✔ enhypen imagines

𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗼𝗼: 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲

710 words

to almost everyone in her class, y/n was little more than a glorified google translate. it felt like she only served one purpose; to serve others. people would ask her endless questions, which she'd answer, perfectly every time. she desired acceptance, and if waiting on her peers made that dream more likely, she would give herself to it every time.

sunoo was also in y/n's class, and although she would be more than happy to translate song lyrics for him as she did for everyone else, he never asked. she knew he struggled with english, and he never approached her about it. often y/n wondered if it was because he knew what everyone else was like - other times she would shrug it off.

unlike sunoo, who was the class a example of an extrovert, a ball of social energy that powered up in the spotlight, y/n was much more reserved, only speaking when spoken to. this, added to the fact that sunoo was almost never free, culminated in a unicellular relationship, from whence little more than occasional 'hi's and subtle nods across the corridor were produced.

at the start of the year, y/n had vowed to make more of an effort to befriend sunoo (and it wasn't like he was hard to befriend) yet she had scarcely made a move all year. even if there were a thousand reasons telling her to do it, she'd still manage to find the one that told her she couldn't.

that was, after all, why their first conversation was when they were made partners, brought together by the forces that be, who were equally desperate just for some interaction between them.

"hi!" sunoo had greeted, as he settled himself on the empty desk next to y/n. he moved his chair closer, with every inch taken accompanied by a squeaking of the rubber vibrating against the uneven tiles.

she tried to reply, yet she found herself practically mouthing the words at the low volume they divulged.

they had a lot to do: read a short novel in the foreign language, complete a 1000-word report, and create an accompanying presentation. they had only begun to finish the first paragraph before getting interrupted, the grating of the chair moving just as unwanted as the voice that accompanied it.

"y/n, what does this mean?" the girl pointed to a word in her book, holding it up to y/n's face way too close. prying the pages away from her face, she sat it down and explained the word, noun.

sunoo had been watching, ready to intervene. the second the girl interrupted y/n he lost his patience, knowing how many times it had been done before. when he had been told his partner, he wished that his sitting next to her would ward off any unwanted correspondence. clearly, he had been mistaken.

"let's change seats," he offered. "people won't bother you if they have to get through me."

"sunoo.." she laughed, "i'm fine really."

"and i'm offering," he replied, already out of his chair and standing behind hers. "come on."

he was right, no one did come to them after they switched seats. y/n had the most peaceful and productive hour since she had started, thanks to both sunoo's warm personality and the freedom she had not being heckled.

he placed the leaflet between them, hand only centimetres away from hers as he flipped through the pages, alternating between reading the text and letting her.

"i don't want this to sound mean, but i thought you were bad at english? this is incredible!"

"i mean, i was.." he emphasized the last word, dragging it out for a second longer than it should've lasted. "i didn't want to ask for help though, so i taught myself."

"you could've always come to me, right?"

"sure.." sunoo didn't sound too sure.

"you're important to me, sunoo. don't let others coax you into waiting for them. you're just as important, more so, if it were up to me."

"it sounds ridiculous hearing you say to stand up for yourself," sunoo scolded, although he didn't know if he was scolding her or himself indirectly.

"it is. the irony isn't lost on me."

"y/n?"

"yes?" she repeated, in the same questioned tone.

"what's irony?"

"us," she laughed, "us."