Starting Over •JJK• ✔️

Fifteen

The guys made it to Japan safely and their private event was going well. They'll be returning tomorrow, which was good because it was kind of weird to not have them in the building for the past couple of days. Even though I would go days without seeing them, knowing that they were upstairs was still an odd form of comfort for me.

I'd decided to take a break from work and get some other stuff done. I stood at the counter to do the dishes from yesterday and looked out into the living room. Yeontan was content on the couch and chewing away on one of his favorite toys. If the boys couldn't be around, it was nice to have Tannie here to keep me company.

I had music playing on my phone as I cleaned and it stopped when a video call came through. JK said he would call me when they got a break this afternoon, so I wiped my wet hand on my shirt to answer it. My phone was on the other end of the counter, so I stretched over to tap the answer button, barely looking at the screen. "Hey you."

"Hello, Madelyn."

I froze. It wasn't the voice I was expecting to hear. It wasn't a voice I ever wanted to hear again.

A wave of nausea came over me as I looked over at the screen, still staying out of view of my camera. There he was with a smirk on his face, waiting for my reply. I swallowed hard and turned off the running faucet, trying to find my voice. The last thing I wanted was for him to hear my fear. "Trevor."

He snickered. "Is that all I get as a greeting after all this time?"

My heart was hammering in my chest as I walked over. I left my phone on the counter so all he could see was the lightbulb in my ceiling. I noticed that he wasn't calling through a messenger app. He called my phone, which made my heart slam into my stomach. "How did you get this number?"

"You should know that I can find anything if given enough time." Trevor's voice was calm, as if he was on a call with a potential client. "Come on. Let me see that pretty face that I haven't seen in so long. It's the least you could do for ignoring my messages."

"I have nothing to say to you and I sure as hell don't owe you anything." I knew how attentive he was so I refused to move my phone. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I didn't want him to see so much as a corner of my apartment. He wasn't kidding when he said that he could find anything.

Trevor snickered again. "Oh, my sweet Madelyn seems to have grown some balls since I've last seen her."

He only called me by my full name and I hated it. I used to love my name but the way it would fall out of his mouth has ruined it for me. Even in professional settings, I insist that people call me Maddie. "What do you want?"

"I want answers." His voice deepened to a more serious tone. "I want to know why I came home to an empty house that day. I would have asked you sooner but you've been a tough one to track down."

"I left because something better came along." Most of my fear was gone and was being replaced by anger. But I tried to keep myself in check so I wouldn't make him angry. I didn't need a spoiled man like him pissed off at me because who knows what steps he would take as payback for it.

"Oh really?" Trevor truly sounded amazed. "I gave you everything that you could have ever needed, so what the hell could possibly be better for you in South Korea?"

My breath caught in my throat and I clasped my hands over my mouth. My eyes welled up with tears and I started to panic. I didn't even think of the fact that he was calling a South Korean phone number, which would be a huge puzzle piece for him.

Trevor laughed when I didn't respond. "Did you honestly think that I wouldn't find you eventually?" He moved a little closer to his camera. "I may not know exactly where you are, but you underestimated me way too much if you thought that you could just up and leave without having to answer for yourself."

I couldn't hide my sniffle as I rubbed my nose with the back of my hand. My voice was quiet. "Please just leave me alone."

Trevor sat back again and shook his head with a shrug. "I can't do that, Madelyn. You've left me with no other choice."

The call ended before I could say anything else. His final words rang in my ears as I slowly crumbled to the floor. I sat back against the cabinets and covered my face as I sobbed.

Light tapping on the floor approached me and I felt Yeontan hop into my lap. He rested his little paws on my chest as he licked my tear-soaked cheek. I held him to me and he let out a small whimper as I cried.

Thankfully, JK wouldn't call for another couple of hours, giving me time to compose myself. I didn't want him to see that I was upset, and I certainly couldn't tell him about this today. They were all having fun in Japan and had to perform tonight, so I didn't want this to prevent them from doing their best.

I twisted the silver band around my index finger. I hadn't taken it off since he gave it to me. I can't explain why, but wearing this helped me feel a little less alone, like part of him really was here with me.

I checked the time and immediately started counting down the hours until they were home.

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I just want to take a moment to thank my amazing friend BeeFinch for her recent shout out! If you came here from her recommendation, thank you as well! If you haven't, please do yourself a favor and check out her stories You Are Ours and Waiting For You. She is an incredible writer and I promise that you will love her fics! 💜