The Rhythm Of The Heart *Wonyoung x YN* *Danielle x YN*

Liar

Wonyoung stared at her phone screen after a while of crying because she thought the friend she made at school had died. Something didn't fit. She couldn't accept so easily that YN was dead, and the message from the person who claimed to be her sister seemed too cold and distant.

She decided to ask a former classmate. It wasn't long before she received a reply.

"Yes, it's her. She dropped out of school a while ago, but before she did, she already looked like that. I don't know why she told you that."

Wonyoung's heart was beating fast. She didn't understand why YN had lied, but if she had, she must have had her reasons. Without hesitation, she wrote to her again.

"YN, there's no point in lying to me. I know it's you. Why did you tell me that?"

Seol YN

My fingers trembled. I felt a chill run down my spine as I reread Wonyoung's message. A knot formed in my throat, and the feeling of drowning was not long in coming.

Why couldn't she leave me alone? Why couldn't she just accept my lie and move on with her life?

It wasn't fair. Not for her. Not for me.

My first reaction was to ignore her. Pretend I never saw the message. I could block her, delete the conversation and move on as if nothing had happened. But my body didn't react. My hands, still holding the phone, refused to move. My mind screamed for me to answer, but my heart hesitated.
Minutes that felt like an eternity passed until, almost without thinking, I wrote.

"Because it's easier this way. I don't want you to see me in this state. I don't want to drag you down with me."

I pressed send and immediately regretted it.

Wonyoung was quick to reply.

"Don't talk nonsense. If anyone drags anyone, it will be me who will get you out of that hole."

A pang of pain pierced my chest. Why did it have to be like this? Why, after so long, was she back in my life worrying about me?

I closed my eyes, trying to contain the wave of emotions that threatened to overflow.

Did I really deserve someone like Wonyoung by my side?

My mind told me no, but a small part of me wanted to hold on to her hand, even if I didn't think I deserved it.

And then, the last message arrived.

"See you tomorrow. Don't try to run away."

My lips parted, surprised.

She was serious.

I couldn't sleep that night. I tossed and turned in bed, my mind invaded by the image of Wonyoung. I couldn't stop thinking about what I would say to her when I saw her. About whether I really wanted to see her.

Part of me felt a paralyzing fear.
Wonyoung would see me turned into a shadow of what I once was. I was no longer the TN full of dreams that aspired to debut, I had lost 20 kilos, I had had my face operated on. Now I was just someone broken, clinging to a thread of hope that was fraying with each passing day, resigned to wait for the auditions in my company to go well.
But there was something else. A small spark inside me, barely perceptible, that told me that maybe not all was lost.

Someone still cared about me.

Someone still saw me, even when the world, even my own family, seemed to have forgotten me.

With those thoughts tangled in my mind, I finally closed my eyes, although rest never came.

The next morning, I tried to concentrate on training, but my mind was elsewhere. No matter how hard I tried, the anxiety grew in my chest with every minute that passed.