Trapped | Hwang Hyunjin

Side Story [2]

"...Sure?" Hanseol replies shortly, smiling at her soulmate. "I'm here to listen."

"Okay. But promise me not to be surprised, alright?"

Hanseol nods again, flashing an assuring smile to him. The younger one takes a deep breath and finally conveys the truth.

"I...lied to you." Jisung gives his soulmate an apologetic smile. Before the latter could question his statement, he quickly comes up with a clearer explanation. "Do you...remember the time when you asked me about my perspective on soulmates?"

Hanseol nods with a frown, being able to sense where the conversation is heading to. "Jisung...I—"

"No. I don't want to hear it." The boy immediately raises his hand to cut her off before she could make any unnecessary apology. He then covers his face with the same hand, heaving a huge sigh. Despite most of his facial features being hidden, Hanseol could still partly see that pained expression of his through the gaps.

"It was never your fault to begin with, Han." Jisung's voice cracks in between his monologue, "I'm the dumb one here. I was too indulged in my own concept of soulmates that I have never thought too much about other people's perspectives."

He lowers his tiny hand and faces his soulmate with an unreadable expression. "I know that soulmates don't have to be life partners. I know that."

"But to think that my soulmate has that kind of perspective...That's..." Jisung bites his lips, his breath getting heavier, yet he tries his best to smile at his soulmate.

"..." Hanseol is not able to say anything either. She feels like trash for not noticing Jisung's true feelings back then, because she too, was indulged in her own idea of soulmate that it disregarded his.

Then...he has been shouldering this burden after all these months. A sudden rush of guilt washes over the girl. The times where they hung out after she has officially got together with Hyunjin, suddenly don't feel the same anymore.

Hanseol felt like a villainess for playing with her soulmate's feelings, even though she's unaware of them. But it is, her denseness that causes his suffering—she obviously won't deny that.

"I'm not telling you this to make you reflect on your actions or anything." Jisung continues, while the girl internally apologises to him for basically doing what he has just said.

"I just...want this to get over with." He smiles bitterly, "It's for the better good. I cannot let myself be trapped in the past. So I want to end this, once and for all."

As if the time has stopped, the Christmas music in the background suddenly goes quiet. The soulmates could not hear anything else but each other's breath. The presence of the crowds slowly becomes silent—the lights surrounding the area felt somewhat dimmer, giving them a rather peaceful atmosphere.

"I have always liked you, Han." Jisung confesses, though, smiling, the girl can tell how much pain he's currently feeling.

"Of course, I don't expect you to return my feelings since you have Hyunjin by your side." He continues, still passionately staring at her beautiful brown orbs. "And...he's someone special to me too, so I would like to see you both happy."

Hanseol felt a huge pang on her chest. Unbeknownst to her, Jisung has been sacrificing a lot just for the sake of her happiness. She recalls how she used to ask him for advice to understand Hyunjin better.

She definitely can't imagine how Jisung felt. Why would he go this far for me? Her eyes are also threatening her to cry. Her soulmate gave her everything. But what has she done in return?