@resetheir The Beginning of The Thing™
a curse is muttered under her breath as she moves, swiftly, towards the elevator. he won’t understand -––– yes, she knew that and said that. to jihyun this is just another bump in messy, sad rika. but she isn’t that rika anymore ; isn’t a shadow of a shadow of a former self. no, she is so much more, and too much for him to understand. the elevator chimes as she steps on. looking down, her hands don’t shake. it feels good that she can’t remember when her hands stopped shaking, even with the dirty work that needs to be done. paradise calls, and the road to it can sometimes get messy. she knows that. she has known that for a while now. it is for the greater good, and her hands don’t shake. she is not some weak thing any longer. she is bigger than the sun of jihyun from what she used to be eclipsed by ; brighter and stronger than he could ever imagine.
she has outgrew him. and now, he won’t follow. it’s no matter. rika knew he wouldn’t -–– that’s why she barely let him in on her own rabbit hole. they were supposed to be the two people that would jump when the other asked them to, no questions why asked. he won’t hold up his end of the deal. it doesn’t matter. she doesn’t need him to. he is blind -–– and soon he truly will be. she doesn’t need him. she has what -–– and who ––- she needs.
rika is already walking towards the door and the security guards by the time the ding let’s lets the top floor know she’s there. she greets them and isn’t stopped -–– not because of the look of determination etched upon her ( that is definitely present ), but instead because there are less than a handful of people allowed into the penthouse without the need of clearance. rika is one of them. with the door opened she finds jumin quick enough, barely paying mind to what he is doing where he stands. she stops herself and forces herself not to pace. it’s hard. her body sings : everything is coming together and all she wants to do is keep moving -– but there are things that need to be taken care of and solidified.
❛ do you have a bottle open ? i think
i would like a glass of red. ❜
she sits on his couch, hoping he understands that he is supposed to drop whatever he’s doing and join her. ( and, of course, pour her a glass of a nice red. ) a sigh leaks from her mouth, and she tries to relax her body into the comfort.
❛ v’s out. i didn’t tell him everything -––
didn’t tell him everything you know and
i trusted you with. but he’s out, completely.
and -–– i’m leaving. tonight. to stay at the
headquarters permanently. ❜
her eyes cut to him to see him, to question how he will answer, to hear his allegiance to follow her for the greater good.
He was a blank canvas in her regard. Awaiting the moment she would take a brush to his skin, painting colors on porcelain. Giving monochrome a meaning to lighten. Aesthetically calculating the ways in which he could melt into her. A puppet with no strings. Her creative mind leaving open sores for him to find reason to fill. A fool for sacrifice, a fool for her. All because she could tame the demons in his head -- - leaving peace in their wake && allowing time the hurt that had created him to dissipate.
The bottle he’d opened earlier that night is spared for her. Filling the crystal glass half full before he hands it to her. ❛ To be expected. Jihyun is too stubborn to persuade into other ideals. We’ll go on alone. ❜
Red meets his lips && he pauses for her words to sink in. Leaving. An unacceptable idea, but one he knows he has to respect. There’s no other choice, with their plans, their dreams ( though his dreams were only of her ) she could not remain here any longer. A fact he would remember when those thoughts of seclusion would take control && he’d struggle to stop himself from keeping her forever. Possession was never for her, too free a soul to keep. But, he was in her clutches, forever following in her footsteps.
❛ I would follow you if I could. I think it best I work apart from the headquarters. A corporate heir visiting some secluded location in the mountains would draw too much attention... We’d be finished before we even started. I want this to work for you, Rika. ❜