Bangtan's Baby | 18+

twenty-five ೋღ anger's side effects

Li's POV

I'm tired when I walk into my company's building in the morning; absolutely exhausted. 

The past two nights have drained me, but I do feel lighter, in a sense. Less alone now that I've shared the burden that I've been carrying.

Maybe it'll get better. Maybe now I'll be able to breathe without worrying I'll make anyone upset.

"Hey, Hashi," I greet, lowering my bag to the floor. 

She lifts her attention from the stereo. "Hey. Feel better?"

"Yeah." I wipe a hand over my face, pushing out a tired smile. "It's just...it's been a rough couple of days."

"No need to explain. I get it. We all have some of those, if not a lot of those." Her smile eases into the understanding kind. "How about we start with some stretches? We just have to practice for the B-side songs on your mini album. Those are pretty simple."

Relief floods through me at her understanding. It's taken some getting used to seeing how different she is from Cara, but kindness is a good thing to become accustomed to.

"Thank you," I tell her, making my way over to the middle of the room. "Really."

"No need. Oh, by the way, I was thinking we could order takeout for lunch. My treat." She shows a smile. "What do you think?"

"Oh, you really don't have to do that. I—"

"I want to." She takes a seat, patting the ground beside her. "Lunch is on me. I want to celebrate how well your comeback is being received. I mean, have you seen them gush over the choreo?"

I smile a bit, taking a seat beside her as we ease into a butterfly stretch. "Yeah, they're pretty into it."

"I pride myself in making choreo that people are pretty into."

We rehearse for a while, but it mostly consists of stretching and breathing exercises. She's doing it for me, I know that, and appreciation swells within me. 

By the time lunch has arrived, I have a better outlook on today than I did when I woke up.

"This is really good," I tell her through a mouthful of noodles. "Thank you again, but next time, lunch is on me, okay?"

"Okay," she laughs, opening a container. "I won't argue with free lunch."

I manage a smile and continue eating. 

She takes a seat beside me, balancing her carton between her thighs. "How are things with you? Other than your tremendous comeback, of course."

I push my noodles around. "Everything's fine."

"In my experience, 'everything's fine' means everything isn't fine."

I glance at her. 

She bribes, "We've got thirty minutes."

I sigh, looking down at my food. After a moment of consideration, I mumble, "I brought up my ex to my boyfriend."

She sucks air in through her teeth. "How'd that go?"

"He was supportive." I clear my throat. "Of course. He's...he's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"A supportive man. I love to hear it." 

I rub my arm awkwardly. "Yeah."

She watches me do this. "All right. Fess up. What's the deal with your ex? He try to contact you again? Made your current boyfriend mad?"

"No, no, nothing like that." I wave my hands around to refute her statement. "I haven't seen my ex for three years. I just..." I hesitate. "I don't know. My boyfriend didn't know about him. I never really told him."