𝓈𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 ─── ˢˡᵒʷ ᵘᵖᵈᵃᵗᵉˢ

⁰⁰. 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

Sunoh shook his head, refusing to believe her and give up on their relationship just yet. "Look at me," he begged. When she refused, he placed his hands on her forearms and leant down to her eye-level while repeating, "Look at me, please."

Slowly—reluctantly—Jojo did as he asked. Her cold eyes didn't waver as she stared up at him blankly, the warm spark that had shone in them before gone without a trace.

"How much time do you need?" Sunoh asked. His eyes scanned her face again as he desperately searched for something—anything—hat could give him some hope. "I can give you all the time you need. I can wait. Just...just tell me that I'm not wrong in thinking that you still have feelings for me. Tell me there's something else that's causing you to act this way. Tell me what the problem is—we can fix it together—I know we can!"

Jojo refused to speak. While continuing to stare at him blankly, she held her silence.

Sunoh found his gaze falling to her lips. The lips that he used to kiss whenever he wanted. The lips that tasted so sweet, just like strawberries. The lips he loved. The same lips that were now forming a thin line after having spat venom at him, refusing to part and let something warmer slip through.

"Even if you say that they're gone, a kiss could bring back the emotions you once had for me," he whispered, more to himself than to her. "The love that we shared...a kiss could bring it all back."

Leaning forwards, the Hwang boy tilted his head just as he had done back when Jojo was with Il-Sik. Back when neither of them had feelings for one another, but both were curious and eager to become closer. Back when their love was only just beginning.

But just before he could capture her lips, Jojo turned her face away and sighed. As he halted, Sunoh realised that nothing—not even death could hurt him more than her rejection did in that moment. He glanced at Jojo's bored expression, his heart tearing itself apart a little more.

"Just now," he whispered, teary eyes focusing on nothing but the girl who refused to look his way, "I came within 9.99m of your lips. Is it so hard for you to move 1cm forward to meet me?"

Jojo turned to regard him blankly, her expression being enough of an answer without her having to speak.

Defeated, Sunoh leant away from her and straightened up. "You're heartless," he said as anger slowly mixed with the heartbreak crushing him on the inside. "Never turn your Love Alarm off again. Never, ever turn it off and watch...as my feelings for you change too."

She didn't respond. She didn't even blink. Just continued to stare straight through him without a care in the world.

Sunoh turned away from her just before the tears spilled out of his eyes, slowly trailing down his cheeks. 

He didn't waste any more time there, striding out of the alleyway and away from his first love as quickly as his wobbling legs would carry him. One of his hands moved to clench around the fabric of his shirt over where his broken heart was, squeezing tightly as though he was trying to forcefully stick all of its broken pieces back together. Despite his efforts to keep his emotions under control and not lose face in public, sobs broke through his pursed lips as he stalked off down the road.

Just now, I vowed to show you that my feelings for you will change some day...but how on earth will I do that when all my heart has ever known is you?

─🌊─

"Why?" 

The utterance came in the form of a broken whisper, and the owner of the shaking voice cursed herself for it. Seo Nari blinked back her tears, desperately trying to pull herself together as she refused to appear any weaker than she already had.