Rogue Hearts | PJM ✅

Chp. 37: The Storm Within

Dallia's POV 🌼

I canceled all my classes with my students for the entire week, telling them that I'm suffering from a terrible flu and expanding the lie by saying I don't want to get them sick. I feel awful telling a lie, but I've gone into survival mode. With my mental health feeling unstable, I turned off my phone -I cannot handle one more crisis this week. In fact, on the first day, I truly did feel sick. I have never experienced heartbreak like this. I cried until I was so distraught I had to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet bowl. Clutching the cold porcelain as I sobbed, retching over and over until I had no more left to give, and then laid on the hard tile floor without the motivation to move.

On the second day, I stayed in bed all day. It felt appropriate that we had a significant rainstorm to pair with my sullen mood, and I spent the entire day watching the rain battering the glass window as I stared out at it for hours. All I could do was keep reliving the night of the massive thunder and lightning storm Jimin, and I experienced when we were on the island -the memories caused me to cry so hard I almost started to hyperventilate. Unable to cope any longer, I opened a bottle of wine I had stashed for a special occasion and drank the entire bottle. Draining it until I was stumbling, and then I let my unfocused mind ease into sleep.

The third day I woke up late in the morning to a pounding on my door, and when I opened it, Ha-Kun was standing there with takeout and a warm smile.

"Hey, everyone has been worried about you! You haven't answered your phone for anyone!" he says as he makes his way into my apartment, not waiting for an invitation.

"I...I turned my phone off Monday..." I stutter as he places the takeout bag on the kitchen counter. "I thought everyone would hate me...Jimin HATES me..." Hearing the words out loud hits me like a gut punch, and I begin to sob.

"I know it hurts, sweet girl," Ha-Kun says as he wraps his arms around me and lets me cry into his chest. "I know Jimin hurt you, but he was acting like a fool, and that doesn't mean the rest of us don't care about you anymore."

Ha-Kun's words make me feel better but also cause me to sob harder, I thought I had lost all my new friends in one fell swoop, and the thought had been overwhelming. When I finally slow down, my heart rate regulating to a normal rate, and the tears drying, Ha-Kun releases me from his hold and gives me a gentle smile.

"Now, I'm glad you were able to release some of those feelings, but I'm going to need you to take a shower, my dear. Girl, you smell like you slept inside a bar last night!" he chuckles as he gently sidesteps me and opens my closet.

I watch him, my eyes the size of saucers, as he putters around and then comes back with a fresh set of comfy clothes for me. "Go on, sweet girl, go clean up, and then I have soup from my favorite restaurant, and we will get some food in you. I know you haven't eaten!"

Ha-Kun has just come in and taken over, and honestly, it doesn't feel like he's overstepping in the least. I just feel relief, and I nod at him and head into the shower to wash days of self-pity and stench off me.

When I return from a long hot shower, Ha-Kun is waiting with a warm bowl of soup for me, and we settle down at my little table to eat together. "Lily and I spoke, and we don't want you to worry about Dae's rehabilitation bills. We have them covered," Ha-Kun says casually, and I almost drop my spoon into my bowl -the delicate, long metal handle suddenly feels heavy in my hand as my jaw hangs open.

"What...you can't do that...it's so expensive...." I whisper in confusion.

"No, no, actually, we can. I know the public is aware that Lily donated money to charities with the proceeds from her last album, but we actually have been quietly giving to charities and causes for many years now, that we simply don't tell the public about," Ha-Kun reveals, and I'm stunned.