“What were you thinking?!”

Yuri kept his head low as he sat in the principal’s office with his mother shouting at him; he couldn’t look up and stare into his mother’s eyes without his heart aching again. He had been here for the past half an hour or so, and he knew his friends were outside patiently waiting for his punishment. No matter how much he wanted to give up on himself, no one would let him do that. Everyone around him was definitely going to build him all up again, whether emotionally or mentally; it didn't matter how difficult it would be. 

Mrs Kwon rubbed her temples in frustration and sighed, “you know what? You don’t deserve the right to give up on yourself. If you’re that heartbroken, then work to get Yoona’s forgiveness.”

That being said, Mrs Kwon took Soonyoung's hand immediately and walked out of the principal's office without turning back to check on her older son. She had expected their relationship to hit the rock some time but for it to get this far, even she didn't predict it. The disappointment in Yuri was overwhelming; he had always been this strong, dependable boy that she could trust but his cowardly actions over the past one month had really disappointed her greatly. Yuri was never this person who ran away from his problems, neither was he someone to give up so easily. He had changed far too much for her to handle. 

The principal pinched his nose bridge in frustration; he too did not know what to do with this boy at hand. He had been told about Yuri’s temper countless times but knowing that Yuri had been dealt a pretty big blow, his heart softened involuntarily. Let’s face it; everyone at school knows about Yuri and Yoona’s relationship, no one had ever predicted their break-up or terrible argument, for that matter. It was a terrible timing, especially since their finals were not exactly over.

“How do you want me to punish you?”

“I don’t know, Sir.”

Yuri felt extremely guilty for causing trouble among the school staff and panic among his friends as well as schoolmates but he really was lost then. He didn't know what to do to make himself feel better. His whole world had gone crashing down and Yuri was just heartbroken; he had no solution for anything anymore. He just wanted to have Yoona back by his side but at the same time, the pain and heartache in her eyes when she broke up with him couldn’t stop replaying in his memory.

If being with him caused more pain than happiness, then what was the point?

“Yuri, on account that you’ve been improving by leaps and bounds, I will not expel you for skipping classes or causing trouble again. I know things are bad for you now but I’m telling you this because I have a daughter… take care of Yoona, because women are fragile and their hearts need to feel loved, not pushed away.”

Yoona felt her eyelid twitch for the nth time this afternoon; she hasn't felt good ever since she woke up this morning. Even as she was simply watching TV while receiving her injections, Yoona couldn't help but feel panicky at the twitching of her gut too. She knew there was something wrong but she couldn't put her finger on it, everyone was at school after all. She clasped her fingers together and shut her eyes, hoping to God that it wasn't anyone she knew personally. And as much as she tried to block out thoughts about Yuri, she prayed multiple times over that he wasn't the one who got into trouble. 

Just as she was about to switch the channel, the door opened and revealed a rather familiar face. 

“U-Umma…”

“Hi, Yoong…” Mrs Kwon tried her best to put on a smile when she saw the number of tubes connected to Yoona’s arm; her heart was aching at the sight of her future daughter-in-law (the only one she’d ever accept). She walked in with a hamper and sat placed it on the table, “How are you feeling, baby girl?”

Yoona sat up against the headboard and hugged her knees closer to her chest, taking the older woman’s hand into her own. She rubbed Mrs Kwon’s hand to assure her, knowing that the tears in those motherly eyes were not going to stay there for long. Yoona had seen Yuri break down before her the other day; she was not going to see his mother do the same. Her heart broke once, twice but hopefully, not the third time. Yoona didn't want to hurt Yuri anymore, and she never wanted to hurt Mrs Kwon; all the woman ever did was treat and love her like a daughter. She didn't deserve any hurt in the world. 

“Umma,” Yoona whispered and hugged the older woman by the waist when she saw her tears making their way down her cheeks, “I’m okay, don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll be in here for a short while and I’ll be discharged before you know it.”

“No, Yoong. The fact that you’re in here because of that boy…”

There was really no point blaming anyone, Yoona thought. She knew Yuri best and if he meant to do this deliberately, he could have done much worst things to break her heart. He was confused, hurt and most of all, stupid for taking so long to figure out how much he needed her. She wasn’t going to risk going through any of that anymore; the one time she decided to push her limits, she ended up lying here. If Yoona continued chasing after him despite knowing this was the result, God knows if her body can withstand the pressure till the end of the year.

A relapse was never something good. 

Yoona sighed and cupped Mrs Kwon’s face, brushing away the streaming tears gently, “it’s all over, Umma. Don’t get angry with him anymore. He’s not usually so irrational and stupid, you know that.”

Mrs Kwon shook her head frantically, burying her face into her palms as she heard Yoona’s words. She was definitely not crying because of that alone.

“No… it’s what he did this morning that hurts.”

*

Tiffany sat beside Yuri in the counsellors’ room silently, her hand rubbing soothing circles upon his forearm; the principal had kindly requested for her to bring him to the counsellor because she was the vice-president of the student board. She might have been angry and hurt at Yuri's actions to both Yoona as well as himself but he was in pain too... if he wasn't, none of this would have happened. Yuri could have looked like an idiot for letting go the most important person in his life but he must have been feeling even worse because of that.

“Yul… are you ready to talk?”

“I don’t know,” Yuri’s voice was hoarse from all the crying he did after being pulled off the ledge; he didn’t know how to behave or how to react. All he felt was the rushing emotions in his veins and his tears flowed uncontrollably. “I don’t even need to be counselled about this. I don’t want it.”

It was no surprise that Yuri didn't want to be counselled by the school counsellor; the walls up around his heart were so strong that even when Yoona had managed to get him to open up, it was almost half a year into their relationship. None of them had ever forced Yuri out of his shell because he had Yoona and as long as Yoona was around, she'd be the first to know about Yuri's problems and predicaments. If help was needed, Yoona would help convey the message so Yuri wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable about anything.

Tiffany gave his arm a squeeze, “would you prefer to talk to me instead? I’m not a counsellor, and I know where your l