“You promised” Sulli whispered hoarsely. An hour of screaming had caused her to lose her voice, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying too much. But she didn’t care. Nothing matters now that Taemin is going away. Nothing.

“Ssul…”

“YOU PROMISE YOU WON’T EVER LEAVE!” Sulli yelled, smashing the nearest object onto the floor. Angry hot tears were spilling from her eyes, while her whole body trembles in shock and fury.

“Ssul!” Taemin yelled in alarm, as he rushes over to her. Locking her in a tight embrace, he tried desperately to calm her down.

Sulli struggled to free herself, but to no avail. She was too tired, too emotionally drained. Soon, her struggling stopped, and her body went limp. She buried her head into Taemin’s jacket, as the tears continued to flow down.

Taemin hugged her even tighter, trying to comfort her, to bring her some warmth and security. Her body was still trembling, and her sobs grew louder. He felt terrible. He knew that she was slowly breaking apart, but he could only watch and do nothing about it. Fate was cruel, fate was merciless.

As her sobs slowly turned into whimpers, a new emotion surfaced. Guilt. She felt horrible for clinging onto Taemin like that. She hated herself for being so selfish, for not sparing a thought for Taemin. No doubt he felt immensely guilty for leaving, but she just had to add on to his pain.

But she needed him. Without him, her world would be a gray place. She can’t, she just can’t let him go.

“I…I’m sorry.” She choked out, as she clinged onto Taemin even tighter. “Don’t be angry, please. I’m sorry”

Taemin’s heart clenched painfully upon her words. He is going to freaking leave her, and yet she is apologizing to him.

“Sshh… it’s all my fault, all mine.” He whispered soothingly.

Silence prevailed. Both of them were afraid to say anything, afraid to harm one another.

“Ssul…” Taemin began slowly, breaking the silence. “I promise, I promise I will come back.”

‘But I may not be here anymore… I may not be here when you come back. Taemin I need you. Please don’t go, please.’Sulli thought, refusing to accept the cruel reality. She didn’t want him to go, he can’t go.

But he did, and he took a part of her with him.

His fingers tightened around the handle of his luggage, as he walked briskly down the familiar streets. His heart clenched painfully, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. A wave of sadness washed over him, as he remembers the scene two years ago.

Two years. Time had passed painfully slowly when he was in America. Hours seemed like years, and as the days passed, he was slowly breaking down mentally. How he longed to come back, and how he longed to see her.

Yet, he could still vividly remember how he had harshly left her. She was practically begging for him to stay, but he had left without even saying a proper goodbye.

As he round a corner, other emotions came crashing down onto him. Happiness, guilt, regret. And above all, he felt anxious. Two years had passed, and things had surely changed. What if she no longer loved him?

He shook his head, trying to clear the unpleasant thoughts away. But a feeling of dread slowly creep into his heart, and when he finally reached his destination, he stood dumbly outside the door, too paranoid to ring the bell.

After a few minutes of hesitation, he shakily reached for the doorbell. He fingers lingered on it for a few moments, and just then, he heard footsteps coming from behind.

He spun around, and for a heart stopping moment, he expected Sulli to appear.

But she didn’t.

For a moment, he was flustered by the appearance of Mr Choi. Relief rushed through him, but it was tinted with disappointment, along with shame.

Hanging his head low, he mumbled out a greeting. He was too ashamed to face Sulli’s dad. He had trusted him to care for Sulli, yet he left her, broken.

“What are you doing here?” his voice was cold and menacing. The usually kind and cheerful man was gone, and Taemin flinched at his unforgiving tone. Mr Choi had always treated him like his own son, and his heart felt like it was stabbed when he heard his tone. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he resisted the urge to cry. He had no right to.

“I came back for Sulli.” Taemin whispered, his voice quivering. A few drops of tears landed on the ground, as Taemin bit his lips, hard.

“Two years. You left for two ing years, and you dare come back now? Ever since you left, Jinri lost the will to live. She refused to eat, refused to do anything. All she did was to stay locked in her room, muttering your name, begging you to come back. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN SHE ING WENT THROUGH BECAUSE OF YOU?!”

“I’m sorry.” Taemin managed to choke out, before the tears started flowing out, overwhelming him. He wiped the tears furiously away with his hand. He didn’t deserve to cry.

“SORRY?! , JINRI IS IN A ING HOSPICE RIGHT NOW, AND YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT YOU ARE SORRY?”

Taemin’s eyes widened in shock, as his head snapped up to look at Mr Choi in horror.

‘No, it can’t be. Sulli was perfectly healthy went I left.’He thought in panic. But he knew, deep down, that she wasn’t. Ever since the day she fainted during chem, he knew something was wrong. He knew, but he chose to ignore it. The truth is often terrifying, and he was scared. He was scared of the truth, so he chose to believe her lie.

Until it was too late.

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