Pandora Unleashed ✔️

The Invisible Red Thread: Mistakes

*⚠️// trigger warning: mentions of abuse, cheating, drug use, and sexual assault.

➰

Romance. The word itself didn't appeal to him. Much like anything else that pertained to the notion, the idea, itself, strained far from reality and he thoroughly disliked things such as holidays that catered to unbelievable standards. Romance. The word evaded his lips with an irritated scoff as he prepared his living room to seem as romantic as he could.

When he asked Moonbyul, she simply shrugged his desire to appease the woman he hurt by instructing him to ask YouTube. So, he did. 'What do women find romantic?' Upon leaving Moonbyul, after they discovered Jaebeom returned home after spending time with Miss Jessi, he headed to the store and bought items the Youtuber claimed women wanted. From chocolate to flowers and other basic and generic things that made women seem as though they didn't have layers. However, he obeyed the ginger and plus-sized woman in his screen and proceeded to purchase everything she listed.
While waiting for the oven to steam the vegetables he'd prepared along with some roasted chicken, he sipped on a glass of Merlot as he watched another video from the same creator.

The topic appealed to him more than anything else she produced: 'How to repent when you've cheated on your girl.'

He listened vehemently as she spoke with such conviction and natural understanding of the female emotion and psyche; explaining women tended to grow inward, experience low self-esteem, and feel insignificant when adultery occurred. He might not have touched you but according to the woman on the screen, emotional cheating existed and argued it could be more damaging than the physical aspect.
At that moment, as much as he enjoyed every inch of Fatou, his mind remained somewhere else. It focused on you. Moreover, the thought of you penetrating his thoughts during such an intimate moment bothered him.

He didn't want to think of you, especially when he hung around Fatou. You were his past and she was his future. There wasn't more to it than that and it pained him something kept pushing the 'you' agenda onto his heart. He didn't touch you, no, but at that moment his mind pictured you. Emotionally cheating was the correct term to use. He wronged her and he would repent or beg even if it was what she truly needed. He desired a second chance, the relationship was worth it, and tonight he would make sure Fatou understood that too.

➰ YOU ➰

You must have come across as an obsessive creep. Hyolyn raised an eyebrow upon meeting your gaze during the dinner and signaled you to stop. Although a part of you rejoiced at the idea of seeing her again, another part obeyed and refrained from staring as much.

When you greeted each other with a long embrace, her brother asked where you knew each other from. However, before you could answer, you felt a subtle pinch on your arm. Hyolyn didn't reveal anything to her brother. Soon after, when Bambam left the room, she explained no one in her family knew of the violation she'd gone through. You didn't think you resembled each other much but right at that moment, you sensed the strength she possessed during those self-defense classes were nothing but a mere front.
She was you. The you from three years ago. The same one who didn't dare use her voice to defend herself, to take back ownership, and not allow someone who broke her in pieces to hold such power. She was you. The image you created in your mind shattered right before your eyes when the realization settled in your heart. Hyolyn was strong, still fragile in some ways as her incident was a mere half a year ago, but still strong; she simply had her own journey.

You ceased the staring and instead played with the remainder of your dinner as the voices from the others brought you back from the worried thoughts. You didn't know the topic until Mr. Bang mentioned the trial that had most of the city talking.
"What was that?" You asked and turned to him, "Did you say the prosecution was incompetent?"