Jinhwan was determined not to let Yumi leave and tried to stay awake the entire night to prevent her from doing so, but unbeknownst to him he knocked out shortly after Yumi cried herself to sleep. He eventually stirred in his sleep, his eyes fluttering as the sunlight from living room window momentarily blinded him.  After taking a few seconds to realize where he was, Jinhwan shot up from the couch, a dark blue blanket falling to the ground as he got up to his feet. “Yumi,” he whispered out. His legs were two steps ahead of his brain and he was running down the small hallway toward her bedroom. The rapper had no idea what time it was and prayed that he hadn’t just slept through Yumi moving out. He didn’t even bother to knock on the door and swung it open shouting her name. His eyes frantically scanning the room, Jinhwan noted the neatly made bed and groaned.

“Yumi!” He bellowed out again, running through the small bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom. The showerhead was still dripping, the leaky fixture he repeatedly promised Yumi he would fix. The floor of the tub still damp from what was most likely Yumi’s morning shower, but still no sign of her. “Yumi,” his voice quivered, her name drowned with fear and concern. His heart refused to believe what his brain was trying desperately to tell him. Yumi did not leave. He chanted repeatedly in his mind, running back out into the living room. “Yu-” he skidded to a halt when he saw her silhouette in the kitchen, her back to him.

“What?” She swiveled around, annoyance written on her face. “My word Jin, how long were you going to run around shouting my name? Our neighbors are probably going to file a complaint against us now.”

The rapper slowly walked into the kitchen, his eyes darting to the front door looking for luggage or any other sign hinting toward her departure. “I thought you-”

“Left?” She interrupted him, like always, putting the white plastic mixing bowl down on the counter. Is she making me breakfast? It had been years since he last ate something made by her, Jinhwan recalled.

“You said you were leaving tomorrow.” He shamelessly repeated her words from last night, a permanent crease digging into his forehead, while he cautiously took a few steps towards her.

Yumi scoffed. “Wow, that’s the first time you ever remembered something I said.” The young woman turned her attention back to making breakfast and picked up the bowl again. “I didn’t say I was leaving in the morning, I just said I was leaving today.”

“Don’t.” He immediately demanded, ignoring the sigh that escaped her lips. “Please, don’t leave. Stay.” He reached his hands towards her, but she only flinched away from him.

“See this is your problem!” She cried out, slamming her bowl down on the table, disregarding the bits of pancake batter that splattered onto the kitchen counter and the cabinet overhead. “You don’t listen, Jinhwan. You’ve never listened.” The rapper stunned by her sudden outburst merely stood there in the kitchen unable to say anything. They had their fair share of fights before, back when they were dating and even in the first two years of their marriage but he had never seen her act this way. “I’m not happy.” She reiterated.

She’s not happy.Those same three words had been on replay in Jinhwan’s mind the entire night as he tried to stay awake. Did she not know that this entire time everything he had been doing was to make her happy? “Then give me a second chance.”

Yumi looked back at him confused. “A second, what?”

The rapper took another step toward her, his arms wrapping around her waist finally holding onto her. He himself couldn’t even remember when the last time was when he held her in his arms. Her body seemed frail, and fragile against his. She lost weight, he grimaced. “Let me prove to you how much I love you. Give me another chance to make you happy.”

His wife shook her head, pulling away from his grasp. “I can’t do that. I told you already, nothing’s changed.” She walked out of the kitchen, the wooden floor shouting protests with each step she took as she walked into the living room.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Jinhwan yelled out, frustrated by her tendencies to always walk out before he even had his say in the matter. “At least let me finish, let me explain before you walk away. Damn it Yumi, let me talk!” He reached out for her arm, tugging on it a little bit too roughly and forced her to twirl her around and face him.

“There’s nothing left to talk about, I want a divorce.” She spoke back, her voice devoid of emotion.

The man let out a heavy sigh, his hands raking through his hair disheveling it even more. “Stop it. Stop saying you want a divorce.”

Yumi looked back at him hopelessly. “I’m not saying it, Jin. I’m telling you.”

“Give me time.” He begged, his hands clasping onto her arms tugging her towards him. Her skin was soft, velvety, plush, and he wondered how long it had been since they were last intimate. “A month. Give me a month to show you-”

“Just because you announced we’re married doesn’t change anything.” Yumi interrupted him, her eyes welling up with tears.

Jinhwan was frustrated beyond belief. Yumi was being overly stubborn about this and the lack of emotion in her responses seemed to test his patience. “, just give me a week then. But baby, please, don’t leave me.” Yumi looked back at him, no words coming out of . Taking her hesitation as a sign that she just might be thinking about his offer, he wrapped his arms tightly around her pulling her into a hug. She smelled of pancakes and upholstery cleaner and he momentarily wondered if she changed their fabric softener.

“Do you not understand?” She finally spoke up, pulling away from him. Before she could get another word in, Jinhwan slammed his lips against hers. Although unresponsive, her lips felt soft and plush against his. He only hated the fact that she wasn’t kissing back.

“Yes. I understand completely. I’ve been a horrible husband, I know. But don’t you see, I did that all for you. I did it so you could have the same life you lived. I did it to make you happy.”

Yumi merely looked back at him, her bottom lip quivering as her eyes glistened with tears. He did it. Jinhwan finally broke through her resolve. He watched intently as the corners of curved up into a small smile. He held his breath in anticipation when she leaned forward and pressed her lips on his forehead. The peck was adoringly gentle and left a lasting impression on him as he shut his eyes trying to memorize each and every sensation. It felt more real than anything else and it took everything in him to not ruin the heartfelt moment and throw her down on the couch letting his hands rediscover her curves.

“So, you’ll stay?” He asked with uncertainty, needing a verbal confirmation rather than just a kiss. His mind feared that it was merely her version of a goodbye kiss, and dearly hoped that was instead her way of saying she would stay.

The young woman sighed, forcing Jinhwan into another bout of confusion. Things began to go fuzzy when his phone started to ring, and yet he tried hard to focus on her, to hear her answer.

“Baby, your phone is ringing.” Yumi softly said, pulling herself away. Jinhwan frowned at her, not wanting to address the interruption as his hand tightened their hold around her waist. “Jin, pick it up. It might be important.”

The rapper groaned in protest. He had yet to hear her answer and it was killing him, but Yumi continued with her demands. Jinhwan finally let go of her and reached for his cell phone, his hand gliding over the coffee table but for some odd reason he couldn’t grab onto to. He leaned his body closer to the object and suddenly his body throbbed, pain coursing along the entire front of his body.

Jinhwan opened his eyes finding himself face down on the floor of the living room. His cell phone that continued to ring, begging to be answered in his hand. He let the phone call go to voicemail and looked around him. Jinhwan was apparently more exhausted than he even knew himself as he rubbed his eyes furiously, his mind trying to register everything. That was just a dream. “Yumi!” He immediately called out, throwing the blue blanket, that he was certain wasn’t on him last night, aside and scrambled up to his feet. Then again, after a dream like, one that felt so real, that he wasn’t sure what was reality and what was fabricated by his imagination anymore.

The scent of freshly made pancakes filled the air, only confusing the male even more. Instantly awake and alert, his heart was beating out of his chest as he ran down the small hallway and into the bedroom. He didn’t bother to knock and swung open the door. Please be here. “Yumi!” He shouted again, his eyes scanning the bedroom, but still no response.  He ran into the bathroom next. The dripping showerhead, the still damp tub floor - all an exact replica of his dream. The pit of his stomach already turned into knots when he came to the realization that Roman, their dog, wasn’t there.

Maybe she went out for a walk, he tried to rationalize. But he knew better than that, his paranoia speaking volumes when he walked over to her small closet and hesitated before opening it. Empty hangers swayed in the light breeze from when he slid the door open and panic coursed through his body. “No, no, no,” he mumbled under his breath, running toward her dresser. Pulling open all the drawers, his mind raced with thoughts of the inevitable as each drawer revealed nothing but the plastic liners that Yumi had cut herself to lay on the bottom. Her clothes, shoes, makeup, even the dog - were all gone.

word count: 1760

I'm sure you all saw this coming...lol

sorry if it's becoming predicable :/

thanks for reading!