Believe

CHAPTER 26: While I'm Still Broken

"That guy with tears in his eyes and ghosts in his heart. He loved her, and you could see it." —Jamie Tworkowski

**

Ignorance is bliss.

There are things better left unnoticed, shoved under the rug, or kept locked inside a closet.

Because when you come into realization, and set it free for the world... everything changes in a different light.

The worst thing is, you can never take back innocence when it's lost.

The small moments, the soft touches, the stolen glances, the way fingers brush one another gently with the feeling that lingers with it just like the taste of hot chocolate on a winter day. It is warm, it leaves something inside.

And then there's also the echoes of her laughter, and glimpses of her smile which comes flashing at the back of his mind no matter where he roams his eyes.

They all suddenly become so clear when acknowledged.

The mist cleared up and showed the whole scenery.

It was beautiful.

But he is not destined for beautiful things.

And she was beautiful.

But yes, he is not meant for anything beautiful.

Whether it was to receive what she always willingly gives... or to give in return even if he badly wants to.

Because just how do you give when you're empty?

"WOW, YOU'RE really smart," Jisoo said in awe as she read the paper Namjoon slid on the table for her to read. They were doing their assigned partner work in the library for more than an hour now.

He chuckled to her compliment, "Just a little sharp I'll say," he said and closed the book he was holding.

Jisoo smiled and went back on quickly typing the last sentences she is transferring on the document. Namjoon started grabbing the reference books they used to put it back on the shelves while she finished the work. Minutes later, he sat back down the chair across from her.

"I'm done!" Jisoo exclaimed and turned the laptop to him, "We completed this quickly," she happily added.

"Yes," Namjoon nodded and pulled the laptop towards him to scan through what she typed. After some second, he grinned in satisfaction.

"You're really good too. I'll take this to have one final edit before I give it back to you to check so we can submit it already," he uttered before shutting down his laptop.

"Oh, okay! Just send it to my email," Jisoo beamed at him and they started fixing their stuff.

On the other side, only a few tables apart from the two students who finished their task smoothly and early, are yet another two students who are not sure what they are doing or why they are even there in the first place.

"So are you and Jisoo not really dating?" Bona quipped while staring curiously at Taehyung with a creased forehead glaring a hole in his laptop.

He almost broke the pencil he was biting as he snapped out of his brain torture because of the sudden question. He looked at her and answered, "No."

Bona's eyes widened in slight amusement, "Wow. I thought you're just denying it."

Taehyung gave her a look of disbelief and chose to ignore her, thinking she would drop the topic but perhaps he really knows nothing about the girl in front of him.

She leaned her face on one hand and tilted her head as she asked, "Why?"

He couldn't believe what she was asking. His brain short circuited and he felt his face heating up. He wasn't exactly irritated but somehow he—