Breakup formula
W. Manggaejjitteok
“Jungkook, could you please send me the final copy of the advertisement file?”
“Yes, just a moment.”
The next morning, the company was running peacefully as usual. Except for me. Amidst the bustling crowd of fellow team members—people printing, talking on the phone, and diligently scheming plans—I seemed to be the only one struggling to focus. A lot of things were troubling me. There were things Gayoung had said, and there were the expressions Jeon Jungkook had made. None of these were easy answers, and my mind was pounding even harder, but those weren't the main things that were making me tense.
A full-blown distraction, a real distraction from my concentration. My gaze turned to Jungkook, sitting across from me. Jeon Jungkook. He was the main culprit. Jeon Jungkook, who had left that day after saying, "You're good at making a fool of someone. Just kick me out," was either upset or angry that I had so firmly drawn the line... He was blatantly avoiding me. It was so childish, really.
You might ask if I'm just delusional, but the first time he avoided me, I thought it was a coincidence. Because I didn't think Jeon Jungkook would have any reason to avoid me. But the second time, I started laughing. It was so obvious that it was ridiculous. When I went into the break room to get coffee, he'd rush out as soon as the door opened. When I entered the cafeteria, he'd leave before I could even pick up a spoon, which was shocking. And when I approached him about work, he'd ask me to pass it on to a file and disappear at the speed of light. Am I supposed to be playing tag at this age? I followed Jeon Jungkook around all day, and when my stamina reached its limit, I just sat in the company cafeteria and banged my head.
“…Training a shit dog, what the heck.”
Rather, he should have been openly angry. Then we'd fight and fight, or just swear at each other. We'd somehow resolve this. But he just stayed silent, his face blank, and avoided me all day, so I was the only one suffering. It had been five years. Since my days as a new employee, wandering around every nook and cranny of the company felt like I was on a semi-forced diet. Should I go on a diet now?;… heh
Just as my eyelids began to grow heavy with all my strength drained, I heard the chair across from me squeak. Barely able to keep my eyes open, I tried to see who it was when the other person snatched my hand away.
“My lady!”
“…Huh?, Senior?”
“Hey, did your blind date go well?”
I blinked as I sat up from my sprawled position at the table. Lately, a lot of people have been asking me if my blind date went well. The person asking if my blind date went well was Park Bo-young. She was a very close senior who had been my mentor when I first joined the company.
“No, it didn’t work out… Why is that?”
“By any chance-… Our heroine, do you have any plans to go on a blind date?”
There was an awkwardness in his gestures and speech, and his eyes, unable to meet my gaze, darted back and forth in the air. Usually, when someone asks me this, there's only one explanation: "The blind date fell through." As I squinted, Boyoung lowered her head and spoke.
“Our pretty younger sister, could you please go on a blind date with me?”
“Senior, don’t you have any other younger siblings besides me?”
“…There is no younger sister as pretty as our heroine.”
What more could I say when he looks at me with that haggard face? Honestly, I wasn't planning on going on any more blind dates. As I said last time, I'd been going on blind dates like crazy for a while, and I thought it was time to take a break. More importantly, I hadn't met anyone I liked, so I figured it was a waste of time. But when he looked at me with that pitiful face, what could I say?
“Hey, lady, okay? Just to see my face. You can just eat and come.”
I was introduced to someone, and this time I can’t leave because-…”
So, to put it simply, this is it. It's a blind date I absolutely can't miss, but the person who said they'd go suddenly said no, so there's no one to go on the blind date with. So, "Why don't you go on it?" I shook my head. Normally, I would have gone at least once, if only for Boyoung's sake. But right now, I didn't feel like doing that. I was also worried about Jeon Jungkook, and I wasn't sure if I could go and get through the blind date safely in this mood. So, just as I was about to decline, Boyoung added a word.
“He’s handsome. More than anything.”
"…yes?."
“He’s 187cm tall. He’s running a business.”
As he held out his phone without missing that gap, my eyes turned to the screen. ‘Huh?… He’s really handsome.’ Was he on a different level from the men I’d met on blind dates before? At that moment, when I almost thought, ‘What?’, a sharp, exploding sound echoed through the cafe.
“…Uh, uh… I’m sorry. I dropped that glass…”
A look of panic etched across Jeon Jungkook's face. Just as he reached out to grab the shards of glass, a loud noise escaped his lips. "Don't touch me!" Unaware that my shout had drawn all eyes to the cafe, I approached Jeon Jungkook, grabbed his hand, and scolded him. "Don't grab him so easily. Are you trying to get hurt?" Only after an employee, hearing the commotion, came out and began clearing away the shards did I let go.
“Don’t grab anything carelessly. You’ll end up with a scar on your hand… T.”
Whoosh, ㅡ
“…Did you run away again just now?”
I gritted my teeth. Do you think I'll miss this again? I said to Boyoung, who was standing up from her chair and surveying the situation, "Senior, let's talk later!!" and ran again with what little energy I had left. Even if it was a waste to run, I held on tight. My resolve was burning brightly.
“?… Uh uh…”
[BGM] Goodbye, We Have to Break Up - Jeon Sang-geun, Shin Ye-young
“Hey, Jeon Jungkook!!… You keep running away!!!”
As I shouted, he hesitated, and the distance between us suddenly became shorter. With the hope that I could finally catch him, I reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Jeon Jungkook, who was grabbed without any resistance, took a weak step back and hit the wall.
“Why do you keep running away?”
"just."
You won't even deny that you ran away? I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even speak, so I just stared at him. Jungkook grabbed my wrist, which was holding onto my collar, and pulled me away. No matter how strong I was, I was completely defeated by Jeon Jungkook's strength.
Even though I felt like I'd fully relaxed, my wrist still ached slightly, perhaps because the difference in strength between men and women was unavoidable. I stroked my wrist and watched as Jeongguk, his face utterly weak, pressed against the wall. Annoyed by this sight, I asked softly, "What the hell is wrong?"
“… …”
"What's the problem, avoiding people like this? Shouldn't you be saying something?"
“… …”
"Is that because I told you to separate work and private life? It wasn't wrong to begin with. At work..."
Haa-… A sigh, filled with a multitude of emotions, escaped Jeongguk's lips. It seemed like Jeongguk was holding back a lot of things he wasn't saying. It would have been better to speak out. Acting without saying anything was a situation that could easily be misunderstood.
“Who said what?”
"what?…"
“Who said what? Why are you chopping wood again by yourself?”
It was the first time I'd seen Jungkook's frown. In their seven-year relationship, Jungkook never frowned, but after their breakup, I seemed to see him frowning even more. The word "axe-killing" made me choke— and I pushed harder. "Then why didn't you just make people nervous in the first place?" It felt wronged. He made people nervous, and now he's talking as if it was a delusion... I clenched my fists, feeling like I'd been fooled.
“Nerve?, who bothered whom?
“Are you alone again, or are you mistaken?”
Jungkook's words were laced with sarcasm. My heart ached at the nuanced words that he was beating the drum and janggu alone. I followed you around because I was worried about you too... I bit my lip tightly. It was miserable. ... That wasn't the only thing that hurt. The word 'again' seemed to stab my heart, almost making it bleed. That meant that even back when we were dating, I was the only one who was mistaken. I thought my feelings for Jeon Jungkook were the same during our seven years of relationship... But wasn't that the case for Jeon Jungkook? My anger exploded.
I didn't want to be more miserable in front of you than anyone else. Eventually, the anger that had burst out wouldn't stop.
“…Do you want to hurt me that much?“Do you hate me? Why did you leave me like that?”
“… …”
“But even if it were you, I think you would have thought the same thing. Don’t be so proud that it would be different.”
“… …”
“…Was I the only one who fell apart then? You didn’t know, but… No, you wanted to pretend not to know, but… You were falling apart too.”
It was a time when, to escape the encroaching misfortune and burdensome reality, I had to let go of what was most precious. Letting go of something precious only temporarily relieves the longing, but the more I tried to endure misfortune, the more it felt like sinking deep into a swamp. So, I had no choice but to abandon you. Otherwise, it would be you and I who would ultimately die.
“What choices could I have made differently in that situation?”
“… …”
“Then, should I really have committed suicide in the fire pit with you?”
Jungkook couldn't say anything. Not a single word was wrong. Back then, I was falling apart, and so were you. It was the same when we broke up. In fact, he felt even more relieved. Up to that point, it was the same, but Jungkook couldn't understand. Why were you still drawing lines and pushing me away? Was something still difficult? Or was it really just like I thought?Are you afraid that it will happen again?I couldn't figure it out.
“Still… I didn’t want to be on bad terms with you.”
I covered my face with my hand and muttered. I'm tired. No, it didn't make sense to begin with. Staying on good terms with an ex-lover? This isn't Hollywood. Gayoung's words came to mind. Yes, now I had to choose without further delay. Accept it, or abandon it. I took a step away from Jeon Jungkook and spoke.
“Okay. Let’s do it your way.”
"…what"
“Let’s not be friends, let’s just be colleagues. Just colleagues.”
Even though we broke up, I believed we could remain friends because we only had good memories. That was arrogance. Just as broken shards can never be restored to their original state, I now realize that even relationships that have been broken are bound to crack.
"…for a moment,"
"No, stop talking. I think I know why you're acting like this. But Jeon Jungkook."
“… …”
“I’m scared. I’m scared of going back to the old days.”
It's even scarier because it's precious. With those words, the female lead turned and walked away, leaving Jeongguk with no choice but to lower his head. Only then did he realize how resentful he had become for losing his mind in frustration. He shouldn't have hurt her, he should have... but he ended up hurting her again.
Even though he knew the theory in his head, why couldn't his body move as he wanted? Jeongguk leaned against the wall and sat down.
“This isn’t it…”
[Jjintteok's Saddam]
There may be typos because I can't see well in front of me due to my double eyelids.
Once I'm fully recovered, I'll fix it all at once.
Also, the typo in the heroine's name was my fault. I was confused.
I fixed everything I could see, but if there are any more, I will definitely fix them.
And, let me explain the relationship between Jungkook and Yeoju.
Jeongguk feels resentful towards the female protagonist who pushes him away.
He hurt her again with harsh words. Yeo-ju vaguely understood why Jeong-guk was being so harsh to her, but she was afraid. She was afraid that something old would happen again.
Jungkook also knows the reason why Yeoju and I can't easily reunite, but what he knows in his head and what he feels are two different things, so he said hurtful words against his will.
[Thank you for the sudden increase in subscribers and for all the love.
I'll repay you with words 🙇🏻♀️ ]