#gyuhan

slow burn love that happens AFTER rejection is such a… guilty pleasure of mine.

just… the idea that Char A and Char B have already had that conversation between them, and that they’ve already concluded that there would be no potential relationship in their future; only for fate to step in and put them in each other’s lives, one way or the other, so much so that they can’t help but become part of each other’s worlds, their routines.

and then slowly they learn how to know each other, how to be around each other. how to create a reality that exists with the other in it, in every possible future of it. until suddenly they realise the very air they’re breathing is the same air they’re sharing. im fact, at some point they realise that they’ve learned so much of each other, it’s like running fingers along well worn book spines in an ancient library. the knowledge isn’t new, it simply exists.

but the original rejection still stands. the original heartbreak still persists. despite the newfound familiarity, despite the - possible - affection. no matter how close they become, there is always that wedge between them that refuses to go away. that no matter how often they quietly consider the idea of moving forward into something more - that old ache, the old fear keeps holding them back.

they want, despite every reason that held them back before, to be together now - but how can they when they can’t possibly promise they won’t one day reject the other again over the same things? that ever present underlying question; you’ve already hurt me once, how can i trust you won’t hurt me again?

and so they love. and they long. and they learn how to forgive, despite promising to never forget. but will that be enough? will it ever be good enough to love someone with a cautious heart?

bonus points of course, if there was zero physical attraction between Char A and Char B (that possibly even being a reason for the earlier rejection) but then after spending so much time with each other, learning and growing, suddenly they realise that the other is more than beautiful - they’re uniquely them and unlike anyone they’ve ever known. like when i mean zero physical attraction, i mean ZERO, not even an acknowledgement of “they’re kinda cute” just straight up “you’re not my type” - which then becomes not about type, but just… who the other is as a person.

but again, would that be enough? could love really sustain on that if it was never a factor before?