Broken Promises

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 36: sʜᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴛʀᴜsᴛ

Seokmin sat alone on his bed, lost in thought. The weight of his sadness was overwhelming. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of despair.

As a few days passed, the pain slowly began to subside. But the scar of rejection remained, a constant reminder of the heartbreak he had endured.

One evening, as Seokmin was walking through the campus, he spotted Joshua sitting on a bench with the same girl once again.

A wave of hesitation washed over him. He was unsure if he should approach him or just simply walk away. He looked at them both, his heart breaking more every minute, until their eyes met and Joshua finally noticed him.

The older male was about to greet Seokmin, but the other looked away from him, turning around to go to Minghao's dorm room.

Joshua was confused as to why Seokmin would act like that when the younger man would always greet him with a cheerful smile. He and the girl continued talking, but his mind kept going back to Seokmin.

He zoned out for a while until he heard his name being called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Joshua, are you okay?" The girl asked, concerned, as she put a hand on his chest, taking him aback. "Yeah, I'm fine..."

He lied, gently pushing her hand off his chest. Joshua saw the girl, called Haebin, turn red in embarrassment, but they soon returned to their normal conversation.

Seokmin, who was now in front of Minghao's door, knocked heasitantly. He was scared to annoy Minghao, thinking that he was a burden to him.

He was thinking about turning around and leaving, but before he could do that, the door opened, revealing Minghao. The younger male saw Seokmin's state and immediately knew something was wrong.

He pulled him in for a hug, stroking his hair. "Come sit down, Seokmin." Minghao held Seokmin's hand, leading him to his bed, where a confused Jun was also currently sitting.

Minghao sat beside Jun, the older man possessively putting his hand around Minghao's waist. There was an awkward silence before Jun decided to break it.

"Seokmin, what's wrong? You know you can tell us anything without being judged." Minghao smiled sweetly at Jun's words, knowing his boyfriend was good at comforting others and giving them advice without the person feeling judged.

Seokmin smiled, thankful that Jun and Minghao were there for him. However, he was still scared.

Scared that Jun and Minghao would find his problems stupid. He was scared that they would tell him he was just exaggerating.

He took a deep breath, taking a minute to collect his thoughts before finally speaking up. Seokmin told them both everything, from Joshua being there for him to Joshua completely ignoring him just to hang out with a girl.

As Seokmin finished telling them, it was obvious that Jun was fuming with anger. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"I trust you guys. Please don't tell anyone, especially not Joshua." Jun and Minghao looked at each other before Minghao embraced him in a tight hug.

"Seokmin, Jun, and I are not the greatest help, as you can see. I know that you don't want to tell anyone, but consider talking to Jeonghan. Maybe he can help."

Seokmin looked away. Jeonghan was always the first person he would go to whenever he had problems, but now he just felt like a burden. Jun, who realized what Seokmin was thinking about, immediately reassured him.

"Seokmin, just know that you're not a burden to us. If you want, we can talk to Jeonghan." Seokmin nodded as he stood up, not wanting to disturb the couple more.

He thanked them once more and eventually went to his room. When he arrived, he sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes fixed on the empty wall.

He knew that Jeonghan was probably going to arrive any minute. The events of the previous day still replayed in his mind like a broken record. The pain was raw, the betrayal deep.

He heard a soft knock on his door. "Seokmin, are you in there?" Jeonghan's voice, filled with concern, broke through his thoughts.

Seokmin hesitated, his throat tightening. He knew he should probably just not answer and wait until Jeonghan left, but he was desperate to talk to someone who could help him. He took a deep breath and called out,

"Come in." Jeonghan entered, his expression filled with worry. "Jun and Minghao told me everything you talked about. Is everything fine?" Seokmin nodded, his voice barely a whisper.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jeonghan didn't believe his obvious lie, as Minghao had told him that he wasn't fine at all. He sat down on the bed beside Seokmin, taking his hand.

"Seokmin, I know something's wrong. Please talk to me." Seokmin hesitated, his eyes filling with tears.

He had never felt so vulnerable, so exposed. But he knew he couldn't keep bottling up his emotions. He told Jeonghan everything, from the confession to the painful discovery of Joshua with another girl.

Jeonghan listened intently, his expression filled with empathy. When Seokmin finished, Jeonghan reached out and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Seokmin. I'm sure Joshua didn't mean to hurt you." Seokmin pulled away, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"But he did. He hurt me more than you could imagine." Jeonghan sighed.

"I know. He was wrong. He shouldn't have ignored you. And yes, he should've talked to you about it."

Seokmin looked at Jeonghan, his heart still heavy. "It's too late now. Our friendship is ruined."

Jeonghan shook his head. "No, it's not. You both can rebuild it. I promise."

Seokmin wasn't convinced. He had been hurt too deeply. But he also knew that he couldn't let this define him.

As Jeonghan left, Seokmin sat alone on his bed, contemplating his future. He knew it would be difficult, but he was determined to heal.