hanbyul | watanabe haruto

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙄𝙨 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧

"Again." Haruto smugly smiled, winking at Hanbyul. "Nothing I haven't done before."

He watched the girl take out her phone, going through her contact list and tapping on Yoshi's number. "Hey, Yoshi–"

"No, no. Hyung, she was just joking. You don't have to come. Bye." Haruto quickly ended the call, pinching his girlfriend's cheeks, unable to keep a straight face at her cuteness.

"Don't test me next time, Ruto."

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Watanabe Haruto kept glancing over at the younger as he played with his fingers nervously. The two laid on the grass, staring at the evening sky as the sun set.

"Hani ..." He trailed off, exhaling. "... will you marry me?" He asked, propping his head on his palm as he stared down at her.

Choi Hanbyul's eyes widened, her heart thumping against her chest as she looked at him. "Ruto ... you know–" She bit her lip, shaking her head lightly.

"No, not now." Haruto had a smile on his face, chuckling at her startled expression. "I mean, somewhere in the future, when the time comes. Maybe after you finish your degree, or maybe–"

"Ruto, I can't." Hanbyul sat up, avoiding eye contact with the older.

Haruto furrowed his brows, straightening his posture as he tilted his head in confusion. "You can't what? Can't finish your degree? Because if that's the case, then I don't–" He couldn't see how uncomfortable he made Hanbyul with the question, only seeing the brighter side of things.

"I can't marry you, Haruto. Not now, not later ... not ever."

Oh. The words were like a knife through his chest, and if it weren't for him already sitting, he would've fallen to the ground. He felt that weak. Tears pooled in his eyes as he only looked at Hanbyul, not understanding where it went wrong. We had such good times, and even after everything that happened ... oh.

Haruto looked at the grass, realising why Hanbyul decided so. No matter how much they loved each other, at the end of the day, Haruto was in SEKIRYU and Hyunsuk was in MAGNUM. There was no way they could come together.

"It's because of your brother, right?" He asked, trying to convince himself that everything was fine. It wasn't, but still. Hanbyul gave a small nod, frowning as she wiped away the tears on Haruto's face.

She sighed, awkwardly wringing her hands. "I love you, Ruto. I love you so, so much. But I know that everything won't be well unless one of you stops running your mafia." Hanbyul widened her eyes, shaking her head as she saw the raven-haired male's face. "And no, you won't do anything of that sort. I know how hard you have worked for SEKIRYU, and I will not let you drop something like that because of me."

They spent the next few moments in silence, with just the sounds of whistling wind and chirping birds in the air. Hanbyul knew the day would come eventually, but she never prepared herself for it. She wiped away the tears on her face, not wanting to make the older feel bad. He was already in so much pain, and Hanbyul knew how much it hurt.

Haruto never believed in happy endings, but whenever he was with her, he felt that anything was possible. He should've known that good things don't last forever, but somehow, he couldn't stop the tears that fell down his face. This crumbling feeling ... is this what Hanbyul felt when I hurt her? He swallowed the lump in his throat, sighing as he convinced himself. I don't deserve love, not after hurting Hanbyul like I did. I deserve this pain.

Choi Hanbyul stood from her place, a heavy feeling in her heart. She texted Yoshi to come pick her up, already knowing the older male was probably waiting for her. She looked at Haruto hugging his knees as he sat, tears streaming down his face.

She crouched near him, wiping away his tears to no avail. They kept on falling. "I think it's better if I leave. Don't do anything stupid. Text me when you get home, alright?" She wrapped her arms around him, freezing in shock as she heard the words he said next.

"Leave and don't come back. Let's break up."

Hanbyul pulled away from the hug, placing her finger on his chin, tilting his head to meet her gaze. "Do you mean it?" She bit back her tears, knowing well she shouldn't. Everything was because of me, anyway.

Haruto nodded, gulping as he took a deep breath. "I don't think I can behave like I used to, knowing that we can't be together. Everything must be hard for you anyway, even with our dating. I'm your brother's rival, and you are his sister who went against his morals." He forced a smile, removing her hands from him. "I'll make it easier for you, so let's break up."

The brunette bit her lip before placing a kiss on Haruto's forehead. "Okay, then. If it's easier for me," she mumbled, knowing well it was the male's way of coping with the news. "Bye, Ruto. I love you."

"Bye, Choi Hanbyul."

The two parted ways; one sobbing as she made her way to the car while the other cried uncontrollably as he hugged himself, unable to handle the pain in his heart. Not everyone gets their happy endings, and they should've known that too, especially at the lengths they went for their love.

But alas, love had that unusual effect. They felt that they could do anything when they were together; that's what love did to them.

Sorrow; that's what they felt. They felt empty. They felt cold again. Their minds filled with grief and hurtful memories. Their whole beings filled with regret and hatred. They felt their pain consume them, but they did nothing about it.

I deserve it; they thought to themselves. After all, blaming yourself makes things easier, right?

***

and we have come to the end of our show :)

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