Annyeongz One-shots

112. Heal ( 3 )

The apartment felt impossibly quiet after the door clicked shut behind Wonyoung. Yujin stayed on the couch, slumped against the cushions, his bandaged hand resting heavily on his lap. He could still feel the warmth of her hands lingering against his skin, the faint scent of her perfume-or maybe just her presence-seared into his senses.

His chest rose and fell unevenly. The exhaustion from the past nights, the fever, and the raw emotions from his breakdown still weighed heavily, pressing down on him like an invisible force. For a moment, he let himself just exist in that silence, trying to make sense of everything-his anger, his pain, and the unexpected care she had shown.

A faint sound made him stir. The soft chime of his phone alerted him: a delivery notification. His food.

Yujin frowned and leaned forward slightly, hesitating. Normally he would've ignored it, forced himself to wait until hunger and thirst forced him to eat. But something about her insistence, about her calm determination, made it impossible to push away this small act of care.

He dragged himself upright and took the food bag from the table. The warm steam rising from it made his nose twitch. For a moment, he just stared at it, hands hovering over the container as if touching it might somehow make it a different reality.

Then he sighed, a low, tired exhale that carried weeks of frustration, pain, and exhaustion. Slowly, carefully, he opened the container. The aroma hit him-a simple, comforting smell, not fancy, but familiar, nourishing.

He sat back against the couch cushions again and took a tentative bite. It wasn't just food. It felt like a lifeline, like someone had reminded him he still deserved something as basic as nourishment.

As he ate, his mind wandered back to her: the way she had quietly cleaned the apartment, the firm calm in her voice when he tried to push her away, the way she had just left, trusting him to do the right thing. He could feel the anger and defensiveness he had carried for months-the walls he had built-beginning to crack, just a little.

Yujin's hand brushed against the bandage, flexing his fingers lightly. The sting from the wounds was still there, but it was now accompanied by a strange, faint comfort. Not from the food, not really, but from the fact that she had been there, insisting, standing her ground, refusing to leave him to suffer alone.

He swallowed the last bite slowly and exhaled. The room was quiet again, but this time it didn't feel oppressive. It felt... alive, in a small, fragile way.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, a thought he hadn't allowed himself to entertain in months whispered quietly: She'll come back. And I... I'll let her.

Yujin leaned back, eyes half-closed, finally letting the exhaustion overtake him. For the first time in what felt like forever, he allowed himself to rest-not just his body, but the heaviness in his chest, if only for a moment, knowing she had left a part of herself behind to keep him safe.

By the time Wonyoung's car pulled into the studio parking lot, the afternoon sun had already climbed higher in the sky. The drive back had been quiet. Too quiet.

Her hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel as she parked.

For a brief moment, she just sat there.

Her mind drifting back to the apartment.

The broken frame.

The blood on the wall.

The way Yujin had looked sitting on the floor, asking her why she was there like he genuinely couldn't understand why someone would stay.

She exhaled slowly and grabbed her handbag from the passenger seat.