Stronger Together | Haechan Fic #2

                                    

                                          
Title: Stronger Together
Genre: College AU, exes to lovers (sort of)
Warnings: mentions of mental health issues like anxiety and self-harm, bullying. the story gets very emotional
Word Count: 14k
Author's Note: Omg I've been working on this story for way too long. This has been on the backburner of my drive for months. And somebody sent a request, asking me to write something with Haechan where the reader has a hard time being vulnerable with him. So I thought I might as well finish this story since it fits that request? I apologize for how long and cliché it is. I was also heavily influenced by the k-dramas that take place in universities lol. Thank you guys for reading and I really hope you like it ^^
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~ prologue ~
Everything felt like some scene from a tragic romance movie. One that left the audience holding their breaths, afraid of what the character's next move would be. Meeting at a café, the one close to your university. The aroma of fresh coffee filled the air. The dimmed ambiance, as it was no longer daytime. Soft music playing in the background. Then there were you two in the corner of the room. The warm drinks set atop the wooden table remained untouched. The carefree smiles faded gradually.
At last, the silence was broken. When you met his eyes, all the courage you mustered up dispersed. Then the words you never thought you'd hear fell from your lips.
"Let's break up."
The sun receded behind the somber, gray clouds as the storm took hold, leaving behind the absence of the once cherished feelings of warmth and radiance.
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~ chapter one ~
"Yeonsung University's Hae-Dal Couple Seen Sharing a Cute Moment Before Class," Jaemin read aloud to the group.
You held back a grimace when you scrolled through the snapshots, most likely taken behind the school bushes. One of Donghyuck gently removing an eyelash off your cheek.
One of you smiling fondly at him. One of him giving you an innocent kiss on the forehead. What began as a quiet exchange with your boyfriend had turned into morning gossip eagerly devoured by the students of Yeonsung.
"We look cute don't we?" Donghyuck proudly swung an arm around your shoulders. Unlike you, he wasn't bothered by the post at all. 
You shrugged in response. "I guess."
Maybe you were just being sensitive. At the start of university, you had a lot of goals. Study hard, get good grades, and find a nice internship. Love and leisure? Those were not on the list. Yet somehow Lee Donghyuck, one of the most popular freshmen, just had to pursue you out of all the other girls who fawned over him.
A little over half a year has passed since you agreed to be his girlfriend—after numerous rejections, and you still haven't adapted to your elevated social status. The way everyone stopped to look in awe at the two of you when walking by. How there always seemed to be someone with a phone to capture a single moment of your day and post it to the UniYeon, your college's community site. The endless stream of comments praising you both as the epitome of couple goals and being jealous over your relationship with the one and only Lee Donghyuck was unrelenting.
Maybe you were crazy for disliking the attention, even though it wasn't necessarily bad. Being a campus couple—with Lee Donghyuck much less, meant taking all the pressure that came with it. Your boyfriend seemed to have no problem ignoring what everyone else thought. So why was it so hard for you?