The Bold & the Ruined (A SunWon Fic)

Chapter 11

A few weeks had passed.

But if you asked Sunoo, 7 weeks and 23 days had passed since he left Jungwon--abandoned him, to be precise.

Since that night, Jungwon made no noise nor qualms about Sunoo's sudden disappearance. And Sunoo will not admit this, but he hasn't put his phone in DND or in silent mode at all since that day just in case the other would call.

At night, Sunoo would ask himself if he made the right decision. He sleeps on the thought and hope that it miraculously evaporates overnight but for each day that passes, he is plagued by it.

I wanted this, didn't I?, Sunoo thought to himself one day on his way to class.

He walked from his condo to his school building ever since that day.

Sunoo never ate breakfast since he was a kid, but now that he was used to eating it with Jungwon, his stomach mourns the loss of the habit. Every day, he eats breakfast alone. Still with the same menu as always: matcha oat milk with a shot of espresso and a butter croissant.

As he entered his classroom, he makes eye contact with Jungwon, who now sat a few rows away from him. Jungwon always made sure they were seatmates, but that wasn't the case now. Sunoo was glad that his classmates weren't too nosy to ask why.

Jungwon found new friends, apparently--some guy from America and some tall dude with dark hair. It looked like they got closer through the days and Sunoo even saw them drive together to school. Each of them had a car, but Sunoo could recognize Jungwon's BMW any day.

"Who wants to assist with Atty. Garcia on the pro bono case?" The professor inquired after the discussion.

"Me, attorney! I'd love to. Will we get extra credit?" Some girl yelled.
"Yes, I will discuss it with whoever will be participating. I need another one. Who else?"
"Oh," the girl said. "Yang could do it with me, ma'am!"

Sunoo heard a few snickers from the class. He fought the urge to turn back and see Jungwon's reaction.

"Mr. Yang, can you confirm?"
"Confirmed, attorney," Jungwon said from behind.

A shiver passed through Sunoo's arm upon hearing the other's voice. It's been so long.

"Thank you. The two of you follow me. As for the rest of you, class dismissed."

The idle chatter that came after filled the room, and Sunoo couldn't help but feel conflicted. He stood up with his tote bag in his hand. And the moment his eyes raised to the doorway before him, they found the gaze of another.

Jungwon was on his way out of the door, the girl earlier clinging to his arm. Sunoo's eyes lingered on them for a second before he briskly walked past them and out of the classroom.

The entire afternoon, Sunoo didn't go to class. This is a commendable feat as he never ever missed a class in his life, being the uptight student that he is. He would go take an exam even if he had to do it on his deathbed. He lay in bed, staring up at his ceiling, still dressed in the clothes he wore that morning. He closed his eyes for a few agonizing hours begging for sleep to come, but lo and behold— it never came.

He thought about Jungwon. And the girl. Jungwon and the girl. It's not Jungwon and Sunoo, now. There is no them, anymore; nothing but an empty shell of what once was.

I wanted this. It's my fault, Sunoo whispered to himself.

Sunoo closes his eyes once again to try and find the much-needed sleep

-

That same night, Sunoo found himself at the same club in Pobla, Makati where he first met Jungwon. The same set of blurry gilded faces decorated the dance floor, and the sound of merriment filled the tiny place, making the atmosphere hot.