{This has been in my drafts for a while. It’s angst, so please be warned. Thanks!} 🙏🫡
The air between Kei and Yn had been thick for weeks, a suffocating tension neither of them wanted to address. Kei, once a man of few words but infinite patience, now seemed distant. His silence spoke louder than anything he could say. Yn, fragile yet trying to remain strong, couldn’t help but notice the chasm growing between them.
It started with the small things missed dates, forgotten conversations, nights spent in different rooms. Kei always had an excuse. “Work’s been busy,” he’d mumble, his eyes glued to his phone. And Yn would nod, biting back the words she wanted to say.
But tonight, everything came crashing down.
Kei was in the shower, and Yn’s eyes fell on his phone buzzing on the table. It wasn’t like her to snoop, but the temptation burned too hot, the need to understand what was happening between them too great.
She unlocked it, her hands trembling. A name she didn’t recognize filled the screen Mina. The message read:
“You’re doing so much already, Tsukishima-kun. It’s okay to feel tired. Don’t push yourself too hard. Maybe she needs professional help.”
Yn felt her heart drop. The room spun as she scrolled through the conversation. Mina wasn’t just some coworker; she was Kei’s confidant. He had been sharing everything with her things Yn didn’t even know he felt.
“Sometimes it’s like… I’m carrying her. I know she’s struggling, but I feel so drained. I love her, but I don’t know how much more I can give.”
Yn clutched her chest, her breath hitching as tears blurred her vision. He had told Mina about her mental health struggles, about his exhaustion, about feeling suffocated. And here she was, thinking they were a team, that they were tackling life’s challenges together.
When Kei stepped out of the bathroom, towel draped over his shoulders, he froze at the sight of her. Her tear-streaked face, the way she was clutching his phone it didn’t take long for him to put the pieces together.
“Yn…”
Her voice cracked as she interrupted him. “How long?”
Kei sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. “It’s not what you think.”
“Don’t,” she said, her voice shaking. “Don’t tell me it’s not what I think when you’ve been talking to her about me. About us. You said you were tired of me. That you felt drained. Do you know how much that hurts?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, his tone defensive. “I was venting. I didn’t know who else to talk to—”
“Then talk to me!” she cried, her voice breaking. “I thought I was the person you could trust. I thought we were in this together, Kei. But instead, you ran to someone else someone who has no idea what it’s like to be us.”
Kei’s shoulders slumped, guilt etched across his face. “I love you, Yn. I really do. But sometimes… sometimes it’s hard. You lean on me so much, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to hold us both up.”
Yn’s lip quivered, her heart shattering into pieces. “I never asked you to fix me, Kei. I just wanted you to be there. But now… I don’t know if I can look at you the same way.”
Silence fell between them, heavy and unbearable. Yn grabbed her bag, her hands still trembling.
“Yn, wait—” Kei stepped forward, his voice desperate.
“No,” she said, her back turned to him. “You’ve already said enough.”
She walked out of the apartment they had shared, the place that once felt like home. The door closed softly behind her, but to Kei, it sounded like the final nail in the coffin.
As he sank onto the couch, his head in his hands, Kei realized that love wasn’t always enough. Sometimes, even the strongest bonds could break under the weight of unspoken words and misplaced trust.
And in the quiet that followed, Kei finally understood what it meant to truly feel alone.
