Guilty As Sin ► Y.JH

07

The weight of the silence in the air was suffocating, each tick of the clock on the wall a reminder of the unspoken words hanging between them. Soleil stood in Jeonghan's dimly lit apartment, her heart pounding loudly in her chest, drowning out the faint sounds of the city beyond the window. The atmosphere crackled with tension, a storm brewing within her as she glanced at Jeonghan, whose eyes were fixed on the floor, as if the weight of the world was pressing down on his shoulders.

"Enough," she finally snapped, the quiet desperation of her voice breaking through the thick barrier of silence. "I can't do this anymore, Jeonghan. What's going on between us? I need you to be honest with me."

Jeonghan's gaze shot up, surprise flickering across his features. He opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it, his expression shifting to one of apprehension. It was as if her words had stripped him bare, exposing the turmoil he had been carefully concealing.

"Please," she urged, her voice softer now, but still filled with a fierceness she didn't know she possessed. "I deserve to know the truth."

With a heavy sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck, a gesture that spoke volumes about his internal struggle. "Soleil, I-" He paused, searching for the right words, but the longer he hesitated, the more her heart sank. "It's complicated."

"Complicated how?I wanted to bring everything back to normal. " she pressed, frustration bubbling to the surface. "Are you avoiding me because of my brother ? Is that what this is about?"

Jeonghan looked away, a deep frown etched on his face. The mention of Minho seemed to amplify the tension, and Soleil felt her heart constrict painfully in her chest. She had never been one to play games, nor had she ever wanted to be caught in a this matter because she knows it's off limit to fall inlove with her brother bandmate, . But here she was, standing on the precipice of her emotions, ready to fall into the abyss if he didn't say something soon.

"Minho is my best friend, he's your brother" he said finally, his voice low and strained. "I can't betray him like that, Soleil. I just... I can't."

"Betray him?" she echoed incredulously. "What about how I feel? What about us? You can't just ignore that, Jeonghan! Don't you what everything go back to normal again like how it was before, "

He took a step closer, his eyes finally meeting hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. "I know," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I know what you mean to me. I can't ignore it, but I can't act on it either. It wouldn't be right."

Tears stung her eyes as she tried to comprehend the enormity of his words. "So what? You'd rather let this... this friendship we had for a long time die than risk upsetting Minho?"

"It's not just that!" he exclaimed, frustration breaking through the calm facade he had been holding. "I care about you, Soleil. You have to believe me. But I can't hurt Minho. He's family to me. I can't put him in that position. And I don't want you to have a bad blood for your brother. "

Her heart shattered at his admission. The love she felt for Jeonghan was suffused with warmth and possibility, yet he was willing to extinguish it all.

"Then what do you want me to do?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Just pretend like none of this matters? Pretend like I don't feel anything?"

"No, that's not what I want," Jeonghan pleaded, his hands outstretched as if trying to bridge the chasm that had formed between them. "I just... I can't put you in a position where you're hurt because of my choices. I don't want to lose you as a friend, but I can't give you what you deserve."

"Friend? Yeah right we are friend" The word tasted bitter on her tongue.

"look soleil." he insisted, his voice rising with desperation. "You mean so much more to me, but I'm terrified of what would happen if I let myself feel it. If I let us happen, it could ruin everything. You could end up hating me. I can't lose you like that."

"Do you think I want to hate you?" Soleil's voice broke, her heart aching as she took a step back, trying to create space between them. "I don't want to hate you, Jeonghan. I don't like what I'm feeling, But I can't do this-this limbo where everything is so close yet so far away."

Jeonghan looked devastated, his hands falling to his sides as he absorbed her words. The anguish on his face mirrored her own. "I wish things were different. I wish I could choose both of you. But I can't. It's tearing me apart."

"Then maybe we shouldn't be together at all," Soleil whispered, the realization hitting her with a force that left her breathless. She felt like a candle flickering in the wind, fragile and vulnerable.

"Please, don't say that," he begged, his voice thick with emotion. "I don't want to lose you, Soleil. You're the best part of my life."

"Then stop acting like you don't know me, you said we are friend yet you don't feel like the jeonghan I know from before. "

"I can't!" he shouted, his frustration spilling over. "I can't show you what I want because I know you felt it too."

"We can pretend everything is just okay and normal," she replied, the words tumbling from her lips like stones, heavy and unforgiving. "I don't want to see you fading away. ."

As the silence settled around them once more, Soleil felt the fracture deepen. It was as if their connection was a thread being pulled tighter and tighter until it finally snapped, leaving only the raw ends to remind her of what could have been.

"I can't stay like this," she murmured, turning her back to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm done pretending. I need to cut ties before this destroys me."

"Soleil," he called out, his voice barely a whisper. But she didn't turn around. She felt her heart breaking with every step she took away from him, each step a painful reminder of the love that would never be.

She stepped out into the cool night air, the city lights twinkling in the distance, but they felt hollow and distant, just like the feelings left behind in Jeonghan's apartment. The ache in her chest was overwhelming, but she knew that if she didn't walk away now, she would never find the strength to do so.

As she walked away, she could feel Jeonghan's eyes on her, a silent plea that she refused to acknowledge. It was over. She had made her choice, and as painful as it was, she knew she had to choose herself for once.

But as she left, every part of her longed to turn back, to run into his arms and forget everything else. Yet she pushed forward, leaving behind the remnants of what they could have had, determined to reclaim her heart before it shattered completely.