Unkind Fate: Jaebum

☑️ Chapter 1: Comfort

It's been a year since my bestfriend, Riah, has passed away. It's been a year of mourning but until now, the painful memory of yesterday is still fresh on my mind, vividly and accurately and the guilt of leaving my best friend from a tragic incident still haunts me down.

"I love you, Riah and I'm really sorry. I hope you could still forgive me for what I've done", I said, almost a whisper, as I put the flowers into her grave.

Tears filled up my eyes, making my vision blurred. I tried to wipe it with the back of my hand, but it wasn't helping, my eyes just decided to keep on crying.

"Where's my handky?" I murmured to myself while sobbing, my hand wandered inside my bag, trying to locate the handkerchief but it seems like I lost it or maybe I forgot to bring one.

"Yeogi", a familiar voice break the silence, extending his arm with a handkerchief on his hand, a different handkerchief.

I looked up to whose voice and to whose arm was that and I am not wrong for thinking it was Jaebum.

"JB..", I whisper, with a longing tone in my voice.

Jaebum and I didn't talk for a year. After Riah's burial, I decided to leave Seoul. I never told him nor anyone that I am leaving. I decided to stay with my parents and made myself busy helping in our restaurant.

I quit school. I stopped playing piano. I stopped listening to music, I stopped everything that will remind me of Riah and Jaebum.

I didn't even had the chance to talk with Jaebum or with Riah's family and explain what happened. But there's no point of explaining, I deserved the blame.

"You're so selfish.." he said, while wiping my tears with the handkerchief he was offering earlier.

I can feel the pain from his words. But his actions are just contradicting. He's making me feel that he still cared for me which makes me hurt even more. I don't deserve this.

"I know", I said, getting the handkerchief from him. "I'm so selfish for saving just myself", and I started to walk away.

"Hara, we all know that it wasn't your fault. "

My world suddenly stopped. For a year, I lived a life filled with remorse. I lived in misery. I'm just trying to live for the sake of my family but I considered myself dead as well, taking all the blame on Riah's death.

But hearing those words from JB, I felt like the thorns stucked in my heart were slowly getting removed. Pain was still there but somehow there's a relief in that pain.

"Riah just left us. Why do you have to leave us too?"

I bit my lip, trying not to make any sound, trying to hold my tears but got betrayed my by own eyes.

"Stop it" I felt a pat on my shoulder.

I stood there, without turning back to him, still holding the handkerchief which is now drenched with tears, too afraid to face him.

"Stop crying" he walked passed by me. I followed him with my eyes, he walked to Riah's grave and put down the flowers he was holding.