★ | #71 | divorce
"is it worth it?"

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need 2 • pinegrove
"nothing here to care about."

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THAT same Friday, Seong Haewon seemed to drag on arriving home longer than ever. By the time she returned, the sun had set, resting just below the horizon.

The skin was a shade of blue, faded out into purples and pinks as the moon took its place in the growing night sky, partially covered by gray clouds moving in.

Her house was dimmed, the only source of light as it seemed was from the lamp in the corner of the living room, and the bouncing lights coming from the TV kept on a news channel as it played at low volume in the background.

The girl sniffled, a light chill to the outside world. It was windy, a rainstorm blowing in for the night. She shuffled quietly to slip her shoes off, anxiety looming over her as she as bound to face her mother eventually.

She took quiet steps forward, mentally over it all. She was drained. Drained of energy; of love. Of that spark in her eyes or her personality. She didn't quite feel like arguing right now.

But, inevitably, she'd wind up in an unwanted situation. As she stepped onto the wooden staircase, one of the boards creaked beneath her foot.

"Haewon," Her mother called out after a moment, as the girl stared down at her feet, expression remaining blank.

She didn't respond, nor did she make an effort to move. Haewon stood still on the staircase, her left hand wrapped loosely around the wooden railing attached to the wall.

"Seong Haewon, come here. Now." The woman called out again, as the younger sighed and turned around, following the sound of her mother's voice as she found herself in the living room.

"What?" Haewon breathed out, arms folded over her chest.

Mrs. Seong furrowed her brows, eyes skimming over her daughter as she scoffed and stood up, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"What's gotten into you, huh?" Mrs. Seong let out, clearly stressed and frustrated.

"You've been cold; distant. Your attitude has changed, Haewon. And now I'm getting phone calls from your school that you got expelled for bullying a girl?" Her mother raised her voice slightly.

"It's not like that." Haewon replied quietly, her gaze shifting down as she clenched her jaw.

"Don't you dare lie to me." The woman argued, eyes widened slightly. "I raised you better than that. Yet you go behind my back and go completely against what I taught you!"

"I didn't do anything to anyone." Haewon insisted, snapping back as she felt extremely frustrated and overwhelmed beyond explanation.

"I cannot believe you right now." Her mother stated firmly, resting her hands on her hips.

"You've been acting very, very different recently. Not in a good way. You've been straying from Heeseung, too. You bailed out on him, Haewon. You skipped out on his tournament? That's not what a good friend does. That's important."

"I didn't bail out on him! God, do you not trust me at all?" Haewon exclaimed, raising her arm to rest the palm of her hand across her forehead.

"It's really hard to, you know. After everything that's been going on with you recently, I just can't even." Mrs. Seong spoke, lips pursed as she shook her head repeatedly.

"Great." Haewon huffed, sarcasm laced in her tone of voice as forced a smile onto her lips. Vague, yet noticeable.

"You think this is funny?" Mrs. Seong asked, tilting her head. "After everything I've done for you. Everything your father and I taught you growing up, I can't even begin to express how disappointed I am in you."

"Disappointed over something I didn't even do?" Haewon gestured her hand to her chest, pointing to herself as she furrowed her brows deeply.

"I got framed, mom! Framed! It was completely twisted, and— and god, if you knew. Everything is the complete opposite, it's not fair. Why do I get punished for something I didn't do? For acts that were used against me?" The girl grunted, arguing back against such claims.

"I do not believe you." Her mother insisted, causing an ever bigger ache in her slow beating heart.

Haewon bit down on her bottom lip, breathing out a rather shaky laugh. "Oh, trust me, I can see that."

"Haewon, the poor girl displayed proof! Bruises, all over her. What were you thinking?"

"Her bruises are fake. And if they're real, they aren't from me. This is all such bullshit." Haewon claimed, swearing in the presence of her mother as it felt like she had nothing to lose anymore, nothing left to continue.

"Watch your goddamn mouth, young lady." Mrs. Seong clenched her jaw, pointing her index finger in her daughter's face. Haewon had never seen her mother so mad, so full of anger and stress. It was definitely a first, and hopefully a last.

"You sound just like dad." Haewon muttered, hardly audible as she stared at her mother in shock.

"Don't pull that on me right now." Mrs. Seong bit her tongue, hints of restraint in her body language as Haewon gazed at her in hurt, her brows tied in a knot.

"No, seriously, you do. What's next?" Haewon began, crossing her arms over her chest and shrugging her shoulders.

"Are you gonna call him in here too? Let him tell me how much of a disappointment I am to you both, as always?" Haewon continued, speaking through anger and sadness.

"Oh for Christ's sake, Haewon, your father and I are getting a divorce!" Mrs. Seong slipped out, eyes going wide and voice cracking towards the end of her sentence, not meaning to tell her so soon.

Haewon stayed still, completely silent, her heart feeling as if it weren't beating anymore. As if she couldn't breathe like there was an added weight to her chest.

"We're getting a divorce, and I'm taking the house. You and I were supposed to stay here, but god, you just had to pull all of this shit." Mrs. Seong sighed, covering her eyes with the palm of her hand.

Haewon couldn't help but to find her own eyes blurred with tears at the waterline, staring at her mother in disbelief.

She expected it. She expected it for so long, that it didn't feel real. It felt as if a piece of her childhood, another piece of her heart cracked and slipped out of reach.

A divorce between her parents felt right as it is now, but that longing art of her—her inner child—cried out. And suddenly, her life was filled with hurt and despair.

The teen girl sniffled, looking down. Tears fell from her eyes, dripping down and staining the wooden floor in small drops.

"I didn't do anything." Haewon mumbled for the last time, her words shaky.

Her mother sighed, shaking her head for the nth time as she bit her bottom lip.

"Go to your room." Mrs. Seong dismissed, pointing to the doorway of the living room as Haewon's breath hitched and she turned around, rushing upstairs.

No longer being able to face her mother, no longer able to fight against the lies and heavy claims made against her.

She curled up in her bed, choked out sobs being the only thing filling such an empty home. What was she to do anymore?

Her only source of comfort; the arms and presence she could find solace in was gone. She had messed that up, too.

Haewon found herself thinking, there wasn't much to care about anymore. Each passing day only seemed to get worse, and she had nearly reached her breaking point with it all.

Only one question filled her mess of a mind, overpowering every other thought she had racing inside.

"Is it worth it?"

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★﹐authors corner ．﹗﹑ 1.3k words.
hihihi another update yayay !! i'm literally in school as i'm publishing this help? i don't think i've ever published something in school before so this is certainly a first

i'm only publishing this because i finished it last night, but i fell asleep before i got the chance to publish it. anyway, here it is !!

i do have to cut this note short because as mentioned, i am in school right now. but i hope you all have a good day, morning, night, whatever time it is for you.

thank you for reading !! i love you all so much 😚🤍
october 29th, 2024 — 9:49am.
not proofread.