lyricist°l.jn [editing]

chapter thirty-one: communication

  CRASH!

  The glass vase shattered into pieces and it scattered- a small shard managing to jump and slice her leg.

  Her jaw clenched but not of the pain, but instead anger as she glared furiously at her father with watery eyes.

  "YOU RUINED MY LIFE ENOUGH! CAN'T YOU AT LEAST, LET ME HAVE THIS??" She bursted her lungs but the man only gave a look of indifference. 

  "We agreed with two weeks, didn't we? You only have 3 days left. The clock is ticking, Jinkyong," Jihan spoke coldly, unfeeling as he turned to return to his room.
"And don't dare to play a trick on me. We both know it won't work."

  Jinkyong looks down at her bandaged leg that's concealed by her jeans but her worries are more heavy on the 3 days countdown.

  "Ah~" Jeno sounds with his spoon hovering in front of her. 

  Once again, they're having a date at his dorm since the rest have their own plans.

  She grins, chuckling a little before accepting his offer. "Thanks. Here."

  She does the same of feeding him a spoonful and he gladly chomps on it- biting down mischievously so she'll struggle to get her spoon back.

  "Is something going on?" He then, asks after unlatching his jaw to save his teeth from getting knocked out.

  Jinkyong 's heart leaps. Did he notice...?

  She focuses on his solicitous gaze and smiles. "No, it'sㅡ"

  "Because, I can't understand what you're feeling, I can't comfort you and it's making me so frustrated!" His aggravation heightened and he leaned against his chair- raking through his dark locks with his fingers.
-
"Seeing you cry was already so painful and the fact that you chose someone else"s arms just-" Jeno paused at the pain in his throat. "Why not me?"

  Her hand clenches at the memory. After all that, how can she attempt to hide things from him again?

  The first time she kept secrets from him, he got hurt- terribly. How can she forget?
 
  "Kyo?" Jeno calls again and reaches for her hand at the sight of tears brimming her eyes.

  "I'm sorry... I should've been honest. My father...he wants us to break up by the end of the month," she bawls out- shattering right in front of his eyes for the first time ever. 

  Although, she's cried in front of him before, she acted tough and was driven by the spite she had for her father.

  But now, she's crying simply because she can't afford not to, anymore.

  "He has a picture of us that clearly shows our identities. He's going to publish that photo on the internet if I don't manage to break off with you," she difficulty explains between heavy sobs.
"I w-wanted to make you hate me. I didn't want to say anything because I thought that if I just broke up and left you without a single e-explanation, you'd hate me so much.
  "That way you wouldn't think of me as a good memory and could move o-on. But, I can't... I can't leave you. Whichever road I take, I have no choice but to hurt you and it... I hate it."

  Her cries are muffled into his chest when he envelopes her in his arms to rub her back soothingly and lay his head on her crown.
 
  "Let him show the photo."

  At his statement, all her tears cease from pure shock and she pushes him away with a furrow.
 
  "Wha- Why would you even say that? That photo isn't just a simple photo. One look at it and people can tell what our relationship is! Your face is exposed!"

  "I'm not breaking up with you. He wants to do what he wants? Fine. Then, I'll do whatever I want too," Jeno boldly says, unwavering with his answer and Kyo stares in disbelief.

  How can he just say that like it's nothing?

  "What do you think will happen if he does publish it? People, your fans, the whole internet will see it and it'll spread even before we can blink. That single photo can jeopardize everything that you worked for! Everything you have willㅡ"

  "Jinkyong!" He sternly exclaims and her breath hitches from the abruptness of it but still, he holds her shoulders so carefully. That one detail is enough to summon her tears again.

  Jeno's brows twitch and knit before he lets out deep sigh- letting his head hang low. "Jinkyong. I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about my job, my image and all related to it but, they don't compare to how much I care about you."

  At this point, Kyo can barely see him from the tears constantly blurring her eyes but she can guess that he's restraining down his emotional burst from the way his touch trembles.

  "They can say whatever they want about the picture because I know that I can handle them. I'll tell them everything if that's what they want and sooner or later, it'll die down. What I can't bear is the thought of losing you and never being able to find my way back to you," Jeno confesses and he gulps with his eyes stinging and red.

  Now it's his turn to be wrapped up in her arms and she pats his back while still aggressively sniffing from her breakdown.

  She doesn't say anything. She doesn't know what to say. Will her words even be able to change anything? Change his mind- No, she's not going to change his mind.

  For the first time in her life, there's something she desperately wants and never want to let go of so why should she act like she's such a superhero by pretending that everything will be fine with her sacrifice?

  Besides, in this situation, she won't be the only one suffering- Jeno will too and he's tormented enough by her.

  "...Okay," she simply whispers and they stay in each other's hold for what seems like forever but even forever still feels so short to them.