❝ 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘... 𓏴 ♢
ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁 . . . 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 those who fall for you ❜ ⸝⸝
⊹ . ◌ ༚ ˳ 🕳️⠀﹒⠀ ꙳ .
⌗ ; 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞 ▬ ★ ??
HEARTBREAK. It drained her mind and body like no other. But never in her life, had Midori felt purer, rawer and more exposed. Once turned against you, love cut deeper than any wound, deep to the core.
The higher up you go, the harder you fall.
And Midori had been above the clouds with Hyunjin.
She was no stranger to pain or betrayal; the theme having recurred in her life a few times before. However, they were usually familial. And every single time, Midori reacted the same. Her feelings did the opposite of what they were supposed to do, they numbed her down.
Perhaps that was why she was sitting in Mercy's car. A stoic expression painted her angelic features, the flames of heaven dancing behind her eyes and the frown of the dead on her lips.
'Have you ever met Itzy?' Mercy asked, eyes trained on the road in front of them, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting against her thigh.
Midori glanced at her, breath hitching at the back of her throat for a split second.
She could see why Heeseung liked her so much.
'I've seen them a few times at the Music Banks, but we've never interacted,' she answered with a slow nod, pulling her eyes from the older girl.
'I heard they're debuting a new group next year,' Mercy said and clicked her tongue. 'I thought Ni-ki was young but apparently, their youngest member was born a year later than him.'
Midori raised her eyebrows, silently thanking Mercy for changing the subject. 'Really?'
'Yeah. . . honestly I feel like they're debuting people who are way too young for the industry. At least let them turn eighteen before getting thrown into the idol world,' Mercy said, voicing her own thoughts. 'Starship Entertainment is debuting someone who was born in 2007. That's just crazy. . .'
She nodded along. 'Yeah, I agree.'
'We're here now.'
Exhaling a small breath, Midori stepped out of the car, Mercy following suit.
Together, they strode inside the building and came to a reception of some sort.
Mercy cleared her throat at the receptionist. 'Uh. . . We're here to se━'
'Mercy?' A voice spoke up.
Snapping her head towards the sound, Midori laid eyes on Hwang Yeji, her hair tied up in a bun, a pair of sweatpants and a black crop top. A friendly smile was on her face while she glanced between Mercy and Midori.
'Yeji!' Mercy smiled. 'This is Midori.'
Yeji turned her eyes towards Midori. 'Hello, Midori-ssi.'
The younger girl bowed at her, a friendly smile painting her lips.
'We're here to see Hyunjin.'
A look of horror flashed across Yeji's face, her smile slowly faltering.
'Okay. . . you're his girlfriend, right?' Yeji nodded her head towards Midori.
'I am,' Midori confirmed, glancing at Mercy.
The two girls shared a brief look, suspicion invading their hearts. Yeji knew something they didn't.
'He's quite busy right now. . . with the comebacks and stuff,' Yeji said, lips forming a thin line.
Mercy raised an eyebrow. 'Is he now?'
'Yeah,' she said.
'We'll I'm sure he has some time to meet his girlfriend he hasn't seen in weeks, right, Midori?'
Midori nodded along, letting Mercy do the talking.
'I don't know. . . Mercy. . . he's very busy,' Yeji sighed.
'Busy with what?' Midori spoke up, tilting her head to the side.
'Practising. . .'
'Practising shoving his tongue down someone else's throat?' A part of Midori regretted saying that, in front of her senior. But the other part of her couldn't stop herself, wanting Hyunjin to hurt and realise what he had lost.
Mercy snorted beside her, hand flying over her mouth to silence her laughs.
Taken aback by Midori's boldness, Yeji's eyebrows shot up. 'No, no, why would he ever━?'
'Yeji,' Mercy cut her off, tone dropping. 'Please. I know you're good friends with him but for goodness fucking sake he's cheating on his girlfriend.'
Beside her, Midori cleared her throat awkwardly.
'My apologies. . .' Mercy said, embarrassment turning her lips into a small frown.
'You're right,' Yeji blurted out. 'He's in the third practise room with Jeongin and her. . . you know where that is, Merc.'
'I do, yeah.' Mercy gave her a thankful nod.
Midori inhaled a sharp breath, anxiety tugging on her heart. Silently, she followed Mercy to the third practice room, not bothering to care about the interior of the building. Voices could be heard on the other side of the room, three different ones, all familiar in their own way.
Without bothering to knock, Mercy pushed the door open, a small glare directed toward the people inside the room.
It was there Midori laid eyes on the woman who had taken Hyunjin from her. A pit of anger formed in her stomach, devouring her senses.
'So this is where you've been,' Midori began, leaning against the doorframe while crossing her arms over her chest.
Hyunjin began advancing toward her. 'Midori. . .'
Midori swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. 'Is that her?' She asked, nodding her head towards the other girl.
'Midori. . .'
'Is that her, Hyunjin?' Midori pressed, peeling herself off the wall.
'You weren't meant to find out,' he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the girl.
'A part of me wishes I didn't,' she admitted and took a slow step towards him. 'A part of me wishes I could go back to being the old naive me. The one who loved you and who tried to be the perfect girlfriend for you. The one who thought you loved her back. . . but clearly that was all a lie.'
'Midori,' Hyunjin's hands made contact with her cheeks. 'What you're describing is true. I love you, Midori.'
A sigh brushed past her lips. 'And I love you as well,' she said, placing her hand on his. 'But all of this ends here, Hyunjin.'
'Don't say that━'
'The hell do you mean?' Mercy snapped, taking her place beside Midori. 'You cheated on her, don't go around thinking that you have the right to say no to anything she does.'
'It's not like that Mercy. . .'
'You can't help who you fall in love with,' Jeongin spoke up, looking down in shame at both Midori and Mercy's glare.
'Of course not,' Mercy said. 'But you can sure as hell grow some balls to break the fuck up instead of cheating.'
Hyunjin rolled his eyes. 'Jeongin. Let me handle this. Go take a break from practising, and take her with you.'
Silently, Jeongin complied, pulling the girl with him. Midori glanced at Mercy, the older girl giving Midori a small nod before leaving the room with Jeongin and Hyunjin's new girlfriend. Her voice could be heard down the hall, powerful voice echoing as she scolded the two.
Once alone, Midori dropped her facade. 'Are you happy, Hyunjin?'
'I'm so sorry, Midori.'
'Answer the question.'
'No,' Hyunjin caved with a sigh. 'I'm not happy.'
'Good,' she commented while her lips formed a thin line. 'You don't deserve to be.'
'It was a mistake, Midori.'
'I don't care,' she said, chuckling in pure disbelief. 'I don't care if it was a mistake or if you purposely did it. That doesn't change the fact that you've been doing whatever the hell behind my back with her.'
Before Hyunjin got the chance to speak, Midori spoke again.
'I want you to be happy, Hyunjin. And clearly, you can't be that with me, so perhaps it's best for us to just. . . end it here,' she said.
Hyunjin took a step closer to Midori, placing his hands on her shoulders. 'Midori, you know I love you.'
'Not enough, apparently.' She pushed his hands off her shoulders, taking slow steps back towards the door. 'Thank you for all the good moments, Hyunjin.'
It was there Choi Midori left Hwang Hyunjin.