilysm !!!
may 9th, 2024 — 4:46pm
not proofread.