♡29

enjoy :))

The following day, Hyemin spent the day engulfing herself in junk foods while binge-watching her favorite k-dramas. She had been crying all night which resulted in her red eyes and deep bags under them, but she couldn't care less. Her dreaded flight was tomorrow at midnight and she had already finished packing.

She heard there was a party at Jake's place again tonight. She decided to go to just forget about all her problems for one night and enjoy everything before leaving. And she was supposed to be meeting Jiwon there to tell her everything that has been going on.

Once the clock hit 9 pm, she tidied up herself and headed to the party using Grab. A bad feeling crept up behind her back but she shrugged it off.

I'm just overthinking.

Letting out a small exhale, she entered the familiar house which was filled with drunken teenagers and loud music booming throughout the house. Faint memories of what happened last time entered her mind, but none of that was compared to her kiss with Sunghoon that night.

Just then, she spotted Jiwon sitting down and hurried to the girl. She noticed that Jiwon was sitting with Areum and her friends. They looked pretty close, laughing together not realizing she was standing there. Hyemin found it a bit odd since she knew Jiwon disliked Areum and her friends.

"Hey, I need to tell you something," Hyemin spoke up, earning all the girls' attention.

"Well look who it is," said Areum, smiling fakely. "We were just talking about you."

Hyemin chuckled awkwardly and sent a look at Jiwon but she just sat there.

"Your friend here has a question for you, am I right?" Areum stated and their attention all averted towards Jiwon.

Jiwon stood in front of Hyemin and spoke up. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" For some reason, she didn't feel comfortable here. She didn't trust Areum and her friends. She didn't trust Jiwon with them either. She very much wished she could leave this place instead.

"That you like Sunghoon."

Hyemin's words got stuck in her throat the unexpected question. Dozens of questions were running through her mind. How did she find out? Is she mad about it? Would Jiwon forgive her for lying?

Following the girl's silence, Jiwon cocked her head. "So it is true."

She averted her gaze to the ground due to the uncomfortableness. They were starting to get the attention of people around them but Hyemin wanted to resolve this in a more quiet and calm environment.

"Can we do this somewhere more private?"

Jiwon scoffed and let out a chuckle. "Why? Are you embarrassed?"

Why is she acting like this?

"See? I don't even know who you are anymore!" she exclaimed, earning everyone's attention. "You've been so busy with your own life to even care about mine anymore."

"I know I've been distant lately but it's because—"

"I don't care about you, Hyemin! It's always been about you all these years!" She pushed Hyemin backward harshly.

"Jiwon—"

"I'm always the side character. And the one time I actually think I have a chance, you steal him away from me!" she yelled angrily.

"This is where you're wrong. You had so many chances but you just never took them. You could've done something about it but you didn't, and now you're here blaming me for it. You know damn well it's not real." Hyemin said tensely.

She could feel her eyes start to water but she forced herself not to cry here. "I admit, I haven't been talking to you for a while but I was going through something. And you, you're being so self-absorbed about everything."

"No, I think you're being the self-absorbed one here, Hyemin. How do you not know I've had a crush on him for years!"

She pushed Hyemin even harder than before, causing her to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Gasps were heard from the crowds as they watched but no one did anything about it. The music was stopped and whispers could be heard.

"And even after you knew, you still liked him." Jiwon looked at her disgustingly. "How pathetic."

Hyemin felt a tear roll down her cheeks as she tried to get up. No words could describe how embarrassed and horrible she felt at the moment. She knew she was wrong for not keeping in touch with Jiwon these past few weeks and there were no excuses for that, and she was here to talk about it but Jiwon had to make a huge commotion.

She looked at the crowds and her eyes met his. Park Sunghoon. He had a worried look on his face as he pushed through the crowds.

Jiwon crouched down and looked at her. "I heard you guys broke up though. Does he know you're leaving?"

Sunghoon stopped in his tracks. Yes, I do.

Jiwon read the look on his face and fake-pouted. "You didn't know? She's leaving tomorrow night."

A look of sadness was written all over his face as he stared at the girl he fell in love with.

Hyemin mustered up the strength to get up and run towards the door. All she wanted was to get out of here. She hadn't even realized it was raining heavily until she ran outside. Not caring about anything else, she ran under the heavy rain.

"Hyemin!" She heard Sunghoon call for her. He started to run after her, worrying that something might happen to her.

She continued to run even faster when she could hear his footsteps. She shivered in the rain, feeling her clothes soaked, but she couldn't care less.

Due to the slippery ground, she tripped on a huge rock and fell to the floor. She winced in pain when she felt her skin tear. Her knees were scraped deeply, causing them to bleed almost immediately and her palms stung.

She felt the footsteps behind her come to a halt.

"Leave me alone, Sunghoon," she sniffed.

He ignored her words and helped her stand up. He examined her injuries and spoke up. "Let's get you back and I'll—"

"Why do you still care about me?" she sighed frustratedly. "I broke your heart, I lied to you and got you in this mess, but you still..."

And he wiped her tears delicately and let out a small sigh. "You should've told me what you were going through."

Hyemin looked away as more tears streamed down her cheeks. She was absurdly upset. She didn't understand why Sunghoon still cared for her after all she did. She felt like she didn't deserve him.

Sunghoon then seized her wrist, pulling her in for a warm embrace. He pats her back comfortingly as she cried. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he did cry a bit too. He already knew she was leaving. Her brother, Jaehwa, told him about it last night.

He didn't believe it at first. But when he thought of the recent events, the way Hyemin was acting made sense to him. He just wished she would've told him everything before, rather than keeping it to herself. He wanted to be there for her like she was there for him too.

He hated seeing her smile disappear in the following days, and he had to pretend to not notice, hoping she would open up to him but she never did. He couldn't blame her though, he made it harder for her to leave.

She must've suffered a lot in silence.

♡♡♡

"Are you feeling cold?" Sunghoon asked her when she was done. They were currently in Sunghoon's house after he suggested they change into dry clothes. But once they got there, he insisted she take a shower so she wouldn't get sick.

"No, I'm fine," she said quietly. "You should shower so you don't get sick too."

"I already did," he lied. He actually just changed into a new set of clothes and came back. He needed to be there for her.

Hyemin nodded at his words and averted her gaze to the floor. She didn't really know what else to say to him now that he knew everything. She felt the bed dip beside her. She hesitantly spoke up, "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?" He chuckled. "It's not your fault."

"Oh,"

"I'm a little just upset you didn't tell me," He pouted. "Seriously, I'm always here for you."

"I know you are. I just... didn't know how you'd react," she expressed. "I wanted to do it quietly and secretly."

Sunghoon laughed. "That's not happening because I'll be searching every corner of the world for you."

A small smile made its way to her lips.

There were a few minutes of silence, but it wasn't the awkward kind of silence, but rather the comfortable one as they both lay next to each other, staring at the blank, white ceiling.

Hyemin held his hand and looked at him. "I don't wanna go, Sunghoon." She wrapped her arms around his waist as he gently played with her hair. "I don't wanna leave you."

"I don't want you to go either, love,"

He played with her hair until soft snores from Hyemin could be heard. He caressed her cheeks before poking them. "I'll miss you a lot, idiot,"

"My idiot," He leaned in and gave a small kiss on her forehead.

well, that sure was one hell of a chapter

did i make u guys cry 😍