Chapter 16

As time passes... 

Time was a weird thing, Sun Shin discovered. With time, things change. Seasons, people, perspectives... feelings. As time passed, Sun Shin came to be great friends with Onew while her best friend, Minny, became good friends with Minho. Jonghyun... well he decided to take action after seeing Sun Shin spending so much time with Onew. He too, became good friends with Sun Shin. They went on many dates. Cute ones. Romantic ones. She began to see a side of Jonghyun he had never let anyone see before. She began to understand him... an incredible thing to achieve. And that was a thing Jonghyun had never experienced before. Being understood. And it was a scary feeling.

{ Monday }

[ Lee Taemin’s POV ]

“Onew... where are you going?” I ask my hyung, puzzled.

“Something’s wrong with Sun Shin.” He answers vaguely, clearly distraught.

He grabs his heavy overcoat and jerks the door open powerfully. I grab mine too and jog out to catch up with him. Down the elevator. Out the door. Across the street. Down a few blocks. A few turns. We’re suddenly up the stairs, standing in front of a door. Onew reaches into the bird feeder hanging next to it and pulls out a key. He unlocks the door with shaky hands and turns on the lights. It’s a bright little room with light yellow walls and modest furniture, the type of house I would love to live in. He stumbles over to the living room, calling her name. It’s not a big house, it’s surprisingly quiet for a house that’s so close the street. I don’t know what my ears heard, but I followed it. I followed it into a small bedroom. It was hers. Stuffed animals. Pretty lime green walls. The sound was coming from the bathroom. I’ve guessed by now that it was Kim Sun Shin crying. What do I do. Knock, or go get Onew? I don’t have to contemplate the choices because soon, Onew is standing behind me. I can feel his presence, his breath traveling down my neck. He pushes me aside gently and knocks.

“S-Sun Shin... are you... what’s wrong?”

Sniffles. Silence.

“Sunny. Just... just tell me.”
“I-I... I did something horrible.” A weak, muffled voice squeaks at us. It doesn’t sound the least bit like her.

“It’s alright. I forgive you. Just come out and... I’ll give you a hug.”
“No... it’s not alright...” she whimpers, “please leave me alone. You don’t want to know me anymore.”

“Sun Shin darling... just tell me. I’ll try my very hardest to accept it. No. I will accept it.”

“No. You don’t understand”

“No, I don’t so please explain.”

More sniffles. We wait for a few more minutes in silence before she starts a sentence slowly, choosing her words carefully.

“I’m... I’m not a anymore.” She spits the words out finally, like they’re filthy. Then we can hear her breaking out into sobs behind the door.

I look at Onew. His face... how am I even supposed to explain this. It was something between bewildered, perplexed, furious, miserable, angry and... passive. And then I remember what “” meant. That means... she... she did it with someone else. Did she want Onew to be her first? Is that where their relationship was heading towards? But they weren’t even dating. 

“Al-alright. I accept that Sun Shin. If you wanted someone else... I’d be able to accept it. Seeing you happy would make it all okay. But why are you crying?” 

The exact same thing I was wondering.

“Onew. You don’t understand.” She says weakly.

“No. I don’t. Explain it to me.” He demands. I’ve never heard him use this tone of voice before. It scared me.

“No. I can’t.”

“YES YOU CAN. You need to tell me. I can accept it if I see you happy with another guy, but to see, no, hear you like this... I can’t accept it, not knowing.”

“I... was , okay?” I can hear the wariness in her muffled voice. She probably didn’t get any sleep last night, the poor woman. 

Onew suddenly falls against his fists, which had once been pounding at the door. His body goes limp as he collapses against the door. He leans against it with his back, pressing his head against it. I sit down next to him in thought.

“Sun Shin... who did it...” I ask cautiously.

“Taemin? Oh goodness I didn’t know you were here.” She’s embarrassed I heard everything.

“It’s alright Sun Shin. We just need to know who it is.” Onew asks feebly.

She doesn’t reply. 

“SUN SHIN.”
I can feel her body shaking against the door as she cries, leaning against the door. A board of wood away. A board of wood away, sat a broken girl, shamed. Shamed because of a heartless fool. How pitiful has this world has become. 

Still the different font.. sorry guys ;-; Are you crying  yet? Well okay. School starts soon which means even less updates. YAYY.