Soohyun felt the records ripping at her fingertips.

"No!" Jinhwan screamed, accelerating down the hall to grab the papers. By the time he arrived at Soohyun's side, the papers were torn in pieces. "How could you?" he gasped, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them.

"How could I?"

He let her go and collected the pieces in the envelope, slowly calming himself down. "Kim Jinhwan!"

He looked up at her, emotionless. Soohyun couldn't believe it; Jinhwan didn't think that what he did was absolutely wrong.

"Were the things I told you a joke? Is my family not something to take seriously that you can just read so openly without feeling remorse? Are you crazy?" Her body was boiling as her fists clenched. Her heart hurt more, though. It exploded into a thousand more pieces than what she ripped her family files into. 

"It's not a joke. I was just curious." he replied, standing up and brushing his pants off.

The sound of Soohyun's hand against his cheek echoed throughout the hallway, and everybody looked at them.

Shaking her head, she attempted to hold back her tears. He only blinked, not even in the slightest surprise. "I knew it, you never cared about me in the first place."

Only then did Jinhwan give up his nonchalant act. "I understand that you have doubts about what I was doing with that file, but what I've told you about our relationship is truthful and sincere. 8 months, Soohyun. You still can't trust me!"

"8 months, yeah. But it only takes 1 minute for a lie to make yourself think about what the lies and the truths are. So tell me, Jinhwan, why were you reading my file?" They were standing so close together, but their bodies seemed so distant. Their intense stares pushed them away from each other, but neither one of them urged to reach out.

"You want to know why? First, think about this. Why would I read it if I never cared about you in the first place?" Soohyun was at a loss of words, so Jinhwan continued. "Secondly, knowing that there is someone out there who caused somebody so fragile like you to think that you are alone in this world — it kills me. Because your pain means that I have to make it better, and I don't know of another way to do it. If you know, please enlighten me. Quoting what you have said previously, if I am correct, 'I'm out of options.' So try and retaliate now, see if it measures up to anything I just said." 

He received silence, and both of them knew that this conversation was over.

Jinhwan grabbed her wrist and ripped the threaded bracelet off, leaving a small scratch on her skin. "I guess this wasn't any use to you. In your eyes, nothing changed."

Soohyun watched him walk away, his angry footsteps reverberating in her head. She never thought that she would be so sad to see his back turned away from her for so long.

If she ran after him, things would never be the same between them again. Even if she didn't, that would happen. Jinhwan was always the one to apologize when it wasn't even his fault. But now, Soohyun knew that he wasn't going to come crawling back again.

He was finished.

Right before he disappeared completely, Soohyun shouted with tears cascading down her face. "You promised that you wouldn't leave! Can you walk away with the burden of knowing that you abandoned me?"

He turned around, and his eyes were red and puffy. Actual tears, from the stormy eyes of Kim Jinhwan. 

"Trust me on this; you abandoned me a long time ago. I was just the one that had the courage to walk away."

SORRY FOR SUCH A SHORT UPDATE! :( I just really wanted to keep posting daily. I want to say that tomorrow will be a long update, but I have a basketball game and Inhave to see my cousin's new baby. So let's hope for the best! 💋 - kpopidiots26