Hyeon looked at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. His eyes narrowed as he turned to face me fully in the car, the usual playful expression on his face replaced with something much more serious.
"Come on, Jihoon," he said, his voice lower than before. "You can't be that heartless. You know how Minji feels about you. You're leading him on, and it's gonna end badly if you keep this up."
I rolled my eyes, leaning my head back against the seat. "I'm not leading him on. I've made it clear from the beginning—this isn't some kind of love story. He wants to be around, that's his choice. I didn't ask him to fall for me."
"Yeah, but you're taking advantage of it," Hyeon shot back. "You're not being fair to him."
I sat up a little, meeting Hyeon's gaze with a sharp look. "Fair? Since when do I owe anyone anything? Minji knows exactly what this is, and if he's too naive to handle it, that's not my problem. I never promised him anything more."
Hyeon shook his head, his expression tinged with disappointment. "You don't have to promise anything to hurt someone, Hoon. You know he's not built for this kind of thing. He's not like you. You're just messing with him because it's easy, but what happens when he gets tired of being treated like this?"
I let out a sigh, frustrated that Hyeon kept pushing the issue. "Look, I don't care what happens. If Minji decides he's done, fine. I'm not going to beg him to stick around."
Hyeon stared at me for a moment, the silence between us heavy. "You really don't get it, do you? One day you're gonna look back and realize how messed up this is. You're hurting someone who actually cares about you."
I scoffed. "Cares about me? Please. Minji doesn't even know me. He's just infatuated with the idea of me. And I don't have time for that."
Hyeon didn't say anything after that. He just turned away, straight to his phone.
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Later that evening as I got out of the shower I got a text from Minji, I grabbed my phone off the bed still wiping my hair and checked his message.
Minji: Did I do something wrong?
I scoffed as I turned off the phone and threw it on my bed, what the was this? Romeo and Juliet, why is he so needy.
Not even 2 minutes later I got another text.
Minji: Why are you ignoring me?
Minji: what do you want me to do?
Minji: please tell me, I want to make it better.
I stared at the screen, shaking my head in disbelief. Minji really didn't get it. He was so desperate to fix something that wasn't even broken, as if there was something deeper between us than just a fling.
The messages kept coming, one after another. I could almost feel the desperation in his words, and it honestly amused me. Did he really think this was some kind of romantic drama where everything would magically work out if he just said the right thing?
Minji: Please, Jihoon, just tell me what's going on. I don't understand why you're acting like this.
Minji: I just want to be there for you.
I sat down on the edge of my bed, my hair still damp from the shower, and let out a long sigh. Part of me wanted to ignore him, to just let the texts pile up until he gave up. But another part of me—the part that was curious, the part that always liked to toy with him—decided otherwise.
I picked up the phone and typed a reply.
Jihoon: Stop trying to fix me. There's nothing to fix. You're the one with the problem if you think this is more than it is.
I hit send and waited, knowing that it wouldn't be long before his response came. Sure enough, my phone buzzed almost immediately.
Minji: But it is more than that. I know you care, even if you don't want to admit it.
I laughed out loud, tossing the phone aside again. Did he really believe that? Sure, maybe I liked the attention. Maybe I liked the way he looked at me with those big, hopeful eyes, like I was something more than what I was. But care? That was a stretch.
And yet, as I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I couldn't shake the nagging thought that Minji wasn't entirely wrong. There was something about him that got under my skin, something that made me keep coming back, even when I told myself I didn't want to.
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Minji's pov:
Few days have passed since Jihoon started ghosting me, he ignored me in school stopped texting me and hasn't even booty called at all.
This should be a good thing for me but, somehow I feel so disappointed and down. I keep asking myself why do I care for a guy like him so much, he doesn't even treat me right, all he wants is sex, and he just plays around with me like I'm a toy.
So why do I feel unhappy when he ignores me? Why do I feel this sharp pain in my heart when he acts like he doesn't know me.
Why am I always craving for his touch all the time?
I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I stared blankly at the messages I'd sent Jihoon days ago. All left unread. It was stupid—I knew it was stupid—but I couldn't help the way I felt. Every time I tried to convince myself that being ignored by him was a good thing, that I deserved better, my heart stubbornly disagreed.
Why did I care so much? He didn't treat me like I mattered. He used me, ghosted me when it suited him, and yet here I was, still waiting for a text, still hoping he'd walk through the door and act like everything was fine. Like we hadn't spent the last few days pretending the other didn't exist.
I closed my eyes, leaning back against my bed. It wasn't even about the sex, though that had always been part of the deal. There was something about Jihoon that made me want to be around him, even when he was cold and distant. Maybe it was the way he sometimes looked at me, like I mattered for just a second before that hard shell came back up. Or maybe it was the fleeting moments of softness I saw in him when he thought no one else was looking.
I groaned, frustrated with myself. I wasn't supposed to fall for someone like him. Jihoon was all walls and sharp edges, and I kept running into them like I didn't know any better.
And now, without him around, I felt like I was missing something. It didn't make any sense.
Why couldn't I stop thinking about him? Why did my chest tighten every time I saw him in the hallways, acting like I didn't exist? Why did his absence feel worse than the times he used me like I was nothing?
As I was lost in my thoughts my phone buzzed, I quickly grabbed my phone and it was a message from Jihoon.
Jihoon: meet me here right now
My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the message. Jihoon hadn't texted me in days, and now, out of nowhere, he wanted to meet. I felt a rush of emotions—relief, excitement, and, of course, that familiar sense of dread. I should have ignored the message. I should have told myself I was better off without him. But I couldn't.
Before I knew it, I was already throwing on a jacket and heading out the door. The logical part of my brain was screaming at me to stop, to not fall into this trap again. But my heart, stupid as it was, had already made up its mind.
I made my way to the spot where Jihoon had told me to meet him—the same old condo where I use to tutor him.
I hesitated at the entrance of the condo, my hand hovering over the doorbell. The place brought back memories—most of them bittersweet. It had started off so differently, back when I was just his tutor and things weren't so complicated. But now, standing here again, it felt like I was stepping back into a cycle I couldn't seem to break.
I pressed the doorbell, my heart thudding in my chest as I waited for a response. Moments later, I heard footsteps on the other side, and the door creaked open to reveal Jihoon, his usual nonchalant expression in place. He leaned against the doorframe, his hair slightly tousled as if he hadn't bothered to put much effort into his appearance.
"You came," he said, his voice carrying that same indifferent tone that always made me second-guess why I kept coming back to him.
"You called." I said nervously.
He smirked as he grabbed me and pulled me inside, he locked the door behind us and turned back to look at me.
"You're such an obedient puppy." He grined as he patted my head.
I felt a strange mixture of emotions as Jihoon's hand patted my head—a small, degrading gesture that somehow still made my heart skip a beat. His smirk was sharp, teasing, and it sent a shiver down my spine, despite the bitter edge to his words.
"I got some good toys for you to try out." He smiled as he led me up the stairs.
He led me into his room, shutting the door behind us. The room was dimly lit, the familiar space somehow feeling more intimate and oppressive at the same time. I stood there, unsure of what to say or do, while Jihoon walked over to his desk, pulling open a drawer with a quiet confidence that unnerved me.
He pulled out a box and placed it on the bed, his smirk returning as he glanced at me. "You said you'd do anything, remember?"
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. I remembered the desperation in my voice when I'd said it. I'd wanted so badly for him to not walk away, to stay, to let me in. But now, standing here with him, I wasn't sure I had been ready for what that actually meant.
Jihoon watched me, his gaze sharp, as if testing me again, waiting to see if I would back down. He always had that way of pushing me to my limits, toying with how far he could go before I broke. And the worst part was, I always let him.
He opened the box, revealing an assortment of toys—things I hadn't expected, things that made me nervous. I could feel my face growing warm as I stared at them, my mind racing.
"What's wrong?" Jihoon asked, his tone mocking but laced with curiosity. "You said you'd be my toy. So let's play."
I felt a knot tighten in my stomach, my mind screaming at me to leave, to stop this before it went too far. But my feet didn't move. My body stayed rooted to the spot, caught between my desire to be close to him and the fear of what I was agreeing to.
"I…" I hesitated, my voice barely audible. "I don't know if I can do this."
Jihoon's expression darkened, his teasing smile fading into something more serious. He took a step closer to me, his eyes narrowing.
"You don't get to back out now, Minji. You said you wanted to make it better. So, are you going to prove it, or are you just all talk?"
His words stung, the challenge in them cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. I hated that he had this power over me, that he could make me question myself like this. But more than that, I hated how much I wanted his approval.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Okay… I'll try."
Jihoon's smirk returned as he leaned in closer, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered, "Good. Then let's start."
TBC