16. confrontation

16. confrontation

yumi woke up the next day and the first thing she realized was, she wasn't in her own bed.

and then it all came back to her.

hojin was drunk.

he kissed me.

he touched me... my body... he violated me...

he stole my first kiss.

hojin was supposed to be my best friend. my brother. we've been friends for more than 5 years, how could he do this to me? he was supposed to protect me.

"yumi?" a voice interrupted her thoughts.

she looked next to her and saw joshua.

right.

joshua was still here. he listened to her crying all night. he held her, not even leaving her for a second. and now, he was next to her, his hand on her waist, as he looked at her, his eyes filled with love.

"are you okay?" he asked her softly. "how do you feel?"

"i've no idea." she sighed. "i... i still can't process what happened. i feel like i'm in a dream. joshua, i'm so sorry i probably ruined your night."

"don't ever say that, yumi." he placed his finger on her lips. "i'll always be here for you. i'll always listen to you, and i'll do everything to protect you."

yumi's heart was dancing around, doing backflips. how can he make her feel this way even when she was upset?

she smiled as she placed her head on his chest, not wanting to leave his bed. not yet.

she picked up her phone and realized she had a lot of missed calls and text messages. she only had one text from her mother, since she told her she'd be staying with joshua.

mom: alright sweetheart, just let me know when you're up and headed to work :)

30 missed calls from hojin

hojin: yumihojin: yumi where are you? hojin: why aren't you answering my calls? hojin: yumi where the hell are you!! hojin: shit... i remember... hojin: we need to talk hojin: please hojin: i'm so sorry hojin: yumi please hojin: your mom said you're not home hojin: where did you go hojin: please i need to explain yumi i'm begging you

"are you going to answer?" joshua asked.

he didn't mean to snoop, but she had her phone placed on his chest while checking her notifications, he couldn't help but see.

"i don't know," she answered. "i don't really want to answer him. but i also want to know why... why he did this to me..."

"can i tell you something? but please don't take it the wrong way..."

"sure," she said, looking up at joshua. "what is it?"

"honestly..." he began. "i don't want you to answer him. i don't even want you near him. i know i might sound selfish, but god, seeing you cry... it broke me. i hated seeing you like this, and all i could do was just... hug you. i want to protect you, i want you to be safe. i want you to be happy, always."

yumi smiled at his words. she didn't know what to say, so she just hugged him. they've known each other for about two months now, but joshua made her feel safe. he made her happy. and she never felt this way before.

"come on." he ruffled her hair. "go wash up so we can eat breakfast with the guys, okay? you need to eat something. i'll have an outfit prepared for you, i'll leave it here on my bed."

yumi giggled, standing up and walking to the bathroom. as she did her morning routine, joshua borrowed an outfit from vernon, which belonged to his sister. she forgot it here when she came to visit, and he thought maybe yumi could wear it for now, since he didn't want to take her back home to face hojin. it was a black shirt, black jeans and a white jacket.

"how is she?" scoups asked him as he walked into the kitchen.

"she's... better than yesterday," joshua answered, not knowing what to say.

"what happened anyway?" jeonghan asked.

"it's not really my story to tell." joshua rubbed his neck nervously. "but let's be nice to her, okay? she's been through a lot."

yumi walked into the kitchen, softly greeting scoups, jeonghan, woozi and vernon.

"eat well, yumi," woozi said. "you need to take care of yourself."

she smiled at him. they ate breakfast together and then decided it was time to go to work, but joshua said he'd drop yumi first.

"i'll come up with you," he told her. "i just want to make sure you're okay."

"you don't have to." she smiled at him.

"please, i want to."

she took a deep breath as they walked into the office building together. joshua had his hand gently placed on her back, letting her know that he's here for her.

as soon as she walked into her office, she saw hojin sitting at her desk waiting for her. the sight of him sent a cold shiver down her spine.

the moment he heard the door open, he turned to her, his eyes widening.

"yumi, can we talk, please?" he begged.

"no, get out."

"yumi please!" he cried. "i didn't mean it. i've no idea why i did this, please!"

"she told you to get out." joshua glared at him.

"it's none of your business." hojin spat.

"no, it is my business," joshua answered. "you hurt her, you violated her. you don't get to act like a victim now. she talks to you when she's ready, she forgives you when she's ready. now go away, because i'm trying so hard not to punch you right now."

hojin wanted to argue with joshua. he was so angry that he was with her, holding her. protecting her from him.

"yumi, will you ever forgive me?" his eyes filled with tears.

she didn't answer immediately, but then she spoke, not meeting his eyes.

"i'm not ready to forgive you," she said. "and i'm not sure i will ever be ready."

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word count : 1006