𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ☾︎ soonhoon

C H P - 14

It was all over, now.

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An unbearable surge of panic washed through Soonyoung's body, leaving his knees weak and his entire being trembling. The force of the blow had him in tears. "Where d-did you find that?" he whispered, barely being able to speak the words.

"Under the bed..." Jihoon's whole frame was frozen, his eyes wide with panic and disbelief. "I was looking f-for my..." Yet he couldn't bring himself to say anything more than that. Very slowly, the old, unframed photo slipped from his fingers, gliding throughout the air until, at last, it landed on the floor. It slid some way across the wood before coming to a silent halt.

"Soonyoung, I..." Jihoon swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly as dry as a desert on a hot summer day. "You know, I don't... I don't understand." His eyebrows pulled together as he said this, and then his entire expression was forced into a speechless confusion.

The blonde shivered, helplessly bringing his arms around to hold himself, like he was desperate to keep his pieces together. Jihoon's words repeated again and again in his mind, mercilessly taunting him and all the effort he had put into keeping his love by his side. Memories flashed before his eyes, memories of the flowers, of the scents, of the touches, and as another wave of apprehension shook him, his knees gave way and hit the floor. "Sorry... So sorry..."

He hunched over his legs and covered his tear-filled eyes with his hands, though they were still wide with terror. Flowing rivers of pain slid from his cheeks to his chin, wetting the creases between each of his fingers. What had he done...?

"Tell me... what is going on?"

Soonyoung flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. "I can't..."

"Soonyoung," Jihoon said again, his voice just above a whisper. "This is the last time I'm going to ask." He clenched his fists tightly at his sides, his nails digging into his palms. "Tell me. Tell me, even if just to spare my sanity..." He silently faced the ground as he waited for some sort of answer. He couldn't bring himself to look back up. "Please..." He trembled and involuntarily cried out, "I'm begging you!"

"I..."

Soonyoung had no other choice. He knew what this would do to him, to them, but with Jihoon crying out for help just to know he wasn't insane, he needed to. "Jihoon," he tried, it coming out more like a suppressed sob, "You're not crazy. I'm sorry for letting you believe you were for so long..."

He tightened his hold on all of his broken pieces and sucked in a cold breath.

He couldn't hide it anymore, could he?

It was too late.

"You and I were in love. That's it. But that love ruined you, so when you got in that crash and couldn't as so much as remember me, I did what was best for you. With me gone, you wouldn't have to suffer, anymore. I'm the reason you're attached to dandelions. I mean, we confessed with dandelions...! And... But... I did all of this for you--"

"Who ever said it was best for me?!"

Soonyoung flinched and quickly looked up to find that Jihoon was crying now, too.

"Did you ever ask me if that was what I wanted?"

The blonde slowly shook his head. "No, Jihoon, but--"

"But what?" Yet before Soonyoung could even begin to answer the question, Jihoon was once again speaking. "I'm sorry, but I think..." He bit his lip to keep from crying out. This was too much. He was glad to know that he wasn't crazy, but this? This couldn't be it... "I th-think I need some time."

Soonyoung was desperate now. Facing the fact that Jihoon was going to leave him, that he was going to be gone from his life yet again, his mind broke down. He couldn't do this again. No, no, no! He couldn't lose him again! "Wait, please--!"

But Jihoon was already rushing away.

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With a tired sigh, Junhui unlocked the handle to his shared home and slowly opened the door. Just as he did, a short figure raced past him, making him stumble back from the force of their shoulders colliding. "What the...?" He turned towards the street to get a better look at the shaking figure, but when he realized that the male was none other than Jihoon, it all clicked for him.

He hurriedly stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind him, dropping his coat and his house keys to the floor.

"Soonyoung...!"

It didn't take long for him to make it to Soonyoung's bedroom, where loud, heart-wrenching sobs were echoing from. Such a broken sound it was, and it left his eyes full of tears. Whatever Soonyoung felt, the moment he was close enough to process it, he felt it, too.

He couldn't bare to imagine what he was going to see in just a few moments: his friend curled up on the floor, cradling himself as he sobbed. His face would be flushed red, lips trembling, eyes clenched in pain, features pinched. He had only seen his friend like this once before, and not at all was he ready to see it again.

But as he rounded the door, he was forced to come face to face with reality.

There Soonyoung was, just as he had known he would be.

Junhui instantly ran over to him. At first his hands were going wild at his sides; he didn't know what to do first--hug him? Get a tissue? Console him with words? Call Jihoon?--but then he forced himself to shake away all of his doubts and pull the male up into his arms.

He didn't say a single word.

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Extra short! Sorry!!!!!!!! I just wanted this part to be a chapter in itself

-Author 🖤