Night Owl

Night Owl Ch. 14

The air in the room felt thick, like every breath I took carried the weight of their silent pain. My stomach churned as the tension wrapped around me, suffocating. I couldn't sit there anymore. The cushion beneath me felt like quicksand, threatening to pull me under if I stayed a second longer.

I stood abruptly, heading for the door, each step faster than the last, but not fast enough to escape JK's voice echoing behind me.

"Lily!"

The soft thud of his footsteps hurried closer, closing the gap I was so desperate to create. His hand wrapped around mine, warm and familiar, pulling me to a halt.

"Where are you going?" His voice trembled, not with anger but with fear. His eyes searched mine, already knowing the answer. Already knowing I was running.

"I can't stay here," I breathed, meeting his gaze. His face, once so open and trusting, now flickered with the ghost of his past—those unhealed scars left behind by someone else. And now I was about to add my own.

"Are you... are you leaving me?" His voice cracked, fragile, like he was scared it would break completely if I said the wrong thing.

I swallowed hard, my heart aching in my chest. Could I really hurt him the way she had? But no, I wasn't leaving. I just needed space to make sense of the storm in my head.

"I'm not leaving you," I whispered, cupping his face in my hands, feeling the slight tremor in his jaw. "I just need to figure things out... the memories." My thumbs brushed over his cheeks, softening the tension. His face, vulnerable, grew puffier as I pressed gently and kissed him.

He closed his eyes, trapping my hands against his face, holding them there like they were his lifeline. Then, with a slow, reluctant nod, he let go.

JK walked back to the living room, his movements heavy with something unresolved. He sank into the seat opposite Jin, the air crackling with unspoken words.

"Tell me," JK's voice was no longer pleading but firm, masking the turmoil underneath.

"Why did you leave Lily?"

Jin's face remained impassive, though a flicker of something passed through his eyes—a hint of old pain. "You're not entitled to know," Jin said coolly, though his voice trembled, betraying the weight of what he was holding back.

JK flinched, his heart aching for reasons he couldn't quite understand. He'd been here before, with Rae—the girl Jin kept hidden, always just a whisper, never a name. His parents would have never accepted her. Wealth, status, academics—it was all they cared about.

"But you left her," JK's voice dropped, leaning in, the words tinged with disbelief. "You can't come back now, two years later and expect her to want to be with you?"

"Yes, yes I can," Jin held firm.

"Why do you think that?" JK leaned forward attempting to temper his frustration.

Jin's jaw tightened. "Because she promised me," his voice thickened, raw emotion threatening to spill. "If she survived, we'd be together."

The tears clinging to Jin's lashes finally fell, breaking through the facade he'd worn for so long. JK sat there, torn between anger and a deep, gnawing sadness, watching his brother unravel in front of him.

"Hyung..." JK's voice softened, the confusion etched into his face. "I need to understand what happened between you two."

But Jin's eyes remained distant, locked in a memory only he could see.

Jin leaned back into the couch, arms folded tightly across his chest, legs crossed, as though the posture alone could shield him from the weight of his own words. His eyes flickered toward JK, a brief glance that said more than the silence between them ever could.