Choi Mujin Imagines

All too well - Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8: The Breaking

24 – Aera, 26 – Mujin

And maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up
Running scared, I was there
I remember it all too well

Aera just got home from work. She sighed as she entered their apartment. The living room looked like hell. When can she rest? She saw Mujin sleeping on the sofa. Sighing, she placed her things in their bedroom first before tidying the place up. Their whole apartment reeked of cigarettes and whiskey. She knows that he's aware of how much she hates this smell, it reminds her so much of her own father.

Her movements must've woken him up because he started stirring, and she didn't even bother to look at him when he did. "Not going home for days, and now this," She sighed again.

How many times did she sigh from the moment she entered their apartment?

She lost count.

"Let me help you." Mujin said with his hoarse voice as he took it from her hand, giving her a chance to finally look at his face.

She felt her heart fell at the sight of her boyfriend. She immediately held his face in her hands, her irritation fading away and being replaced by worry. "What happened to you?" Bruises and cuts, that's what's on his face. Mujin froze, having been caught once again.

He sighed, hating himself for forgetting about it. He gently took her hands off his face, averting his head from her touch. "Let's not talk about this today. I'm tired."

"Well, I'm tired too." She stood up, looking so worried and tired. "What are you really doing, Mujin?" She still keeps on denying it to herself though she already has an idea. No, she can't be right. She wish she's wrong.

Mujin didn't want to answer her, so he scanned the whole room, and he caught a glimpse of his bag. "You don't have to worry about Sun Woo's tuition fee. I've got it covered." He tried to change the topic as he reached for his bag, looking for his wallet.

Aera just shook her head. "I told you, I'm going to provide for my own brother. You don't have to burden yourself with my responsibilities to my own family." She refused. Mujin couldn't help but get annoyed, the things he'd done to get this money, but she still refused.

"Why not? I have the money so you can spend your own money to yourself, for once." She just refused again, standing up as she took the emptied bottles of alcohol to the sink. Mujin followed after her, picking up the empty cigarette boxes and throwing them into the bin.

"I don't even know where that money came from." She whispered as she began washing the mountain of dirty dishes in their sink, but Mujin heard it. Now, he's mad.

"What?" He couldn't believe what she had just said. He laughed bitterly, walking from the trash bin to standing behind her back, slightly pulling her to turn around and look at him. "Can you say that again?" Staring harshly at her figure, growing defensive.

Aera turned around from the sink to face him. "I said, I don't even know where that money came from." She stared into his eye, mirroring the way he stared at her. She stared at the tired eyes of the man she loves. Realizing how much it changed throughout the whole year, she would prefer the cold eyes of the 18-year-old Choi Mujin.

"What are you trying to say?" Mujin's eyes were turning red. He, himself, didn't know why it irked him so much. Was he annoyed that she refused his help? Angry because of what she was implying? Mad because of her lack of trust and faith in him? Or scared that she might now know the truth? He wasn't sure.

"Here we are again with your assumptions! I'm not doing anything, Aera!" He threw his head back while pacing back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. "For fuck's sake, when will you ever trust me?" He asked as he looked back at her.

"If you don't want me to think of you that way, then tell me what it is, Mujin! Why are you being like this? What is happening with you? How can I understand you if you won't even tell me?" She looked equally frustrated as him, using her fingers to massage her temple. She walked closer to him and nudged her fingers at his chest. "And don't you dare lie to me. I know you're lying! I'm not that dumb."

Mujin was panting. He doesn't enjoy fighting with her, which they have been doing a lot for the past months. "Why would I, when you already have your own answer?"

"Then tell me I'm wrong!" He turned his back to her and took his jacket from the couch.

"See? You can't even tell me that."

He just shook his head and went for the door. "I'd rather sleep somewhere else than fight here with you." When he left their apartment, he kicked the railings of the stairs. "Fuck!" He ruffled his own hair, not knowing what he should do.

Suddenly, the events of yesterday came back to him. He just had his first kill. The man he killed was on his knees, utterly helpless as Mujin shot him in the head. He shook his head again, trying to bury the memory. In an attempt to relieve himself, he fished for his box of cigarettes in the pocket of his jacket before he resumed walking down the stairs.

Aera sat on the couch in their living room, waiting for him to come back, anxious about where he went, if he was okay. She can't help but cry, it's been hours since he left, and he hasn't called her yet. He'll usually come back an hour after their fights and apologize.

Late at night, she felt a dip on their shared bed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, burying his forehead on her shoulder. Mujin knows she's still awake. The hug was enough to say the words that he wanted to say.

He heard her sniffling, and it only made him feel even worse. "You think I don't know what that tattoo on your chest means?" She was crying once again. It was the same tattoo on his uncle's chest. Aera knew it had something to do with his death, though she's not entirely sure.

She's just too scared of what may happen to Mujin, the man she's been in love with for years now. "I don't think I can handle it if something bad happens to you,"

Mujin hushed her as he rubbed calming circles on her arm, "Shhh... don't worry about it, Aera." He then lifted himself up using his elbow and kissed the side of her head. "I'll handle it." She didn't deserve to carry this burden that he's gotten himself into, so he doesn't want her to even think about it. "Just stay,"