Guilty As Sin ► Y.JH

08

The air in the practice room was thick with tension, the kind that clung to your skin and made it hard to breathe. Minho sat on the edge of a couch, his fingers drumming absently against the armrest, his jaw tight. He had sensed the shift in Jeonghan, the way his best friend had been pulling away-physically, emotionally, and even musically. It wasn't like Jeonghan to retreat, to be so distant. The cracks had begun to show in the way they interacted, the way the band's rhythm seemed just... off.

Jeonghan, on the other hand, stood by the window, staring out at the city skyline with a hollow look in his eyes, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He was silent, lost in his thoughts, but it wasn't long before Minho's voice broke through the quiet.

"Jeonghan," Minho's voice cut through the stillness like a knife. "What's going on with you? I've been waiting for you to say something for weeks now."

Jeonghan stiffened, but didn't turn around. He knew what Minho was getting at. He had felt it too-the widening gap between him and the people closest to him, between him and the band. But he had hoped that, by keeping quiet, he could delay the inevitable, that the tension might just... disappear on its own.

"Well?" Minho pushed, his voice rising with the weight of his concern. "You've been acting like something's eating at you. And it's not just your playing. I can feel it, man. You've been distant."

Finally, Jeonghan exhaled deeply and turned to face his friend. His usually calm demeanor was cracking, and for the first time in a long time, he looked genuinely unsettled. The anger, guilt, and confusion that had been simmering inside him for weeks bubbled to the surface.

"Fine. You want to know?" Jeonghan's voice was sharp, edged with frustration. "It's Soleil."

Minho blinked, taken aback by the sudden revelation. His mind raced, trying to piece together the puzzle. Soleil? His gaze sharpened as he locked eyes with Jeonghan.

"What about Soleil?" Minho asked, his voice tense but low, careful. The last thing he wanted was for this conversation to spiral into something neither of them could take back.

Jeonghan's eyes darkened. "I-" He stopped himself, swallowing hard, trying to steady his breathing. "I can't stop thinking about her. I don't know what to do, Minho. I can't... I can't keep pretending that nothing's going on between us."

A silence settled between them, heavy and suffocating. Minho's expression hardened as the truth settled in. It wasn't just that Jeonghan had been acting distant. It was that he had been harboring feelings for Soleil, feelings that had gone unspoken, yet had already started tearing apart the very fabric of their friendship.

"You're telling me that all this time, all those late nights and everything we've been building together-this band, our music-it's all been overshadowed by some... whatever this is?" Minho's voice was thick with disbelief.

Jeonghan's face fell, guilt rushing in. "I never wanted it to be this way, Minho. I didn't plan for it. It just happened."

Minho's hands curled into fists. His frustration, his fear for what this meant, it was all bubbling to the surface. "Do you even realize how much this is tearing me apart?" Minho snapped. "I thought we were a team, Jeonghan! I thought you and I were- brothers,.... She's my sister. "

"I know what you thought," Jeonghan interrupted, his voice soft but firm. "And I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to destroy what we had. But... I don't know how to make this right. I can't keep living in this mess."

Minho's jaw tightened as he stood up, the air between them crackling with unspoken anger. He felt betrayed, not just by Jeonghan's feelings for Soleil, but by the way his best friend had handled it. It wasn't just the personal matter-it was how it was affecting the band, their music, their life together.

"So what? You're just going to run away now?" Minho asked bitterly, the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "Just leave the band? Leave me and the rest of us hanging because of... this?"

Jeonghan's shoulders slumped, the exhaustion clear on his face. "I'm not running away, Minho. I'm trying to protect what's left. If I stay here, it's only going to get worse. I can't keep hurting you, and I can't keep hurting Soleil."

The room seemed to grow colder, the weight of his words pressing down on both of them. Minho stood still for a long moment, as if trying to process the enormity of what Jeonghan was saying. He couldn't understand why Jeonghan was willing to sacrifice everything-the band, their friendship-just because of this... this feeling. But as he looked into Jeonghan's eyes, he saw the same anguish, the same confusion that had been building between them for weeks.

And for the first time in their entire friendship, Minho didn't know how to reach him.

Jeonghan rubbed his face with a trembling hand. "Maybe... maybe I need some time away. I need to figure things out. I need space before I destroy everything we've worked for."

Minho clenched his jaw. "So, that's it? You're just... leaving?"

Jeonghan's voice was quiet, but the pain in it was undeniable. "I'm not leaving you, Minho. I'm leaving myself. I need time. I need to understand what's happening before it completely destroys us."

Minho's breathing was heavy, his chest tight. He couldn't bring himself to say anything more. All the anger, the frustration, the betrayal-it was all tangled together in a knot that he couldn't untangle.

Jeonghan hesitated, his gaze shifting from Minho to the floor. He took a step back, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm sorry, Minho. I didn't mean for any of this."

The words hung in the air like a heavy fog. And with that, Jeonghan turned and walked toward the door.

Minho stood there, frozen. The sound of the door closing behind Jeonghan felt like a wound opening in his chest. He hadn't just lost his bandmate. He'd lost his best friend.

---

Soleil's phone buzzed on the kitchen table, but she didn't pick it up. She had been trying to stay busy, trying to focus on her photography, on work-anything that would distract her from the storm that had been brewing inside her for weeks. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape the thoughts that had been haunting her since Jeonghan had walked out of her life.

It had been a few days since their last conversation, since she had told him it was over, and yet, the weight of the decision had never felt heavier. She missed him. More than she cared to admit. Every part of her longed to reach out, to somehow find a way to make it right. But she couldn't. Not after everything.

The phone buzzed again, and this time, Soleil reached for it, her heart sinking when she saw the name on the screen-Minho.

Her thumb hovered over the screen, hesitant. She knew that whatever Minho had to say, it wouldn't be good. But when she finally opened the message, the words hit her like a freight train.

**"Jeonghan's leaving the band. He's taking time off to figure things out. I think we might have lost him, Soleil."**

Soleil stared at the message, her throat tightening as she read it over and over again. The world around her seemed to blur, the words sinking in slowly, painfully.

She had tried to stay away, to keep herself distant from Jeonghan and his turmoil. But she couldn't. She couldn't just stand by and watch as everything fell apart, as her two worlds collided.

Jeonghan had been her escape, her light in the darkness. And now he was gone. Gone from the band, gone from her life.

Torn between wanting to fight for him and wanting to protect her own peace, Soleil's heart shattered into pieces. She had never imagined it would come to this-to losing him completely.

But no matter what, she knew that Jeonghan's absence would leave a void she couldn't easily fill. And as much as she hated it, she understood why he had to leave.

The collateral damage had already been done.