"S-Sungjae?"
The two of them were standing on the rooftop, his hands holding hers. The wind was grazing her bare skin, some strands of her hair carelessly swaying with it. He stared at her, hope in his eyes that made her only feel more guilty under his gaze.
"Please," he whispered, reaching down to the crown that she had in her hands.
Eunji felt her head drop, she shut her eyes and wished for someone to wake her up from this nightmare. She didn't want to hurt Sungjae's feelings at all, she had no intentions of breaking his heart at all. But breaking his heart was the only way to move on.
She felt a tear fall out of her eye, "I-I'm sorry, Sungjae. I can't do this."
His hands fell from hers, and she winced at his sigh of frustration. She looked up to see him, his face showing a flash of hurt. She watched him as he tossed his mask to the side, running his hands through his brown locks angrily.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, backing away from him, wiping the tears that were beginning to stream down her cheeks without end. "I'm in love with someone else."
He turned his back towards her, a few sniffs coming from him. She took a step to reach out to him, before he held up his hand to stop her. "Go, just go."
"I'm sorry, Sungjae, I never wanted to hurt you—"
"Just go. I don't want to see you here."
Eunji dropped her arms to her sides, mumbling her apologies as she began to head back to the hall. She ran down the stairs, in hopes of finding her other king who she left. She felt her heart race and break at the same time.
Once she reached the hall, she wiped her tears and began to push through the couples that were dancing on the floor. She searched from him, stopping some guys here and there to check if it was him. It was like she was going insane, only to become sane when she sees him.
"Minhee, have you seen Jimin?" Eunji stopped Minhee from dancing with a guy.
She shook her head, "I haven't seen him since half an hour ago, he was standing near that door. Maybe he left?"
Eunji nodded her head, thanking Minhee, running towards the door. She pushed through the double doors, ripping off her mask from her face. She gripped tightly onto the crown that was still in her hands, arriving at the entrance of the hall.
"Jimin?" She called out, pushing through the entrance doors, seeing nothing but an empty parking lot. "Jimin? I know you're here, come out, please."
She took a step through the parking lot, walking and walking until she stopped in her tracks. Ahead of her, she squinted her eyes at a figure that was standing near a lamp post, his back facing her.
She whispered, "J-Jimin?"
She took another step, and as if he sensed she was there, he turned around. Her heart dropped when she saw the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. He was wearing the same exact tux as the man who was the first one to approach her at the hall.
Their eyes met, and it was almost as if the anger inside his eyes was completely evident. His blood was boiling, and his heart was clenching. She began to reach out to him, only to stop when he gripped tightly onto the crown that shimmered underneath the moonlight. He tossed the crown to the side, letting it fall onto the pavement.
He smiled sadly, shrugging his shoulders, "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."
"Jimin, I—"
"You look beautiful in that crown," he added, "it suits you."
"Let me explain." She whispered desperately.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he mumbled, "there's nothing to explain, I've seen everything you wanted me to see."
It was that same feeling you get when you're breaking up with someone.
He turned around, and began to walk away from her. He bit his lip, trying to hold in the tears. She watched him get farther and farther away from her, having the urge of running after him. But she felt like her own two feet were glued to the concrete.
Was this how she felt when I left her for Soyun? He thought to himself.Was this how she felt?
❃❃❃
You don't really know how drunk you are until you're sober.
But as you down shots of vodka, the only thing that seems to be in your thoughts are the troubled relationships; love. Possibly the girl you love the most.
If sober thoughts are lies then that only meant that drunk confessions were the truth.
Jimin kissed his teeth as he downed his tenth shot of vodka, still trying to make a decision if he should call it a night. He hasn't drunk alcohol in six months.
And he promised he wouldn't drink ever again.
Juggling the shot glass with his two fingers, he stared at the remains of the vodka that was sitting at the bottom. "I guess promises were meant to be broken."
Broken glass, shattered all over the floor. Clothes were sprawled around his bed, scattered all over the wrinkled bed sheets that were left untouched. Bottles of any type of alcohol you could drink were empty, sitting near the windows that had blinds that shut the daylight out.
He was still lying on the bed, hasn't gone back to work since that night. His lips quivered whenever he tried to suck in some air into him. His nose was clogged and his eyes were bloodshot red from all the crying he had done every single night.
Days became nights and nights became months. He didn't keep up with how many days he had spent all alone in his bedroom, his wrecked bedroom, to be exact.
He stared at the silver band that was shining in between his two fingers. His eyes then shifted towards the shot glass with vodka that was filled to the rim. A tear escaped his eye as he wrapped his hand around the ring.
She promised. She promised to marry him. But she broke her promise, she broke it bit by bit right before his eyes. She broke her promise right before his eyes that were blinded by infatuation, something he called 'love'.
She was pregnant. She was committed to someone else, that person not being him. She was in love with someone else, and she was falling out of love with Jimin.
And Jimin still doesn't know if she really loved him or not. Did she fall in love with the Jimin before the change in appearance? Or did she fall in love with the badass Jimin who finally took care of how he looked?
"I guess promises were meant to be broken." He whispered to himself, throwing the engagement ring, somehow falling through the mouth of a beer bottle. He smirked, downing his last shot of vodka, "score."
❃❃❃
Eunji glanced at her watch for the billionth time. She was sitting outside of the hall for God knows how long. She was hopeless, heart-broken, and speechless. She was at a loss for words after letting Jimin run off just like that. Not know what to do right after, she made up her mind to sit outside and let herself have some time to think.
"Are you the girl?"
She turned around to see Sungjae, still hurt but someone trying to reach out to her.
"What girl—"
"You should know who I'm talking about, Eunji." He sounded a bit angry, but his face was softening. "Are you the girl that Jimin wrote about?"
Eunji bit her lip to stop herself from crying, only to be surprised to find out that she was, nodding her head slowly. He sat down right beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I found out two days ago."
"Are you still in love with him?" He whispered, their eyes met, and she nodded her head in reply. He sighed, looking away from her. "He really loves you, huh?"
"As much as I love him," she mumbled, her lip quivering. "You should be mad at me."
He chuckled sadly, "it's hard to stay mad at you."
"Sungjae, I'm sorry." She whispered, "you'll find her, someday. And when you do, she'll love you more than I do. She'll treat you better than I did. She'll be much more better than me, because I'm not the one for you."
He wiped a tear, nodding his head, wiping her tears as well, "I'm sorry, too."
"Sorry? What for?" She glanced at him.
"For making him run off tonight, he probably hates me because I stole you from him." He chuckled, and she finally felt herself sigh with relief. He pointed towards the crown that was in her hands, "why don't you go after him? You still have time to make things right. I'm sure he'll give you a chance to explain."
"Thank you," she whispered, kissing his cheek. She took off her crown from her head, handing it to him, "I hope you find her, she could be right in that very hall, standing all alone waiting for her king."
❃❃❃
Two days later...
Another sigh escaped her lips when she passed by Jimin's empty office. She tried to muster up all of her feelings so that she could reconcile him the day after the centennial party. But ever since that night, he hasn't shown up to work.
"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."
She winced at the memory, looking up to see Sungjae staring at her with a worried look. He approached her, and all she could do was eye the paper that was in his hand. She stared at him, "is that for me?"
"It's a resignation letter," she felt her heart drop, only to gulp nervously.
"It better be not who I think it is," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Hate to say it," he began, "but it's Jimin."
She sighed frustratingly, turning her back to him. She didn't want Sungjae to see her cry again, he can't. She let out a bitter laugh, "funny how the same exact thing happened six months ago."
"He resigned at your old company?" She shook her head.
"I did. I resigned because of this new opportunity, and also because of him." She explained, finally gaining the courage to face him. "Funny, huh?"
"He called in this morning saying he was going to start packing his things this afternoon." Sungjae added, "this is your only chance to talk to him, and explain everything."
"But what if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Eunji asked him worriedly.
He shook his head, "I'm pretty sure he wants you to. The guy looked desperate for an answer when he gave me his resignation letter yesterday morning."
"So he was here, and you didn't tell me?" Eunji gasped.
"Actually, he came to my condo, looking a bit hungover, with the resignation letter." He explained, "and he told me not to tell you."
"Why?" Eunji was angry now, and she wanted to yell out how she was desperate to see Jimin. She wanted to know if he was alright, and she wanted to tell him the truth. The truth of how she chose him.
Sungjae bit his lip before mumbling, "he said he didn't want to hurt you, and he said it was best for you not to know about him resigning. But I knew that you had to know."
Eunji sighed, "I can't believe this."
"He said he wanted to resign not only to prevent yourself from hurting, but because he wanted to protect you." Sungjae added. "He told me that he still loves you, and because of that, he said he was willing to hand you over to me."
Eunji's face softened, and a slight wince escaped her lips.
"If I were you, I would go after him if you have the chance before it's too late." Sungjae insisted, "before he begins to accept the fact that he has no chance, when he does."
❃❃❃
Click!
Eunji's head perked up when she heard a click from the corner of the office. She got up from her desk, heading towards her door. She peeked through the side to see the guy she has been waiting all day for.
She spent the whole day waiting, waiting, and waiting for him to show up. She knew that eventually, he would have to come into the office to pack his things. And this was definitely the time, she was right.
Her heart skipped a beat, looking at him sort his things into his bags and cardboard boxes. It was funny how the roles have changed this time.
She breathed in, before letting out all of the air that was making her suffocate. Walking towards him, he suddenly dropped a pack of blank paper onto the floor, causing a loud sound to echo through the empty office.
She reached out just in time to grab it, only to freeze in her spot when her hand was grazed by his. She looked up to see him staring at her with a surprised look.
"W-What are you doing here?" He asked, as she grabbed the pack of paper and handing it to him.
She ignored his question, gripping a crown that was in her other hand, hidden behind her back. "You're resigning?"
He nodded his head, going back to his packing. She watched him, not knowing where to start, and how to end things on a better note.
"Why are you here so late? You should be at home resting." He began, and she felt her heartstrings being tugged at.
"I was waiting for you," she whispered.
He laughed, and she knew it was fake. "Waiting for me? You didn't need to."
"Sungjae told me." She started, and she saw him tense up.
"Told you what?"
"You resigned because of me, didn't you?" She asked him. "Sungjae told me that you did it to protect me, and you didn't want to hurt me."
"It's true." He muttered, "because I can't stand seeing you two together."
"Jimin—"
"He won." He flashed a sad smile, only to let it falter and flash into hurt and anger. "I lost by a mile, only because I know you love him too."
"Jimin, let me explain—"
"What is there to explain, Eunji?!" He yelled, causing her to jump. "You don't need to explain any further because I understand everything, it's all crystal clear to me. I understand that you love him and he loves you. I understand that you two are dating. I understand that I was a stupid jerk, and here I am falling in love with you. I understand that I have lost all of my chances of getting you back."
He was breathless, and she couldn't find her voice anymore. He closed his boxes and huffed, grabbing his car keys. He faced her, and she realized that the two of them were crying.
"I'll see you around. But for now, thanks for the memories." He began to make his way towards the elevator.
She let out a soft cry, wiping her tears, turning around. "Yah, come back here I'm not done with you!"
He didn't dare turn back, he went straight towards the exit. She began to run after to him. He stepped into the elevator just as she was turning from a corner. The elevator doors were about to close until she put her hand through them to stop it from closing on her.
Struggling to get into the elevator, she was pulled in by him. She sighed with relief, only to see him with a bewildered look. "Are you trying to hurt yourself?!"
"I need to explain myself because if I don't," she began, "you would lose your chance."
"Mwo?"
"I'm not in love with Sungjae." She bit her lip, "I was never in love with him in that way."
"Then explain what happened two nights ago—"
"I was looking all over for you after Sungjae took me away from you, but you ran away." She explained, "you didn't give me a chance to explain."
The elevator doors opened to his floor and she immediately pressed a random floor button, bring the elevator back up to the top floor. She turned towards him, who had a small grin beginning to form on his face.
"I'm still in love with you," she whispered, "and in case you wanted to know, I never stopped."
The two of them haven't spoken, and it was almost as if there was a mutual understanding between them, through their minds. He dropped his boxes and bags onto the floor, starting to close the gap that was in between the two of them. She felt herself walking backwards, until she hit the wall.
He stopped, only to walk back to his boxes, rummaging through the content. He picked up a crown, and she let out a giggle. He turned around and began to walk back to her. She took out her crown from behind, and stood onto her tippy toes to place it onto his head. He placed his crown on her head and stroked her cheek with his soft hands.
"I guess I'm not resigning anymore," he teased, while she chuckled.
He leaned in, slowly, and she felt her heartbeat pick up its pace. She closed her eyes, and felt his lips brush against hers. He pulled her into a passionate kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.
"Are you going up or—oh my goodness." The two of them pulled away to see the elevator doors opened, revealing a random guy standing there with a shocked look on his face, his phone lazily in his hand. "Am I interrupting something?"
Jimin grinned, ignoring the guy's question and pushing a button that led to the top floor. He turned back towards Eunji, slowly leaning in once again, letting the tip of their noses brush one another.
"I'm falling in love with you, Eunji—scratch that, I'm in love with you." He mumbled, "and this time, it's not infatuation."