MICHAENG : FAKE AND TRUE

4- FRIEND OR SIBLING

The sun was falling down and taken over by the silver shining ball in the galaxy. The cold breeze from the night kept hitting every part of the young man's exposed skin unhesitatingly. A part of the night wind blows into his pointed nose, making his chest rise every time the wind races into his abdomen and down when he releases his breath. The light from the tall buildings in front of him illuminates the dark sky, providing him with light and a fascinating view from the rooftop.

He brings his sharp gaze at the view infront of him, but his mind does not even attempt to compress the view as it is being completely conquered by something that has been bothering him for a few days.

"Ouch!!! what was......thatttt......Jeongyeon ??" He toned out his voice from shrill to soothing when he shifted his gaze to the girl who was suddenly flicking his forehead without any warning or notice, but at least it made him come back to reality. Jeongyeon faintly created a smile on her thin lips, not answering to the younger man while looking at the exit door on the rooftop that showed the other two girls, Nayeon and Jihyo, walking towards them.

"Why are you two so slow?" Jeongyeon adds her words while shaking her head before observing the view of the tall buildings and light scattering in the sky. The young man beside her is still confused about what drama they are bringing to him right now. He fixed his glare on Nayeon and Jihyo, who seemed still panting for air.

"What are you guys doing here?" He threw them a question, not removing his stare from them while his palm was still rubbing his forehead.

"We are trying to jump from the building right now," Jihyo cynically answered. He bit his lower lip after hearing Jihyo's sarcastic reply. His head hanging lower, he brings his gaze to the floor.

On the other hand, Nayeon just sighs before sitting beside him on the bench. She looks up into the sky. "The moon is so pretty, isn't it?" Nayeon gives a voice to start their conversation with him, but leaves no sign for him to say anything. Nayeon observes the young man's expression, knowing that he has a lot of things in his small mind bothering and suffocating him.

"Mind to share, Chaeyoung??" Nayeon sooths her voice, letting it out in a caring and lovely way that makes the man shift his gaze to each of the three girls. He rested his palm on his chin and turned his gaze back to the front view.

"I need to leave." He utters slowly in defeat and his face is all out of frustration.

"We already knew it, Jackson told us. We just came to know why and to hear it from you directly" Jeongyeon snaps the talk in between, patiently waiting for the latter to continue for his thoughts to be untied.

"I know it's hard for you, it's hard for us too. This is such sudden news.. let us help you to ease it.. just tell us why." Jihyo mutters to break a second of silence from him.

"It's for my future. I just obeyed my father. He wanted me to further study in Japan, he wanted me to inherit our hospital, he wanted me to become just like him, a successful, reputable doctor" He chewed his side cheeks and sighed in despair. "I can do nothing because he is my biological father. He never asked me anything before. He let me decide everything that I wanted all this time. Now i wanted it to fulfil his first wish, but I don't want to leave what I have now"

His words leaving those three girls in silence. Until they can hear the sound of the restless city.

"From the very first time I saw you, standing out nowhere in our practise room, wearing your shirt with cub printed on it, smiling genuinly showing your canine tooth and your deep dimple, you were such a boy who wore a confident face, proudly introducing yourself as a new trainee, asked us to be your friends and said that you adored us back then. I know there's sincerity in you and you are more than what you were from the start. From then, you were always visible as a bright star to us. When we were sinking into our hard time, you were there to bring us up, even though you were also devastated. You shared your thoughts, even if they didn't always make sense, but you tried to help. You may be annoying, childish, and naive at times, but there is a part of you that we cherish, you being reckless for the sake of the people you love, you fighting for them, you standing out for them, you putting others first before yourself. We are thankful enough for it, for not leaving us just to protect and be a shield for us from pain and despair" Jihyo, a little hesitant, confessed what she had been feeling since Chaeyoung existed in their lives from the very first time.

"We know this is what you want. You wish to be the one. Let this time be your time. Be easy on yourself. From the beginning, you wanted to be like your father. You always praised him. Your eyes said everything whenever you told us about him but you also don't want to disappoint and leave your uncle since he's the one who takes care of you since you are just a little boy even he never asked you to be an idol" Jihyo chuckles a bit before continuing, "The day I catch a cold and fever, you stand out as a doctor for me. I know it was your dream. I just let you be that time even if it seems too childish for me" She bit her lower lip and clasped her hands together, knowing it would be difficult to let him go. Their friendship is not just a friendship but is growing into a
sibling connection, a stronger connection that can't be torn apart.

Jeongyeon makes a step closer to him. She stares for a while, kneeling in front of the young man, pulling his hand. "Chaeyoung" she calls out, trying to catch his gaze.

She pulls his hand and circles his wrist, touching the bracelet. Yes, they have the same bracelet. You can call it a friendship bracelet. Nayeon gave it to each of them for Christmas a few years ago. They've never taken it off their wrist since. Chaeyoung said he likes it because it's his first time someone gave him something like that and he fancies the design. They wear it because they treasure their friendship, and Chaeyoung always checks on them to see whether they are wearing it or not. He takes it seriously.

"I know you are trying to save and defend our relationship at the same time." Jeongyeon was hesitant to speak with Chaeyoung because she thought he may be a bit sensitive right now.

Chaeyoung spares a glance at Jeongyeon, waiting for the latter to continue what she's going to utter. A sudden rush of salty tears streamed down his cheeks, knowing he had held it for a while, but now he felt such a failure.

Jeongyeon sighs in sadness. She never saw this side of him and slowly arranges her next words carefully, trying to not break what had already broken inside the rib cage of the man.

"I don't care how many years it will take from now,but please come back. We are still here for you, faithfully waiting for you. Go chase your dreams. Be the one, be the prestigous medical student, and come back to us as a doctor. You need to treat our hearts here anyway" Jeongyeon said in reassurance, emphasising every word that left her mouth. A thin smile curved on her lips.

"Hug time!" Nayeon, who had been crying in silence from the beginning, snapped her head to his side. Jeongyeon and Jihyo's arms were already wide open to welcome Chaeyoung into their embrace.

"I will comeback. Just wait for me." And that's it. That was the last word they heard from him.

_Not matter how long_

Author's note :

Sorry for the late update, i 've been busy for few past months😭i really hope you guys enjoy until now so that i'll have more inspiration to keep writing ..

Pardon my grammer and vocab mistake 🥹