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( song of the day :
my happy ending - avril
lavigne )

sicheng finally got ahold of jace after tiring minutes of brisk walking. he saw how his eyes glistened with tears, trying his best to blink them away while looking at anything but him.

"look, i can explain━"

"no need," he interrupted softly, running a hand through his brown hair. "everything's done now. go get your car and see you at work tomorrow."

before he could walk any further, sicheng gripped him firmly (but not too rough) by the shoulders. he glanced at him with much meaning, hoping his words could do enough convincing.

because in all honesty, he already forgot about that hell of a dare. it drifted off his mind after feeling a strong emotion he thought was unattainable. it was like the relieving warmth of summer after a long period of rain.

he knew that the only thing he felt was pure, genuine love.

"i love you! i really do!"

"but you forced yourself to!" sicheng couldn't help but flinch at how intensified the volume of his voice was. as he continued, his speaking was tinged with shakiness. "and that means this was nothing. we were nothing but two people who could easily be fooled. isn't that funny? tell me, was it fun to mess with someone's feelings?

"please stay away from me because i really can't handle seeing you right now."

jace slid off of his weakened grip, walking away with a heavy heart. the pain seemed to worsen as each second passed by, being too unbearable to the point where it had the ability to make him feel spiritless.

then there came the downpour of thick liquid containing salinity. when he reached his vehicle, it seemed to worsen. no end. the grief only made him recall their past moments together.

one thing he remembered was how sicheng's hand fit perfectly with his, the smoothness of his skin comparable to glass. the next thought after this only made his heart crumble more.

despite being drunk back then, the imagery of his lips planted onto his still remained vivid. he described it as 'a plain sky getting covered by lively fireworks'. jace would usually look back on that moment and smile, but the case was different tonight.

the next song played by the radio didn't help with relieving at all.

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⇢ fast forward to the next day

they currently held this random photo taking for the board of directors and up (except taeil because he had to run some errands). all of them were sandwiched up in this small space, being unable to make extra movements.

"ms. kang, fix mr. nakamoto's necktie," seongsu spoke up, which made yuta, ahn, and jaehyun react in shock consecutively. the man seemed to notice their judgemental looks. "why are you looking at me like that? we can't even move with this little space and his necktie is annoying me."

nixie quickly followed his command, her hands gently setting up the untidy silk cloth that completed her boss's outfit.

what she didn't expect was getting diminutively pushed by something as she did the action.

. . or was it someone?

but before she could fall face first, yuta came just in time to assist her by her back. they were, of course, startled to the fullest. she was thankful for his concern, yet he regretted it a bit. not because he wanted her to fall, but because of how judgy the stares pointed to them were.

"oh god oh god, i'm so sorry," he whispered apologetically after realizing how sudden his assistance was, bowing to his extent as he let go of her back. nixie bowed in return, feeling flustered because of the other seniors' scandalous looks.

[ hello : if y'all forgot, yuta is byul's and nixie is mark's, so this is more awkward than cute 😳 ]

the room was filled with nothing but awkwardness as they carried on with their picture taking.

❑❑❑

taeil exited the hospital room of their recent client, since the said man practically couldn't stand up at his house alone without feeling pain. nevertheless, they continued their work.

when he passed by the waiting area, he couldn't help but notice someone. this certain somebody's whole face screamed exhausted, exhibiting an unusual frown.

"youngmi?" he called out while walking towards the girl with much worry. he surely did miss her after those days without connection. "why are you here? are you sick?"

instead of flashing him a cheerful beam like she usually would, youngmi pursed her pink lips. while looking much deeper, he noticed how bloodshot her eyes were, but she tried to disregard it.

taeil's thoughts were right. there was something wrong.

"i can't hide from you anymore."

"hide what?"

she repeatedly chewed on her lip as if the following statement was able to make you nervous, and guess what? it really was. his eyes widened in shock one she said . .

"our house burned down."

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♤ gabrielle's note

so ,, part 69 👀😏

I wanna finish this so I can finally write dreams come true and give that book my full focus, but at the same time I don't think I'm ready yet because my attachment to each character and their developments in this book is unimaginable 🥺