𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐆𝐒

FOURTEEN

EPISODE FOURTEEN→ CHANGKYUN

SYNOPSIS

Changkyun tries to keep himself together
(while watching everything around him
fall apart).

____________________

Awkward, that's the best way to describe the tense silence that Im Changkyun was currently sitting in. The only sound comes from the scraping of forks on plates and the way Emira clears her throat every so often though she doesn't say anything. But what could she say? Even Hyungwon was unusually silent in his place at the opposite end of the table. So far, Changkyun's plan of getting everyone together to fix everything was turning out to be a bust.

"I'm leaving." Someone says suddenly and Changkyun looks up just in time to see Lisa pushing her chair out. The noise seems louder than usual, even in the restaurant they're in. And maybe it's because things are so quiet. And silence, when it comes to a group like theirs, is so unfamiliar that they don't know what to do with it.

"Me too." This time it's Jungkook, placing a hand on the small of Lisa's back as they prepare to leave.

"Why do you have to leave with her?" Another voice speaks up before Taehyung pushes out his chair as well.

"Why do you care?" Jungkook asks, already growing irritated as he turns around to address the older boy, "Grace isn't leaving."

Grace either ignores the statement or simply doesn't care. Changkyun thinks it's the former because the curly haired girl practically lived in her own world. She was simply staring off into space at the moment.

"So you're just going to ignore me now because he's here?" Taehyung says, staring at Lisa who avoids his gaze, "Because Jungkook is here now, suddenly I'm not good enough for you. That's not fair Lisa-"

"You were never good enough for her." Jungkook retorts, blocking the other boy when he tries to reach out for Lisa, "And she's not going to be your second choice, so fuck off."

"You think you get to decide that for her?" Taehyung scoffs before glancing at Lisa, "Don't tell me you of all people need a spokes person now."

"I don't." Lisa murmurs so quietly that they have to strain to hear it. She looked tired, exhausted even, and Changkyun figured that heartbreak could do that to you. That maybe it was so powerful that it reduced Lisa Luong to quiet murmurs and downcast looks. He watches quietly as she grabs Jungkook's hand to leave, but not before adding, "Just someone who cares."

And then Taehyung is forced to watch them leave, jaw clenching in anger but heart clenching in underlying sadness. From the many years he's known Taehyung as a friend, Changkyun found that whenever the boy got a taste of the slightest hint of reality, he ran. They all looked up to him, ever since they were kids, because they thought Taehyung wasn't afraid of anything. But the truth was that Taehyung was afraid of his life, of the reality that surrounded him. He was afraid of the truth, that he fucked things up and that he didn't know how to fix them.

Kim Taehyung was afraid.

But like always, when he got like this, he simply replaced the heartbreak that had been written all over his face moments ago with his signature grin.