★ | #45 | piggyback
"you have a good heart."

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ nicole's radio station
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so let's go see the stars • boynextdoor
"without you, late nights don't mean a thing."

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HER fingers grasped around the fabric of the back of his blazer, following just shortly after him as she allowed him to guide her through the empty warehouse.

“Okay, the stairs are just right here. It's dark, so hold onto the railing, okay?” Heeseung spoke up, pausing as he turned his head and peered over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of her.

The girl nodded, letting out a hum in return. The boy shifted slightly to stand beside her instead of in front, resting the palms of his hands against her shoulders as he led her to the stairs.

His eyes flickered between her, and then shifted down to the steps, making sure he didn't misstep and stumble unintentionally.

Her fingertips grazed the top of the metal railing to her left, a small huff leaving her lips as they made it up the first flight of stairs — rounding the corner to climb the next.

“How many flights of stairs do we have to take?” Haewon asked, grasping onto the railing as she could already feel her knees ache.

“Too many to count.” The boy breathed out a reply, following along with a gentle laugh as he let his hand rest on her back, patting it gently to encourage her.

“This is torture.”

“Don't tell me you're tired already?” He raised a brow, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as she snickered.

“I’ll admit, I don't exercise a lot. So yes, I'm a bit tired. My knees are dying already. I feel like a grandma.” She replied, pressing her lips into a thin line.

“Hang in there. You got this. I promise it's worth it.” Heeseung cooed, his soft-spoken words echoing slightly through the open area.

“I hope so.” Haewon uttered, taking a deep breath.

Eventually after many, many flights of stairs, Heeseung reached forward as they reached the top — pushing open the escape door as a rush of cool, refreshing air engulfed them immediately. A sharp contrast to the humidity of the closed off warehouse.

“See? That wasn't that bad.” Heeseung let out, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he rested his hands on his hips, taking a breath of fresh air.

“You’re annoying me.” Haewon grumbled, shaking her hand as she brushed her fingers through her hair, shifting the weight of her own body from one leg to the other. “My knees are giving out.”

“Don't be so dramatic.” The boy rolled his eyes, moving closer to wrap his arms around her frame as he tugged her to his chest, welcoming her into a warm embrace. “You big baby.” He added jokingly.

The girl scoffed, mirroring his action and rolling her eyes slightly as she pressed her cheek to his chest, the familiar scent of his cologne filling her senses.

“You're in shape. You don't know how it feels.” The girl pointed out, as she pulled away from the hug after a minute, narrowing her eyes.

“Had we visited this place during winter break, I would have. It was a dead period for soccer so I wasn't doing much to strengthen my stamina.” He said, his hand subconsciously wrapping around her wrist.

“Now, come on. You wanna sit down, yeah? Let's rest for a little while.” He suggested, pulling her with him to the center of the rooftop, letting go of her wrist as he settled down on the hard concrete, waiting for her to join him.

Haewon blinked, standing up in front of him as she raised a brow. Heeseung huffed, tilting his head upward to meet her gaze.

“What? You gonna stand the whole time or something?” He questioned. Haewon sighed quietly, giving in as she crouched down on the concrete before settling herself into a sitting position.

She propped herself up on her forearms behind her, eyes drifting carelessly to the moon and all of its beauty.

“It's nice up here, isn't it?” He mumbled, as she nodded her head quietly, eyes not peering away from the moon.

“Mhm, the view is pretty.” Haewon let out, as he subconsciously let a soft smile tug at the corners of his lips.

“It is.” Heeseung agreed, his eyes fixated over her side profile as her head was tilted ever so slightly upward, gaze wandering over the sky curiously.

A brief moment of silence filled the air, as he turned his head away, taking in the sight of the town all around them — the occasional streetlight shining through the night down each street.

“Just imagine coming here if the whole town has a power outage, though. There'd be less light pollution, which means the stars and the moon would be even prettier.” He commented.

Haewon snorted, letting out a laugh at his words as her eyes brightened like the smile that spread across her features.

At her soft sounding giggles, his heart fluttered, biting down on his bottom lip to conceal a smile as he felt silently proud of himself for making her laugh, though it was never hard for him to do so to begin with.

“Why on earth would the whole town go through a power outage?” The girl asked with a small scoff, scooting closer to him just to bump shoulders.

“I don't know! It was a hypothetical situation. Maybe a big storm would come, and wipe out the power.” Heeseung shrugged, trying to find logic.

“If there was a storm, the sky would be covered in clouds. We wouldn't even be able to see the stars or the moon.” The girl reasoned, allowing herself to fall back carefully into a lying position, as he followed suit beside her.

“Do you notice how I said just imagine? It's called imagination, Haewon. Who knows? It could happen any day.” Heeseung said, unable to suppress a string of giggles at his own formed words.

“You’re no fun.” Haewon huffed out jokingly, as he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right. If I'm boring you, why are you still with me right now? Nobody is stopping you from leaving.”

“Because, it's too scary and dark to go through the warehouse alone. Gotta have you as my own human sacrifice, you know? You promised.” Haewon replied after a short moment of thought, trying to muster up a good response.

“Mm, fair enough.” Heeseung nodded his head. “Still, you have to admit that you enjoy my company though.”

Haewon hummed, lips pressed together into a thin line as she narrowed her eyes. Her hand raised, finger tapping meticulously against her chin as she pretended to be in thought.

“Maybe a teeny, tiny bit.” The girl responded, as she left a small space in-between her index finger and her thumb for dramatic effect.

“Oh really? Only a teeny bit? I've gotta up my game.” Heeseung joked, a breathy laugh sounding from the back of his throat.

“I agree. Maybe you can start by agreeing that those matching stuffed animals we got together a little while ago were actually cute?” Haewon raised a brow, waiting patiently for his response.

“Over my dead body.” He shook his head, as she snickered and rolled her eyes.

“You secretly agree with me, I know it.” The girl claimed, as he smiled and shook his head in denial.

“Whatever you say.” He trailed off, clicking his tongue as she grumbled under her breath.

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Hours passed along with endless conversations, as she somehow found herself lying horizontally, with her head resting on his stomach as his fingers trailed through her soft hair.

“If you're tired, let's go home. I don't need you falling asleep on me now.” Heeseung cooed, taking notice of her constant yawns over the past hour, fingers tangling through her long strands of hair.

The girl hummed lazily, draping the back of her hand over her forehead. “Yeah, okay. Let's go home then.” She muttered, as he patted her head slightly.

Getting the gist, the girl pushed herself up using her arms, blinking repeatedly to regain her focus as she scrunched her nose up slightly. “What time is it?”

“It's nearly eleven o'clock.” Heeseung informed as he glanced down at his watch. He pulled himself to his feet, releasing a small breath as he stretched out his sore limbs.

Turning his attention to her, he held out his hand for her to take — which she accepted almost instantly as he hoisted her up to her feet until she was standing before him.

“Okay, okay, let's get you home before you decide to fall asleep standing.” He huffed out teasingly, as she snickered and rolled her eyes.

“I'm not that tired.”

“Your eyes are tearing up because you've been yawning so much.”

“Shut up.”

Heeseung chuckled, shaking his hand as he guided her to the exit, pulling the rather heavy door open.

“I forgot we have to go down a million flights of stairs.” The girl mumbled, as he smiled, his eyes falling on her in the darkness of the warehouse.

“Complain all you want, but pay attention. Hold on to the rail. It's really dark.” The boy reminded, his own hand falling on the railing.

The girl only replied with a simple hum, keeping a firm hold of the railing as she tried her best to adjust her eyesight to the darkness.

Minutes flew by, and they had almost reached the bottom of the stairs. His fingertips merely grazed over the railing, his quiet complaints echoing through the enclosed space.

“My back hurts.” Heeseung said, reaching the last step as he finally stepped onto the smooth ground.

She followed shortly after, a bit behind him as she hummed and pressed her lips into a thin line.

“My knees hurt from going down all of these stairs.” The girl chimed in with a small laugh, finally reaching the end of the stairs as she stood beside him.

Her fingers grasped around the fabric of his blazer as she had done before, allowing him to lead the way out of the abandoned warehouse.

“My legs feel like jelly now, I swear.” She added on, as he let out a small hum, acknowledging her words.

As they finally left the warehouse, stepping out into fresh air, Heeseung raised a brow slightly.

“Your legs hurt?” The boy repeated, his head turning to look at her in the new lighting provided by the moon and streetlights as he gave her his full attention.

“Let me give you a piggyback ride then.” He offered, shrugging his shoulders as he came to a halt in his steps.

“What? You just said your back hurts.” Haewon scoffed, a small laugh spilling past her pink lips.

Heeseung rolled his eyes, smiling as he shook his head. “I was just being dramatic. Come on, get on.” He said, crouching down slightly.

Haewon furrowed her brows slightly, a smile resting over her features. “I'm fine, really. It's okay.”

“Haewon, would you rather me lift you up like a princess? Or just get on my back?” Heeseung deadpanned, as she groaned and scrunched up her nose in slight annoyance.

“I hate you sometimes.” The girl sighed out, wandering helplessly over to him as he chuckled and crouched down once again, allowing her to hoist herself onto his back.

He rested his hands on her knees, keeping her stable as she swung her arms around his shoulders.

“No, you hate accepting help when you're so clearly tired.” Heeseung corrected, shaking his head as she rolled her eyes slightly.

Though, she didn't respond, not exactly having a response to it when she knew it was true. With a small sigh, she leaned down to rest her head in the crook of his neck.

The boy felt her eyelashes flutter shut against him, tickling his skin slightly as he continued to walk quietly.

“Comfy?” He asked after a moment, earning a small hum from the girl.

“You know,” she began, pausing as she pursed her lips momentarily, “I know I like to tease and annoy the hell out of you a lot. But, you're actually really sweet. Thank you.”

Heeseung's expression softened, his cheeks tinted pink as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“You think so?” He asked, tilting his head off to the side ever so slightly, afraid of disturbing her peace. “You're sweet too, Haewon. Even when we both annoy each other a lot. You have a good heart.”

“Thanks, Heeseung.” The girl breathed out a quiet laugh, shifting her head to rest on his shoulder.

The boy hummed, nodding silently in return. They both fell silent, nothing but the sound of his constant footsteps against the concrete, and the occasional call of frogs and trees rustling.

“Should you even be taking me home?” Haewon spoke up, breaking the silence between them as he raised a brow in light confusion.

“What if my dad is still up, and sees you? He might freak out at you.” The girl continued.

“Haewon, does it look like I really care about that guy?” Heeseung huffed out, a smile on his lips.

“I don't care if I get yelled at or not. What matters most to me is your safety, and I'm not letting you walk home alone this late at night, and when you're tired. So, I'm taking you home.” He concluded, shaking his head.

Haewon nodded slightly, releasing a breath she didn't even know she was holding as she closed her eyes yet again, resting against him.

“Thank you, then.” The girl mumbled, expressing her gratitude as he hummed.

“Of course. Just relax. I'll tell you when you're home, okay?” Heeseung raised a brow, to which she hummed in response.

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His hands gently patted her knees, her weight resting completely against him as she had gone limp in his hold, falling asleep on the way home.

“Haewon,” He called out quietly, not wanting to startle her awake as he patted her knees in an attempt to wake her. “We're home.”

The girl stirred, taking in a deep breath as her brows furrowed, eyes fluttering awake as she adjusted her vision, coming to her senses as she lifted her head.

Heeseung turned his head as best as he could, catching a glimpse of her as she shifted. “We're home.” He repeated, as she hummed, sliding off his back and onto her own two feet.

“Thank you.” Haewon muttered, finding herself leaning into his arms as she hugged him. Heeseung smiled lightly, nodding as he arms enclosed around her, patting her back gently.

“No worries. Thank you for coming with me tonight, it was fun.” He replied, as she smiled and nodded.

“Of course.” The girl let out, pulling away from the hug just enough to meet up at him.

Tilting his chin down to meet her gaze, his hand crept up to ruffle her hair, as she scrunched her nose up slightly.

“Goodnight, Haewon.” Heeseung said quietly, as she tilted her head slightly.

The girl hugged him quickly once more before she pulled away. Just as she went to turn around, she paused, furrowing her brows slightly in thought.

Her movements were quick, as she shuffled closer to him again. Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his cheek, her cheeks flushed pink as she wore a sheepish grin.

“Goodnight.” She let out in a soft mumble, turning around for good this time.

Only, his hand latched around her wrist, pulling her back with a small laugh as he reciprocated the action, planting a kiss to her cheek before ushering her inside her house.

“Get some rest! We still have school in the morning.” He called out quietly, his own skin tinted pink as he blushed from the exchanged feathering kisses, the feeling of her lips against his cheek still lingering.

“Don't remind me!” The girl frowned, shaking her head as she peered over her shoulder, waving him goodbye as she soon disappeared into her home.

The whole walk home, he felt wide awake, feeling giddy as he replayed the entirety of the night in his head — minus the napkin given to her by that waiter.

Of which, was still crumbled up into his pocket, left to discard into the trash bin when he arrived home.

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★﹐authors corner ．﹗﹑ 2.7k words.

a long(er) chapter!! yay wowowoww??

this is also fluffier than usual so i hope you guys like that too idk lmao 🤓⁉️

publishing this chapter much earlier than usual !! this feels very weird uhhh ? i usually update in the afternoon at least, but mainly nighttime i think

but yay switching things up !! anyway, guys i unfortunately got sick 😔🙏 i feel like i'm dying bro like

it started slowly the moment i woke up in the morning yesterday and that whole day was terrible but now it's really hitting me today 😭

hopefully it passes by soon because i have soccer stuff i have to do before games start so yeah 🤞

okokok thank you so much for reading !!

byeee i love you all very much 🫶
july 18th, 2024 — 11:28am.
not proofread.