Light A Flame || Hoshi (editing)

Chapter 35

Do you ever feel like you just can't fight anymore?

Like any attempt at resistance will end up futile?

No matter how hard you push, you won't ever reach the other side. Like an impenetrable wall, standing between you and your wants. Unrelenting. Unmoving.

You've lost.

Hoshi's head spun. Good thing he was already sitting, or he might've tumbled onto the floor. Jang-mi was looking at him in search of an answer, for him to just say something to her, to confirm that this was not a lie.

"I- uh," he managed. "Yes, I did move it up."

Her eyes shot wide open. "But why? I thought you wanted to stay here for longer?" her voice sounded helpless. Pleading.

He suddenly regretted the lie. But it had to be for her own good. If she found out everything going on with the manager, that would be a whole other issue to sort out that he wasn't sure she'd be able to handle after these news. He felt like his brain was splitting in two: one side desperate to tell her the whole truth, another adamant at protecting her, removing her from it.

"I- I couldn't just stay here and wait for so long to enlist. I begged to have it moved up so that I could come back to you sooner. I love you, Jang-mi," he said, wiping a tear off her cheek.

She swatted his hand away. "If you loved me like you say you do, you would've told me earlier."

He cringed. She was right, but he was in too deep now. "The talks only concluded today," he tried to explain.

"Yet I find out at the same time as your fandom? Am I just some fangirl that just got to spend more time with you than anyone else?"

"What? Of course not! Why would you think that?"

She quickly stood up. "Because this seems a little too important to just wait for me to see the final announcement. You had so many opportunities to tell me. Just sit me down for a talk and say 'I'm thinking of moving up my enlistment', that's all you had to do. But you didn't, so now I get sucker-punched in the gut by 'Hello, this is PLEDIS' right out of the blue, talking about my boyfriend, about how you've apparently been expressing these desires to your dearest company but not your significant other?"

His throat felt dry. "Jang-mi, please, just listen. I can explain-"

"Oh, I know! You can get your company to go release an explanation statement. Block me from it too, while you're at it. Let me find out from some fangirl tagging my Instagram on a dodgy post about it instead, huh?" she screamed, shoving random items into a tote bag.

She began walking out of the room, Hoshi weakly following behind her. He wanted to tell her. He was about to, until she ended up in front of the door with the bag slung around her shoulder.

"Jagi, please, just wait and let me talk," he pleaded once more as she put her sneakers on.

"How did Chan's song go? Hold on," she cleared her throat. "Please don't tell me.. wait," she sang. He wasn't sure if it was an attempt to lighten the mood, but judging by how her eyes looked like they were about to incinerate him, he was too scared to guess.

She opened the door, then whipped around to look at him. "I'm spending the night at Mira's. Don't call me, don't text me. And don't even think of posting about me anywhere. Good night," she snapped, shutting the door so hard the whole corridor reverberated for a few seconds.