Between Truths ║Dahkook║K.DH J.JK

a lonely battle

CHAPTER XXIII

HOOTS and cheers erupted again. They rang through the stadium, loud and blithe. "Crazy bastard. Putting himself out there." But the crass remark was tinged with awe.

A love confession during half-time of an intervarsity game deserved the salute. Especially one done during the sixteen's kickstart game of the season, on home ground no less. It had invited enough interest to pack the large stadium to its brim. The air was sweet, a sure taste of victory. Nothing could poison it to a treacle, syrup dark and sticky. Not even when the screen lit pink and blue like dusk, and his song of hope floated above the noise.

The lilting honey voice was familiar. From all the times he recited his lines, again and again. He had not stopped coming around when she thought he would. Even when she had taken Yein out of the play. He was unnecessarily unwavering. Like his feelings. There was only one star in his sky. She knew who the muse of his proposal was even if she knew little else about him.

But he had not planned for this to happen. A smudge in the distance, he ran past the sixteen, towards the commentator's booth off to the side. Jaehyun not far behind. It was no use—it was too late to pretend that nothing happened.

'...a botched confession?' The whispers echoed.

For someone who devote much of her time building up a grandiose drama, Dahyun was strangely allergic to one herself. It was not that she scorned it. Especially not when the person being torn apart deserved it. Rather, she preferred not to see the blazing tongues soar, dancing, gleeful as they fed off unfortunate criminals, hungry. A dirty place to linger. Hot drafts putrid with taste of burning flesh on stakes. A waste of time too—she knew how it would end. Maybe she was as cold as those who would hand out death sentences easily, but Jungkook—she did not feel too bad for him.

She stood up, and people around her tore away from the drama to look at her agitatedly. They were sat far too close. She flashed them apologetic smiles while she grazed past them to get to the aisle. Was almost to the exit when Yugyeom called.

They did not do this—call each other. Almost never had good reasons for it.

"Help him." He pleaded now.

"Why?"

"That fire...it was the morning of the try-outs, wasn't it?"

But she argued semantics. "There was no fire."

"I heard your mum was taken in to the emergency. That's not true?"

"For gas poisoning, she's fine, she went home the same day."

He paused, and she wished she said less.

"He went to see you that morning, didn't he? He missed the try-outs, Dahyun. He would have made the team had he stayed."

Yugyeom was on the opposite aisle when she turned. It looked like he had been chasing her, but he could not get to her, the lengths of spectators were between them. So, his eyes tried to hold her in a mental vice. He was blaming her. She wanted to blame him for many things too. For holding her back. For turning ugly that she had to cut him out too. Her vase was almost empty now. 'Were thorny flowers still prettier to have than not?' She wondered.

"Help him," Yugyeom said again, his face searched hers imploringly. "Reject him after. Not like this."

She only had good memories of him. He smiled at her as she followed him around. He was the first to look at her with worried eyes; to have kind words for her. Did he have anything nice of her to remember by? Probably not. That must be why he was throwing her under the bus for Jungkook.