CHEAP TEQUILA | knj

12TH SHOT

YOONGI TOOK A deep breath, folding his arms over his chest. his eyes bounced from isidora to kore, instantly getting colder at the sight of the blonde. "why the fuck are you here?" he directed the question at her. he didn't wait for her reply before turning to isidora. "why did you fucking bring her to my house?"

isidora's eyes shut as she let warm air leave plump peachy lips. "look yoongs, i'm sorry. she was scared to show up here by herself so i came with her." she explained, shoving her hands in the pockets of her denim jumpsuit. "you bet your ass she should be scared. you're wrong if you think coming with her means i'm going to let her step one cheating foot in my house."

"yoongi," isi started with a slight pout. "i'm mad at her too but-" she was cut off by yoongi lifting his index finger. "but nothing, isi. what even gave her the idea that she could come here?"

"i invited her." another voice interjected. yoongi turned around to see namjoon standing in a white t-shirt and black corduroy jacket, shoulders hunched with his hands hidden in the pockets of his jeans, an awkward expression on his face.

a look of surprise came over the older man's face before it was replaced with a frown. "kim namjoon, what did i tell you?" he suspired. namjoon pressed his lips together. "i need to do this, hyung." his gaze shifted to kore who hadn't spoken a word since and simply wrung her hands together, a shameful look on her face.

yoongi took another deep breath. "fine, but i meant what i said, she's not coming into my house." he shot the girl a glare. "that's okay. we'll talk outside." namjoon nodded. "well, at least, am i invited?" isidora cocked a questioning brow at yoongi. his gaze softened, lips pulling up in the barest of movements. "of course."

namjoon waited for the latina to walk in before stepping outside. "hey, joon?" yoongi called after him. the younger man twisted around to look at him. "be strong." he whispered, eyeing kore again. smiling small, namjoon nodded.

he waited till yoongi shut the door behind them before he started moving, walking down the hallway to the elevators. neither of them said anything the whole ride down. he didn't even spare her a glance as they made their way to a small playground, not far from the apartment building.

moving his hands from the pockets of his jeans to those of his jacket, namjoon took a seat on one of the two benches. following his lead, kore did the same, still twiddling her thumbs. she waited for him to speak first, apprehensive of what he would say.

he simply stared ahead for the longest of minutes before his lips finally parted to speak. "eli gray." he breathed, still facing forward, gaze on the candy store across the street. he heard her breath hitch and he finally turned to look at her.

he was able to keep his face blank but his eyes held pain. "that's his name, right?" he queried although he knew the answer. "how did you-?" she was unable to complete the question, big eyes widened in shock. "i met him." he replied simply. her lips parted even further and her brows furrowed in confusion.

turning his gaze away from her and back to the candy store, he let out a mirthless chuckle. "it's funny, isn't it? this thing we call life. the fates really have a cruel sense of humour when you think about it. they force you to face the realities of the world we live in, no matter how unattractive it may seem. it doesn't matter how much you try to avoid it, either you meet it, or it meets you. and it met me."

his hands formed fists in his pockets, lips pressing into a hard line. "does he know about me?" the question rolled off on a low timbre, barely audible even in the silence of the playground. "he knows of you. but he doesn't know who you are." she answered quietly. he took quiet notice of her chosen tense. "do you still fuck around with him?"

silence. it answered the question for him. "i..." she trailed off. namjoon could oddly sense pain in that singular word. "i try to distract myself with him. so i don't think about you." the last part came out as a murmur and her gaze casted downwards to stare at her sneakers clad feet.

"and when you were with me? what was he for then?" his nails dug into the flesh of his palms as his fists tightened. she offered no reply and he expected none. he sighed, glancing at the grass between his feet. "of course." he muttered, disappointment unhidden in his tone.

"eli is a charmer. he baits you and he reels you in. before you know it, you're dancing to his tune, doing everything he wants you to. the first time it happened, the guilt clawed at me so much, i couldn't even function properly. i couldn't eat, i couldn't sleep, i couldn't look you in the face. i eventually fell sick. and you took care of me. i had never loathe myself so much until that moment. i kept crying and you thought it was from the aches but it wasn't. it was the guilt that was swallowing me up whole. yet, i found myself going back to him, like a snake under the spell of a pipe."

namjoon gulped in a deep breath at her words. he remembered. he remembered her temperature skyrocketing and her lack of appetite, the constant crying and the refusal to go to the hospital. he remembered his worry, his apprehension and how happy he was when she eventually began to feel better. he shut his eyes, feeling the familiar sting of tears, his heart lurching in renewed pain. that long. his nails dug deeper into his skin until he felt warm liquid stain them.

"do you know about her?" his voice was cold and detached. "who?" her voice cracked as the question left her lips. "the girl eli's with." he responded, allowing his thoughts to wander to gisela. "there's a girl?" surprise was evident in her voice. "oh god." she hid her face behind her hands and he realised she'd been crying all the while.

"i'll take solace in the fact that you didn't purposely hurt two people at once." he got on his feet. he felt a hand wrap around his arm. glancing back, he watched as she lifted herself on her feet and was face to face with her tearstained cheeks. "joonie," desperation coloured her voice as she grabbed on to him tighter.

he tried to ignore it as well as the pain stabbing at his chest with the sight of a crying kore in front of him. he wanted to tell her she had lost the right to call him by that nickname but all he could do was stare at her crying, desperate eyes.

"joonie," she repeated, gazing straight into his eyes. she was full on sobbing now and namjoon wasn't entirely sure she could see clearly enough to realise he had tears in his eyes as well. "joonie, please don't...don't leave me. i'm so sorry. i'm- i know i fucked up big time and you should see me as nothing but a lying, cheating whore who took the heart you gave her and stepped on it, but...but..." she glanced down.

"i love you. i love you so much it physically hurts. and to tell the truth, that scared me so much. i was scared as shit of the weight of my feelings. maybe that's why i did what i did and i'll regret it for the rest of my life. but i don't want to lose you. please don't leave me. please..."

namjoon turned fully to face her. pulling his hands out of his pockets, he wiped the tears of her cheeks. "kore," he mumbled, leaning down until his lips pressed against hers lightly. he rested his forehead against hers. "i still love you too." he confessed.

his hands fell away from her face and he stepped back, eyes fluttering open. "i can't do this. every time i look at you, i see the two of you together." he shoved his hands into his pockets again. "i love you but i can't be with you anymore." his voice broke as he backed away from her. "i'm sorry," was the last thing he told her before whirling around and running away from her before he let himself be hurt again.

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