Healing

Chapter 33 ~ The Quiet

°• Wonwoo's  POV •°

"Woo, we need to end this"

Those words hit me harder than anything I've ever felt before. It felt like bricks hitting my chest. The air was knocked out of my lungs. A pain radiated from my heart. A felt a tear hit my leg. My own tear. I didn't even realize I was still crying. I swallowed, and with my voice surely quivering, I begged,

"Iseul, no. No, please stop and think. We'll find a way to make this work. We can keep it a secret. From everyone. Not even the members would know. Please, my l-"

"No, Woo. It's too risky. I'm sure Pledis would do everything in their power to ensure that we've broken up. This is your dream. Seventeen, having music as your career. This is all you've ever wanted, so I need to take a step back. It would be selfish of me to ask you to leave the millions of people who adore you just for me. As much as I love you and want to be with you, we can't, and that's that." Iseul assured me. Her tears had stopped for now, but I could see from the lights of the buildings and the moon that her eyes were red and puffy, and her chest shook.

"Iseul-" I tried to plead, but her mind was made up.

"Let's go back to my Aunt Lee's house, Woo."

The entire journey back was silent. What was there to say? We both knew what had to happen, no matter how much it hurt us.

When we got back, Jihoon was sitting in the living area, waiting. He shot up as we opened the door, and Iseul ran to him, Jihoon accepting her in his arms. While holding her, Jihoon and I made eye contact. His expression was completely blank. No furrowed brows, no frown, nothing. He knew there was nothing we could do.

I saw Aunt Lee peering in from the end if the hallway. Her hand clutched a tissue to her chest, and her eyes were bloodshot. Seeing her like that brought the tears back into my eyes and before I knew it, I was in her arms, sobbing into her shoulder.

The rest of the night was quiet. No one knew what to say. Nothing could make us feel any better.

I got ready for bed and went out to the living area to grab a pillow before going back to Jihoon's room to sleep. Iseul was already in bed. The mega-bed. She still put it together despite everything.

"Woo?" I heard her roll over and groan.

"Yes?"

"Can you sleep with me?"

I didn't even have to think. I crawled into bed next to her, but far away. I wasn't sure what to do since we were breaking up. Could I touch her? I probably shouldn't. Well, I'm not sure if we've officially ended this yet. I don't know. I don't know what to think about anything.

"Woo, can you hold me?" She almost whispered. Silently, I moved over right beside her and wrapped my arms around her. Nothing else was said.

Nothing was said for the next few days, really. We didn't talk about it. We spent time with Aunt Lee and Jihoon during the day, and we still slept together at night.

One night, I was walking out of Jihoon's room when I heard two voices coming from Aunt Lee's room.

"Iseul, you don't deserve to go through the pain of losing someone again. You've gone through more than enough. Can't you guys work something out with Pledis?"

"It isn't that easy, Aunt Lee. These companies aren't that understanding. Their focus isn't on the happiness of the idols, it's on their profits. Besides, I can't ask Wonwoo to step back from Seventeen because of me. Their fans love him, and I can't have that guilt if taking away someone they look up to so much. Wonwoo could always find another girlfriend, but what he has with Seventeen is truly irreplaceable."

I couldn't forget those words from Iseul. They really resonated with me, and I couldn't get them out of my head.

-

The day had come for me to call Pledis and give them my decision. Our flight back to Seoul was the next day, and an announcement had to be put out before we landed.

Iseul and I still hadn't talked about it any more, but there really was nothing else to discuss. We had to break up, and there was no other choice.

I dialed the number.

"Hello, Wonwoo. Have you made your decision?"

"Yes I have. I'm going to continue with Seventeen. Iseul and I are done."

"You made the right decision, in my opinion. I'll put out the announcement saying not to worry about that girl and that your focus is entirely on Seventeen and Carats."

When the CEO said "that girl," it triggered something in me. Iseul wasn't just "that girl." She is someone so special. She is truly amazing, and I love her with all of my heart.

I started to come up with a plan. The consequences didn't matter to me, but I had to do something.

I couldn't let it end like this.