THANK YOU // DEX ✔️

21.

Three days went by without anything happening. Three days Siyoung went to the studio to work on songs or traveled around South Korea, promoting her name through YouTube, variety shows, or photoshoots. Everything was fine, so why did he have to appear and ruin everything?

It was seven in the evening when Siyoung finished shooting for her YouTube channel. She decided to skip the gym today and go to bed early instead because she hadn't slept for more than three hours in a while—she had too much work and couldn't afford sleep. She finally wanted to get at least eight hours of sleep. But what awaited her outside her house was a nasty surprise.

She wanted to quickly turn around and run away, but her legs wouldn't allow her. Before her brain realized it, Seojun noticed her.

"Here you are," he smiled from ear to ear. Siyoung would like to say that he didn't look intimidating when he smiled. She would prefer to say that Seojun had changed. But she knew she'd only be lying to herself. People like him don't change—except for the worse. That smile was certainly creepy and only added to her nervousness instead of calming her down.

"Get lost," Siyoung whispered. She couldn't muster a louder sound. She was afraid of getting slapped if she raised her voice. She hated herself for still being afraid of that jerk after two years. She hated herself for letting him manipulate her even after two years.

"What?" Seojun asked, leaning closer to her to emphasize that she was speaking quietly. Then he started laughing, and Siyoung received a strong slap. A strong one. Strong enough to make her collapse to the ground. She felt tears streaming down her face.

"You're still as pathetic as when we were together," he laughed and kicked the fallen Siyoung in the ribs. She sobbed even louder and curled up into a ball. "Give up on that loser Dex and come back to me. You know you were happiest with me," he told her and delivered another blow. This time to her side, wanting her to straighten up so he could kick her in the stomach again. Which he did.

"I'm happiest with Jinyoung," she mumbled. It hurt. Every movement hurt. It felt like someone had ripped out all her ribs and replaced them with iron rods that dug into her flesh with every move.

"Wrong answer," Siyoung could exactly see where her ex was aiming. He was aiming his foot at her face, but before he could kick, someone tackled him to the ground and leaned over the beaten Siyoung. She twitched when that someone touched her back, but immediately calmed down when she noticed that the someone was none other than Jinyoung.

"Sorry for arriving so late," he smiled at her. This smile, she definitely thought it was friendly. How can two people have such different smiles? She wanted to bury herself in her blanket after Seojun's smile, just so he wouldn't find her. But after Jinyoung's smile, she wanted to hug him and smile too. Jinyoung helped her sit up carefully.

"Will you finally stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?" Seojun snapped as he got up from the ground and saw Jinyoung leaning over the singer.

"Then stop beating up girls," Jinyoung retorted, positioning himself so that Siyoung sat behind him. "I'd love to tell you to stop beating up everyone, but looking at you, I'd be talking to a stone wall. So instead, I'll say this. It's cowardly to beat up girls, go fight with someone your own size, let alone someone smaller."

"Mr. Perfect is going to lecture me?" Seojun replied in a way that was too childish, "Believe me, I know who you are. I've seen a few scenes from Single Inferno. You're not much better than me."

Siyoung knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to provoke Jinyoung. He wanted Jinyoung to strike first so he could report it as an attack and claim he was just defending himself. He also knew that Siyoung didn't like violence, so he probably hoped that Jinyoung would lose hope when it came to her. But he was mistaken because the former soldier kept a cool head. In his mind, the words Siyoung had told him repeated over and over: "Don't stoop to his level." So he didn't react and simply observed the taller guy, waiting to see what he would do.

"I'm not saying I was a saint on Single Inferno. I definitely did things I'm not proud of, but it was a reality show focused on relationships. I'm trying to repair my reputation because that's not who I am," Jinyoung calmly told him, "but you should be careful about your reputation because there's a CCTV camera over there, and I think the police would be interested in how a famous singer Kang Siyoung ended up with all these bruises." Jinyoung pointed behind him where a white camera was mounted on a post.

"You, you..." Seojun started, tensing up to strike Jinyoung.

"That's enough!" Siyoung shouted, beginning to rise. Jinyoung gently grabbed her elbow and helped her stand. "Get a grip on yourself and realize how you're behaving. I loved you, really, I did. But my mental state couldn't handle it. You treated me like a piece of shit," Siyoung burst into tears as she looked into Seojun's eyes and told him everything she wanted to say over the years but never had the courage to, "I have a lot of evidence from our relationship about how you used to beat me, so if I ever meet you again, believe me, I'll gladly hand it over to the police. And I don't have them at home. They're in a safe place."

"What?"

"Live your life, and I'll live mine. For the past two years, I was afraid to love anyone. I was afraid to enjoy life, all because of you. But today, you opened my eyes. I, the silly girl, let two years slip through my fingers because of a jerk like you. Show up in front of my house, in front of the gym, in front of StarShip, and believe me, you'll be seeing daylight through bars for a couple of years," Jinyoung, who stood next to Siyoung, proudly smiled. Finally, Siyoung found the courage she had long lost within herself. Finally, he saw the real Siyoung. The one that fear of Seojun had hidden deep inside.

Seojun couldn't muster a word. He just stood there, watching Siyoung, not knowing she was capable of something like this. She had never stood up to him, and now she was threatening him with the police.

"Can you take me away from here, please?" Siyoung looked at Jinyoung, who simply nodded and slowly walked toward his car. Siyoung held onto him tightly and didn't want to let go.

"Should I call your manager to cancel all plans for tomorrow?" Jinyoung asked as they both sat in the car. Siyoung nodded and handed him her phone.

"2805 and Namgil," she whispered. Her head was resting against the window.

"The date of your debut," Jinyoung said and started searching for Namgil in his contacts. Siyoung smiled when he said that. Seojun never remembered her debut date, even though they were together for six years. With Jinyoung, they're not even together, and he knows almost every little detail about her.

Siyoung shook her head and scolded herself inwardly. She scolded herself for still comparing Jinyoung to Seojun. From now on, she would completely forget about Seojun and start living her life to the fullest. And she'd start with this.

She leaned over and gave Jinyoung a kiss on the cheek. It was just a gesture of gratitude, but Jinyoung thought about it even as they both lay down in bed and fell asleep facing each other, their hands intertwined because Siyoung was afraid that something might happen while they slept.