Broken

66

"Okay. alright." Sana breathes deeply. "Here's the thing, I have this weird attraction to you ever since I fell on you, and there is no way I can wrap my head around it, because it's very close to the way I feel about Jeong, although not as strong anymore."

"Yeah, I feel the same." Jeongyeon jumps at the chance to, finally, get some answers. "Like, it was really strong when we just met, and it broke my heart that you didn't want anything to do with us back then, but it's still here."

"It's weird, right?" Sana freaks out a little.

"It's not, but I need you two to promise not to freak out. Because both of you are very agitated right now." Jihyo gets nods before continuing. "Answer me some questions, okay? Just follow me and we'll get to the same place."

"Now I'm getting anxious." Jeongyeon says and Sana agrees.

"How many flowers do you have? Each of you." Time to come out, it seems.

"Two. But what does that have to do with anything?" Sana gets a little doubtful.

"Calm down, I'm just asking. Now, how many flowers do people usually get?"

"One?" Jeongyeon raises an eyebrow. "Bu-"

"Alright, and how many people do you know that also have two flowers?"

"In my case, four." Sana looks like she is getting there.

"I know seven. There is a guy who works for my dad who has two flowers." Jeongyeon chimes in.

"Right, so, how many soulmates do those people have?"

"Two?" Jeongyeon still doesn't get it.

Sana got it, though. And she is looking like she wants to cry, Jihyo just hopes she doesn't, she never handles others crying too well.

"Good, so, how many soulmates do you have?"

Now Jeongyeon gets it, and both do start crying. Jihyo is a little uncomfortable, but she schools herself not to let it show. Jeongyeon was sobbing and Sana was tearing up silently.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sana manages to whisper out.

"You learned about how I was back then, where my life was heading. There was no chance I was going to speak up when you two had already settled." Jihyo smiles comfortingly.

"We had the right to know." Jeongyeon bites, voice strangled by the tears.

"And I had the right not to tell you. It can go both ways, Jeongyeon-ssi. The truth of it is, you two never considered me as an option, and I agreed that I was not meant to be in that relationship."

"We still had the right to know." The older begs again.

"I know you did. But I also know you two know I had the right to walk away. I'm not trying to escape my part of the guilt in this. I'm just asking you to remember yours."

"I'm so sorry." Sana speaks up and immediately breaks down.

"Don't be, it's behind us. Let's just move forward and not get held back by our past." Jihyo offers some tissues she had brought, napkins tended to be a bit rough on the skin.

"No. I can't just brush it off like that. You are our soulmate and we never even saw you. None of us, we never looked at you the way we should, and now you won't look at us like you could." Jeongyeon is a little more composed by now.

"That I won't. Don't let yourselves get held back by me, though. You two have each other, I'm sure there have been worse situations you faced together."

"There were some rough patches. But you, you faced it all without us sparing you a single glance. We were the obnoxious and self-centered soulmates that couldn't even wrap their heads around the fact that we had another one." The taller girl keeps insisting.

"Well, that is something my girlfriend experienced and lost, and my boyfriend never had the chance to know about, having a soulmate and being with them, I mean. With Chris, I learned I could live and be honestly happy without my soulmates, and Dahyun showed us both that giving yourself another chance at happiness is important. I never had any ill will towards any of you, and I can just hope you find it in yourselves to forgive me someday."

"I could never resent you for what you decided, Jihyo." Sana reaches across the table and takes one of her hands. "I just wish things had happened differently. There are so many what ifs, but I can only believe that this was the best result for everyone."

"I don't think badly of you either." Jeongyeon also reaches out. "It's just- It's sad that we only got to know what you meant to us now, after everything has already changed, after you found your own way and that way doesn't include us."

"Thank you. It doesn't have to not include you." Jihyo offers. "No, I'm not going to have a romance with you two, but we can be friends? It sounds cliche and all, but I really don't think there is a reason to avoid each other and all."

"But you are our soulmate." Jeongyeon pouts.

"I am. That doesn't mean we have to be in a romantic relationship with each other, there are lots of people that don't end up with their soulmates, some never really meet, others are gone too soon, but we aren't any of those, we are all here, you two are good with each other, and I don't fit in there."

"That doesn't mean we can't make a place for you." Sana tries, about to cry again.

"And it doesn't mean it's the best for us all either. Look, we met in the wrong circumstances, I wasn't in a place where I thought I deserved anything, and not at all in a state of mind to be involved with anyone. I had to go, it was the only thing I could think of, and it never crossed my mind to do anything other than that."

"Still, you could have told us. Should have told us." The older one insists. "We felt it, and I know you felt it too, this thing, this attraction we have for each other."

"I should, but didn't. That's on me, and I'm not denying it. But I need you to see that things wouldn't work out even if I did, I would still leave, we would still not have dated and you two would be dealing with this much worse than you are now." Jihyo stops Jeongyeon's protest before it comes out. "Think about it, Jeongyeon-ssi, we grew so much since then, you were overwhelmed, we all were, about finding your soulmate, things went well between the two of you, but you know it wouldn't with me."

"He is right, Jeong." Sana, always the most mature of the couple, tries to help. "We were in the 'I found my soulmate' haze, and it would have been so much messier back then. I wouldn't cope well with finding Jihyo and not getting to be with her, and I know you wouldn't either."

"Okay, I see her point, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to sulk and complain about everything that happened." Jeongyeon sulks, very cutely.

Jihyo smiles and Sana lets out a wet laugh, this went better than expected. Sure, it was going to be a long and hard process for the couple to understand how this 'we have another soulmate but can't be with her' thing was going to work, but they understood why it happened, and saw that it was for the best as well. Better be friends with your soulmate than to not have them around at all, at least, that's what Jihyo believes in at the moment.