My anger flares, but I remain silent, lost in the depths of his mesmerizing eyes. "You have a knack for getting on my nerves," he says, chuckling softly.
"And you have a knack for making everything infinitely more complicated," I retort, though my v...
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I stumbled back into the living room, still in a haze, my skin tingling with the residual heat of Hwang's touch. The fire he ignited within me refused to be easily extinguished. Every nerve in my body was alive, buzzing with the memory of his lips and the intensity of our encounter. As I entered the room, my eyes fell on Bahng, who was now awake. He lay there, a sleepy smile curling his lips as he gazed into Felix's eyes. Felix was still tenderly caressing his hair as he looked lovingly back at Bahng. The scene was almost too sweet, too tender, a stark contrast to the storm that had just raged within me. It was the kind of moment that could make anyone's heart melt, a quiet testament to their unspoken bond.
On the other side of the room, Lee was stirring, his half-awake state doing nothing to improve his notoriously foul mood after a night of heavy drinking. His eyes burned with irritation as he directed his wrath towards Hwang, his words sharp and cutting. Lee's anger was almost palpable, slicing through the room like a bitter wind. I found the scene amusing; Hwang, was usually the one yelling at Lee, but now he was the target of Lee's drunken tirade. It was a rare and oddly satisfying sight-Hwang deserved every bit of it for the way he had so effortlessly dismantled my composure.
Then, my gaze shifted to the one person who was still deeply asleep, completely oblivious to the whirlwind of emotions and interactions swirling around him. He lay there, sprawled out and undisturbed, a picture of serene ignorance in a room full of turmoil. Frustration began to bubble up inside me, dark and tinged with an ironic sense of comedy. Of course, he would be the one to sleep through all this madness.
Yang's laughter, a melodic burst of joy, was like a beacon piercing through the storm of my anger. In that fleeting moment, time seemed to rewind, erasing the weight of the past eight years, and I was transported back to a simpler time. The air was filled with the warmth of camaraderie, reminiscent of summer days spent under the sun. I could picture Yang, his laughter bubbling up like effervescent champagne, filling the room with a lightness that made everything else fade away. Kim, always the one to find delight in Yang's antics, wore a wide, infectious smile that seemed to light up the corners of the room. Hwang and Lee were embroiled in their usual playful banter, their teasing a familiar dance that spoke of deep-rooted affection, each jab laced with laughter rather than malice. Bahng stood slightly apart, an amused observer, his eyes twinkling with appreciation for the scene unfolding before him-friends in a moment of pure, unfiltered joy.
It was a stunning tableau of friendship, a moment so beautiful that, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, a genuine smile threatened to break through the facade of my carefully constructed walls. But then, like a freight train hurtling down the tracks, reality crashed back in. The laughter faded, replaced by the chilling echoes of memories I had tried so hard to bury. A flood of trauma washed over me, the vivid recollections of how it all unraveled, engulfing me in a darkness I couldn't shake. The bitterness I harbored for Hwang pierced my heart like a thousand tiny needles, each one a reminder of betrayal and loss, tearing through the fragile joy that had just begun to bloom. In that moment, the past loomed larger than ever, a shadow I couldn't escape.
