Chapter 25
Haru sat in his bedroom, the script for Gyeongseong High lying forgotten on his lap. He had pulled an all-nighter at the restaurant for a private celebration, so he didn't have to report to the Kwons until the next day. Usually, he would use this time to sleep, but his mind wouldn't shut off.
He picked up his phone and stared at the screen for the millionth time. He let out a long, ragged sigh.
Still no reply.
He had started typing a dozen different messages, only to erase them all. Since their lunch at the company, Raiven had gone completely silent. Haru thought they had left things on good terms,better than good, even.
With a frustrated groan, he tossed the phone onto the bed. What was going on? A cold, nagging worry began to cloud his heart. Finally giving in, he pressed the call button.
"The person you are calling is unavailable…"
The third time today. Voice mail.
Haru didn't like letting conflict brew. In his past life, he had learned that silence was often more destructive than a loud argument. He stood up, slipped into his flip-flops, and headed for the door. Se-hee called after him, asking where he was going, but he didn't answer. He was already down the hall.
He took a taxi,an expense that was rapidly eating through his carefully managed budget,and headed for the high-end estate. He felt the guard's prying eyes at the gate, tracking his faded shirt, shorts, and plastic sandals.
He looked utterly out of place in such a sterile, expensive environment, but he didn't care. He punched in the code Raiven had given him for the elevator and ascended.
He rang the doorbell. No response.
He rang again. Silence.
Frustrated, he leaned against the cold hallway wall. He thought about calling Hae-rin,she would know the security codes,but he didn't want to involve the company. He sank to his knees, his back against the door. What if Raiven had left the country? What if I'm sitting here acting pathetic for someone who isn't even in the building?
His heart sank at the thought. Then, a spark of hope. He texted Suho, the eager younger idol he'd met at lunch. Suho replied almost instantly: Hyung is at practice. We're just finishing up now.
Haru relaxed, a small breath escaping him. He decided to wait.
He waited for four hours.
Nightfall settled over the city, and the hallway grew dim. It was 10:00 PM. Haru hadn't brought a jacket, and the air-conditioned hallway was beginning to make him shiver. He played every game on his phone until the battery dipped into the red, his head nodding as he drifted into a shallow sleep.
Ding!
The elevator chime perked him awake. He scrambled to his feet, heart hammering against his ribs. The doors slid open, and Raiven stepped out. He looked exhausted, his hands white-knuckled around the straps of his gym bag. He froze when he saw the figure huddled in front of his door.
"Raiven!" Haru exclaimed.
Raiven's expression didn't soften. If anything, it turned to stone. "What are you doing here?"
The coldness in his tone made Haru flinch. It was like being splashed with ice water.
"You've been ignoring my calls," Haru said, his voice hesitant.
"I've been busy," Raiven said, his voice flat. He reached out, his fingertip hitting the scanner. The door clicked open.
Haru followed him inside before the door could swing shut. "Raiven!" he called out, his voice laced with hurt. "If there's something wrong, just tell me."
Raiven stopped in the middle of the foyer. He let out a sharp, frustrated sigh and whirled around. The glare he leveled at Haru was so intense that Haru instinctively took a step back.
"As what? Why should I tell you anything?"
"As your friend!" Haru shot back, his own temper beginning to flare through the pain.
Raiven let out a bitter, humorless laugh, throwing his bag onto the couch. The sound echoed through the hollow, empty apartment. The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken accusations.
"Is that why you approached me? To be my 'friend'?"
"Friendship just happens, Raiven," Haru tried to joke, his voice shaking slightly.
"Is that all you wanted? Friendship?" Raiven asked, stepping closer. He wasn't amused. He looked genuinely wounded.
"What is happening?" Haru asked, reaching out. But Raiven stepped out of his reach.
"You tell me," Raiven hissed, his walls finally crumbling into raw anger. "I thought you were different. I actually believed it."
"There's a misunderstanding. Let's just talk—"
"You used me," Raiven cut him off, his voice low and seething. "Just like everyone else. You're no different from the rest of them."
"What are you talking about?" Haru was reeling, his mind racing to find the source of this venom. "I would never use you."
"You should leave," Raiven stated, turning his back and heading for his bedroom.
Haru moved before he could think, his hand gripping Raiven's upper arm, stopping him in his tracks. "I don't know what you think happened, but I would never do that to you. Ever."
"Why?" Raiven asked, wrenching his arm away and looking at Haru with eyes that were glassy with betrayal. "Why should I believe your words?"
Pain etched itself onto Haru's face. He looked at the man he had spent the last month trying to protect, and he realized he was a stranger again. "I guess we haven't been friends long enough," Haru said softly, stepping back. "I guess there's nothing I can say that would make you believe me."
He turned toward the door. "I'll leave."
The door clicked shut, leaving Raiven alone in the cold, empty apartment.
Raiven stood frozen, staring at the wood of the door. Every instinct told him to run after Haru, to apologize, to take the words back. But he stayed rooted to the spot. He had let Haru infiltrate his life, and now, looking at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows, all he saw was a broken mirror.
He thought of the meeting,his mother, showing him the viral photos and the news of Haru's casting.
A crushing, painful reality had been thrust upon him. But as he felt the air drain from his lungs, a darker thought emerged.
Maybe he should have just let Haru use him. At least then, even in the deception, he would have felt a flicker or somethingor decived himselfto believeit. He sank to the floor, the silence of the apartment feeling like it was suffocating him. He couldn't breathe.