Without You ✓

They're back

As the scent passes through my nostrils, Jae-Yeol reaches the floor. I grab his shirt and hide behind him.

“What is it?” He questions.

“I know those people,” I tell him pointing at the couple. “Don’t let them see me.” They sit on the swings. Our swings. I notice him smiling happily, but no matter how I look at him, I sense a sadness behind every laugh and smile.

Jae-Yeol takes my hand and I stand on the opposite side to them. We walk passed them without them noticing us. I pray my haircut I got after I moved helps me disguise myself. Quickly, Jae-Yeol and I escape the park. We begin to reach. The smell of tobacco crawls up my nose as we pass the two. We slowly reach the edge of the park with me still clinging to Jae-Yeol’s arm. Once we begin to walk down the road away from the park, I let out a sigh of relief. My shoulders relax and my grip becomes weaker.

“Are you okay?” Jae-Yeol asks. I nod my head. He places his hand on my forehead. “You’re burning up: I think you’ve done too much in one day.” I nod weakly again. I watch the pavement in front of me become blurry. My steps begin to become uncoordinated. Stumbling forwards, I loosen my grip completely from Jae-Yeol’s hand. I begin to fall to the floor. I feel my head crash into the floor then everything goes black.

***

I open my eyes and realise im being hugged by a pair of unfamiliar arms. They’re muscular and holding my small body nicely. I rub my eyes to the sudden realisation that I know the arms around me. I flip my body over and come face to face.

“Hello Ai-yeon,” he smiles at me. It’s Jungkook. Automatically I smile back.
“Isn’t this strange?” He questions.

“Isn’t what strange?” I ask him in response. He pulls me in closer so my head rests on his shoulder.

“That we’re here together,” he says. “In the same bed. I mean we only met yesterday.” He says. I looks around his room. I breathe in. I smell cigarettes. There’s a packet of them on his bedside table. My phones begins to ring. It’s Ru-Ri. I look at my phone to see a large amount of missed calls and text messages. I quickly decide to call her back.

“Hello?” I say as she picks up the phone.

“Ai-yeon?” The voice says. It’s too low to Ru-Ri’s. “How could you do this to me?” I realise who the voice belongs to. “I thought you loved me.”

“Jae-Yeol, I do,” I say quickly, knowing I can’t risk losing him. It doesn’t matter how I got here, i have to keep him.

“How could you do this to me?” A different voice says from the door frame. I look up to where Jungkook’s door is. It’s open and a balcony is in front of it. “I thought you loved me.” The boy swings his legs over the banister.

“Tae don’t,” I run to try and catch him. Lunging forwards, trying to take hold of his shirt the white fabric slips better my fingers. He begins to plummet towards the busy street below. I let out a wail as I watch him drop. Tears build up beneath my eyes as I blink they escape forwards onto my face. I look at then phone in my hand, Jae-Yeol is still on call. I hold the phone slowly towards my ear.

A gunshot.

The first thing I hear as I place the phone on my ear is a gunshot.

“JAE-YEOL,” I cry out. “JAE-YEOL CAN YOU HEAR ME?” There’s no response. I let out another lot of tears and crying. A hand lands on my shoulder. I move my phone from my ear and I still that blood has coated itself over the phone. I spurts out of the homebutton into the air.

I throw the bloody phone away from me. It skids across the balcony getting scratched and mangled. I turn my face to see the owner of the hand.

Jungkook.