FACING THE SAME FACE | JINKOOK

CH14

Jin was sitting on the sofa, his body hunched over, his trembling hands clasped over his legs as if he were still trying to process what had just happened. The letter he had received from JungHyun continued to burn in his mind, even though he no longer held it in his hands. That lie that had been his reality for so long.

SeungChol entered the room silently, his gaze fixed on Jin, but the pain reflected on his face was beyond words. He didn't need to ask, because he already knew. He knew what had happened, what Jin had just discovered.

"What are you going to do now, Jin?" His deep voice cut through the air like a knife, lending the question immense weight.

Jin lifted his gaze to him, his eyes red and swollen from the tears he hadn't allowed to fall yet. Something churned inside him, a whirlwind of emotions that he couldn't put into words, but anger was beginning to overtake the pain. In some way, anger was easier to handle.

"What am I supposed to do?" His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in days. Each word was a strangled cry. He ran a hand over his face, pushing his damp hair back, but he couldn't calm down. "How could I have been so... so stupid, SeungChol? All this time... all this time I thought I knew, that I understood. But it was all a damn lie." SeungChol took a step further into the room, but didn't approach too closely. He knew Jin needed space, but he also knew he couldn't leave him alone at this moment. Jin had never been someone who accepted comfort easily. Even so, the need to be there, to be the firm pillar his friend could no longer be for himself, was as strong as the pain they shared.

"You weren't stupid, Jin," he said softly, though his words had no power to calm him. Jin looked at him harshly, a flash of fury in his eyes.

"Wasn't I?" He spat. His voice cracked, as if rage was tearing him apart from the inside. He abruptly got up from the sofa, letting his body sway with the force of his frustration. He walked a few steps towards the window, and saw the city beyond, blurred through the layer of pain clouding his vision. He felt trapped, as if the very air was choking him. "Wasn't it stupid to trust someone who... who used me? He used me, SeungChol! Like I was a damn pawn in a game!" The final shout vibrated through the walls, reverberating in the silence that followed his outburst. Jin clenched his fists, the tension running through his body as his anger spilled over. SeungChol, hearing that cry, understood that it wasn't just the pain of the truth being revealed that tormented Jin, but the humiliation of being manipulated.

SeungChol swallowed hard, his own eyes reflecting silent pain. He cautiously approached Jin, knowing he couldn't let his friend destroy himself. He placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it firmly, and although Jin tensed for a moment, he didn't pull away.

"What JungKook did wasn't your fault," he said, his voice serious, so much so that for a moment, the words seemed almost tangible. SeungChol's tone was low, but carried the same strength that he was always known for. A man who, although often silent, wasn't afraid to speak when necessary.

Jin looked at him with dark eyes, filled with confusion. His friend's face was marked by concern, but there was something else, something Jin didn't fully understand. SeungChol had protected him in the shadows, but he had never spoken about his relationship with JungKook like this before.

"How do you know...?"

"I saw it, Jin," SeungChol interrupted, his voice firm, though his gaze was filled with a mix of pain and compassion. The air between them seemed charged with an unsaid truth. "I saw you when JungKook started getting close to you. I knew something wasn't right, but I couldn't do anything at the time. I didn't take the risk. I watched you. I protected you from afar." Jin fell silent, at a loss for words, as if these revelations hit him with the force of a storm. He couldn't quite understand it, couldn't fathom how SeungChol had been there, like a distant spectator, and hadn't intervened.