A Conflict of Interest (Natalee & Ryeo)

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Taste Like a Cherry has been discontinued for the time being. It just didn't come out the way that I'd hoped but I will try to rework it and possibly bring it back in the future ❤️

Natalee & Ryeo are still fan favorites so a one shot for all of you lovely readers as requested ❤️

Ryeo in picture above.
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Ryeo paused, counting to ten in his head before turning to the woman he couldn't stop thinking about. 

He knew that she was talking from a place of hurt... a place of fear.. a place of anger because he couldn't understand her motive.

"Natalee.. What you're doing is dangerous.."
He spoke quietly.

Natalee was stunned. She thought that if any one could understand where she was coming from it was him.

He knew how it felt to be on the outside.. He had experienced the ridicule and isolation. He would never be fully accepted and neither would she so why was he not on her side. She wouldn't have cared if it had been anyone else.. Anyone else but him..
Especially after the moment they shared with each other..

The way he'd held onto her body... They had given their bodies to one another and now here he was... hurting her the most.

"Do you hear yourself right now? I don't owe anyone anything. I did what I had to do. Those were the choices I had, Ryeo!"
She said, hurt evident in her voice.

Ryeo nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Those were the only choices you had then. What about now? What about right now, Natalee? You don't have to do this anymore."

Natalee turned away from him and shook her head.
Thankfully no one was around to see the two young lovers. Natalee sat on one of the park's benches and looked for the right wording for what she was going to say next. Ryeo stood off to the side, his eyes never leaving her.
"That's easy to say from the outside looking in but I've got a plan. I know what I'm doing.. We've made it this far and we'll disband after graduation. NaNa is going to the States, Gianna is probably going to follow Toshiro, and our little genius plans to study close to home. She's bound to get a large scholarship. I'll figure something out for myself soon.."

Ryeo furrowed his brows but didn't say anything.
He wanted to move closer to her but he felt that it wouldn't be the right move seeing as Natalee wasn't in the best mood right now.
"What use is there to hold onto this gang any longer? Be free of it. Nothing good ever comes from gang affiliations, Natalee..."

Natalee turned to him with a irritated look.
"Why are you so hung up on this? You knew what I was involved with when I met you. You're pissing me off."

Ryeo chuckled humorously, eyes widening.
"If anyone should be pissed off, it's me. Me. This isn't a game. I care about you. What about us?"

Natalee scoffed.
"What about us? You're traveling abroad over the summer. You won't even be going to school in Japan!"

Ryeo was taken aback by her response but she wasn't done.

She rose from the bench and stood right in front of him.
"You won't even be here! There is no us! Long distance relationships never work. Never. It's good for about three months before feelings are hurt... "

Ryeo's lips parted but he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say and she had said the one thing he feared..

"We've got to be realistic about things, Ryeo... We had our fun.. And as much as we wanted it to be something more.. it isn't. It wasn't. But it wasn't all bad for either of us I guess.. You got some ass out of it.."
Natalee spoke bitterly. She hadn't even noticed that she was crying.

"Nat-"
Ryeo started, sadly but she held her hand up, shaking her head.

"Don't make this harder than it already is. There's only three weeks of school left. Can we end this on a good note? Some kind of good. Any bit of good, I'll take it. Please, can we at least have that?"
She sobbed.

She wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her oversized sweatshirt and sniffled.

It hurt... a lot.

"Don't I get a say in any of this? Will you hear me out?"
He pleaded.

The look in his eyes was that of a person lost. Desperate to figure something out, frantic..
Ryeo was tapping his foot, trying to calm his nerves and not show what he was feeling inside. This was a feeling he'd never experienced before and it brought him so much pain. His mouth felt dry as if all the moisture had been stolen from it. His hands fidgeted and trembled.

He didn't want it to be over. Not like this... not so soon. If she could only hear him out.. !

Natalee shook her head.
"It's not going to change the fact that you're leaving Japan and you're leaving me. It won't change the fact that we're at a fork in the road. It won't change the fact that we collided faster than we should have. It was a summer fling... We'll call it what it is. Let's call it what it is. Can you guarantee that we'll be just as in love in the next year as we are now?"

Ryeo didn't know the answer to that question.

Natalee wiped away a stray tear.
"Are we in love? Are we in lust?"

Natalee chewed on her bottom lip.
"You said you loved when it happened.. you said you loved me when you fucked me..."

Ryeo felt his chest tighten.
"I meant it."

Natalee closed her eyes and sighed.
"I'm the first woman that you've ever been somewhat serious with... We had intercourse... We fooled around... But we're too young to know what love is.. I finally understand what that means now. How do I know that I'm not just caught up in lust? Infatuation? How do I know that you aren't either? We don't know... and that's the problem."

Ryeo approached her and wrapped her in his arms.
He could feel her body trembling and he held onto her tightly, squeezing her.. trying to hold on long enough so that he would remember what she felt like in his arms because as much as he wanted to work things out... her mind was made up. Ryeo pressed a kiss on her lips and her forehead.
"If that's what you believe.. I respect your decision. Take care of yourself, Natalee.."

Ryeo stepped away hesitantly before walking away quickly, not sparing the young woman another glance.

He was a block away and passing a convenience store when he finally allowed his own tears to fall.

So sad... a conflict of interest...
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Oop.

👀

Thoughts?

As always, thank you for reading, commenting and voting.

_Maddie ❤️

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