After leaving the restaurant, Sophie ran. She didn't know where she was going but she still ran as fast as she could. Her eyes were looking down as she wiped the tears off her face repeatedly.
She felt betrayed, angry, and frustrated that she didn't even know what to think. All she wanted was to curse and yell. What her dad said had shattered his image in her head. All these years, she had lived in a lie that her father set up for her.
He had shattered her relationship with her beloved out of selfishness and never even told her. She felt like the past 5 years of her life were just a huge trick, played to perfection. She hadn't forgotten the countless nights she cried herself to sleep rembering that day.
Yet, she had to believe that it was all sothing her dad willingly did.
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!' Cursing everything, she found herself in a small park in a secluded corner of the base. Since it was night, the park was empty. So, with her dejected look, she approached one of the swings and sat down crying silently.
'Why? Why would he do this? I had decided what I wanted. I had even told him and I thought he was going to respect it. Yet, he didn't!' Clenching her teeth, she tried to run her hand through her hair only for it to fall over her face again.
As she sat like that, thinking over the things she heard, she noticed soone approaching her from the distance. Looking up, she saw Hyun-Jae approaching her.
"There you are. You really ran far away." She said.
'What the hell is she doing here?!' Turning away, she tried to ignore the girl.
"What do you want?" Sophie asked with a muffled voice.
"Nothing really."
"..."
"Oh well, I will be honest. I ca here to talk, that's all." She said as she stood next to her. "Can I sit down next to you?"
"... Do whatever you want. I don't care." Turning the other way, Sophie tried to ignore Hyun-Jae.
'Why is she even here? Is she trying to mock ?' Feeling annoyed, she was about to lash out at Hyun-Jae, assuming she ca here with bad intentions. After all, the two had been going at each other's necks for a while now so she wouldn't think she ca here to console her out of friendship or rivalry even.
But, much to her surprise, Hyun-Jae was one step ahead as she spoke first. "What your dad did was very wrong."
Sophie stared at her blankly. It took her a few seconds to register what Hyun-Jae said.
"Living in a lie… That is sothing I would never wish upon anyone, even my enemies." She added.
"What do you even understand about it?!" Sophie snapped at her with an angry look. However, Hyun-Jae's expression didn't change at all as she stared back at the seething girl.
If there was soone who knew about what Sophie was feeling, it was Hyun-Jae. She understood the gravity of such a shock when it happened as she had lived it herself through her parents after what happened with her sister.
Now, she was seeing Sophie experience it too.
"I know… Trust ... I know." With a small, painful smile, she replied.
That reply made Sophie's eyes widen. For so reason, those few words carried a far deeper aning than she expected. It was as if she was hit with a strong realization.
"Long ago, I have lived through sothing similar. I have made a grave mistake and I paid for it heavily. I have seen people that I cared for turn on and never look back. I was alone and lost and I found no one that I can convey that to." Looking up at the dark sky, Hyun-Jae continued.
"They gave up on you? Why…?" Sophie murmured confusedly.
"Because I wasn't worth it for them. It's as simple as that." Hyun-Jae chuckled weakly. "It's really funny now that I look at it. I was completely rolled over."
anwhile, Sophie was just staring at the girl as if she was an alien. The notion of soone's family giving up on them never ca to her head before. She naively thought that a family was the strongest bond a person could have. A bond that won't break no matter how hard it gets strained.
Yet, she was looking at Hyun-Jae of all people, going through that. That Ran Hyun-Jae was an exceptional individual through and through.
"You're quite lucky to have a dad that cared. Even if he screwed up greatly, he still cared."
"... He lied to for years, painted Talon in a horrible light, and made do things that I didn't want to do."
"And he is wrong for that. But, a father is going to do whatever it takes to protect their child, even if it is at the cost of their own happiness and that is why it can be a hit or a miss. They can either save your life from ruin or bury it further than it could've gone. That's a father who cares."
Turning to stare at Sophie, Hyun-Jae's eyes flashed with a complicated glint. Her words made Sophie stop for a mont and contemplate them. Her heart resonated with them and so did her mind.
'A father who cares…'
The seething anger within her was still boiling, and yet, she understood what Hyun-Jae said. Her father did care a lot about her. He had told her before many tis that she was his most precious thing in the world and that he was ready to do anything for her.
"What about you… How was your family?" Hyun-Jae asked.
"... ? It was… good for how long it lasted." Sophie snapped out of her daze as she replied. "My parents were always kind, and loving, and they cherished a lot. I was a little closer to my mother than my father since I spent most of my day with her. She was my best friend." Fidgeting with her fingers, she exhaled a long breath.
"Then… She died, right in front of my eyes. It was a car accident and the car was flipped over. I thought that I was going to die that day, but all I felt was a warm embrace right before the impact. I didn't understand what happened at first, and then I saw my mom, hugging , while fire ignited in the car engine and spread quickly to the rest of it."
"I can still see her face as she stares at from up close. Whenever I stretch my hand forward, I feel it shaking, rembering the mont I touched her face and the blood was left on my hand." Lifting her hand, Sophie showed her arm, visibly fidgeting out of control.
Hyun-Jae listened quietly with a calm expression.
"I can only rember that mont. Everything after that is blurry. Ever since that ti, I changed. I lost the desire to do anything apart from sleeping and staying alone. My dad tried to do everything he could to lift up. But, nothing worked.
That was until he brought to et an old friend of his for a small visit and that's where I t Talon. Things were never the sa after that." Just rembering their first eting made Sophie smile fondly.
"... I guess we are the sa here. He changed us." Hyun-Jae replied. "He completely changed us."
"I will be eternally grateful to him for saving my life. To the mont I die."
Hyun-Jae nodded her head faintly as she stared up again. The two remained silent for a while, sharing a peaceful mont. Putting aside their rivalry and differences, they discovered that their lives were similar in many regards. They struggled through traumas, and hardships and were eventually saved by the sa person. It was like two sides of the sa coin in a sense.
"What are you going to do with your dad? Are you going to forgive him?"
"... Uh, I want to take so ti to calm down and think about it. Then, I will talk with him." Sophie replied.
"Mm, good." Hyun-Jae nodded her head.
"... Hey, now that I actually talked to you. You aren't as bad as I thought." Sophie said as she wiped her face.
"Sa here. I always thought that you were very annoying."
"Oh, what about now?"
"You are still annoying, just not as much," Hyun-Jae replied.
"Hey!! And you're also so irritating. I can't stand you! Well, I can stand you a little now."
The two stared at each other for a mont before they started laughing. Then, Sophie extended her hand forward.
"Even though I don't hate you as much. I still see you as my rival and I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to back up any ti soon."
Hyun-Jae glanced at her extended hand before she shook her head. "I never asked for that. Try your best to keep up with . I will be watching."
Then, she shook her hand powerfully. The two girls exchanged a strong look as they silently accepted each other's challenge. Friendship and rivalry were a different thing and they clearly knew that.
What happens between them remains the sa. After all, they were after the sa thing and they didn't want to share.
(A//N: I know so of y'all gonna ask so I'm gonna answer: No, there won't be any romance between Hyun-Jae and Sophie. It might turn into an interesting friendship, but nothing more than that :). Also, we gonna go back to action in the next chapter finally. Things gonna pick up real quick.)
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