Chapter 6

                She got out of the taxi, a bit calmer than she was a couple minutes ago. Jiyong paid the driver and the taxi drove off. She just stood at the curb of the street, in a daze like state. Jiyong sighed and walked up to her, slowly embracing her.

                She took in a deep breath and slowly let out an uneven sigh. She felt a tear drop on her cheek and wiped it away, backing away from Jiyong’s embrace. She looked up at him with her swollen eyes and her trembling lips.  He couldn’t stop his heart from repeatedly breaking, knowing that it was partially his fault.

                Jiyong was about to say something when she just turned her back on him and slowly made her way to the door of her apartment. He lost all his strength and just watched her walk inside, slowly wiping away tears that continuously fell. Once she had entered the building, she didn’t even look back and continued further until she disappeared into the elevator.  Jiyong closed his eyes and sighed, frustrated.

                He wanted to comfort her, but he knew that she needed time to be on her own. He leaned his head back and groaned. He was about to walk away when he saw bright lights on the street coming down. He then saw Seungri get out of the cab in a hurry. Jiyong saw him run past him, ignoring the fact that he was there.

                “She’s not going to let you in,” he said to Seungri, who then turned around, charging at him.

                He grabbed his collar, “What the hell did you tell her?”

                Jiyong just stood there, calmly, not phased at the fact that Seungri was furious. “I didn’t tell her anything. Your conscience is so guilty that you would think that I would even do such a thing after I specifically said that it should be from your own filthy mouth,” Jiyong’s anger rose and pushed Seungri off him.

                He watched Seungri stumble back, losing all the energy he had seconds ago. He then sat down on the floor, devastated. Jiyong looked at Seungri, wanting to console his best friend, but at the same time, still immensely frustrated at him.

                “If you were only honest with her from the start,” Jiyong mumbled before walking away from him.

=

                 Jiyong walked into her building, the place she had started her career right after graduating college. He was always so proud of her for being able to get a job so quickly, fresh out of school. He remembered the first day she told him, she was so ecstatic. It was supposed to be a dinner for three, which turned into just the two of them.

                He found himself at the front desk and asked for her.  “I’m sorry, she had specifically told us that she didn’t want to be bothered,” the receptionist said.

                Jiyong nodded his head and sighed. “Can you just tell her that I dropped by then? My names –“

                “Jiyong?” he heard her voice. He looked around and saw her from behind. “Jiyong, what are you doing here?” she asked, approaching him.

                “I-I was just in the area and was wondering if you wanted to grab a bite for lunch,” he said, finally seeing her after that night they spent together at her place.

                “Uh, sure,” she agreed, no smile or sense of happiness in her voice. “Let me just get my purse and –“

                “It’s fine,” he grabbed her wrist, turning her around. “It’s on me,” he said.

-              

                They sat across each other at a small family owned restaurant, waiting for their food. She had her head bowed down the entire time, avoiding eye contact with Jiyong.

                “Are you alright?” he asked.

                Finally looking up at him, she replied dryly, “I’m fine.”

                Jiyong leaned on the table, clasping his hands. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright,” he said, looking at her. For the past couple weeks that she had avoided him, she had lost a significant amount of weight. Her cheeks were even more prominent, her shoulder blades more noticeable.

                “I’m fine, Jiyong,” she said.  They stared at each other for quite some time before she gave up. “What am I supposed to say, Ji?” she was angry.

                “Has he ever tried to contact you ever since –“

                “You know Seungri. He’s persistent,” she interrupted him.

                “Why haven’t you guys talked it out?” he asked.

                “What is there to talk about?” she snapped.

                He took in a deep breath before leaning back on his chair. He nodded his head and crossed his arms. “You’re right. There is nothing to talk about,” he said, giving up. He didn’t want to argue the whole time he was with her.

                “H-Have you – have you talk to him?” she asked in a more gentle tone.  Not looking up at her, he shook his head. “I don’t—I don’t understand…Why would it matter to you?”

                He looked up at her and smiled, hurt. Hurt that she still hadn’t seen his feelings for her. Or if she did, he was hurt that she was acting as if she didn’t know. “I care a lot about you,” he simply said, looking at her.  She continued to look back at him with an expression which Jiyong could only translate as pity.

               Their food soon came and they ate in silence. As soon as they finished their food, Jiyong went and paid for their meal. She walked out, followed by Jiyong. He noticed that she paused a few feet from the entrance. He looked at where she was staring and saw Seungri standing there.

               She looked away from him and walked past him. He grabbed her arm and her palm came in contact with his face, a loud sound echoed through the small alleyway they were in. He could see that she was trying to control her anger as her hands were shaking.

               Seungri stood there, his cheek aching from where she had slapped him. “I have nothing to say to you,” she said before walking away.

               “You might not, but I’m sure he does,” Seungri said.

               She stopped in her tracks and turned around. She looked at Jiyong whose heart started to beat faster. “What?”

               “I guess from the tone of your voice, you still don’t know,” Seungri looked at her and then at Jiyong.  “I don’t understand why you’re only mad at me?” Seungri glared at him. “Who was the one picking you up every time I couldn’t make it? Who was the one who would always be there for you when I couldn’t be?”

                She slowly looked towards Jiyong, shocked. “You knew?” she asked, hurt. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?” he looked away from her, nodding her head. She tried to take in a deep breath and she exhaled unevenly. She looked away from him, “Since when?”  She waited for him to answer, but when she heard no response, she looked back at him, angry. “Since when did you know Ji!”

                “From the beginning,” he mumbled. 

                “When was the beginning,” she asked, her voice shaking.

                He looked at her, not wanting to tell her anything. But he could see that she was hurting, wanting the truth already. He owed her that much. “Around 6 months ago. I found out that Seungri was cheating on you with his ex-girlfriend, the girl you saw outside our apartment,” he looked away from her again, ashamed.

                He heard her scoff and he couldn’t help but look at her. She wiped away the tears that were running down her face. She took in a deep breath and looked up, trying not to cry once more.

                “I-I—“ her voice croaked. “I guess I should’ve expected this from Seungri…But I can’t believe you –“ she looked at Jiyong. “I can’t believe that you would lie to me, Ji. Out of everyone, I trusted you the most,” she wiped away a tear that fell from her eye.

                He watched her turn her back. “I hope you’re happy,” she said to Seungri before leaving the both of them once again.

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A/N: Sorry for the super late update. I was just caught up with some things. I just finished college and had to go through all that post school stuff. But here's a short update for the few people reading this story. I've already written the next couple chapters, I just have to edit them. I'm not quite sure how I want to end this though.  But thanks to those who waited ^^