𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Sunoo x Reader

Chapter 13- The World is a Zoo

(Time Skip)

Warning: Includes alcohol consumption and cursing

"Hello? Who is this?" You held the phone to your ear, taking another swig from the green glass bottle.

"You're calling me. How would you not know?"

"Oh Sunoo! Is that you?"

"Are you alright? Your words are all slurred."

"Heh. Nothing is wrong. Everything just looks blurry."

"Where are you at?"

"The world is a zoo. Everyone is so beastly. I'm at the zoo."

"A zoo that is still open at 12:00am? Impossible."

"I meant that figuratively. I'm at the place called..." You squinted at the store name, trying to make sense of the orange and green stripes, "Seven-Eleven. Ever heard of it?"

"What are you doing at the convenience shop in the middle of the night?"

"A few drinks. I mean I'm already 21 you know."

"So you're drunk."

"No. I'm not."

"Yes you are," You could hear Sunoo sigh. "Which Seven-Eleven are you at?"

"The one in front of my apartment."

You mumbled your address.

"He cheated on me," you whispered through chapped lips.

"What?"

"Sunghoon. He promised he'd love me forever, but he lied. To be honest I was falling out of love. I don't know why. It still hurts."

Sunoo's phone nearly slid out of his hand. He gulped, unsure of what to say.

A surge of anger overtook you, "He's such a fucking bastard. I hate him so much."

You started to sob. People looked over to you, eyes full of scorn. You didn't care.

"Sunoo, I wanted to call you so many times. I missed you so much. I was afraid you would hate me. Please don't hate me... I'm so lonely and pathetic. Where's my place in this world?"

Torrents of words fell out of your mouth and tears slid out of your heavy eyes. You've been trying to stay awake for too long, and the mask that you wore to cover your heavy scars cracked. Darkness consumed you quickly, closing around you in a vice grip. Your vision faded and you laid your head to rest upon the table. The sound of the Seven-Eleven doors clicked shut. Locked. You sighed.

"Good night."

Flashback/ Dream:

"Sorry baby. I can't make it today. I have to take care of something that's going on at home. My grandmother fell ill and I have to visit her at the hospital."

"It's alright! In fact, let's forget about this aquarium date trip altogether and let's go visit her. I'll make some congee for her and bring her fruits. She likes pear, doesn't she? It's fall after all! The perfect season!"

"No."

You were taken aback by Sunghoon's answer.

Sunghoon cleared his throat. He balanced his phone between his jaw and shoulder. "I just need to talk to her alone. I'm not sure if she has much time left, so I want to spend this remaining time with her."

"Oh I see... Tell your grandmother I said hello, and I hope she is able to make a speedy recovery."

"Yes I will. I have to go right now. Let's go to the aquarium some other time."

"Don't worry about it Hoonie! I love you!"

He hung up.

~

Later on in the day, you decided to go to the aquarium by yourself. You were itching for inspiration. Quickly, you packed your bag with an arrangement of sable hair brushes that Sunghoon had just bought for you, a sketchbook, a mini Winsdor Newton petit watercolor palette, a few pencils, and a small container of water for your paints.

~

You were sitting in front of the tank, mesmerized by the soft rhythmic bobbing of jellyfish. The dim fluorescent lights illuminated your face, changing your skin to shades of neon purple, pinks, and soft blues. People passed by, children curiously peeking at your strange seating on the ground. You were used to it, so you didn't mind. Holding up your watercolor painting up to the light to catch a better look at your progress, something caught your gaze. As if in slow motion, the sketchbook dropped out of your hand. Its fall to the ground seemed to be an eternity before it landed in a soft thump...its wet, colored pages closing in on themselves, leaving the painting muddied and damp between pages. It was him... wearing the same beautiful smile that the boy you fell for at a young age wore. It was your boyfriend-Sunghoon. Slowly your eyes traveled over him to his slender arms that hung around another figure. He was holding a girl in his arms. A girl who wasn't you. Suddenly, the girl stood up on her tiptoes, and gently, with the grace of a bud of a young rose, she kissed him, with lips of a newfound spring. You felt your fingertips touch your own dry unkissed lips. You felt the hollowing thudding of your heart throb in a slow beat, pulsing with the glowing orbs of the moon jellies. Push her away. Tell me you didn't do this. Tell me you stayed loyal. Tell me that you are still the boy that I love. He made no move to push the girl back. Instead, his hands brushed past the girl's face, tangling his hand in her gold highlighted hair and drawing her in. Closer and closer. Tears fell harder than spring rain, arms hanging uselessly like the wan branches of a dead winter maple, stripped naked of green leaves and left bare with bark peeling away at the edges. For once, as you sat there, slumped and crying, you resented the luminous, alien-like animals that floated in their glowing tanks. There is nothing to life, you thought, but to lose everything you valued and loved. 

Author's note: 

Hello! I just returned from vacation which explains why I hadn't uploaded for a while! Forgive me for not giving readers a heads up for my short hiatus. All is well now though! Time to get back to writing! 

P.S. Thank you so much for 400+ reads! I am honored to have such loyal readers! Please continue to support me and please leave comments down below on future short stories you would like me to write (but please understand that my first priority is finishing this story)!