twenty seven

"i'm screaming i don't want you but you know that i do." -nobody like you, little mix.

——

the room was heavy with silence. their tears still glistened on the floor, breaths shallow, hearts wrecked. the fight had burned through both of them, leaving only exhaustion—and too many things unsaid.

misun's voice was faint when she finally spoke. "please... just go, jihoon."

he stood frozen where he was, eyes red, breathing uneven. "no," he whispered, shaking his head. "not like this."

he took a slow step forward. she looked away, her shoulders trembling. but then he was in front of her—lowering himself to his knees, until he was eye-level with her.

"misun," he breathed, his voice raw, breaking, "look at me."

when she didn't, he gently reached out and held her face in his hands. his thumbs brushed the tears off her cheeks, even as more kept falling.

"please," he said again, his voice cracking. "please just give me one more chance. i'll spend the rest of my life making it right. i'll do anything, i swear."

she shook her head weakly, crying harder. "you can't fix this, jihoon. you can't undo what happened."

his hands tightened slightly, desperate. "but i can try," he whispered. "please let me try. i can't lose you again. i can't—" his voice broke completely.

she closed her eyes, the sound of his sobs cutting through her chest like glass. when she opened them again, he was crying—really crying—his forehead pressed against hers, his breath shaky, his fingers trembling as they cupped her jaw.

"i'm sorry," he kept whispering. "i'm so sorry. i love you, misun. i never stopped."

she cried too—silent, painful tears that tasted like years of love and loss and confusion. she wanted to say she loved him too. she wanted to kiss him, to let him stay. but she couldn't. not now.

"jihoon..." she whispered, barely holding her voice together. "i don't know if i can forgive you. i worked so hard to move on. i told myself i was over you. but—" she inhaled shakily, "i never stopped loving you. and that's what hurts the most."

he leaned closer, his lips almost brushing hers, so close she could feel his breath, warm and desperate, and for a heartbeat, the world went still.

but then she pulled back, her hands trembling as she pushed against his chest. "please," she whispered, brokenly. "just... leave, jihoon."

he froze. the look in her eyes was too much. he stood up slowly, his movements hollow.

she watched him walk to the door, every step heavier than the last. when it closed behind him, the silence hit like thunder.

and then she broke.

her knees gave out, and she fell to the floor, sobbing. the door to her mother's room burst open, and her mom ran to her, wrapping her arms around her.

misun couldn't speak. she buried her face in her mother's shoulder and cried harder, shaking. her mother just held her, stroking her hair, whispering softly, "it's okay, sweetheart. it's okay. let it out."

jihoon didn't remember how he got there. only that his hands were trembling when he knocked, and that his chest ached so badly he could barely breathe.

the door opened, and joshua blinked in surprise. "woozi?"

but before he could ask anything else, jihoon broke.

his knees gave out, and he fell forward into joshua's arms, sobbing.

"hey— hey, it's okay," joshua said quickly, catching him and pulling him inside. "hey, breathe. just breathe."

jihoon's hands gripped the fabric of his friend's hoodie, his words lost between gasps and tears.

when he finally calmed enough to speak, his voice was hollow. "i ruined it," he whispered. "again. i ruined everything."

joshua just nodded, his expression soft, calm—the way it always was. "tell me what happened."

and jihoon did. everything.

every word, every tear, spilling out until there was nothing left to say.