castaway | kim taehyung

15. two less lonely people

"His heart belongs to me."

Soojung falls silent, and so does Seolhyun. Soojung knew that Seolhyun had a point. No matter what, Taehyung's heart indeed belongs to her. Soojung was nothing but a rebound, the one who was there to fulfill Taehyung's desires of having someone love him. Although he was also there to fulfill her desires of having someone love her, at the end of the day, both of them belonged to two completely different people, and not each other.

They were just two less lonely people, two people who's worlds crashed and somehow ended up together, and just like that, things somehow felt right. But even though they were just two less lonely people, their hearts were owned by other people.

Soojung glances at Seolhyun, nodding her head, flashing her a sad smile while blinking away the tears that were threatening to form in her eyes.

"You're right. His heart belongs to you. I'll give him back, I'll return him. That's what you want, right?"

  ➵ ➵➵ 

Taehyung knocks on her door for the nth time, leaning against the door frame as he waits for her to open the door. He hears a few footsteps from the other side of the door, only to see the door open slowly to reveal no one but Soojung. Soojung musters up a smile, trying to put up a facade filled with as much happy emotions she could possibly give to reassure him that she was doing fine.

She clearly was not fine. And he took note of how her smile didn't reach her ears, how the crinkles in the corners of her eyes weren't visible. He took note of how she was avoiding his gaze, his loving gaze that he had on her every single time he looked at her. 

"Is there anything wrong?" He asks her, and she looks at him, giving him a reassuring smile.

"There's nothing wrong, Taehyung." She replies.

"Are you sure you still want to go to dinner?" He questions her and she nods her head, he smiles, grabbing her hand. "Let's get going, then."

The two of them make their way towards the diner, sitting in a booth. His hand was still in hers, but he frowns when she suddenly lets go of his hand. He tilts his head in confusion, reaching over the table to place his hand on her forehead. She flinches, immediately retreating herself away from him.

"Are you okay?" He asks her, worriedly.

"I'm fine." She replies in a weak tone.

Just embrace this for the last time. This will only be the last time.. the last time you'll ever see him, do things like this with him, be with him. She thinks to herself, grabbing their orders and the two of them could only eat in silence.

Two less lonely people. That's exactly what we are. How could I be so stupid? She winces in pain, feeling more rose petals settle within her lungs.

  ➵ ➵➵ 

"What is up with you?" 

She stops in her tracks, looking at him, and he looks extremely worried at this point. She shakes her head, trying to show him that nothing was wrong at all, even though she was hurting on the inside. "There's nothing wrong, Taehyung."

"Why do you seem so distant? Did Seolhyun approach you again? Did Jimin approach you again?" He attacks her with questions, and she falls silent. From her silence, he could only read right through her. "So one of them approached you."

"I think we should stop this," she whispers, and he doesn't catch it at first until he furrows his eyebrows. "I think we should stop seeing each other, stop being together.. just stop this whole thing."

He grows more confused, reaching out for her hands and trying to look through her eyes but she could only look away from him, tears flowing out. He could feel his heart hurt at how heartbroken she looks, but she could only laugh bitterly, wiping away her tears.

"Why? Soojung, I love you, I don't want to leave you." He desperately says, and she could only shake her head. "I'm in love with you, not Seolhyun, I thought I made that clear. Stop crying, why are you crying? Why are you letting go of me so easily, Soojung? Don't you love me?"

"I love you, Taehyung." She cries, shutting her eyes. She feels her lungs clench, and right at that moment she could only realize one thing that she was still unsure of. "I love you so much you remind me of the stars in the galaxy, so hard to reach, because you don't belong to me. You belong to someone else, you belong to Seolhyun."

"I belong to you. You're my home, Soojung." He reassures her, trying to change her mind because he was starting to feel his heart break. "I'm in love with you, I love you so much. Please.. don't do this to me, don't leave me."

"I have to leave you, Taehyung, because you belong to Seolhyun." Soojung looks at him courageously through her tear-glazed eyes. "You belong to Seolhyun, she's still in love with you. She told me that she still loves you, and she's your soulmate. The only answer that comes out of this is for you to go back to her because you both can finally love each other freely."

"I don't love Seolhyun. I love you."

"How can you be so sure of yourself?" She whispers, yanking her hands away from him, and he could only fall to his knees. He tries to grab her hands but she only pulls them away from him. Tears are now flowing out of his eyes but she could only turn away from him. "How can you be so sure of yourself, Taehyung?"

"You're the one that I want, Soojung."

"I'm not the one for you, Taehyung, and that's that." Soojung says sternly, even though she was choking back the tears. "It was nice being with you, having you around, you indeed have made my life so much better."

"Don't do this."

"You made me feel like I actually belonged to someone, it was like I was in a free world where I can love whoever I want. You made me feel pretty, you made me feel wanted, and I can only say a huge thank you. But for now, I think we should split ways before both of us hurt even more."

She wipes her tears, turning around as she starts to walk away from him, up the stairs of her porch. He slowly gets up from the ground, wiping his eyes.

"You're the one I want, Soojung, because I'm your soulmate."