Pretty Enough - Verbal Jint

Narrator's POV

"What happened?" asked Chunji, pointing to her skinned feet. Min Yu just shook her head and closed the door by the passenger seat. It was cold and warm at the same time being in the same place again. She rested her cheek against the window and watched the driver intently as the engine hummed back to life. Chunji's eyes were fixed on the road, the moonlight trailing down the bridge of his nose, across his soft cheeks, and along his sharp jawline in a warm afterglow.

"Ya," he gave her a light nudge. "We haven't seen each other for months and you don't talk to me?" Chunji glanced at her direction swiftly, enough to notice how everything had gone worse than how he left them. Her skin was stretched taut over her cheekbones and threatened to break through, with dark circles under her eyes to match. "I haven't eaten anything yet," he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Do you want to eat with me?"

She closed her eyes, feeling the heat and exhaustion behind her eyelids. Before she could even mutter anything, Chunji parked the car by the curb of the nearest convenience store by her apartment. "You have no choice but to eat with me," he tugged at her wrist, forcing her out of the car and into the store with him. Min Yu followed, trying her best not to drag her dead yet bare feet.

The man even dragged her towards the various stands adored with racks of instant noodles, to which his mouth watered. "Don't you want to eat anything?" Chunji demanded while debating whether to take the beef or the barbecue flavored noodles. Min Yu stared back at him while leaning against the stand. Chunji knew things too well. "I'll pay for it, don't worry," he cooed with a light chuckle.

Still with a little doubt, Min Yu ducked down to level his face.. "Yaksokhae?" The girl waited eagerly for his affirmation while holding her fifth finger out, to which Chunji held tightly. "Promise," he assured her. Suddenly taking advantage, the girl took one from each flavor as she almost drifted to cloud nine with the thought of having something in her stomach.

After paying at the counter, Chunji stared at his steaming cup of noodles, waiting for it to be tender and soft enough to be eaten. Min Yu glared back at a row of five different kinds of noodles and wondered how long is three minutes exactly. "Hungry?" He rested his head on his palm and watched her intently. She filled her cheeks with air and blew as she shook her head no.

Although he wasn't in any position to tell her what to do, he had a knowing smile on his face. "Starving?" he tried again, and succeeded when she nodded in defeat. "Where have you been, anyway? It's not like you to pop up from the streets at this time, barefoot and starving," he thought out loud as an observation. "And are you on some kind of diet or something? You're all skin and bones."

Min Yu scoffed. "Thanks. All girls would love to hear that very much," she snorted before tearing the lid off and digging in on the food with her chopsticks. After he finished his meal, Chunji watched in amusement as the girl ate like she was in some kind of competition. Soon enough, she finished successfully in front of his eyes, as quickly as the food vanished.

When she looked up, her cheeks were flushed, lips bright red, and her forehead matted with sweat. She locked gazes with Chunji, and burst out laughing afterwards. Chunji carefully reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, a habit he had been accustomed to. And he wanted to kiss her face so badly, but, sadly, he can't, not that she would approve of it either.

"Tell me something," he ordered out of nowhere as he stared out at the dark outside the store. And he hated how memories catch up and surge from his throat uncontrollably. He missed the late night walks and throwing pebbles on her window and hugging her tight and kissing her goodnight and watching her sleep and holding her hand. He hated remembering all of it.

The girl, meanwhile, took a deep breath. "I tried killing myself," she admitted truthfully, knowing quite well how she couldn't hide anything from him. With the statement, her eyes shifted to the puckered line on her wrist and remembered how she had held that shard in her other hand. But she doubted Chunji would care. Donghae didn't, so why would he? But the thought added another pound of burden inside her.

But he was there through inconvenient times of every day, and that she appreciated, even now. "Why?" Chunji prodded curiously, pretending he hasn't heard all these before from Kai. He managed to keep a straight, unknowing face, and it worked convincingly. "Because I wanted to watch a movie," Min Yu joked sarcastically with a smile.

"And what about you and Donghae?" demanded Chunji, and the smile faded as quickly as it came. Min Yu uncomfortably played with her fingers, locking and interlocking them. "We're fine," she nodded curtly, but the other man was not the least bit impressed. "Let's just go." She stood up and became unstable as the cuts on her feet stung. The other followed without complaint, but asked, "And by 'fine' you mean...?"

Instead of answering, Min Yu heaved a sigh. "Cheer up," he playfully nudge her by the shoulder. "You're too beautiful to be crying and starving and walking and slashing wrists because of that kind of guy. You deserve something better. How special does he treat you? How can you not leave him? That you stay despite everything makes me mad. Just take it from there."

He opened the door for her and led the way to his parked car, and did the same with his car door. She settled in without another word on the passenger seat, never bothering to put her seatbelt on. When he entered and sat beside her, he shook his head at her unchanging stubborn attitude and went on to drop her off by her apartment.

"If I were him, I wouldn't have let anything bad happen to you. I make sure you eat and I make sure you don't get late even though I spoil you with the give-me-five-more-minutes thing you have every morning. And I let you win every argument and I mean it when I tell you I'm sorry. And I sing you to sleep and tuck you in bed and kiss you goodnight. Yet Donghae treats you the exact opposite but you don't mind," he retorted as-a-matter-of-factly

"I cheated on you, but you stayed. I got mad over little things and was never really serious, but you stayed. I broke promises and made you mad and disappointed you over and over again, but you stayed. I told you I hated you and ignored you and misunderstood many times yet you stayed. Why? You deserved someone better too. Why did you stay?" stated Min Yu loudly.

"I loved you," he replied, which was a lie in itself. He still does, even at that moment when he knew it was never going back to the way it was before when she was his and everything was under control. "And I love Donghae too," Min Yu defended, making the logic sink into the other's mind. They rode in deafening silence as the parting drew nearer and nearer.

Finally, the wall with the peeling paint came into view. Chunji maneuvered his car until it came to a halt. When it did, Min Yu didn't hurriedly leave without saying anything. But she remained still on the cushion as he, too, pondered on what to say next. Finally self-constituted, the girl turned to face him completely. "I guess I'll see you soon."

The Teen Top member scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not knowing what to say. "I'm just at the dorm if you need anything. I-I rea--I mean Teen Top isn't really much into anything now because we just got back so...yeah," he laughed at his own stammering. "Thank you. I appreciated the...t-the noodles." She broke into a wide smile.

Chunji only nodded in affirmation. He didn't expect things to be back as they were years ago, like they had just met. He also didn't expect her to hug him, much less touch him. But he spoiled himself by hugging her back, knowing it will only be her who will fit the place perfectly. He had his eyes closed as he kissed her smooth forehead gently.

Having had enough, they both pulled away to compose themselves. Chunji had a satisfied grin on his face, to which Min Yu just chuckled. "Babo." She opened the car door and left, waving goodbye as his car sped away. Min Yu stared at the little red lines on her feet, wincing as the wounds grinded with the rough asphalt.

A different car, with its immaculate white paintjob gleaming under the faint moonlight, swerved by the corner of the street and drove on the road in front. She knew quite well who the person behind the wheels was, but she knew what his objective will be. Min Yu sat on the porch steps, watching the man park his car by the pavement like the road was his property.

And he, in all self-proclamation, closed his car door and sat beside her on the cold porch steps. She didn't even acknowledge his presence, all the while making him feel guiltier than ever. And if Min Yu treated Donghae the same way he treats her, he would despise her. Maybe even loathe her. But the moment didn't make any difference. She could feel it near in the form of a plain white shirt and denim jeans, plus a pair of brown eyes that examined her face.

When she didn't turn to face him, he followed her gaze instead. "I really messed up every single thing this time, haven't I?" he thought out loud. Min Yu blinked twice, with a tear falling down either of her cheeks with every action. She pursed her lips that were slowly beginning to turn upside down to maintain silence as she cried.

But as he couldn't take it anymore, Donghae opened his arms to welcome her in. He hadn't held her in so long and it felt uncanny. He rested his chin on top of her head while Min Yu buried her face on his chest. "Come on, punch me. Give oppa one of your Min Yu's self-defense. You want to kick me, right? Go on, release your anger on me. I deserve it all," he consoled her, but he already knew it to be useless.

When she looked up, he crushed his lips hungrily against hers, expressing his regret and repentance with his lips as they attacked hers gently yet aggressively at the same time. She witnessed the worst of him yet didn't push him away, and he was glad she stayed long enough. It was what Heechul told him about, and like her, Donghae didn't need to be told twice.

He could feel her cold tears against her cheek. She cried from the times he hung up on her and for the times he pushed her away. She hated him for all the times he yelled at her and loved him for all the times he had told her so. And she had talked to him in her head, twisting and forming conversations as she wished they had transpired throughout, not just the plain 'hi' and 'hello' they had been exchanging.

But she kept her eyes tightly shut all throughout, her hands grabbing handfuls of his shirt and feeling him near made her heart erratic inside her chest. It was amazing how far people are willing to go when someone believes in them, and as they both gasped for air after pulling away, she had already forgiven him. She always had, and there was no need for apologies.

The girl pressed her forehead against his jaw, closing her eyes and matching her breathing with his. The porch was dusty and cold and the wall he was leaning on had its paint peeling but it didn't matter. And it was one of those scarce nights when everything was in its rightful place and she was right where she belonged.

Donghae raised his right hand up. "Best friends?" There was a hint of smile in his voice. She raised her free hand to slap his, but their palms remained stuck together like paper with glue. He clasped her hand tight, pressing the back of her palm against his lips, as if there was ever a way she would leave. And she didn't get her hopes up that he would stay for the night, but he held her down with their fingers interlocked.

He made her ride on his back as Donghae volunteered to open the door and carry her in. She had a hopeful smile on her face that tonight might be different, that she won't have to be alone. The man laid her gently on the bed and knelt down by her feet, examining the minor damage that she unintentionally had a few hours ago.

Playing the nurse for the day to try and make it up to her, Donghae cleaned each cut and by the time he was done, she had already fallen asleep. Her eyes were peacefully closed and her breathings rhythmically even. He plopped down by her side and rested just for a while. The man had forgotten the comforts that her bed provided back when things were in much better terms.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and Donghae's eyes fluttered open as if he had just forgotten he had a phone. He sat up and carefully pulled a blanket over Min Yu, every action as lightly as possible not to wake her. When he checked his phone, it was Sun Hye asking him where he was. And the Super Junior member left, closing and locking the door behind him.

Min Yu's POV

Day 365

I woke up with a start, happy with the thought that Donghae had stayed, even if I woke up to an empty bed. And scrolling through my phone, I found a message he had left for me, informing me of everything he was about to do today. I smiled to myself, knowing I was again a useful person. And despite my walk being a mere limp, I headed quickly to the kitchen, canvassing anything edible and possible ingredient.

And there in the kitchen I spent countless hours all over the place, trying to come up with a food he might consider a gift for the special occasion. He might not remember the significance of the day, but it didn't matter. After tucking everything away neatly in a bag, I headed to the company's building, knowing there was a hardworking man on the seventeenth floor.

Then I could see everything already: He would be surprised to see me, maybe even smile. It was an indescribable emotion to know you can make someone happy even in the littlest things. Donghae would invite me in and Sun Hye would be nowhere in sight and I would tell him how I feel and he doesn't have to kiss me. He only has to make it look like as if he appreciates everything, even if it's not sincere. I'll be happy.

Walking excitedly down the hallway, the music blaring from inside could clearly be heard. With newfound confidence, I was about to push the glass door open, but then I knew I wasn't invited. Sun Hye stood in the middle of the room, her back towards the door. Donghae stood in front and it seems as if they were talking about something important.

His brows were furrowed, perhaps in confusion, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I froze in place, not knowing exactly what to do, but I had an intuition that I wasn't supposed to enter. And there she was, confirming the sign by standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He remained immobile in his stance as she kissed his lips which he had used to kiss me last night. His eyes were open, but he didn't push her away.

No. I wasn't even supposed to see that. But I stepped back, anyway, stumbling on my own two feet. Reality came crashing down like an ice-cold pail of water. Jill was all alone now, because Jack had found someone new. There was no hill, only a building. And the prince charming turned out to be the villain of the story. Tralalalalalala~ I was so tired I didn't even cry. It didn't hurt because he did me wrong. It hurt because he knows I'll forgive him when he comes back.

I didn't realize I've been stepping backwards until I reached the wall and, as if a wake up call, I looked down at the food I had brought, leaving it by the door. He only remembers me when he realizes he has done me something wrong and I'm still wondering how that could possibly be. I left, heading towards where I came from, without looking back.