The Bitch & The Bastard | Jaehyun

𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒

The rain was ceaseless, and turned harsher. In the gloom, Jaehyun remained in his office, staring at the grey outside, watching the clouds change colours as the night pushed its way through. But the rain did not stop.

Nobody disturbed him in his empty office. There was no one who sent him dinner, no one who sent him bandages for his scraped knuckles. From the partition, he could see her office but he glanced at it only once, too afraid to look at darkness that had engulfed it. Soon, the whispers outside died, the employees made their way home but he sat alone in his office, still staring at the now darkened sky.

Behind his eyes, there was her gaze, on his lips, her name. It was the scent of her perfume that filled him and his ears could only hear the echoes of her cries that lingered in her wake. The freshness of the rain, the darkness of the night, the shadows of the lamp and the sighs of his own desolation existed only to remind him of her.

Jaehyun closed his eyes but saw her face, smiling at him. It was the last day of the business conference in Paris. The gruelling week had come to an end, and he had just read the closing speech, which was sent to him by Nakamoto Yuta. The same people who had dismissed him without a thought were up on their feet, applauding for him. But amidst the cheers of the strangers, his eyes searched for her in the crowd. She was standing near the door, right by the exit, wearing a long green skirt and black sweater. He had tilted his head in question and she had nodded in assurance and like magic, the tears in her eyes and the soft smile on her face had made their way to him.

He never could forget the look on her face that day; he saw it behind his eyes whenever he achieved something. However, the memory had always filled him with regret, and up until now he thought it was because Haeyoung had never smiled at him that way again, her eyes had never shined upon seeing him after that day.

But in this drowning raining, he smiled to himself in realization. There was only one regret he had from that memory – he never told her how pretty she had looked that day.

Jaehyun waited the whole night for the blanket that never came and when light broke, he shivered seeing the clouds carrying yesterday's rain with them.

He packed up his things, wore his jacket, combed his fingers through his hair and left, locking the door behind him. It was still early in the day and the building was empty except the coffee shop employee who was cleaning the counter in the lobby.

'Good morning, Mr. Jung,' he greeted.

'Hm?' Jaehyun stopped and turned around. 'Oh, good morning, Doyoung.'

'Long night?' Doyoung asked, starting the coffee machine.

Jaehyun nodded. 'Are you guys open yet?'

'Uh, not yet, Mr. Jung,' Doyoung informed him. 'But I can make you a cup of coffee if you could wait.'

Jaehyun took a seat by the counter. 'Yes, thank you.'

The rain had reduced itself to a mellow drizzle outside, but the sky was yet to clear. There were few cars on the road and fewer people walking on the sidewalk, holding their jackets close and their umbrellas low.

Not long after, Doyoung placed the cup of coffee on the counter but Jaehyun did not notice it; he had gone completely still, his eyes glued to the entrance. On the other side of the glass was Haeyoung, dressed in a white shirt too thin for the wind outside and pants too long without her heels. Her face was sunken, and her eyes were swollen. The image of her crying filled him with grief.

In her hand was an envelope which she stowed away in her bag before setting the umbrella open on the ground.

The rain poured over her as she bent down to fold the hems of her pants to cross the puddle of water that had accumulated in front of the entrance. But as she came up, she froze. Standing at the entrance was Jaehyun, quietly watching her.