war of love, jeno

chapter fifty-seven

Eunjin's fingers were clasped around the small slip of paper as if a small breeze could whip it from her in the blink of an eye.

Her heart pounded as her head spun, tears dropping from both of her eyes and pouring into small wet spots on the thin paper. She was sat up on her hospital bed, her feet dangling.

Her breath was rigid and irregular, going in and out faster than normal as she tried to breathe.

She felt partly empty.

Well, she always did, honestly. She knew she was missing memories and that she would soon regain them so she never worried. But now, this emptiness could not be filled.

This emptiness she felt was for one of the only people who had been by her side since she was a child. And now that she was dead, nothing could fill it back up.

Eunjin could just barely look up, her lip slightly quivering. The sight broke Jeno's heart and his knees immediately bent. He reached down, hugging Eunjin tightly.

He was never one to get emotional but at the moment, he felt tears beginning to trickle from his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

He knew what was in that letter and it was taking everything in him not to let his body drop to the floor knowing that someone he once looked at as an older sister was now gone.

He may have one of his childhood best friends back and in his arms, but he also managed to lose the other in the blink of an eye. And now there was no way to bring her back.

"I was clueless," Eunjin said weakly, her head falling onto Jeno's chest as his shirt began to soak with her tears. "If I had only put together the dots about the random car coming around our house and the broken cameras, and Yena being an enemy, Jihan and Jaemin wouldn't have gotten shot. Jihan would still be alive. We could all be friends again. We could go back to how things used to be."

Jeno held the back of her head tightly as he nuzzled his head into her shoulder, his tears dropping slowly.

"She's dead. And all we have to show for it are dog tags and new members from my parents gangs. She shouldn't have died like that. She had so much to live for. She was the one that took care of us. The one that always helped us clean up our cuts and bruises. She protected us until she took her last breath."

Jeno had nothing to say. And even if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to say it without becoming a stuttering mess.

No one knew that he and Jihan had been close as kids since neither of them shared much of their pasts. Jihan and Jeno comforted each other when Eunjin had to leave. Jeno comforted Jihan when Jihoon had been taken away. Jihan comforted Jeno when he was going through a rough time after finding out Eunjin got into an accident. They had done so much for each other but had no way to prove it.

And now that Jihan was gone, he had no way to express his gratitude for everything she did for him.

One Months Later

Eunjin and Jeno laid in bed with a thick blanket laid over them. The TV was off and the only thing illuminating the room was the orange sunset peaking through the blinds.

Neither of them spoke, only looking at the ceiling in silence while Eunjin had her head on Jeno's chest, his left hand resting gently on her shoulder while the right was behind his head.

"Do you think she's proud?"

Jeno paused, trying to register her question. "What?"

Eunjin sat up slightly, adjusting Jeno's shirt to where it wouldn't be on her body awkwardly. "Do you think Jihan would be proud of me, of us?"

Jeno blinked before putting his hands against the mattress, sitting up, and staring into her eyes. He grabbed her hands and pulled them towards himself.

"Eunjin, I know she is proud of you. She was proud of you before she even..." he paused. It was still too hard to say it. "She's always been proud of you."

Eunjin looked down, self consciously beginning to play with the ends of her hair. Jeno had noticed the small habit and grabbed one of her hands to stop it.

He patted the empty space beside him, a soft smile grazing his lips. Eunjin didn't think twice, laying back down beside her partner.

The two laid face to face, staring at each other with adoring eyes.

Their soft moment was interrupted as their door creaked open, the sound of small paws against the wooden floors making the two smile.

They welcomed the three cats onto the bed with soft pets before Jeno started sneezing, making Eunjin laugh softly.

"You guys know you aren't allowed in here," she said to the small fur balls. They didn't care too much, still rolling around their owners with happiness.

Eunjin's smile suddenly widened as she looked down at her hand. "Jeno, look," she urged, tapping his leg.

His soft grin widened as he looked at her finger, admiring the small jewel he gifted her with many years ago. "It finally fits," he cheered, sitting upward and planting a kiss on her forehead.

Eunjin nodded, setting the now bare necklace onto the bedside table.

They were silent for a few seconds before Eunjin sat up, getting on her knees to crawl next to Jeno.

He smiled watching her take a seat next to him and rest her head on his shoulder. "What's got you in a loving mood," he joked, letting her wrap her arms around his waist.

Eunjin shrugged and lifted her head, admiring his side profile as he played with Nal. She really couldn't ask for much more.

"You're everything I could have ever wished for," she smiled, kissing his cheek gently.

next chapter is the epilogue omg 😩
this book is finally ending and it's so sad 💔

i have this problem of when i get a certain point in a book, i'll start writing backwards. so i've already finished chapters fifty-six, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, and sixty. i literally just posted chapter forty-five 😭

anyways hope y'all enjoyed this chapter.
...actually, now that i think abt it, this probably made a lot of yall sad.

i don't know, was jihan's death unexpected? let me know cause i'm curious. did some of you really think she was gonna end up bad?

and what abt eunjin and jaemin? 😭 did y'all really think i was gonna let those two die??

anywayyyyyys i guess since this book is gonna be over i'll finally have time to write some more for skinship and anti-romantic. i was also thinking about a vampire au or a dystopian type of au as well 👀
let's just wait to see what the future holds 😏