neighbors only
neighbors only
junho/wooyoung, junho/junsu
715 words
Junho doesn't even know his name.
inspired by this :)
neighbors only
my lips are shivering and my heart seems like it won't last much longer
i'm too scared that it might stop, so please save me
- sign (brown eyed girls)
Junho sees him everyday. It should be normal - after all, one usually catches a glimpse of their neighbors most days - but this is anything but normal. Junho feels his heartbeat accelerate when he sees him. They exchange tiny smiles and polite nods when they meet each other in the elevator, or when Junho walks out of his house and sees him locking his door, or when they meet each other in the grocery store downstairs.
Junho doesn't even know his name. Junho knows there is a wind chime hanging on his balcony. Junho sees the girlfriends he brings back sometimes, stepping out of his apartment in their too-short skirts and too-bright eyes, or his arm around her waist when they stumble out of the elevator, too drunk to care, Junho letting the elevator doors slide shut and sink downwards like his heart.
Junho doesn't tell this to anyone - what would he say, anyway? That he is in love with the nameless stranger living in the apartment next to his? That he knows all about his clothes and shoes and daily routines but next to nothing about him (name, birthday, occupation)?
So Junho keeps this little secret in his heart, where it takes root and starts to crack it open.
His name is Wooyoung. Junho hears it in the dead of the night, slipping off the tongue of one of his many girlfriends. Wooyoung, Junho mouths against his pillow, and wishes that the wall separating the two of their rooms would crumble.
Junho dreams of him that night. This is how it goes: He is standing behind Wooyoung. The sun is shining. When Wooyoung turns, there is the same polite smile reserved for Junho and other nameless strangers Wooyoung probably meets everyday hanging on his lips (and Junho wants so much to see Wooyoung's grin, to hear the sound of Wooyoung's laughter). "I love you," Junho tells Wooyoung, and hands Wooyoung his heart. Wooyoung is still smiling that small smile, and as Junho lets go of his heart, it falls to the ground and shatters.
Junho tells himself that this is nothing but a silly schoolboy crush - who falls in love with their neighbor anyway? One that you know close to nothing about? One that probably barely registers your existence?
Junho doesn't believe in love at first sight. Once, he never believed in love at all, but now he does; he believes in love that grows over time, that comes with years and years of knowing that person, that absolutely cannot happen between two strangers.
But as Wooyoung nods at him, fitting his key into his lock and turning it, Junho thinks that maybe, just maybe, he's been lying to himself all along.
Wooyoung moves out after that. Junho realises this when all the laundry is gone, when there are no more shoes outside Wooyoung's apartment, when a family of five from Daegu move in. One of the Daegu boys knock on Junho's door with a bunch of letters wanting to know if Junho knows where Jang Wooyoung-sshi's new residence is because all his letters are kind of clogging up our mailbox?
Junho says he doesn't know. The boy says okay, and doesn't bother Junho anymore. Junho closes the door and thinks about all the things he never knew about Wooyoung, and all the things he could have known with a friendly exchange of words, if he'd had the courage to start up a casual conversation.
Two days later Junho knocks on their door clutching a plate of cookies he'd bought at the supermarket yesterday.
"I'm Lee Junho," he says with a smile, offering the plate to the wide-eyed boy who'd come over the other day with Wooyoung's letters.
"Kim Junsu," the boy says, and grins back.
Junho becomes good friends with Kim Junsu from next door, whose apartment used to be occupied by Jang Wooyoung. Junho still thinks about his mysterious ex-neighbor sometimes, with his bright eyes and ripped jeans, and this is one of his many regrets: he'd never gotten to see what Wooyoung's smile looked like.
junho/wooyoung, junho/junsu
715 words
Junho doesn't even know his name.
inspired by this :)
neighbors only
my lips are shivering and my heart seems like it won't last much longer
i'm too scared that it might stop, so please save me
- sign (brown eyed girls)
Junho sees him everyday. It should be normal - after all, one usually catches a glimpse of their neighbors most days - but this is anything but normal. Junho feels his heartbeat accelerate when he sees him. They exchange tiny smiles and polite nods when they meet each other in the elevator, or when Junho walks out of his house and sees him locking his door, or when they meet each other in the grocery store downstairs.
Junho doesn't even know his name. Junho knows there is a wind chime hanging on his balcony. Junho sees the girlfriends he brings back sometimes, stepping out of his apartment in their too-short skirts and too-bright eyes, or his arm around her waist when they stumble out of the elevator, too drunk to care, Junho letting the elevator doors slide shut and sink downwards like his heart.
Junho doesn't tell this to anyone - what would he say, anyway? That he is in love with the nameless stranger living in the apartment next to his? That he knows all about his clothes and shoes and daily routines but next to nothing about him (name, birthday, occupation)?
So Junho keeps this little secret in his heart, where it takes root and starts to crack it open.
His name is Wooyoung. Junho hears it in the dead of the night, slipping off the tongue of one of his many girlfriends. Wooyoung, Junho mouths against his pillow, and wishes that the wall separating the two of their rooms would crumble.
Junho dreams of him that night. This is how it goes: He is standing behind Wooyoung. The sun is shining. When Wooyoung turns, there is the same polite smile reserved for Junho and other nameless strangers Wooyoung probably meets everyday hanging on his lips (and Junho wants so much to see Wooyoung's grin, to hear the sound of Wooyoung's laughter). "I love you," Junho tells Wooyoung, and hands Wooyoung his heart. Wooyoung is still smiling that small smile, and as Junho lets go of his heart, it falls to the ground and shatters.
Junho tells himself that this is nothing but a silly schoolboy crush - who falls in love with their neighbor anyway? One that you know close to nothing about? One that probably barely registers your existence?
Junho doesn't believe in love at first sight. Once, he never believed in love at all, but now he does; he believes in love that grows over time, that comes with years and years of knowing that person, that absolutely cannot happen between two strangers.
But as Wooyoung nods at him, fitting his key into his lock and turning it, Junho thinks that maybe, just maybe, he's been lying to himself all along.
Wooyoung moves out after that. Junho realises this when all the laundry is gone, when there are no more shoes outside Wooyoung's apartment, when a family of five from Daegu move in. One of the Daegu boys knock on Junho's door with a bunch of letters wanting to know if Junho knows where Jang Wooyoung-sshi's new residence is because all his letters are kind of clogging up our mailbox?
Junho says he doesn't know. The boy says okay, and doesn't bother Junho anymore. Junho closes the door and thinks about all the things he never knew about Wooyoung, and all the things he could have known with a friendly exchange of words, if he'd had the courage to start up a casual conversation.
Two days later Junho knocks on their door clutching a plate of cookies he'd bought at the supermarket yesterday.
"I'm Lee Junho," he says with a smile, offering the plate to the wide-eyed boy who'd come over the other day with Wooyoung's letters.
"Kim Junsu," the boy says, and grins back.
Junho becomes good friends with Kim Junsu from next door, whose apartment used to be occupied by Jang Wooyoung. Junho still thinks about his mysterious ex-neighbor sometimes, with his bright eyes and ripped jeans, and this is one of his many regrets: he'd never gotten to see what Wooyoung's smile looked like.