𝓈𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 ─── ˢˡᵒʷ ᵘᵖᵈᵃᵗᵉˢ

⁰². 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

Both of the heartbroken teens sighed, watching the happy group wistfully from their cold grey step.

─🌊─

When Sunoh climbed the stairs on Wednesday, he found the girl already waiting for him.

Is it just my imagination, or is she sitting closer to the middle today? he wondered as he sat down near her, leaving about half a metre of space between them.

He heard rustling and looked over to find her holding out a strawberry milk carton towards him. He looked up at her as he panicked internally, I don't have anything to offer in return—oh god—what do I do? Should I just accept it or—?

The girl stretched her hand out further towards him, gesturing for him to take the drink.

Ducking his head in a silent 'thank you ', Sunoh took the milk carton from her with one hand while the other discretely searched his pockets for something to repay her with. He found nothing, and cursed himself internally.

I probably seem so pathetic, he thought, making himself feel even worse. He stabbed the milk carton with his straw and proceeded to down the drink quickly out of frustration. I keep borrowing things from her and I never give anything back. She must think that I'm so selfish ...

The sound of a can opening caught his attention and Sunoh looked over as the girl put a straw into her ice coffee can before quietly sipping her drink. She glanced over at him when she felt a pair of eyes boring into her side-profile, catching him staring at her.

They blinked at one another, their gazes steady.

"I heard you liked it."

Sunoh's mind went blank as he continued to stare at the girl in silence. It was the first time that he had heard her speak, and her voice was nothing like he had imagined it to be. It was deeper and a little scratchy as though she hadn't used it in a while. He supposed she hadn't. After all, she had been silent the entire time that he had known her.

"Huh?" he managed to croak out, his own voice sounding just as worn out as hers.

The black-haired girl gestured to the strawberry milk carton in his hand with a nod of her head. "I heard you liked strawberry milk. Is that not true?"

Sunoh hesitated, looking down at the drink. Quietly, he said, "Jojo liked it, so naturally I ... "

"Oh. I see."

As tears welled up in his eyes, Sunoh lowered his head. His heart ached as memories of him and his ex-girlfriend flitted through his head once again, each one deepening the wound that hadn't even started healing yet.

"Tae-joon liked iced coffee."

Sunoh looked over at the girl again, his vision blurry from the tears that he was trying to keep at bay.

Once again, her face was like a mirror—her eyes were glassy and rimmed with red as she turned to stare back at him. Her bottom lip trembled and she took in a shaky breath, mirroring his desperate attempts to remain composed.

"Oh. Right ... " he trailed off, connecting the dots and realising that Tae-joon must be the person responsible for her current state the same way that Jojo was responsible for his.

Sunoh's body itched to move closer to her. He felt like he was breaking and he knew that she felt like that too—he could see it in her eyes. The need to hold her and pull her broken pieces back together just as he wished someone would do for him came crashing over him in one big tidal wave, overwhelming him as the first of her tears ran down her cheeks.