although // shin ryujin

stay here with me

(jangmi's POV)

i ran out of keeho's house, with no destination other than to get as far away from him as possible. today was supposed to be a good day for the both of us, as we finally got to spend time with each other after being apart for a week. it seemed like that amount of time only made keeho lonely, though, and had to find somebody else to fill that temporary void while we were apart.

it all happened about an hour ago, when i arrived at the doorstep of his house and rang the doorbell. i patiently waited for around five minutes, but i got no response. so, i decided to call him, a total of 3 times actually, but i got no response, as well. a little worried, i decided to use the extra key he gave me for his house and pushed the door open only for me to regret ever opening it in the first place.

turns out, keeho was home after all.

but he wasn't alone.

instead, there was a petite blonde girl sitting on his lap as they were both devouring each other's faces. they were so into it they didn't even notice the open door and the apparent 'uninvited' girlfriend watching them in disbelief.

i was too stunned to speak.

maybe i'm imagining this, i thought, as i rubbed my eyes and slowly opened them again, hoping that whatever i saw was just my mind playing tricks with me.

nope, it's very much real.

then why doesn't it feel real? is it because the thought of keeho cheating on me never crossed my mind once? or the thought that he's too sweet and such a great guy to ever even consider something like this? i guess those questions don't even matter anymore because whatever's happening in front of my eyes proved them both wrong.

i stood there, watching them for a moment, still in shock. i was contemplating whether or not i should grab their attention, but i saw how deep into it they were and decided it would be so rude to interrupt my boyfriend who was kissing another girl. i mean, come on, the man had to wait a week before seeing his girlfriend, he probably got so lonely.

i'm being sarcastic, if you can't tell.

i scoffed, not in the mood to confront him, partially because whatever was happening still hadn't registered in my mind yet. nonetheless, it was enough to make me sprint out the door and drive as far away from him as possible.

...

i found myself parked outside the same rose garden i met ryujin; my one and only comfort— the rose garden, not ryujin, obviously. it was almost dark, and i hurried myself inside the rose garden before anyone could spot me. i made my way towards the same spot of blood red roses and sat down, having yet another staring contest with them.

~

i must've fallen asleep at the garden, because the next thing i knew, a soft hand was gently shaking my shoulder, followed by a soft voice whispering my name.

my eyes shot open. the first thing they landed on was the familiar face i thought about before unknowingly falling asleep.

it was ryujin.

she gently reached her hand and tucked in a loose hair behind my ear, then rested it on my cheek.

i must be dreaming.

"jangmi, what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice a slight whisper. i looked up at the girl. wow, either i'm in some sort of shock from the previous events of today, or this girl became so attractive all of a sudden.

i leaned into her hand, comforted by its warmth, "nothing. just thinking." i sleepily replied, still unsure of whether i was dreaming or not.

she sighed, "you were asleep, do you know how dangerous it could've been if i hadn't found you? you would've been sleeping out here in the cold all night." she scolded, sounding just like my mother once did.