Shadow | Huang Renjun

43

"Here, sweetpea."

Namgyo hands over a glass of water to a nervous Renjun, who came over in the hopes of apologising to Eunah and to her parents for hurting their daughter.

He's sitting on one of the sofas, now sipping said water, while Namgyo and Jongsu take a seat on the other. They don't seem upset with him, rather worried instead.

"I–" he begins, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts and reign in the building tears.
"I'm so sorry... I made a huge mistake..."

The couple have never seen him cry before. He's always reserved when in their house, and only shows a smile towards Eunah, or when Jongsu makes an especially bad joke.
While they were initially angry about the situation, they came to realise through Eunah's broken explanation that he was just as hurt.

It doesn't excuse the things he said, but his remorse is clear and he seems almost... afraid of them.

Unsuccessful, Renjun gives in as his shoulders slump and stinging tears trickle down his flushed cheeks. He places the glass on the coffee table, reaching to wipe away the embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I– I shouldn't have– I shouldn't have believed it, I–" he sniffs.

Jongsu places his hand over his wife's, which is resting on her thigh, and they share a look of concern before turning back to Renjun.

"We're not upset with you," he reassures softly.
"Both of you made mistakes, and you're already dealing with the consequences. There's no reason for us to make it worse, we're just hoping the two of you can make it right instead."

"I feel like you should be more angry with me..." the Demon mutters, confused.

Namgyo nods, chiming in.
"We were angry, but that was before we found out what happened. While the things you said were awful, we understand you felt betrayed and you clearly didn't mean them. If you had meant them and purposefully did this to our Eunah, then yes we would be livid."

"I don't– I don't understand..."

"Focus on talking to Eunah," she advises, expression warm and comforting like the mother he should've had.
"Don't worry about us until the two of you have sorted things out."

Renjun nods, letting out a weak 'okay' and wiping the remaining tears from his blotchy face. He pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts, embarrassed that they had to see him like this, and downs the rest of his water.

"Is... is she here?" he mutters, face falling further when the couple shake their heads.

"She went out with Miyeon, but she should be back soon. Would you like to wait?" Jongsu replies.

"Ye– no, I– maybe I shouldn't... Can you tell her I came by? I just– I don't want to ambush her or anything..."

"Yeah, of course."

~~~~

Eunah and Miyeon sit in the shopping centre café, sipping hot chocolate and a raspberry smoothie respectively. The Nightmare brought her out this afternoon for some 'girl-time', and to maybe talk things through.

"What do you think of these?"
Miyeon holds up a pair of sparkling, black earrings that she just bought, grinning when Eunah nods.

"Very pretty."
The Angel's tone is off, despite her small smile, causing Miyeon to put the earrings back in the shopping bag.

"Hey... c'mon, you were enjoying yourself before? What happened?"

"I know... I just– I forgot about everything, but now it's all coming back again and I don't feel great."

Expression softening, Miyeon reaches to place a hand over her friend's.
"I understand. How about I get you one of those cupcakes we saw at the counter? The pink ones with a little fondant rabbit?"

"Are you sure...? I wouldn't want to waste–"

"You're not wasting anything, silly. Today is about making you feel better."

"I– okay..."

While Miyeon leaves to buy the cupcake, Eunah pulls her phone from her bag as she felt it vibrate moments earlier. It's a few messages from her father.

Dad 🌟

Hey kiddo

Just wanted to let u
know that Renjun came
over just now

He came to apologise to
u and us

Asked if we'd tell u he
dropped by since he didnt
want to ambush u when
u got home

Wants to make sure ur
ready to talk first

Hope ur doing okay

Love u xx

Heart sinking further, she replies with a simple 'thanks, love you too' before shoving the phone back in her bag.

She knows how he reacted after that day; Miyeon told her. In hindsight, she would've preferred not to find out. It felt... wrong to be told without his knowledge, and only solidified her guilt.

Assumedly, the intention was to show that he didn't mean the things he said and he does still love her. All it did was make her feel worse.

She wants to talk, she really does, but finding the right headspace to have a rational conversation isn't on the table right now. Hopefully, with him apparently not wanting to ambush her, he understands this.

Miyeon returns with three cupcakes, handing the two pink ones to Eunah with a smile.
"Figured it couldn't hurt to treat you a little more."

"Thank you..."

Upon noticing the Angel's tearful expression, she frowns.
"You want to talk about it?"

Reaching to wipe her eyes before any tears can escape, Eunah sighs in defeat.
"Renjun just came to my house..."

"What? Why?"

"Dad said he came to apologise, but didn't want to ambush me when I got home, so left again."

Brows raised, a breathy exhale leaves Miyeon's nose. She begins to unwrap her cupcake, taking off the fondant flower and popping it in her mouth. Her hand comes to hover over her lips while she chews, wondering what she should say.

"Do you want to hear it?" she mumbles with her mouth full.

"Hear what?"

"His apology."

Eunah hesitates, settling on a nod after a moment of thought. She doesn't say anything, just rests her arms on the table and meticulously unwraps one of her cupcakes to avoid ripping the paper case.
Her pain is evident, she's never been good at hiding it, but beneath it all is an ever-present sting of guilt over what she should've done– what she didn't do.

It's all her fault.

"Hey, whoa, don't– you'll make yourself sick!"

Miyeon reaches for her friend's wrist, just as she's about to stuff the entire cupcake in her mouth at once– pile of frosting and all– with more tears welling in her eyes.

"But–"

"Eat it slowly, babe," she advises softly. "I know you're upset, but don't make yourself sick."

"Maybe I want to be sick..."

Pausing, she sighs and closes her eyes for a moment. Her hand slips from Eunah's wrist, instead grabbing her bags.
"I think we should get you home."

"What– why?"

"You're not in the right mind to be out in public right now. C'mon, I'll walk you so you can breathe."

"I– okay..."

~~~~

Sorry there was a longer gap between updates this time! There's a heatwave going on right now and it's sapping all my energy... 😞