Promise; Lee Su-hyeok

019. Hope

1762 words
Changed to Su-hyeok's POV for this chapter

"I killed him, Su-hyeok. Did you hear me?"

"Hey." Shock goes through my body as I finally understand what she had been trying to tell me. I try my best to hide it from her. Hopefully, it's not too noticeable. "What are you talking about?"

"I-"

"You murdered Gyeong-su?" Fuck, that just slipped out. The corners of her mouth shift downard, forming a frown. She blinks up at me, "You think I did it on purpose?"

I wave my hands around, "No, no. That's just what I understood at first." The frown on her face is still very visible. That's not making it better, is it? My brain lags, "Then, why- how...? What happened?"

She quickly looks down, "I didn't mean to. I really didn't."

Why does she love blaming herself for everything? "I know you didn't do it, Gummi." I urge softly, "But tell me what happened."

[Yall, I was high off insomnia writing the previous paragrpah and whole chapter. Please ignore the cringy-ness 😭 I'll maybe edit it some point] [update; I fixed it a little 👻]

Her hands move to scratch stars on her knees with her nails ever so slightly, "Well... you know how I fell earlier?" She glances up for my response and I nod. "Yeah, what about it?"

"And how... how I accidentally cut my hand with the window knife?"

I nod again, brows slowly furrowing in confusion. What does any of this have to do with her brother?

"Yeah, then I... basically, I wiped my hand with my shirt and it..." She starts to stumble over her words, voice becoming more strained with every word. "And it got all... bloody. Right?"

Abruptly, she stands up, fists clenched. "Okay, and so... so after he left the..." I blink, noting right away how shaky and fast paced she's breathing. She clears her throat, "After he left the broadcasting room, I-"

"Gummi," I stand up. "Calm down, you're shaking. You can't even speak right."

Her eyes go back to looking down, the loose strands of her hair cover her face. She rubs her eyes and takes a deep breathe. "I wiped his hand... with the sa- same shirt." Her hand finds a way into her hair, gripping it harshly. "It's all my fault."

Ow, my heart just squeezed. "Don't do that," I pull her hand away from her hair and hold it in mine instead. "How is any of that your fault?"

She glares at me, although it looks more like an angry pout. "How is it not? Because of my blood making contact with him, he got infected and turned."

I eventually get to look at her eyes, and my breath hitches. Her eyes look so bloodshot. "Gosh, I'm gonna have to say it again, aren't I?" I scoff, "You're not infected! Why is it so fucking hard for you to accept that?"

She pushes me away, wincing, "Why are you yelling at me?"

My heart clenches at the comment. I was yelling at her? "I di-"

"And why is it so hard for you to accept that I am? Huh?" She tilts her head back and sighs, blinking away tears.

"Fuck. If I had just left to begin with..," she mumbles. "Gyeong-su would still be here with us." Her voice quietly trails off, causing her voice to crack at the end of the sentence.

I run a hand through my hair. "What will it take for me to convince you that you're not the reason he turned?"

She makes her way to the door, "Nothing, because you can't." She leaves and I groan, going after her. As soon as I go, I bump into her back. She's just staring at everyone all of a sudden? Oh, okay, me too then.