The Wedding Plan

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A couple hours go by before Byulyi's eyes flutter awake.

The familiar sight of her ceiling confuses her. Wasn't she out taking shots at the bar?  She winces at the loud pounding in head as she sits up.

"Seokjin?" The name feels foreign yet right on her lips.

She squints her eyes, trying to get a better look at the figure crashing at the foot of her mattress. She would easily recognize him in a crowd of a million, the man really did look ethereal even while sleeping. Her heart races with utter confusion. What was Jin doing here, in her bed, of all places?

Byulyi closes her eyes, trying to stir some memory of the night.

"I saw you wasted at the bar and brought you home." Byulyi nearly yelps when Seokjin's groggy voice cuts through the air. She meets his gaze. Clearly, he had knocked out unexpectedly.

Seokjin looked like a lost puppy in front of her. His wide eyes screamed exhaustion and his hair was disheveled, but she found him unexplainably alluring.

"Thank you, but there really was no need. I'm fine now." She speaks with a harsh tone as she glances at the clock on her nightstand. It was already past 12pm.

Seokjin sits up, rolling his shoulders back as he stretches his neck.

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe at home. I know you usually wake up a couple hours after blacking out." He answered.

Typical Kim Seokjin, just as caring as ever. Byulyi wasn't supposed to be the one receiving his care though.

"I'm fine. You can leave." She assures him, fatigue drilling from her own voice. Running into Jin while drink was enough for tonight. She didn't need to be around him while she was sober too.

Seokjin stood silent for a moment.

"Drink some water and then I'll go." He speaks. Byulyi scoffs. Why was he making it so hard for her still?

Moonbyul climbs out of bed and walks into the tiny kitchen. She knows Jin and when it came to being caring, he was stubborn. She knows that better than anyone else. She experienced it firsthand.

"Do you want some too?" Byulyi asks as she makes her way to the kitchen.

He simply hums from his spot.

"I didn't say anything weird on the way back, did I?" Byulyi regrets the question as soon as it leaves the tip of her tongue. Of course, she did. She's Moonbyulyi, the loud mouth drunk.

The female glances over her shoulder and from Seokjin's expression resembling somewhat of a wide smirk, it was more than clear what kind of words were shared.

The sound of opening and closing cabinets and the water dispenser fills the static air. Byulyi takes a sip of her water first, letting the icy liquid trickle down her parched throat. Honestly speaking, she would rather be drunk and knocked out still right now.

With a heavy sigh, she turns to give Seokjin his cup, only to be stopped by two strong arms circling her waist.

Byulyi could feel Jin's firm hold on her and the comforting warmth that radiates from his touch. The warmth that she vividly remembered from those four seasons.

Her breath gets caught in her throat once more. Before, she was completely wasted, but now she's at her senses.

Jin lightly rests his chin on her shoulder, pressing his chest against her back. Byulyi knows she should push him away, but she just can't.

"Why did you leave?"

The question comes out as a sad whisper. That single question was enough to open the cracks in Byulyi's heart that she had been working on healing over the past seven years. She could feel the stinging sensation beginning behind her eyes.

"What did I do wrong?"

Seokjin's voice falters, losing its balanced tone. He sucks in a breath of air, holding back his trembling lips. Byulyi's heart breaks completely when she feels his tear drip onto her shoulder. That tear alone was burning into her.

Abruptly, she turns around, her hands instinctively cupping the man's face. How cruel could she be to make him cry like this?

"Nothing, you did nothing wrong." Byulyi whispers, her thumbs swiping away the trail of tears coming from him.

Finally he was able to read her eyes again. The ice wall that she had been hiding behind was no more.

"Then why?" He croaks. Byulyi shakes her head,

"Tell me." He demands, his gaze begging hers, but the female presses her lips shut.

"Don't you think I deserve to know?" Seokjin's voice was already breaking.

He did deserve to know. Byulyi knows that. Maybe this was the closure they both needed. Still she felt helpless.

He shakes her shoulders once more.

"Why did you break up with me then, Byulyi?!" His voice screeches as more tears drip.

"I was a stain in your life, Seokjin." Byulyi sees the anguish flicker in his glassy orbs. Exactly how she expected.

"Is that why?" Seokjin scoffs in disbelief.

"I told you not-" He begins, but Byulyi closes her eyes shut and immediately cuts him off. The last she needed was him telling her she was wrong. That decision she made seven years ago; she still regrets over it to this day.

"I couldn't. Seokjin you're so selfless! You gave me my entire world. All I managed to give in return were my problems. How long could I keep depending on you? It was my turn to be selfless for once too!" Moonbyul raises her voice. Frustration straining every syllable.

Seokjin was an endlessly giving tree, always there to support, protect, love so what's the big deal if Byulyi was the one giving for once. She gave him freedom and peace. Now he could finally escape from her problems.

His eyes disappointedly peered the woman as if the answer was just simply not good enough. That her reasoning to break up with him wasn't good enough.

"The past seven years have been absolute hell for me without you, Byulyi. I didn't get a single night's sleep or eat a proper meal since you left. I couldn't even find someone new. So my father fixed up this idea for me to get arranged married. All because I wasn't able move on from you."

Jin runs his hand through his hair, cackling like a madman,

"Did you know how many therapy sessions I had to sit through because of you? How many people I had telling that you were just a fling? I was broken. Flings don't break people, Moonbyul."

Byulyi finally lets a tear slip out. The boy she had left in order to save, had only shattered even more in her absence. She could never do anything right, huh?

Ring! Ring!

Both of their eyes flicker to the glowing screen of Seokjin's phone on the table. Irene. Seokjin reaches out to reject the call, but Byulyi grabs his wrist before he can.

"I'm sorry, but all that matters is that you're okay now. Seokjin, you're okay now. Irene is proof of that, I'm just happy that you've found someone to finally love that won't give you any problems. Answer the call and tell her you're sorry, that she doesn't have to worry, and you're on your way back. You can leave, I'll lock the door after." Byulyi tells him in a sorely serene tone.

Seokjin watches with stone cold eyes as Moonbyul slides her finger across the screen, accepting the call.

Then moonbyul swiftly makes her leave, retreating behind the safety of her bedroom door leaving Jin all alone in the living room.

She sits lifelessly at the front of the door, head pressed against the cold wood.

"Ah, Irene... I'm sorry, I lost track of time in the office. You don't need to worry; I'm heading back home right now." Byulyi listens to Seokjin talk over the phone.

It's as if a hand is wrapped around her heart when she hears Seokjin's footsteps move farther and farther away. The soft creak of the front door only sends another jolt of pain through her.

Byulyi can tell that Seokjin is standing by the door, no doubt looking back to see if she'd really let him just leave. Stay please Stay. It's only when she hears the click of the door closing, does an awful, heartbreaking sob escape her lips.