INFERNO ༄ PARK JISUNG

twenty four

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she threw the water back into the river.

"Why are you here?" she softly spoke, still slightly intimidated by his presence from earlier.

He took a few steps towards her direction, leaning on the railing with her. The natural heat radiating off of him warmed up the metal and bounced off onto her figure, providing her with some warmth in the cool nighttime. She didn't spare a glance at him, keeping her eyes fixated on the moon that reflected on the water.

"My mot- I mean, I just figured you would be here." he cut himself off quickly, hoping she didn't catch his slip up.

But in fact, she did. Though she didn't show it on her face, cautious to blow any cover of the conspiracy her and her friends were trying to unravel. She simply shrugged, barely acknowledging his words.

"I'm..."

He trailed off to silence, staring off into the same direction as her. She furrowed her eyebrows at his unfinished sentence.

"You're...?" she looked up at him.

"I'm- ah shit I can barely get it out." he groaned in frustration.

"I'm sorry." he swallowed his pride, gulping down the dryness in his throat with it. She quirked an eyebrow up, confused as to why he was saying it, especially at midnight in front of the river.

"Do you mean it?" she quietly spoke up. He nodded slowly in response, recalling the guilt he felt earlier.

Jisung held up his palm, clutching it tightly to ignite a flame. Seorin stepped back instinctively, but was slightly entranced by the unexpected color it reflected.

"Green." he vaguely stated. "The color of envy." Briskly, he tossed it into the river, only the sizzles filling the silence between them.

"Why envy?"

"Just remember what I told you earlier, maybe it'll make sense."

Seorin tried recalling their conversation, or argument, from before, although she had tried to bury it deep within her feelings already.

Her eyes lingered on his features, dimly lit with the moon shining onto him. She caught glimpses of his eyes flickering over the water, bloodshot.

"Uh, are you okay?" she asked cautiously, remembering what happened last time she had checked up on him. The silence remained as he flickered his vision down to her, revealing his puffy face.

"I shouldn't have burned you, I know how it feels." he confessed, brushing off her previous statement.

Seorin's lips formed into a pout looking up at his undeniably sad expression, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"You know how it feels?" she questioned.

Jisung couldn't dare look her in the eyes, feeling memories flood through his brain. It was like the same burning pain was soaring through his back, making him shudder at the thought. He shook out of it, snapping back into the reality in front of him.