between the spolight - purinz ✧

a seed of doubt.

chaewon's pov —

i checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time, anxiety twisting in my stomach as i reread yunjin's last message:

📱 yunjin: busy day with press. will call when i'm free.

that had been hours ago, and with every passing minute, a nagging sense of unease grew in the back of my mind.

part of me knew i was being irrational. yunjin and i had been through so much already—the secrecy, the pressure to break up, the constant fear of exposure. but we'd survived it all, hadn't we? we'd made it through the worst. or so i thought.

the silence in my apartment felt thicker tonight, and just as i was about to try and distract myself with work, a message popped up from giselle, of all people. i stared at the notification, wondering what she could possibly want, my finger hovering over the message icon.

📱 giselle: we need to talk. in person. it's about yunjin.

a flash of irritation ran through me. of course she'd find some reason to get involved. but something in me—the same twisted curiosity that always seemed to pull me into things i knew i should avoid—won out. against my better judgment, i agreed to meet her.

we met at a quiet coffee shop tucked away from the busy streets, a place with dim lighting and cozy booths that promised privacy. giselle was already waiting for me, her expression carefully neutral, though i could see the faintest glimmer of something behind her eyes. she gestured for me to sit across from her, and i did, folding my arms across my chest as i waited for her to speak.

she took a slow breath, eyes fixed on her coffee cup before she finally looked up at me. "chaewon, i... i don't even know how to tell you this. i debated whether it was better for you to know or not, but..." she trailed off, her gaze darting down as if she was too conflicted to continue.

"just say it, giselle." i kept my voice even, though my patience was wearing thin. "what's this about?"

her hand curled around her cup, almost as if for reassurance. "it's about yunjin. i... i think you deserve to know that she—she kissed me."

my heart stilled, the words not quite registering at first. "excuse me?"

she glanced up at me with an expression so calculatedly pained that it took me a second to process what she'd said. "i was shocked too. i didn't know what to do. it happened so fast—i mean, she kissed me before i even realized what was happening."

"no." i shook my head, a bitter laugh escaping me. "that's not true. yunjin would never do that."

giselle sighed, her shoulders slumping as though she was struggling under the weight of her own confession. "i thought the same. i know how much she means to you—i didn't want to be the one to say anything. but it's not fair to keep you in the dark. especially if... if she's still seeing you and acting this way."

i searched her face for any sign that this was a sick joke, something twisted that i could brush off. but giselle's eyes held a familiar softness, a hint of pity that made my stomach churn.

"i know it's hard to hear," she said gently, reaching across the table as if to comfort me. "but it was just a moment, chaewon. she... she seemed confused, almost. maybe it's the pressure of everything getting to her. i don't think she even understood what she was doing. you know how people can act when they're overwhelmed."

the room felt like it was closing in on me, the noise of the coffee shop fading into a dull roar. my mind flashed back to every moment yunjin and i had shared, every whispered promise and stolen glance. it didn't make sense. it couldn't make sense.

i swallowed, forcing myself to keep my composure. "why are you telling me this, giselle?"

she tilted her head, her gaze softening even more. "because i care about you, chaewon. i don't want you to get hurt. i just... i thought you deserved to know, so you wouldn't be blindsided. i know what it feels like to be kept in the dark, to not be seen." her hand drifted back to her cup, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "i didn't want that for you."

it took everything in me not to flinch, to keep the mask of indifference in place as my mind spun with confusion and hurt. i wanted to scream at her, to demand why she was saying this, but part of me was frozen, my heart torn between disbelief and a sick, creeping doubt.

"are you sure?" i managed, my voice barely above a whisper.

she nodded slowly, as if this pained her just as much as it did me. "i wish i wasn't. but it happened, chaewon. and i just thought you deserved the truth."

my mouth was dry, words tangled on my tongue as i struggled to hold onto some semblance of clarity. "thank you," i forced out finally, hating the vulnerability in my voice. i couldn't let her see how much her words had rattled me.

giselle nodded, giving me a sad smile. "i really am sorry, chaewon. i know this must be hard to hear. i just thought... if it were me, i'd want to know."

she stood up then, leaving me sitting alone with a million questions swirling in my mind, doubts clawing at every corner of my thoughts. i watched her walk away, feeling a surge of anger and sadness twist together in a mess i couldn't begin to unravel.

the moment i stepped out of the coffee shop, cold air hit my face, but it did nothing to clear the fog of anger and hurt clouding my mind. giselle's words played on a loop, sharp and cutting, refusing to fade. i didn't want to believe her—couldn't believe her. yunjin wouldn't do that to me. but the weight of doubt pressed down, growing heavier with each passing second.