ARCANUM | pjm.

15

My baby had just reached its first year since January 15, 2022! Thank you all for supporting this story. It means a lot to me. Loveu.

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Y/N BOPPED her head as as her thoughts danced to the local pop song, allowing the music to burst through her headphones, the breeze's powerful gust through the open window fading into a muffled-like roar.

Her thoughts were seemingly absorbed in cramming for their examinations next week as she carefully flicked over the chapters of her history book, the fragrance of new and ancient books wafting beneath her nose, faculties delightfully enthralled by the whiff of rustic petrichor skulking among the strong rushed wind.

"Y/N!" Then, came that voice. Which happens to be the only sound that can lure her away from her world of fantasies and foolish aspirations.

She took off her headphones and looked out the balcony, a faint smile pulling at the corner of her lips when she spotted a familiar person standing in the middle of their mansion's lengthy walkway.

Her heart swelled with exuberant delight as her feet drew her out from her solitary-state bedroom, temporarily abandoning her love of literature and books as she dashed down the stairs and rushed out of the house.

"Chan!" Her shrill, honey-like voice fills the air as she wrapped her arms around the man she had been longing to see for days. "I've missed you! Where have you been? Why haven't you been responding to my letters?"

For a few moments, his undisturbed body and wordless response perplexed her. He was typically the one to speak up first when they both meet up, intentionally or coincidentally.

"Chan?" She called as she drew her arms back. Her eyes searched for his, but she was taken aback when she noticed him averting his sight as he looked down at his feet. It was almost as though he had done something deserving of shame and regret.

"Y/N.. I'm tired. Let's.. Let's stop this." His words threw her off guard as she came to an abrupt still. Her mind became blank; her countenance became as bland as a monochromatic hue, and there was nothing but stillness in the air at this point. Her mind refused to grasp anything that was happening, even with his words buzzing in her consciousness every now and then.

In an instant, it appeared as if their worlds had stopped spinning. It was as though their universes had shifted and no longer revolved around one another, but instead, he wanted it that way. When he stared at her with his eyes swirling in nothing but harsh and unconcerned blinds, that was when she knew it was over, eliciting a pang of anguished sob that threatened to escape her throat.

She opened her mouth one final time to say something, but it was already too late as he swiftly turned on his heels and walked away from her embrace. She tried to reach him, but she was stopped in her tracks by a loud and rough voice calling her name.

"Y/N!" Her father yelled out and ran up to her, grabbing her arm and forcing her to look at him. "What are you doing outside, talking to that boy? I've told you many times not to meet up with that bastard! And in front of my house? The guts you have to disobey your fath-"

"Dong-Hyun," Another voice beckoned, and Y/N instantly recognized it as her mother's. She shook her head, as if to suggest that lecturing me again and over was pointless. "Old habits die hard. Let her be hon, that girl will learn sooner or later."

And she did. She realized that nothing, not even the person you valued the most, can stay with you indefinitely. She shut herself up even more in her bedroom; the scent of old papers had receded from her room seeing as she was now solely focused on lying in bed and paying no attention to anything else.