Seulki and Hyungwon confront each other
Seulki groaned out of boredom. She could only watch so much TV, only watch so many videos and only drink so much tea. This break that the boys had forced her to take was starting to slowly drive her crazy. Let alone that the whole world seemed to be in lockdown it wasn't like she could go out for a stroll or anything right now. The boys were all at the company, working. She gritted her teeth. She should be working too.
She debated whether or not staring at the ceiling until they got home was her next best option until their doorbell rang. Seulki raised an eyebrow. No one had told her they were stopping by and their manager hadn't mentioned anything about anyone coming by either. She rolled her eyes, thinking one of the boys had someone coming to check-up on her. She made her way to the door, surprised to see Hyungwon's face in the camera screen.
She buzzed him in and a few moments later there was a knock at their door. She opened it, not caring that she was still in her pajamas and barefaced. It was something her therapist had recommended as a type of exposure therapy. Jungkook and Taehyung had the delightful pleasure to take all her makeup and hid it at one of their apartments. They had originally opted for throwing it all away but Namjoon was her voice of reason, thankfully. And they had taken all her fancy clothes that she loved and hidden them as well, leaving her with only their hoodies and some of her sweatpants and sweatshirts and work-out attire only.
He smiled down at her briefly before a concerned look came in his eyes. He wrapped her in a hug, sighing in relief that she was there. Thin, but there and breathing and warm. He had missed her more than he thought he could and despite how upset he was that she hadn't mentioned one thing about what was going on to him, he felt comfort in her arms. "Well, hello to you too," she said, nuzzling her face into his chest. He chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Hey." She moved out of his grasp, walking back to the couch and he followed, sitting next to her.
His eyes roamed her body from head to toe and she felt a little self-conscience. "I—I can change. Just let me—" she had gone to stand up but his hand wrapped around her wrist gently. "I think you look beautiful." He said and she blushed, covering her cheeks with her hands and sitting back down. "I didn't know you were coming," she said and he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. She thought it was cute how he still got nervous around her. "I just—Jane told me some things and I got worried."
She frowned, folding her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Why—why didn't you come to me? Or talk to me?" She sighed. It had been the question she'd been being asked for weeks now and she always had the same answer. "I don't know." He furrowed his brow, running his hands through his newly dyed hair. "Your hair looks nice. It's different." She murmured but he ignored it. "You're not changing the subject this time, Seulki." She sighed, biting her lip. "I don't have an answer, Hyungwon. I didn't go to anyone. They just—found out." He shook his head.
"Seulki, I'm your boyfriend and I love you. You should be able to talk with me about these things. Or at least let me know you're struggling. I'm supposed to help you, be there for you. I can't do that when I'm left in the dark." She bit her cheek, averting her gaze to her pink fuzzy slippers. The guilt was back again and she hated how much this seemed to affect everyone else. It only reminded her how much she really messed up. "It works both ways, Wonnie." She said, voice a little cold.
He sighed, leaning back on the couch and looking up towards the ceiling. So he knows. She couldn't help the bud of irritation that was filling her right now. "I—I know that." He gulped, shoving his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. "Jane told me that to." Seulki rolled her eyes. What hadn't she told him? "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked and he was quiet for a moment before looking at her. "Honestly? I forgot about it. It was so, so long ago. Before No.Mercy even started. And it was only a couple of months that didn't mean anything to me romantically. It really just didn't stay in my brain."
Seulki sighed. She didn't want to be the possessive, jealous girlfriend but she knew what she saw in Byeol's eyes that day. It meant more to her than it did him and what was eating at her was not knowing if he knew that. "That's not how it was for her." She said quietly and Hyungwon chuckled, shaking his head. "I doubt that. We're good friends, that's all. We had both agreed that it wasn't working and that being friends was better." Seulki smiled slightly, he wasn't lying. He really didn't know that Byeol still had some feelings.
"I didn't tell you because you've already had so much happen, I didn't want to add more. I didn't want to be the reason you had to worry more or stress more. I just wanted to be the thing you could come too to relax, to wind down and forget about everything." Hyungwon sat up, turning towards her and taking her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "Look at me, Choi Seulki." She looked up, biting her lip to keep from crying but she could feel the tears welling up. Hyungwon must've noticed to because he pulled her closer.
"You will never be a burden to me, ever. You are my relaxation, you are a big part of my happiness. But I need you to trust me; trust that I can help and I will do my best to help. Even if helping is just coming over here to distract you from everything for a bit. I love you, Seulki. But I need that to go both ways as well." She sniffled, swiping her face with her sleeve before any tears could fall and vaulted herself into his chest, knocking him back on the couch.
He smiled, tightening his grip on her and running his hand through her hair gently. "I—I do love you. Hyungwon. I do. I just—I was just stupid these past few months. I'm so sorry. I promise to try harder." He smiled, kissing her forehead. "I promise too." They laid there for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's presence before he sat up, picking her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Let's eat some ice cream." She giggled, laying her head on his shoulder.
"That sounds great."
