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Jeonghan
Keep your word.
Eyes glossing over the letters on her screen, Yuri let her lips curve bitterly. The sentence itself was too daunting, the meaning so scary. Jeonghan was a good friend to her boyfriend. His advice was always in favour of Seungcheol. But in his blatant bias, suffered Yuri's conscience. Pulled and picked on by the truth goaded in the sentence, Jeonghan was threatening Yuri. It was clear. As her relationship faltered, Jeonghan's staunch requests resurfaced.
Break up. If you can't support him, break up. If you're only going to hurt him, break up.
"Something interesting come up?" Jung Min brought back Yuri from her thoughts, peeking into the phone screen she was holding. It had been over two days but the effect of the text had remained. It made Jung Min curious, "Cheating on your little boyfriend already?"
The man before her was grinning, evaluating everyone's actions per his sleazy standards. He was bearable to Yuri before but he kept rotting with time. Disgusted, Yuri frowned. She switched her phone and placed it in her bag next to her, wanting to escape him immediately. They were seated on the balcony that oversaw the pool where Yuri had been enjoying a quiet sip of beer on a cool evening until Jung Min had shown up unannounced. She bore a hole, staring at the idiotic presence in her house, "Just tell me what you're here for and get a move on already."
Jung Min surveyed Yuri's seated figure for a few seconds before nodding to himself and walking around. "You've changed, Yuri." He spoke, walking around the large space, his hand gliding along the railing, reminiscent. "The look in your eyes is different. You used to like me, you know?" He smirked softly, picking up a beer can similar to hers, and popping it open, "And now you look at me like I'm some kind of bug. Don't you think you're being a little too much considering all that I've done for you?"
"What have you done for me?" Yuri scoffed, looking away. "Was it when you tried to take advantage of my feelings in high school? Or the fact that I found out you were trading information about me to my mother for money?" She laughed at the irony, "Should I be thankful for when you drugged me at the party or when you poached my members to bring me down?"
Her sarcasm fell thick like layers of snow. Yuri watched him drink with his lips to the can, pulling a straight face, "I don't say Thank You to assholes, Jung Min."
Jung Min was only around because Yuri's mother wanted him to be. His role remained an observer, keeping an eye on all of Yuri's movements. As bothersome as it may be, Jung Min was Yuri's direct superior. It was the only reason she'd tolerated him so far.
"There's a lot worse that I can do, you know. You should know best, knowing what I'm capable of—" His words trailed off, the possibilities afloat in the air for a few seconds. He drank a long sip of his drink before keeping it down for good. Walking up to her, he placed a finger underneath her chin, the pressure forcing her to face him against her will. Her eyes flared with anger, as Jung Min's beer-stained breath trickled to her nose, "Are you not scared of me?"
He was close with potential for violence. After all, she'd hurt what was most precious to him: his fragile ego.
Yuri glanced at the irritation in his eyes, the rough touch of his fingers on her chin. He was acting ridiculous and it was beginning to piss her off. Just as she was about to say something, however, a large growl-like voice resounded from behind her, "What the hell do you think you are doing right now?!"
It was Seungcheol.
Yuri hadn't the opportunity to look from where she sat but it was obvious. It was hard for words to describe the raw energy wafting off him at that moment, distinctive to him. Whether it was Jung Min clicking his tongue in response or her boyfriend's familiar voice, it was unmistakably the feeling Seungcheol emanated.
Jung Min had already moved away from the sound of him alone, the punch from back then still familiar. Choi Seungcheol was fearsome. Worse, when angry. Anyone who'd encountered him would know and anyone who didn't would run away from the look on his face. Seungcheol had that effect on people. Sighing, Yuri stood up to face him. The elder of the trio was already walking towards her, the anger evident in his walk.
"Stop." Yuri's calm voice interrupted the atmosphere. Her small palm on his chest could barely stop anything but Seungcheol halted at her words. "Let him go," she said.
Seungcheol's eyes glanced downward for a second and then beyond her, where Jung Min stood. The worm-like man, in Seungcheol's eyes, was spinelessly clutching the railing for his life. It would be short-lived, he determined for a second-the joy of hurting the man who had placed his squeamish hands on his girlfriend. "Scum like him don't deserve your protection, Yuri." Seungcheol frowned.
"He doesn't deserve anything at all," Yuri spoke determinedly, nodding along, "Not even your attention."
Yuri stole a glance at Jung Min. The cowardice of the man stood out in his poor defensive form. He looked like an animal being preyed on by the lion with a desperate wish to escape. The moment she signalled, Jung Min had darted back into the building and away as fast as possible. Yuri scoffed, who was scared of who now? The current situation was so contradictory to his words earlier that it nearly made her laugh.
That laughter, however, came with a price. Yuri glanced at the curled-up fists Seungcheol had on each side. "He's gone. I'm alright, Cheol-ssi. I'm fine." Then she saw the expression on his face, "I'm sorry you had to see that."
Seungcheol was not happy. The number of situations involving Jung Min was increasing. And for some reason, it always put Yuri in danger. He'd disliked the man from the moment he'd first placed eyes on him but now he was sure. Jung Min wasn't safe and having his girlfriend around the man irked him. A short breath later, Seungcheol felt her small palm on his chest. It was cool and calm in comparison to the fire that burned through his body at that moment.
He shook his head, trying to snap out of the vile thoughts in his head, frustrated. "Why do you keep him around, Yuri?" He pointed to the doorway Jung Min had disappeared through, "You know he's not up to any good."
He then set down the pack of cans he'd brought on the table next to them. A slight crease formed on his head when he noticed two opened beer cans already sprawled on the table. Nonplussed by the ridiculous set-up in front of him, Seungcheol frowned. "Don't tell me," he looked at her confused, "Were you drinking with him?"
Yuri drew a breath. There was much that she wanted to explain but in that moment, she was bewildered by the conclusion Seungcheol had casually drawn to. "No," was her swift reply, "But Jung Min is a part of the company and I'm going to be in a similar situation someday where I might share drinks with him."
Now, there wasn't much to the statement or the question that preceded her unwarranted explanation. But Seungcheol felt hurt. The place they stood on was where they'd always opened up their cans and with it, their hearts. To him, it was their thing. Perhaps it was just some part of him wanting to stay connected to her but even that silly excuse was beginning to fall apart.
"I don't understand." Seungcheol frowned. He'd tried to wrap his head around it a million times but respecting her decision was not easy. "Why are you doing any of this? Why this company?" When he did not receive the response he was looking for, Seungcheol softly asked, "Is this about your mother coming back?"
Yuri's head snapped up at that. She'd never talked about it before. He wasn't supposed to know. "What? No. That's not true. Where did you hear that? It must've been a miscommunication."
"I can tell you're lying without looking, Yuri. Whatever you wish to say, don't bother making excuses anymore." Seungcheol flatly put it down, his frustration simmering beneath the surface, "I'm a part of this industry as much as you are. I have my eyes and ears around the company. Dongmin Hyung told me the whole story. Your mother barged in and it's connected to your fainting, all of this." The weight of the revelation bore down on him, making his chest feel tight, he couldn't help feeling betrayed, "If he hadn't said anything, I would've never known. Why didn't you tell me something so big happened to you?"
Keep your word.
And then Yuri sighed, the sound heavy with resignation. She shook her head in defeat like she'd resigned everything before her. In simple words, she expressed her heart, and it felt like a dagger in Seungcheol's chest, "Because I don't want to tell you."
The air seemed to grow colder.
"What?" Seungcheol was stunned and Yuri almost chuckled to herself, but there was no humour in it. His expression was unlike anything she'd seen before, a mix of confusion, hurt and frustration. She wondered who she would hurt with this—him? Or herself?
"It's not that I can't tell you. It's that I won't." Yuri nodded along the thoughts likely to run in his head, a horrid feeling settling in her stomach. She dreaded herself for what she was about to say.
The silence between them became unbearable.
"I-uh," Her heart wavered at the sight of him. The mood had already sunk and her lips chose her next words for her, "I think we should break up."
Her voice cracked and she felt her world shatter.
Yuri's words came out like scratches on a blackboard. Seungcheol nearly flinched, unbelieving of what he'd just heard. Shaking his head, he hung onto the frayed ends of hope, "Yuri, you can't be serious. Look, if this is some kind of trick because I kept asking questions, I swear, I'll stop. So, don't go joking about things like this."
But the weight of her words crushed him. And Yuri wasn't replying. All her energy was focused on keeping the tears at bay. She wasn't looking at him. Seungcheol, who saw that, feared the silence that followed, "Come on, Yuri. You don't mean it." He stumbled forward, the shock written on his face, "Are you seriously trying to break up with me?"
His voice trembled, desperation lacing every word.
Yuri gulped, closing her eyes. A tear slid down her cheek, mirroring the pain she felt inside.
"Yuri," He bent down to get a clear look at her face. Seungcheol hoped she would catch the sincerity that he felt, his voice so low, it was almost fragile. "You don't have to push me away. We can figure out whatever the problem is. Just talk to me. Please."
"Please." His eyes pleaded with hers, a well of emotions he couldn't hide. "There has to be a way other than this."
The room felt smaller, invisible walls closing in on them.
Yuri shook her head no, the tears dripping out. She couldn't let him deal with her problems anymore. She couldn't depend on him for everything. He didn't deserve it. And she, she no longer deserved him.
Her chest tightened as she felt her love for him mixed with a profound sense of guilt and shame. Seungcheol had always been her rock, her confidant, and her protector. But somewhere along the way, in her own insecurities and the overwhelming weight of her secrets, she had lost her trust in him.
She understood that her silence had become a barrier between them, a wall she had built to shield him from her troubles. In doing so, she had pushed him away and now the distance was too long to recover. Yuri's heart ached at the thought of what could have been, at the love that still lingered between them, now tainted by regret.
Realising that Yuri was not going to say anything more, Seungcheol straightened up. The realisation hadn't quite settled in yet he knew something had ended. Something had died. He stood up, the distance between them feeling like an unbridgeable chasm. A relationship was a two man's clap. There was only so much he could do with one hand withdrawn.
The silence was deafening, and their hearts ached with the finality of it all.
"It takes an eternity to build what we have, Yuri." He bit on his lip, infuriated. Every part of him was screaming then, every bit of him wanted to cry, "It takes an eternity to build but only a moment to destroy. You could've saved us yet you chose to break it all."
As Seungcheol left the room, his footsteps fading away, Yuri buried her face in her hands and burst into the tears she was holding back. She had made the hardest decision of her life, but why did it feel like she had torn out a piece of her soul?
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