emotions | love alarm

24 ~

Chapter Twenty-Four

Her hands play with the bubbles in the bath she drew before she slips in and quietly exhales through her nose. The water was a barely leaning hot and it was enough to seep through the aching pain that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Ae-ri had come to a few conclusions in the 6 days following the breakup from Sun-oh:

1) She was back to being alone and she couldn't tell if she despised it or not.
2) She would never love someone like she loved him.
3) She would do anything in her power to remove herself from his life; she didn't want to cause more pain.

And so she decided to remove him on every platform and email her teachers asking if it was okay to switch desks with someone in the classroom—she didn't want him to have to be near her longer than necessary—he deserved that much.

She could feel the burning in her eyes that seemed to always come at the most random of times and without any provocation; it felt that her heart was hurting but her mind wasn't even bothering to allow it to feel the full extent of the wounds.

But she could feel it hovering, itching to completely overwhelm her. She would have to be cautious come the next time she saw him. It would not be as easy as it had been the past few days.

***

"What's up, my beautiful beautiful Ae-ri? Did you miss me?"

"You'd think by now you would have finally made friends," Ae-ri stops organizing her desk to stare at In-ho briefly.

He gifts her a smile, "And why would I want to spend my time with anyone but you?"

"You're the bane of my existence."

"You love me."

"You're delusional."

"You're in denial."

She couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

In-ho had been the closest thing she could call a friend after she lost Sun-oh. He had offered her tissues and rubbed her back the night she had come home on the verge of hysteria. He tied up her hair and forced her to get out of bed when she didn't have the strength to face the world knowing the only person she wanted didn't want her back.

He had been there. And that meant more than words could describe.

"We should get coffee after school. I have this new drink I want to try out," he says as he plops into the seat next to her.

She nods, pretending she couldn't feel Sun-oh looking at them, "Sounds good. We can study there for a bit. I think my mom invited your family to dinner tonight."

"Does that mean I get to sleepover?" he winks and smiles warmly.

She pushes him away teasingly, the idea of them being alone together in a bed for an entire night making her heart slip up a bit, "In your wildest dreams, you leech."

"I'll get the privilege one day."

"Oh, for sure," she agrees sarcastically.

***

Sun-oh watches as Ae-ri snorts and laughs softly at something In-ho says before turning away and looking down at his hands.

He had never felt such blinding pain and it only got worse the more he realized she didn't care. She had even switched desks with someone and removed him from any social media. He thought she would grovel or maybe even grieve but it felt that she was fine and he was falling a part at the seams.

The last six days had been the hardest of his life, even harder than when he and Jo-jo had broken up. He didn't eat for at least two days, his heart aching and pulsing whenever he thought of how hurt her eyes had been the night everything went down.

He had loved Ae-ri so purely, so unconditionally, so fiercely—had loved her without fear and without caution, everything be damned—because he swore she was it for him.

She was everything.

***

The rumors were getting more brutal with each passing day:

She dumped him.

He cheated on her with an Instagram model.

In-ho kissed her.

Sun-oh got jealous of In-ho.

Sun-oh caught them in the act.

It was slowly becoming a nuisance to them both and people had been asking everyday. They were ballsy enough to laugh at Ae-ri behind her back but whenever she was around it felt like she had a bubble of isolation circling her.

They could laugh and gossip all they wanted, but they knew she wasn't one to fuck with.

Sun-oh on the other hand, they shamelessly bothered; it was almost like since he was a public figure they felt they were owed an explanation. He had grown tired and they had grown restless from asking and not getting a response.

***

"Did she break up with you? That doesn't make any sense," a random girl from his class groans.

People begin grouping around Sun-oh, wanting to see if he would finally let up. He was irritated and he was having a sad day; he missed her a bit extra today—missed being able to escape on the roof of the school, or dance around her room and laugh together till they couldn't breathe.

He missed her so much it hurt. It felt like his entire body was a throbbing wound.

"Let's all go to lunch," he gives them a practiced smile.

They all groan but suddenly grow quiet when they hear, "You are all so pathetic. Don't you have anything better to do than bother someone who's hurting?"

Heads turn to where Ae-ri is standing, looking at them all with enough cold indifference that people begin looking at the ground or away from her entirely.

Her eyes meet Sun-oh's for the first time in six days and his breath gets stuck in his throat.

She slips her gaze away, Sun-oh's heart still having a hard time comprehending the raw emotions in her eyes as she addresses the crowd again, "You will leave Sun-oh alone. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Or you'll regret it. Understood?"

Silence.

"I said am I understood?" she alters her voice to the point where they stiffen. 

A chorus of yes, yeah, and understood arise from the crowd and she huffs. In-ho, who stood behind her slips an arm around her waist.

"He broke up with me."

The crowd tenses and In-ho glances at her in confusion.

Her gaze meet Sun-oh's again, his brown eyes softening and his shoulders slumping down.

"Since you all cared so much," she tears her eyes away before turning on her heel and moving away from everyone, In-ho following suit.

The crowd stays in a stunned silence before they all burst into excited chatter and begin gossiping again, wondering how it came to be, how they even did it, or if they still wanted each other.

But Sun-oh stood still in the midst of it all, his eyes glossy and his heart burning with anger at what he had found in her eyes.

How could he ever have assumed she didn't care?