BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 14

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS"
by: Dark Flame Master

They sat down together under a large tree near the school away from the noise of the cafeteria and the other students. The air was quiet, only the sound of leaves rustling above them filled the space between their silence. Shin was still emotional from what he overheard but he tried to push it aside. He didn't want to cry in front of Juri again.

As they ate, Juri broke the silence. "I’m sorry about earlier," she said, looking down at her food.

Shin shook his head. "No, I should be thanking you," he said quietly. "And... I’m sorry, too."

Juri tilted her head, confused. "Huh? Why are you apologizing?"

Shin looked down at the ground. "I thought you were the same as them," he admitted. "I thought you’d laugh at me like everyone else."

Juri smiled softly. "I get it," she said. "But no, I really hate people like that. The ones who think it’s okay to judge others for no reason."

"Thank you for earlier though you look like an angry dusty white rabbit" Shin said to lift up the mood.

"What?" Juri said, chuckling to what shin has just said.

"Why?" Shin asked, genuinely curious now. He looked at her, waiting for an answer. "Why do you hate people like that?"

Juri hesitated for a moment, biting her lip as if deciding whether or not to say what was on her mind. After a few seconds, she sighed and spoke quietly, "Well, keep this a secret between us, okay?"

Shin nodded. "It’s not like I have anyone to tell," he replied with a small shrug.

Juri laughed a little at his comment though it was a sad laugh. "Well, the reason I transferred here is because... I was in the same situation as you."

Shin blinked, surprised. "The same as me?" he repeated, not quite understanding.

Juri nodded, her eyes darkening slightly as she recalled the painful memories. "Yeah. Back at my old school, I was dating this girl. Well, I guess I should say my ex-girlfriend now."

Shin’s eyes widened. "You... had a girlfriend?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Juri said, her voice a little quieter now. "We were together for a while, but... we fought a lot. Mostly because she thought I was cheating on her."

Shin frowned, trying to process what she was saying. "Did something happen?" he asked cautiously.

Juri sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah. There was this guy who confessed to me one day. He said he liked me but I turned him down right away. I thought that was the end of it. But she saw us talking and... well, she didn’t believe me when I told her I rejected him."

Shin stayed silent, listening closely. He didn’t know what to say but he could see the pain in Juri’s eyes.

Juri continued, her voice growing softer. "We had this huge fight. She accused me of liking him and no matter how much I denied it she wouldn’t believe me. I told her I loved her, that I would never do something like that. But..." Juri’s voice cracked slightly, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "The next day, she kissed me... and then told me she wanted to break up."

Shin’s heart ached for her. He could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. "That must’ve hurt," he said quietly, feeling bad for her.

"It did," Juri admitted, wiping her eyes quickly before any tears could fall. "I didn’t want to break up with her but after that rumors started spreading around school. People were saying things like I was dating a girl or that I was just playing around with everyone’s feelings. No one believed me. Even people I thought were my friends turned on me."