Earn it

Breaking Bones

Chapter 25

Yeji

I woke up in the middle of the night for the nth time this month.

This time, my head felt like it's gonna break apart and I struggled to breathe. I dreamt of Ryujin leaving me again.

How many more times will she leave me in this lifetime?

Sighing, I got up and walked around my room to steady my breathing while I brushed away the memories of her looking at me like I'm a liability, that I'm someone she cannot wait to get rid of. As if all the love she has for me has been drained and forgotten.

When I couldn't help it anymore, I went out to get the most immediate help I could think of and walked towards her dorm unit. It's a little after 12 midnight and I know there's a high chance she'd still be awake.

I knocked on her unit slowly and waited. When I was almost convinced that no one would answer, she opened the door and her sleepy eyes widened upon seeing me.

"Yeji?"

I must've looked like a mess because of all the crying that she immediately pulled me in for a hug.

"What happened? Are you okay?" she caressed my back.

"I'm sorry, Yuqi. I just needed to talk to someone about it. I cannot keep it to myself anymore. I cannot sleep or eat well, I cannot go through a week without crying, I..."

"Shh. Shh. You're okay. I'm here, I'll listen", she pulled out from the hug. "But we need to come in and stay in my room before we wake up the others, yeah?"

We walked towards her room and she gestured to me to sit beside her in bed.

"So what happened?"

She asked when I was finally able to gather myself.

After gathering all my courage, I finally told her.

"I think I need to break up with her."

"What? Who? Wait... Her?? You have a girlfriend?" Yuqi felt more awake after hearing the statement.

"Remember Ryujin? The girl I went to school with. It's her."

We spent all night with me telling her about how it happened, how we chose not to tell anyone of our friends back then, and how we chose to still keep it a secret here because we might get in trouble, and get our careers jeopardized.

I told her how we're struggling to keep up with each other's schedules and how we've never hung out for 2 months. I also told her about our last rooftop conversation.

"Phew, who knows relationships are this hard", she finally said to lighten up the mood.

"On a more serious note, I think you guys are growing apart. And maybe that's something you go through when you're in an industry like this. I haven't even talked to my friends back in China since we started training. And I am coming to the terms that there might be no one to welcome me back once I'm successful and capable of flying home because they've all gone and lived their lives without me."

She paused. Giving me time to contemplate on what she said.

"But I have new people now. I have you, and I have the mentors, my dorm mates, and some other casual friends from the other units. And I know I'll make more friends once I debut, and they will understand how it goes. They'll understand that there are things that I need to prioritize to achieve my goals."

Yuqi's statements hit me right in the core. My goal.

"You're right."

"Knocked some sense into you, huh?" She's smirking at me this time.