afterglow ‣ s.jy

interlude

¡ TW : DEATH !
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The sky cried.

Jake stood meters away from Siyeon. Many people who greeted her adoptive parents obscured his vision of her. He immediately noticed how they would glance at Haeseong afterward, who sat by a far corner looking down, showing no signs of willingness to interact with anyone. Terribly so, Jake understood what the man was going through because he, too, was suffering from whatever grief there was that swallowed them two.

His parents, Hana included, stayed by his side. His cousin clung her arm to his, pressing her head by his upper arm, making it known to him that she was there. Indeed, Hana's constant reminder of her presence had comforted him even in the slightest, yet the longing he felt, the anger that flowed through his veins, and the regret that dawdled over his mind weren't by any means subdued.

The hypocrisy could be seen at center stage with Jo Hangyeol and Shin Minseo, both acting as though they were grieving over a death they had caused. Everyone was under the pretense that this was their last act of familial love, throwing an overly grand funeral for a daughter they never once loved. Unbeknownst to all, there wouldn't be a funeral to throw if not for their mistreatment of Siyeon.

Jake wondered how Haeseong felt at that moment, knowing that his parents were the reason he lost the sister he cherished the most.

"Haeseong, it's your turn for a eulogy." Minseo convinced her son, who took a while to obey his mother. The center stage was replaced by a Haeseong, who looked far better than before, bringing relief and sadness to Jake, whose eyes followed the older.

"You okay, Jake?" Hana asked once the new owner of Siyeon's heart stood at the front, preparing to speak his eulogy.

He looked in her direction and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." He answered, yet that response seemed inadequate to convince the latter that he genuinely was okay, which could be observed by the expression change on her face.

A simple worried look transformed into an even more concerned one.

They both fixed their posture when Haeseong began to speak, and neither of them could look at the man for so long, constantly reminded of the girl who was forced to sacrifice everything for him. "I remember years ago when Siyeon asked me to go outside because the weather was beautiful, and she wanted to go on a walk, but no one would accompany her. I-I couldn't say yes because I was sick, so instead, she stayed there by my side, reading to me anatomy books that she found by my study desk until it was too dark for her to go outside. I was so sorry that she couldn't do what she wanted because I was sick, but she insisted... because she knew I'd do the same for her."

"My... sister has always been that kind of person. Siyeon loved unconditionally." Haeseong's eyes subtly landed on Jake, whose visions had turned watery almost immediately. "She deserved all the happiness in the world, and I will forever wish she was granted more time. I am comforted, though, that during her last moments, she knew she was loved by her family and her closest friends. So... thank you for loving Siyeon."

Haeseong spoke only to one person during that eulogy, and even without saying who the recipient of his gratitude was, Jake knew it was him. To his side, Hana finally sobbed after keeping her tears inside for over half an hour since they arrived. His arm slithered to her shoulders, rubbing her head softly as he also stopped himself from doing the same. If a time comes when Jake is asked what the most challenging thing he has ever had to do was, he knows what the answer would be in a heartbeat.

The hardest thing he had to do was watch the love of his life slowly descend to the ground, constantly reminding him that he would no longer be given a chance to see her or the future they could've had if fate had been a little kinder to the two. He couldn't help but wander off to his train of thoughts that distracted him from the horrible reality he was currently facing, surprisingly landing on random memories of his youth, circling his infatuation with Hyejin to a growing friendship with Siyeon.