𝓓𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐘, 𝐁𝐘𝐔𝐋 𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋

treat you better

moonbyul perched on the edge of the sunoo's bed in maddening silence, her body stiff and tense. the dim light from sunoo's desk lamp bathed the room in a muted glow, casting long shadows across the walls. she had been sitting there for what felt like entire hours, her hands twisting in her lap as she tried to find the right words. she had no idea where to begin, and right now, everything felt too heavy, too raw.

sunoo bit the inside of his cheek, his usually playful persona replaced by a quiet concern as he took in her appearance— her eyes were teary and her cheeks red, her hands shake as she tried to pull herself together. he wondered what could have possibly happened to the sweet girl, and the sight made his heart ache in ways he hadn't expected.

the minutes dragged on, and with each passing second, sunoo feels his patience thinning, not out of frustration, but out of a desperate need to understand what had hurt her so deeply. he was usually good with words, quick to make people laugh or comfort them, but right now, he was at a loss. all he could do was wait, hoping she would let him in.

moonbyul takes in a sharp breath the sound trembling with the effort it took to keep herself together., swallowing hard as she tried to steady herself. she opens her mouth to speak, the words she wanted to say were there, lodged in her throat, but they refused to come out, tangled in the mess of emotions that had building up inside her since she stormed out of riki's room. her lip quivers as she bit down on it, a futile attempt to stem the flow of tears that threatened to spill over at any moment.

"byul..." sunoo's voice was soft, almost pleading, as he leaned in closer, taking her trembling hands between his. "please, talk to me. i'm here for you, okay?" he reassures, caressing the back of her palm with his thumb soothingly.

moonbyul squeezes her eyes shut, tears slipping free despite her efforts to hold them back. she had tried so hard to keep intact what was already crumbling, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. finally, she lets out a heavy breath, her voice barely more than a whisper as she forces herself to speak.

"i. . .i don't even know where to start, sunoo," she admits, her voice trembling with the weight of everything she had been holding in. "everything just feels. . .so wrong."

sunoo's hand tightens around hers, his other hand reaching up to gently wipe away the tears that continued to fall. "start wherever you feel like you can, byul. i'm listening."

his words, simple yet so full of sincerity, broke through the walls she had built around herself, maybe it was because of how sensitive and emotional she was at the moment, but it didn't take long for her to start sobbing, and before she knew it, she was pouring everything out—the betrayal, the anger, the pain. she told him about riki, about the revelation that had shattered her heart into pieces, and the more she spoke, the more her voice wavered, until she was barely holding it together.

sunoo listens, his own emotions warring within him as he took in each word, each tear. he wanted to take her pain away, to fix everything, he was sure he hadn't ever seen such sadness in moonbyul's eyes. all he could do was be there. as she finally finishes, her voice raw and broken, sunoo gently pulls her into his arms, holding her close as she sobs against his chest.

a horrible sense of guilt settles in the pit of his stomach as he remembers all the times he teased moonbyul about riki, his own words echoing in his mind with a cruel sharpness he had not intended. he remembers how much he had insisted, caught up in the fun of it, never once imagining that the situation could be this messy and complicated. as far as he knew, riki's feelings were genuine, so he had never thought that his lighthearted jabs could have been poking at something far more fragile beneath the surface.

sunoo knew this wasn't any of his fault at all.
but as the sun holds the moon while she weeps heartbroken in his arms, he couldn't help but feel like a part of the problem. he squeezes her against himself as much as he could without hurting her, sobs wracking through her small frame, the sound muffled against his shoulder tore him apart.
it was undeniable how fond he had grown of her, how special moonbyul had become to to him.

but i guess that's just how things go.
anyone who meets moonbyul is bound to love her.
that's just how things are. that's just how she is.
her warmth draws people in, her kindness is subtle, woven into every single action, the kind of person that remembers how many sugars you like in your coffee and the meaning of your name, the lines of your favorite song and why your favorite color is your favorite.
so no one can blame sunoo or anybody else for being so attached to her.

"you really don't deserve any of this byulie" he says softly, running his fingers through her hair. "you will be okay, i promise" he reassures, feeling her nod her head against the crook of his neck. sunoo sighs softly. he wishes he could do more, say more, but all he could offer was his presence, because he knew that sometimes words were useless.

moonbyul began calming down eventually. her breathing slowly went back to normal and she stopped crying. she leans back on the wall against his bed in perfect stillness.

sunoo steals a glance at her face and shakes his head, as if to get rid of a certain thought crossing his mind— one that should never, ever dare to cross his mind.

'i could treat her so much better'