Chapter 22: Broken

HyeRim POV

Chanyeol looked at me with disbelief. He looked as if he couldn't breath at all. He suddenly grabbed hold of my hand and exhaled deeply.

"H-HyeRim.... T-This isn't true, right?"He asked while he looked at me in my eyes, hoping that what I had said was a complete joke.

"Chanyeol... I-It's true..."

"No.. No... No... No...."He said quietly after quickly letting go of my hand.

"I-I'm sorry Chanyeol... I... I.."

He covered his face with his hands with his elbows on his knees and his head was facing towards the ground. He then quickly looked up at me and grabbed both of my hands while asking,"Please... HyeRim... Please tell me this is a joke... Please..."

His eyes were watery and his nose began to turn red. He looked as if he was going to explode with tears. I gulped deeply and softly removed my hands from Chanyeol's gigantic hands. Chanyeol's eyes darted from my face to our hands and then back to me face. Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes. He began to shake his head as he softly whispered to himself,"No.. It can't be true.. No... It... It can't be..."

I then said in a slightly louder voice than his,"I'm sorry... Chanyeol... I'm so sorry..."

My voice cracked. I couldn't believe that I was breaking the heart of someone that had confessed to me so many times and that had been so close to me for so many years. He was like a brother to me, yet I'm breaking his heart right at this moment. I could see his expression changing. His heart broken face that continuously changed from disbelief to sadness. I couldn't stand seeing Chanyeol like this. I knew that even if I tried to make an excuse, it wouldn't change the way he felt right now. Even if I tried to comfort him, I would make him feel worse. I slowly stood up from the bench and looked towards him as he his head tilted towards the ground. I could hear his quiet sniffles as we were in the quiet park. A tear left my eye as I said,"I... I'm sorry..."

I then turned around and began to walk away. I kept telling myself in my head,"Don't turn around. Don't you dare turn around."

I then suddenly felt two arms wrap around me. I was confused and shocked to see Chanyeol back hugging me.

"Don't go... Please... Don't go to Kai... I... I've loved you for so long... I've taken such good care of you... Why?"He asked with his deep husky voice along with the sound of his sniffles. I tried to softly take his arms off of me, but he held me tightly.

"Chanyeol... I'm sorry... But I love Kai... And I've always had.. I just didn't realize it..."

It hurt me saying these words to him. It made my heart break because I was breaking the heart of a precious friend that has been with me through bad and good. Chanyeol then suddenly turned me around to face him, his eyes still watery and his nose red from wiping his nose.

"Fine... But at least tell me why. Tell me why you chose Kai over me. Tell me why he was better than I was. Tell me... Tell me why you love him."He asked me with a serious tone. He seemed to want a reason as to why I chose Kai over him. I couldn't say a word. I was scared. I was scared that I would hurt him even further by my words. I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, I saw a hand on Chanyeol's shoulder. He quickly turned around to see Kai.

"Chanyeol..."Kai said.

"Kai..."Chanyeol croaked.

"Chanyeol... Just let go."Kai softly said to him. Chanyeol let go of me and stared at Kai. Kai stared back at him with pitied eyes. Chanyeol began to walk away, but as he walked away, I could see him continuously looking back at me. I broke my heart that I had to break it to him... But I knew that if I had kept him in the dark longer, then it would hurt him even more...

"Are you okay?"Kai asked while he was driving back to the house.

"Yeah... I just feel... Bad."I replied.

"It's going to be okay. Chanyeol will just need some time to... Himself... We just need to let him have his own space for a while."Kai said. I nodded, hoping that he was right, but deep inside; I knew Chanyeol was hurting over what I had confessed to him.

Chanyeol POV

I walked over to the box of soju I bought and opened a bottle. I drank right out of the bottle and placed the bottle on my coffee table in my living room. I sat on my sofa, shirtless, thinking about what had happened earlier. As I remembered, I remembered turning around to see Kai. He looked at me with pitied eyes. My blood boiled seeing him pity me because HyeRim chose him over me. Those eyes. Those pitying eyes. I immediately grabbed my soju bottle and threw it against the wall, only to see it smash into little bits of pieces and the liquid dripping down my wall. The shards of the green bottle shined on the ground as the moonlight pierced through the glass, shining a bright green light onto the floor. I exhaled and walked over to the wall where I threw the bottle and leaned down to pick up the pieces. Once again the image of Kai and HyeRim together went through my mind as I picked up the pieces. I clenched my fists, forgetting about the shards of glass in my hands. I immediately flinched at the sudden pain and I looked at my hands to see them bleeding along with some of the shards of glass on my hands. Another glimpse of Kai and HyeRim passed my mind once more. I clenched my fists, not caring of the pain the glass shards brought me. I began to pace around the room, clenching my hair as I paced. I looked around the room and my blood boiled every time I remembered Kai or HyeRim. I began to rampage around the room, tearing down everything I saw was in sight. As I stood in the middle of the living room, I looked to my left to see my reflection on the TV screen. My body was shining from my sweat and my hair looked as if I just took a shower. My anger engulfed me and I rammed my fist against the TV screen. The screen cracked almost immediately as my fist made contact with the screen. I sat back down on my couch and ran my fingers through my hair. I felt slime all over my fingers as I touched my hair and face. I looked at my hands to find them drowned in blood, but I didn't care. I just sat in the now destroyed living room... I pictured HyeRim once more, but it wasn't with Kai.... It was us... Together... Smiling as we hugged each other... It was the us I imagined together in the future... Tears and blood dropped onto the floor as I whispered to myself,"I loved you... HyeRim-ah..."

I woke up the next morning to find myself on my couch. I woke up with my head and fists hurting and aching. I sat up on the couch and looked around the room to find it destroyed. I noticed my feet were suddenly wet when I sat up and looked at the ground. I saw a pool of blood along with other liquids, which were probably tears. I then saw my hands. They were covered with dry blood and my cuts still looked fresh. I walked over to my bathroom and looked in the mirror to see myself looking like a complete wreck. Blood smeared on my face and hair. My eyes drooped because of the lack of sleep I had last night. I washed up and went to the kitchen. I grabbed the jug of water in my fridge and drank out of the jug. I felt the refreshing water go down my esophagus and go down into my stomach. I put the jug down on the counter and wiped away excess water on my mouth. I leaned onto the counter trying to remember what had happened last night. Hoping that it was a dream, it was the opposite. What had happened yesterday was real and it was nowhere next to imaginary. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was almost time for work. I went towards a cabinet and bandaged myself. After bandaging myself, I got dressed in my suit and left the house. But I knew that I wouldn't be able to focus at work at all. I knew that all I would think about would be HyeRim.

HyeRim POV

I woke up the next morning to find Kai lying next to me with his arm around my neck. I looked at his face and saw his peaceful face. I noticed the time and had to get to work before I was late to work. I knew I would get a good scolding when I got there because of the fact that I ditched work yesterday.

After arriving at work and getting scolded, I couldn't help but notice that I kept on thinking of Chanyeol. Thinking of the things I said last night and the faces he made when I said them. It broke my heart when I saw his heart broken face. His eyes watering with tears as I confessed my feelings for Kai. I kept picturing it in my head. I was scared. I was scared that I just lost the most important friend in my life and that he hated me. I hated that I had to break it to him that way, but I knew that there was no other way. I suddenly heard the bell chime from the door. I looked up to see Sehun, smiling. He waved at me and walked over to the counter.

"How you are today? You don't look so happy."Sehun said.

"You could tell in just one glance, huh?"I said. Sehun chortled and asked,"What happened when you told him?"

I paused before responding.

"I hurt him. I basically stabbed and destroyed his heart when I told him."I confessed to Sehun as I clasped my hands together, thinking about it. Sehun put his hand over my clasped hands and said,"HyeRim. Getting your heart broken is a part of life. Chanyeol has had his heart broken a few times in his life. Yes, he was more in love with you than his others, but when you're heart broken, it can go in two different ways. He, himself, is the one to choose what would happen to him. He could either walk down the road of misery and sadness or he could overcome his grief and continue on with his life. You see, I knew Chanyeol for most of my life now. I'm pretty sure we know which way he's going."

I looked up and tried to smile.

"I guess so."

Sehun patted my head and then asked,"Now that we are done with this talk, can you whip me up an Americano?"

"Americano? The usual Sehun I know would normally ask for bubble tea."I said. Sehun chuckled and replied,"Yeah... That's the old Sehun. The new Sehun is mature and has to get something that will help him stay awake long enough to get his work done."

I giggled and nodded.

Chanyeol POV

I arrived back home earlier than expected because of my coworkers persuading me to go back home for the day. They had noticed that I was not in my usual state at work. As I opened to door, I saw the sun's light outline my body on the floor. I closed the door behind me and found myself in an orange room. The sun's orange light penetrated through the cotton fabric of the curtains hanging on the window. I looked at the clock and saw that it was the afternoon already. I looked around the room and saw that it was still a mess. The green glass all over the floor, the soju on the wall dried itself, the TV destroyed, the dried blood stains all on the floor, and almost all of the furniture in my living room were destroyed other than the sofa. I ignored the mess and went straight to the kitchen. While I pulled at my tie, I opened the fridge to find the last bottle of soju I had from last night. I immediately opened the bottle and drank straight out of it. The pure taste of alcohol swarmed through my system. I exhaled as the burning taste went down my throat. I walked towards the bathroom, as I needed to undress. Taking off each article of clothing, I couldn't help but continuously look at the bandages that wrapped around my hands. They were soaked with blood. I was surprised that none of my coworkers questioned it. After undressing until I was just shirtless and in my boxers, I unwrapped the bandages. I saw that my wounds were still bloody, but it wasn't as bad as this morning. I bandaged my wounds with fresh, clean gauze. Afterwards, I dressed into sleepwear and went into my room. It was messy as well, but there wasn't any damaged or destroyed furniture. I laid to my bed and looked at the ceiling. Every time I blinked, my eyes drooped further and further. Until, I then drooped into a deep sleep.

"Surprise!"I shouted as I saw the door open. HyeRim smiled brightly as she saw YoungJoo and I holding a cake with the candles lit. YoungJoo was only about 10 years old, still bright as ever. YoungJoo ran towards HyeRim and hugged her tightly and handed her his present. It wasn't much, but I knew that she would love the handcrafted gift he made for her. I stood up, holding the cake, and saw her pick up YoungJoo. She walked towards me and I said,"Happy birthday! Now blow out the candles and make a wish!"

She smiled and blew out the candles.

"What did you wish for? What did you wish for?"YoungJoo said.

"To be with you forever!"She said as she hugged YoungJoo tightly. YoungJoo giggled and they both smiled brightly.

The night went on and it was YoungJoo was finally put to sleep.

"Thanks Chanyeol."She said.

"No problem. Happy birthday."I said. She nodded and said thanks once more. I smiled and looked at her happy face as she looked at YoungJoo's present.

"Oh... I forgot."

"What?" She asked.

"My present."I said quietly as I softly touched her face and pecked her lips.

"Happy birthday." I then opened my eyes and HyeRim suddenly disappeared. I quickly looked around the room and panicked.

"HyeRim!? HyeRim!?"I shouted. YoungJoo was missing and before I knew it, I was in a white, never-ending room. Every time I shouted, it echoed in the room. I ran and ran, but there was nothing. I then fell to my knees and I screamed my lungs out wanting to find HyeRim and get out of this never-ending cycle. I suddenly woke up from my dream and noticed that it was four in the morning. I sweated through my shirt and I felt myself breathing hard as I had actually ran through that never-ending room. I sat up on my bed and ran my hands through my hair.

"HyeRim.... Why did you have to leave me?"I said quietly.