Faulty Hearts (aka "Tara & Belle") [Dreamcatcher | SuYoo | Sua x Yoohyeon]

Chapter 16 [T/W]

[T/W: hint of su*c*dal ideation]

Author's note:

It's been 84 years but finally! I have to say that the Boca era and D:LM helped me finish this chapter. It has changed so many times. I guess it could be a little better but I think I'm satisfied with the results and so glad to be done with it. lol There might be some vague details but it will be revealed in later chapters.

But anyway, thank you all for your patience and thanks for sticking around. *finger hearts*

----------------------------------

"I don't need your charity."

"Then hold on to it, for a rainy day. I'm sure you'll need it when the time comes."

Thunder crashed in the distance. The vibration shook Yoohyeon out of her thoughts. Her eyelids fluttered away the tears that had formed in her eyes. It seemed so long ago but the memory continued to play in an endless loop. But this was a bad time and place to daydream, on the rooftop of the hotel.

She never told Minji about that day when she met with her father, on her own will. It was a crazy idea to go there and properly present herself as his daughter's long time girlfriend. It's not like she was a secret. Minji loved to tout Yoohyeon around much to her reluctance. Perhaps he always knew but for her own peace of mind, Yoohyeon had to make sure this loose end was tied. Two years seemed long enough. She knew that Minji and her father weren't close for a long time, yet there they were working together at the company. It was a strange relationship, almost as strange as hers and Minji's. Yoohyeon already had in mind that things could go south so she prepared herself for the backlash. But she never imagined it would end up the way it did.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm saving you the heartbreak, actually."

"Heartbreak?"

"Do you honestly think Minji will keep you around after she takes over the company from me?"

"Then, what do you want me to do?"

"Just take the money and leave quietly. That's all. I'll take care of Minji."

Now that check felt heavy in her hand, filled with all the burden and guilt she carried for the last few months. She made her choice. She should have gotten rid of it a long time ago because now it felt like a curse. But at that moment she needed that money. But what's the use if it will always remind her of what she did.

Another crash of thunder and her grip tightened around the check. She wondered why Minji's father hadn't tried to contact her since then. For an amount that large, one would have cashed the check immediately. But what would that say about her? That she was just like the others? Gold diggers. No, not her.

Maybe it's not too late, she thought. She could still return it. At least clear her name and conscience. Her fingers fidgeted across her phone screen as she searched for Minji's father's office number. The last time she called it was that day she went to see him. The line rang a few times before an answering machine picked up.

"You have reached the office of Kim—"

She hung up before it could finish. It's too late. There's no point. Pride aside, even if she did return it, it wouldn't change anything. The damage was done. Defeated, she leaned against the guardrail, hovering the check over the ledge. The wind chilled through her clothes still damp from the laundromat.

With a deep breath, she finally ripped the check into pieces. They fluttered like flower petals off the five-story building. But now she's stuck here, she realized, with nothing. And nothing has changed. If this was punishment for what she did then she deserved it.