¤ Ethereal ¤ Im Changkyun X Reader ON HIATUS (Soulmate Fanfiction)

Everything ~ Ch36

¤ (Y/n)'s Point Of View ¤

The next day just as promised, Seulgi picked me up from the hotel at 11am on the dot. I briefly said goodbye to my brother and his friends before I left- though I'm sure none of them actually realised it. They were far too engrossed in their secretive important conversation to realise that I had left them at all.

Once I did leave, Seulgi took me on a long but much-needed walk. She showed me around her neighbourhood and also bought me some of her favourite snacks from her local street market- some of these snacks being free due to the many connections Seulgi had with so many stall owners. Eventually though, we got tired of walking- our feet aching after a good two hours of wondering around.

So Seulgi then took me to her favourite café, where we both sat down for a coffee. She ordered a cappuccino while I ordered an Iced Americano- that was when we finally had time just to sit and chat about topics that weren't really appropriate during a calming walk- that's what I'm sure she thought anyway because the moment we sat down, the girl offered me a cheeky grin.

"So~ You and I.M, hmm?" The girl asked me, almost making me spit out my drink on the very first sip. I gave her an incredulous look, wondering what it was that she was actually asking me.
"W-what? Me and I.M? What about me and I.M?" I asked her, stumbling on my words as I put down my drink.

"Aw come on, don't act dumb. I've seen the way you act around each-other. I just couldn't say anything because of Irene." Seulgi grinned, poking my cheek which only made me more flustered.
"He's just my brother's friend is all..." I mumbled shyly, looking down at my drink so that I didn't have to look Seulgi in the eyes. I didn't want her to see through my act but I knew she saw through it anyway.

"Mhm, sure he is. Your brother's friend- who's basically a mute- who talks to you and gives you heart eyes." Seulgi teased, making me roll my eyes.
"Pft, whatever- and he's not borderline mute by choice...at least, that's my opinion." I mumbled, defending I.M's tendancies to not talk- his tendancies to hide who he is and his feelings.

"I'm sure it's because of his step-dad..." Seulgi admitted with a sigh, looking down at her drink as her smiles slowly faded away- becoming more serious.
"What's the deal with his step-dad? All he's told me was..." I trailed off as I thought about what little I.M told me about the guy. The only thing I know about the man is that he made I.M want to kill himself and surely that wasn't a good sign.

"-was that he's not a great guy." I finished hesitantly, not about to give up confidential information that I.M trusted me with- even to one of my best friends. Luckily Seulgi accepted my vague comment with no questions asked, nodding with small sigh.
"I'm surprised he said anything about him at all to be honest." Seulgi admitted with a soft sad chuckle before taking a sip of her coffee in preparation for what she was about to say.

"Well, from everything Irene has told me about the guy...he's a real asshole for starters." She told me with bitter huff, almost making me want to roll my eyes because that was a fact that I infered already about I.M's step-dad/Irene's dad. But I didn't comment, only leaning forwards in anticipation for her to speak.
"He's an alcoholic. Irene used to get really bad panic attacks because of him- and it's because of him she doesn't drink alcohol." Seulgi told me.

Her words connected alot of dots for me and it was only the beginning. It explained why I.M hadn't touched any beer yesterday that we bought from the convenience store. It seemed as if Irene wasn't the only one who stayed away from alcohol because of that guy.
"I.M's mom and Irene's dad got married when I.M and Irene were both kids. But at first it was only I.M who lived with them since Irene was living abroad with her aunt." Seulgi informed me, making pity I.M abit. It must have been a nightmare for a child to have to put up with an alcoholic.