If This Isn't Love

36: OCTOBER 2018 - Unfortunate Episode

Seokjin went up the three flights of stairs to his floor, not wanting to wait for the elevator. He reached the open-air hallway at the same time the elevator door slid open. He stopped abruptly before nodding and walking away.

"Seokjin."

He recognized the voice. With a deep sigh, he stopped walking but didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"I want to talk to you."

Reluctantly, he turned around to face the woman with red hair. "Lydia, what do you have to say to me? I'm sorry, but I asked you to leave me alone. I didn't like the stunt you pulled with Luisa. It was so childish and embarrassing for you. We don't need to talk."

"Can't we go inside? I don't want to talk out here like a stranger," she said.

He bit his lip and shook his head. "No. There's no reason to go inside because there's nothing for us to talk about. Look, I don't want to be mean, but I am done talking to you. There's no point. You don't seem to understand, and I don't have time for this. I have to move on with my life."

"Oh? So, you're dating Luisa now?" she asked with a frown. "Is that how you've moved on?"

"What?" he asked. "You see what I mean? You're obsessed. Why would something like that even matter to you?"

"It matters," she went on. "It matters because you dumped me for her, didn't you? Once you had her, you treated me like trash. You never cared about me! You just used me while waiting for her!"

He shook his head again. "No, that's not it at all. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did!" she exclaimed. "You hurt me by just discarding me after she batted her lashes at you! Suddenly, you had no use for me anymore. Because that's all you did. You used me!"

Her voice was getting louder, and Seokjin glanced nervously around.

"Please keep your voice down," he admonished.

"Then, let's go inside," she insisted.

He looked down, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Then, let's stay out here until you explain to me why you treated me so badly!" she said loudly. "What did I do that was so wrong that you had to dump me like old trash, huh?"

Two apartments down, the front door opened, and an older lady stuck her head out. Her eyes landed on them, and she shook her head slightly in disapproval before disappearing behind her closed door.

With a curse under his breath, Seokjin said: "Fine, fine. Just keep it down. Come on. Quickly. We don't have much time." He turned on his heel and walked toward his door.

Lydia followed closely on his heels. Once inside his apartment, she threw herself at him. "Please, Jinnie, why are you being so mean to me? What did I do?"

Seokjin dropped his briefcase on the floor and extricated himself from her grip. "Stop, Lydia." He moved away from her. "This is not why we're here. You said you had something to say, so say it."

She narrowed her eyes briefly. "So, then it's true. You're sleeping with her. That's why you have no interest in anything with me. You used to be all over me like a starving man. I guess now you're not starving anymore."

He shook his head, clearly growing more annoyed by the second. "That was always what you wanted, remember?" He sighed. "I don't want to talk about this. I thought you were going to apologize. If this is why you're here, then you can leave. I have nothing more to say." He saw her eyes overflow with tears. "Lydia, please. Don't make a scene. We've been over for several months. Why can't you just accept it? I don't want to hurt you, but you're forcing me to."