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It was so quiet and tense that even Donghyuck and Jiseol's neighbors didn't dare to have loud, aggressive sex.
It took a few minutes of absolute awkward silence, aside from the sound of Donghyuck's foot impatiently tapping against the floor. They sat at the dining table rather than in the living room because the couch deemed to be too intimate for whatever they had to talk about. He then demanded to know what she wanted and he begged her to make it quick because he was beyond exhausted and she was the last thing he wanted to deal with that night. He recalled the flash of hurt on Chaeryeong's face but she didn't say anything, so neither did he.
"Is there any way I can make it up to you? I...I want to fix us. I made a mistake, Hyuck, I want to make it up to you," she had told him with a trembling voice.
Cynical Donghyuck would have laughed in her face. Hothead Donghyuck would have lashed out on her. Tired Donghyuck, however, simply stared at the floor.
"I made a mistake too, Chae. I didn't communicate with you first. I jumped head first into it like I always do. I assumed you still wanted me even though you ghosted me on every single platform after you moved," Donghyuck muttered bitterly.
"I made the assumption that you'd still want me the same way I still wanted you. That was my fault, not yours," he said. "I just really liked you, Chae. It probably came off as overbearing and too much, so I'm sorry. And now that I've apologized, you don't have to worry about making it up to me."
Chaeryeong forced a smile. "Do you not like me anymore?"
Donghyuck chuckled in disbelief. "What makes you think that I can still like you after all that?"
"You're still wearing the necklace I gave you."
It was a rare occurrence that Donghyuck, a master of speech, didn't have a devilish comeback to give. He was speechless because he knew she had a point.
"I thought I had what I wanted with Jaehyun, but...hurting you in the process wasn't what I wanted. I guess it was the loneliness, the moving to a new country, the feeling of being a new adult, you know? I guess I didn't know what I wanted but I knew that I didn't want what I already had. It was immature of me."
"So now you think that what you want is me?"
"I think I need you, Hyuck," Chaeryeong sniffled. "It's why I broke up with Jaehyun. He never has time for me. He thinks that getting me gifts would make up for the lack of affection and attention. But you? You skipped a game because my dad got hospitalized, you almost lost your position just to be there for me. You're what I need."
Donghyuck painfully swallowed the lump in his throat. "And you're only thinking about what you need and what you want. What about how I need someone that's not going to treat me like an option?"
"I promise that if you give me a second chance, you'll never be an option. You're my only choice, Hyuck, please?"
