"BURN IN HELL!"
"SHE WAS TOO YOUNG!"
"WHY AREN'T YOU IN PRISON YET?"
"WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD YET?"
Yells were thrown at Im Jaebum as he hurriedly walks through the town square of Jeogui,with the occasional stone thrown too. The people were angrier than Jaebum's ever seen before Rosé.....-the warm smiles and cheerful faces wiped away. Faces red with tears or fury,some townsfolk screamed every hateful thing they could at the man,while he desperately tried to ignore it.
But the worst ones,by far,were the people who would hate him from afar,treating him with coldness at every meeting. It had been a year since Rosé and Jaebum already knew the town had given up on him by this. Where were the kind faces and sweet aunties who'd always give him a bit of candy when they saw him?
Jeogui was a fiercely loyal town.
That was Jaebum's biggest problem.
Stumbling through,Jaebum walks amidst the insults and avoids the projectiles. He had to push himself to continue going when what he wanted to do is curl up into a ball,cry,and watch anime.
Mentally,he curses Jinyoung's choice of estate - why did he have to get a house that forces him to go through the square?
Eventually,he gets out of the square,and into the long,winding streets,the familiar path he would go down every day. Small cottages line the place,pretty,prim and perfect with perfect lawns and perfect roses.Jaebum's destination, Jinyoung's house is the ultimate exception,an unkempt,scruffy garden and dead roses.
Jaebum could feel cold staring at his back from his neighbours,but he was thankful for the absence of yelling,which would alert Jinyoung of his arrival. He starts to run down the street to get to Jinyoung's house,which he can now see,slightly blocked by a cherry blossom tree.
As he slowly opens Jinyoung's gate,he looks around to see if he's been spotted. He walks the path up to Jinyoung's pale blue door,and knocks on it carefully,hearing groaning and the sound of feet shuffling to the door. For once,he finally came to the door,Jinyoung would usually just ignore it completely.
When Jinyoung opens the door,Jaebum can see he's a mess,and it hurts to see him like this. Jinyoung rarely wears t-shirts,but he's wearing an especially stained one today with pyjama bottoms. He looks as if he hadn't left his bedroom since Rosé,which was probably the case. Jaebum can tell he's mad at him - his red eyes are cold,his posture stiffening immeadiately,his expression tight lipped in a perfectly controlled fury.
"Jinyoung,I-"
"Go home,Jaebum,"he says,his voice croaky with underuse,and Jaebum doesn't fail to notice he didn't say 'hyung' affectionately like he used to.
"But Jinyoung,I-"
"Go home,Jaebum."he repeats,his expression growing more dangerous - as if he would explode if Jaebum stayed.
"I didn't do anything!"pleads Jaebum,his face desperate. Briefly,he remembers how Jinyoung was the more emotional,more expressive boyfriend while Jaebum came off as closed off and silent. The tables have turned.
Jinyoung's chin wobbles slightly,but he clearly is trying to control himself. This was the way Jinyoung would look when he's near tears,as Jaebum can recall. He reaches his hand out to comfort Jinyoung,but quickly gets his hand slapped away. Jinyoung is about to explode on him.
"You didn't do anything?"he begins,curling his hands into fists.
"I told you,I-"
"You chea-!"Jinyoung lowers his voice as to not alert all his neighbours to the fact that he's gay,"You cheated on me with some random guy,and I had to drag that information out of Mark. Then,the very day I relent and forgive you,you go and kill my sister!"
"I didn-"
"And when Officer Choi and I found her,you were right next to her covered-"Jinyoung's voice cracked,"-covered in her blood,centimetres away from the knife,trying to deny it. You aren't worth my time!"
Jaebum opens his mouth to protest but Jinyoung slams the door.
That was the moment that Jaebum felt like breaking into pieces. Jaebum could take every blow from the village but Jinyoung just had to slam the door to send his feelings down the shredder.
I didn't do it.
