WHY DO YOU LOVE ME? - riki

✧ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 25 - ꜰʀᴀᴄᴛᴜʀᴇᴅ ʟɪɴᴇs ✧

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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟱 - 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦

"I'm so full, oh my gosh." I rested my head on Riki's shoulder as we walked away from the food stall where we'd just eaten. We'd had a pretty action-packed day—bike riding, boat riding, going on a Ferris wheel, and a few other small things. Though I knew that this whole act was fake, I was really enjoying it.

"Thanks for today," Riki said softly. His voice had a gentleness to it, a sincerity that made me pause. I shot him a smile and gently squeezed his hand, trying to ignore the sudden flutter in my chest.

"You're thanking me?" I laughed, glancing up at him. "I should be thanking you. It's been fun... really fun."

Riki stopped walking, turning slightly toward me, his gaze searching my face. "Yeah, but... I don't know. I just—" He trailed off, his eyes lingering on mine, almost as if he was hesitant to say more. The silence between us felt charged, like the air thickened with something unsaid.

I swallowed, feeling the weight of his gaze, and suddenly the day didn't feel so simple anymore. "What?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

He took a step closer, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand. "53 days. It's been 53 days and with each day that goes by things change..."

I was really confused but I started to feel a light feeling in my body, it was indescribable. I was nervous yet curious, what did he mean? I waited for him to continue and he cleared his throat before he did, "I don't know, you've ruined my life in the most unimaginable ways. I don't know what to think or feel or do around you because I don't know what's right and what's wrong. Shit she fucking warned me about this." He muttered and smiled whilst looking at his feet before composing himself and gazing back at me.

"Riki what're you trying to say?" Something switched in his gaze when I said those words and I felt the tension between us form into a tight knot, one that could never be broken.

"I guess... it doesn't feel fake anymore." His voice was low, almost a murmur, but those words hit me hard, making my heart stutter in my chest.

For a second, I didn't know how to respond. The world around us seemed to fall away, the noise of the crowds, the lights from the city—it all blurred. All I could focus on was him.

"I..." My words faltered as I searched his eyes, feeling the tension building between us, drawing us closer in a way that felt both terrifying and inevitable.

And then, without thinking, I whispered, "Me neither."

That was all it took. His hand cupped my cheek, and before I could catch my breath, he leaned in, closing the space between us. The moment his lips touched mine, everything else disappeared. It was soft at first, tentative, like he was testing to see if this was real, but then it deepened, as if we both realized at the same time that it was. Real and undeniable.

I wrapped my arms around his neck wanting to savour the moment best that I could. If I knew Riki well enough then I'd know that he'll deny any of this happened the next day. I had to savour this moment because it wouldn't come back. But do I actually love Riki now, or do I love him for our deal. I didn't know.

His grasp that had once felt cold now felt burning hot. Like a desire for something I couldn't have, I couldn't have him in any universe and definitely not this one. So the feeling of his lips against mine would have to be etched in my memory until the day I lay in my grave.

Suddenly my phone started ringing and I pulled away from Riki. It was an unknown number, and as much as I wanted to just ignore it and get back to my moment with him, something was telling me to answer it. "Hello?"

"Okay, don't worry Taehyun, I'm coming now." When I turned around to look back at Riki he was gone. "I knew it." I muttered looking around for any trace of him but of course there wasn't. I quickly slid my phone in my pocket and ran to Taehyun's school which luckily wasn't too far from where I was.

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"Jake, hi you're here so why did...?" My words drifted off my tongue once Taehyun wrapped his arms around me holding my legs tight together. "Hey what's happening?"

"Can I go to your house? I don't want to see Jake or Daeun." Taehyun pleaded and I was deeply surprised that he hadn't even acknowledged that Jake was right next to us watching Taehyun heartbroken. And the fact that he just addressed his parents by his name shocked me even more but I knew that the best thing for him now was to have him talk to me and stay with me for a few minutes.

"Look Jake I don't know whats happening but I think I'll just make sure he's comfortable again and I'll call you and Daeun to the house later to figure this out hmm?"

"Y-yeah thats fine." Jake's eyes started watering and I noticed the twitch in his hand as he was about to reach for Taehyun. "I'll tell Daeun." He said and I scooped Taehyun in my arms before we started walking back to my place. However once we'd gotten to my door I realised that Riki's house was still connected to mine and I had no idea where he was.

I took a quick peek inside my house before letting Taehyun in and realised that his side of the house had completely disappeared. Thank goodness. I sat Taehyun on the sofa wrapping him in a few blankets before giving him a drink and snack whilst I tried to encourage a talk.

A few minutes later Taehyun told me the full story and I immediately called Daeun and Jake to come over whilst I thought about what we were gonna do about Joohyung. "That fucker." I sighed and looked over to check on Taehyun as he watched his cartoon. Suddenly I caught a red flash appear on my palm.

Shit.

- 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟒𝟕 -

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AUTHOR:

AHHHHH

hate joohyung that bitch omdsss

anyways 'Turning Tides' coming soon

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