inseparable︱𝐉𝐉𝐊 ✓

❥ 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞

꧁‿︵‿︵♥‿︵‿︵꧂

JJ - 20

Coming back home had been a struggle for me. 

I had convinced myself that once I crossed the threshold, everything would go back to the way it was before.

But that wasn't the case.

My house now felt strange and unfamiliar. I didn't belong there anymore, though my parents tried their best to make me feel welcome, asking about my first year of college and telling me how proud they were.

It had been a whole year since I last saw her, but as soon as our eyes met, it felt like no time had passed at all. She looked different —a bit older. Her face didn't light up in recognition like I hoped it would, and it hurt too much.

We just stood there in that hallway, neither of us speaking. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but I never broke the eye contact. She looked at me with this frown, like we were strangers meeting for the first time.

"Jieun..."

Almost instinctively, I took a step towards her. She didn't move or step back. Her eyes flickered but she didn't respond. I found myself at a loss. I wanted to ask her how she had been, what she had been doing, if she missed me like I missed her—but it all seemed too insignificant for this moment.

After an eternity, Jieun finally spoke up. "You just got here?"

"Yeah."

She didn't look at me again and let out a quiet sigh. "I see," she mumbled. "Welcome back... We've missed you."

I tried to speak again, but my voice cracked and failed me. "I—"

"I have to study," she said, cold and distant. It wasn't the voice I remembered.

Without waiting for a response, she turned and disappeared into her room, gently closing the door behind her.

I stood there, staring at the closed door, feeling like someone had knocked the wind out of me. My hand dropped to my side, and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

That was it. That was our first interaction after a year apart. No anger, no fights, no excitement, no questions. Nothing. Just a cold wall between us, one I wasn't sure how to break down.

I swallowed hard. I hadn't expected it to be like this, or maybe I should have. I wasn't naive enough to think we could just pick up where we left off, but I didn't think it would feel this empty.

After standing there like an idiot for what felt like forever, I turned and walked to my room. The walls were still lined with the same family photos, smiling faces that seemed to mock me now. Everything in this house was stuck in the past—everything except Jieun.