in the quiet sanctuary of a small-town church, two souls from different worlds collide. yunjin, a gay girl with a vibrant spirit, finds herself navigating the rigid expectations of her conservative family. each sunday, she seeks solace in the church...
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chapter twenty eight ʚ ✮ ɞ
a few hours had passed. the sky outside had shifted into that deep, tired blue of early evening, and yunjin sat curled up against the wall just outside chaewon's bedroom door. the envelope rested loosely in her lap, bent and worn at the corners from where her fingers had kept fiddling with it.
she had no idea what she was expecting to happen. an apology? a door swinging open with open arms? maybe even just a soft word, something small to hold onto. but there was nothing—just the low hum of the city outside the window and the occasional creak of the apartment settling.
her legs were numb, her eyes swollen, but she didn't move. she couldn't.
because leaving felt like dying and staying felt like dragging chaewon down with her.
she leaned her head back against the wall, throat raw from crying, and whispered into the stillness, "i'm sorry. i didn't mean to break us."
but the door stayed closed and chaewon stayed silent.
and yunjin just... sat there. waiting. unsure if she was hoping for forgiveness or a goodbye.
her mind drifted, untethered and heavy, like it was floating somewhere far away from her body. you love me by staying. the words echoed again and again, looping endlessly in her head like a song she couldn't turn off.
you love me by staying.
they rang louder than the silence. louder than the sound of cars outside, than the ticking of the clock on the wall. louder than the guilt eating away at her from the inside out.
you love me by staying.
and it wasn't just what chaewon said—it was how she said it. like it was the simplest truth in the world. like it wasn't supposed to be this complicated. like love didn't have to come with bruises and fear and torn-up plane tickets.
yunjin blinked up at the ceiling, her vision blurred with tears she hadn't even noticed were still falling. she clutched the envelope tighter to her chest.
and still...
you love me by staying.
the words were no longer chaewon's voice. they were her own now, quiet and trembling inside her. a choice she still hadn't made.
beyond the door, the apartment had been quiet—eerily so, except for the faint sound of running water that let yunjin know chaewon was in the shower. she had stayed sitting there for what felt like forever, back pressed against the wall, heart aching with every beat.
but then came the crash.
something heavy slammed against the floor—maybe a bottle, maybe her fist—and then the sharp, raw scream of, "fuck!"
