The concern in her began to rise, mingling with her anxiety. What was taking so long? Was he even in there? The worst case scenario, one that played in Rina’s mind, was that Woobin had packed up his life and left, gone somewhere else without telling her.
It made her heart ache and threatened to take the air from her lungs. Even if he hadn’t actually run away like that, he was still avoiding her, and she couldn’t take it anymore. Letting him in had been so difficult; she couldn’t handle him leaving, couldn’t handle another person being taken from her life.
The door opened, and Rina felt her breath still her lungs. Waiting, waiting to see what was on the other side. And, oh, it broke her heart instantly. The last thing she had expected were tears in those big, beautiful eyes, but there they were, shining despite the lack of light in the room.
“Oh, Woobin,” Rina breathed. She didn’t know what happened, but she knew she had to make it better. Rina stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. After stepping out of her shoes, and regarded Woobin for a moment. Her heart lurched. Maybe he wasn’t ready for this, but everything in her told her to give it a try, so she closed the space between them and pulled him down into a hug.
The light coming in from the open doorway made him slightly panic. The garbage littered throughout the apartment didn’t bother him when he was the only one who had to experience it, but now that someone else was here, especially her, he felt shame. Maybe she wouldn’t notice. Or, if she did, was it going to be the last straw? Would she be the next person to realize that life was easier without him?
With a thousand thoughts still running through his mind, Woobin takes in a trembling breath before looking down to meet your glance. What was he supposed to say? Should he apologize for not being there? But, wasn’t his not being around a good thing? Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, as if to clear his mind, Woobin lets the tears stream down his face. There was no stopping them.
“Rina--” His voice was hoarse. Feeling numb, he simply took a few steps back, allowing you entrance into the shadowed living room. There was no taking his eyes off of you. It didn’t feel real. “You didn’t forget about me.”
As soon as you made contact with him, he felt his heart go through a major shift. Was it breaking? Experiencing some sort of major catharsis? Or did it just feel full again? He wasted no time, quickly wrapping his arms around you in a tight embrace. Leaning down, he buries his head in your shoulder, unable to hold back another cry. “You don’t have to be here. You can find someone else.” Were his words making sense? His logic seemed sound to him, but the manner in which they were being delivered, through shaking breaths and uneven pitches, he suddenly wasn’t convinced. “I missed you.”