As Chae sat before the vanity mirror, the makeup laid untouched before her, as she was lost, too deep in her thoughts. Honestly, when their relationship had first started breaking down, she hadn't wanted it to go this far. Arguing with Yeosang was one of the worst things in the world. But her words had always gotten away from her before she could stop them. A poisonous tongue could sometimes inflict more damage than anything else could.
A sigh left her lips as she finished studying her appearance in the mirror and then stood up to get ready for morning classes. Worrying over every little thing would do no one any ounce of good, so she might as well just go with the flow of things and adapt to the way things were now.
Yeosang had the same thoughts as her and was the first to leave the apartment. No goodbyes were shot in Chae's way as he left - not that she was expecting any. It was just how things were between them, and it was something she would have to get used to.
Getting onto the bus, Chae sat a few seats behind where Yeosang was sitting, and she had to force herself to look at the scenery outside.
As for Yeosang... The presence of the person who was sitting a few seats behind was almost stifling, and the tingles on his back were rather unpleasant. But it calmed his frazzled nerves to know that the person was close by. The last few days had been overwhelming, and not being to talk about their shared experience was suffocating.
A dry itch scratched at his throat and a prickle could be felt in the nostrils, but he fought back on the urge to cry and focused on the scenery outside to distract himself.
It wasn't long before the familiar uni building came into view, and they both sighed collectively.
Neither of them would've guessed that they would step foot in this place again - it was a little nerve-wracking, but it wasn't overwhelming to the point where they couldn't go through their uni days once more. It was just one of the many things they now had to go through with. Now they were back in the past.
Soon after they entered the doors of the main building, their different sets of friends found each of them and dragged the both of them off in separate directions. They didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to each other: not that they would, even if they could.
At this time, they were merely acquaintances who had only given the other a casual greeting in passing. Nobody knew that they were a couple who had been together for a long time. So, they knew it was for the best that they went about their daily lives without acknowledging the other.
And the week passed quietly like this, with neither of them saying a word to one another. That was until the weekend when certain events made it hard for them to ignore the other person's existence.
☽
It was finally the weekend.
Chae felt like she was now getting into the rhythm of things, and was settling somewhat into her new way of life. Even if things were still uncomfortable with Yeosang. However, she found that as long as they weren't around each other the whole time, temporarily forgetting about this matter was easy enough.
Time flowed by fast as it usually did when you lazed about and did nothing for the entire day. So, when it hit evening pangs of hunger, suddenly attacked her stomach, and she got to her feet to prepare to go out and buy something from the store.
Putting on her shoes and coat, she paused at the door and turned back to glance at the bedroom that belonged to Yeosang, pondering on whether to say goodbye or not. But a second later she gave up on the idea, and grabbed her house keys, then left the apartment. With how awkward things were still between them, bidding goodbye to him wouldn't make a difference, anyway.
In a darker mood, than she was before, Chae kept her head lowered and kicked stones along the path as she walked. In this position, it was obvious that she wouldn't see what was in front of her, so it wasn't a surprise when she bumped into someone.
"Sorry." She mumbled and made to move past them, but a hand landed on her shoulder, rendering all movement useless.
Raising her head, the first thing to enter her senses was the strong scent of alcohol. The second thing was the enlarged face of her father, who was leering into her own.
Shrinking back from the sight of her father's face so close to hers, Chae stumbled a little. Stopping herself from falling over, Chae avoided her father's gaze and made to run away from him… "what the fuck are you doing here?" His spat out words stopped her in her tracks, and something tugged at her heart. The feeling was indescribable.
"I was just passing by…" Chae's voice came out small and barely audible. However, it wouldn't have mattered what she said, because they never registered in his ears; they never did, not since her brother's death.
"Who said you could show up in front of me? You foul beast, shoo get out of here!" His words might've been slurred, but that didn't make them hurt any less. He didn't speak to her like she was his most precious daughter, but some animal that had killed his son. "I said fuck off!" The near-empty bottle in his hand smashed on the ground, near to where Chae stood, frightening the life out of her.
It took only that to convince Chae to turn tail and run back the way she came. To some, it might be seen as cowardly. But at this moment, she had to get away from him as soon as possible. It was becoming harder for her to breathe, and she wanted nothing more than to be in the safety of her own home.
What starts as a little bit of rain could quickly turn into a hurricane, and no matter how strong a person pretended to be, they would always get swept up in the aftermath. Like with this matter, her twin brother's tragic death should have meant that the family would stick together and be there for one another. Yet, it made her parents resent her and drove a deep wedge between the three of them.
Thankfully, Chae had finally arrived home, and she collapsed in the entranceway. Breaths were coming short and fast, tears wetted the ground beneath her, and the ringing in her ears made her pounding head worse.
She barely registered the arms surrounding her shoulders, and when she was being drawn into a familiar, comforting chest. The person's muffled voice sounded like it was coming from miles away.
"I'm here Chae, calm down. It's ok, I'm not going anywhere." Yeosang's soothing voice continued to say comforting words while his hand rubbed gently on her back.
And that was how they stayed until Chae could breathe properly again.