"People go but how they left always stays."
⋆ • ⊱◦ ☾✩☽ ◦⊰ • ⋆
I sniffled as I walked on the streets, the starry black sky shining upon the city from above. There wasn't any moon to shower the glory of its beauty upon the place, just stars pinned up in the black blanket of the sky.
It felt like the sky was relating to my situation. Full but empty. It had all the stars to adorn it but the moon was missing.
Only a few cars were passing by at this time, most shops having a glowing sign-boards, shining with the words 'CLOSED'.
I strolled around mindlessly, a thousand things crossing my brain at once. I was sober but drunk at that point. Drunk from sadness and heartbreak.
Right then, a car stopped right beside me, making me halt once I heard my name being called by the very driver.
"Areum?" Jay gasped as he parked his car near the sidewalk, getting out to approach my figure, "Are you okay? Why are you—" He cut himself off, as he fumbled around for something in his pants pocket. A small, inaudible 'aha!' left his lips once he pulled out a white handkerchief.
He handed it to me, motioning towards my tear-stained face. I must look really pathetic for him to react like that. I wiped my cheeks, my nose having a heavy feeling due to all the sniffling I did.
"Where are you heading to?" He asked as he slipped out his phone from his pants pocket, "It's like 12 AM right now." He said, concern etched in his voice. I had met just him just a couple of times, and the amount of concern he was showing for me made my heart swell up.
The Park brothers surely were something.
"I don't know," I mumbled, thinking of a place I would head to. Juyeon's place would have been an option, if he was in Seoul that was.
"You don't know?" He gasped again, his eyebrows jumping up in worry. He pondered over the three words which had just lolled out of my mouth before his eyes widened at his own thought-process, "Oh my god," He whispered as realisation suddenly hit him like a bullet, "It's that Jaehyun guy again, isn't it?"
I looked away, securing my lip between my teeth set as I nodded. The next thing I processed was Jay grabbing my arm as he pulled me along with him to his car.
"We're going to Sunghoon's house and I'm not even asking." He declared, motioning me into the passenger's seat.
I didn't even protest. Sunghoon's place was the last resort.
The car ride was silent, as I looked sideways at the man who was driving the car, a disheveled expression on his face.
"Why do care so much for someone you have just recently met?" I asked, breaking down the wall of ice, my voice hoarse. I honestly didn't even care about how I looked or sounded at this point. It was like I had gone blank.
I knew Jaehyun was cheating on me since the day I had seen him outside the restaurant, but somewhere along the path, Sunghoon made me believe that maybe, just maybe it was all a misunderstanding.
That maybe Jaehyun was never a guy that would even think of cheating on me. And for once, I wanted to just believe him; believe that all my intuitions about my boyfriend were wrong.
But because of that, I had to go through all of it again. The heartbreak, the pain, all over again. But this time, I was immune to it. I was too numb now to feel myself shattering all over again.
Jay chuckled, his plump lips curving up in a small smile.
He was really handsome, his lean figure and broad shoulders adding to the view. But what was more beautiful was his personality. I had developed a bond with him in such a small amount of time, his humour, his support, his love for the people he cared for. All of it was rare, some qualities very few people had.
"I may or may not be doing this for my brother."
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to what he was talking about. He seemed to noticed my confusion, as another set of chortles left his mouth. A laugh that showed that he expected me to be confused.
"We've reached." He smiled, parking the car in front of Sunghoon's apartment building.
I nodded, thanking him before I opened the door to my side, turning around one last time to face Jay, "Aren't you coming too?" I asked.
He shook his head, the smile being persistent, "I might have a girlfriend to take care of, and I figured that you might need some personal space."
⤜ ⬪ ⋄ ⬪ ⤛
Sunghoon was surprised as he opened the door to reveal my sullen silhouette. His hair was in a mess, his eyes sleepy. I spotted eye bags under his eyes, showing that he clearly hadn't taken a proper nap in days. He was clearly tucked into bed when I decided to turn up in front of his house, seeing he was shirtless.
"Areum?" Sunghoon mumbled out, his voice raspy and hoarse, "What happened? It's like 12 AM right now—"
I gulped, feeling my throat tighten up as it refused to let any word break free. I just wanted to pour everything out at this point. So, I didn't let another thought cross my mind, I didn't want to think either way as I stepped forwards, into his house and wrapped my arms around him.
It happened in a flash. Sunghoon's whole body stiffened, goosebumps rising throughout on his bare torso.
He was going to ask what was wrong but stopped abruptly when an indecent sob escaped my lips.
He wrapped his one arm around my back, his another arm reaching out to shut the door close.
His heart was hammering against his rib cage, loud and clear against my ear. It was too fast and loud, enough to drown any other thoughts in my brain. The muscles on his biceps twitched beneath my arms every time he ran his hand on my back in soothing motions.
"I'm here."