⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I rang the doorbell, balancing the pint of ice cream and bottle of vodka in my hands as I waited for Nani to answer the door.

A second later, she opens it and the moment she sees my form she gasped a little, "oh no." She eyed the bottle of alcohol. "Come on," she waved me towards her home and closed the door behind me.

She set two glasses in front of me, "I know you hate drinking, especially in the day." She sighed, pouring the bitter liquid into the glass. "So what's wrong?" She asked, her voice soft and cautious.

My eyes still remained fixed onto the ground, "Jaesun cheated." I breathed out.

"What?" She gasped, eyes widening almost as though they were about to pop out of its socket.

"But I did too." I said and my eyes finally trailed up to meet hers.

"Oh." She goes a little quiet, her brows furrowing as she tried to understand the situation. She exhaled a deep breath, taking a shot of the vodka right before turning to look at me. "So spill."

And I did, I told her everything. But I made sure to leave Taehyung's name out of it.

"Are you still going to be with him?" She asked and I groaned, taking a shot right after. I winced at the bitter sting that burned its way down my throat.

"No?" I shrugged, not certain.

"Areum, I'm not going to defend your mistake but you can't compare what you did to Jaesun." Nani said and I simply fidgeted with my sweater, picking at the loose threads.

"He cheated because he was scum. You were hurting." She tapped me lightly, trying to get me to meet her gaze. "That doesn't make you a hypocrite for feeling hurt or for leaving."

"But it's still wrong." I buried my face into the palm of my hands.

"You're right. It is." Nani let out bluntly. "Call me bias, but he's still worse."

My phone buzzed in that second and I looked at it.

"Is that him?" She asked.

"Yea, it's Jae. He wants to meet me." I sighed, taking in deep breaths to calm myself.

"You should go. Settle this once and for all." She said, gently rubbing my shoulder in comfort.

"You're right."

『⋅∘➶∘⋅』

"What do you mean she's just your friend?" I yelled, looking at him with an incredulous look.

"I mean, she's just a friend." He enunciated, clenching his fists as he stared at me. The vein protruding on his forehead indicated the stress and tension his was facing.

"So why would Ji tell me she's your mentor?" I asked and he laughed in disbelief.

"I don't know." He ran his fingers through his hair, "maybe he was high. Areum, but here I am telling you that I did not cheat." Jaesun let out and I wasn't convinced, looking at how his feet tapped against the ground vigorously. That was his tell.

"You're lying." I said as he groaned.

"Areum! I'm telling you the truth." He looked at me, exhausted.

"Stop lying!" I yelled and he gasped aloud, confusing me.

"Jae?" I stopped the moment he goes still, almost as though his mind was buffering. "Jae," I sighed. "Now's not the time for the silent treatment." I said and I see the corner of his face twitch.

"Jaesun?" I cocked my head to the side and his body drops to the ground.

"Jae!" I rushed towards him, dropping myself onto the ground in front of him. His body starts to jerk violently and I scream. "Jae!" I try holding him but the tremors in his body were too hard to overcome. I see his eyes as they roll back, the whites of it the only thing visible.

"Fuck." I fell back as I reached for my phone, dialling for an ambulance. "H-help," I choked up on my words, looking at him. His body hits against the coffee table, glasses that laid on it falling to the ground and shattering. "Shit!" I dropped my phone, as I tried pulling him away from the mess, clearing the space around him.

I rushed back to my phone, placing it to the side as I left it on speaker."I think my boyfriend's having a seizure." I said and they direct me on what to do for the meantime, before the paramedics arrive.

"I can't turn him to his side." I cried out, not being able to get a grip of him, his violent thrashing pushing me away every few seconds. "Don't worry, just stay calm." The man on the other line spoke calmly but I yell.

His movements kept moving the cushion from below his head and I struggled to keep it under him. If I couldn't even keep a pillow under him, how was I going to turn his entire body to his side?

"I-I can't. He's too heavy for me, I can't push him to his side." I struggled to keep him on his side.

"His airway has to be kept clear so it is important for you to turn him to his side." The male spoke and I tried my best to turn him.

My tears blurring my vision as I held him in my arms, and I shout out. "I can't." I began sobbing the moment I failed to keep him on his side. I had 0 experience with this.

I had no idea how serious this was, so only negative thoughts swarmed my mind. "Ms, you have to stay calm." He lets out in a low tone. "The ambulance is on it's way, just try your best." He said and I did.

As I attempted to keep him on his side, I notice blood on the ground and I freeze. "Shit, shit." I let out repeatedly, not sure where it was coming from. "If you're having a hard time, you could try standing and lifting him to the side." And so I got up on my feet and fell back to the ground almost instantly, an excruciating pain coursing through my body.

"Shit!" I cussed out, staring at the shard of glass that was now pierced through my feet. I must've stepped onto it when moving Jaesun's body.

Ignoring the pain, I continue to attempt to push him to his side and as I did, his body goes limp. I stared at him for a second, in shock.

"It stopped," I said, rushing to his chest to see if he was breathing. And I did, his chest heaved up and down and I feel myself relax a little.

"Just stay close to him," the man on the other line said. "The paramedics should be there any moment."

『⋅∘➶∘⋅』

I massaged the back of his hand and I lied my forehead onto the hospital bed. "Areum?" He called out, a disoriented look painted over his features.

I looked up and heaved a sigh of relief, "Jaesun." I instantly stood up, putting weight on my right feet, as I leaned in to give him a quick peck on his forehead. "How are you feeling?" I asked as I sat back down.

"Why am I here?" He asked, confused.

"You had a seizure." I said, "you've never had them before, right?" I asked and he shook his head.

"But the doctor said everything's fine. They're just going to run a few more tests to make sure everything's okay and you'll be able to go back home." I said and he nodded slightly.

We sat in silence for a bit, "Areum." He spoke out, "about Maya-"

"It's okay." I waved my hand in front of him, "forget it, okay?" I said, not having the heart to continue the conversation after what happened.

I read that seizures could be caused by stress as well, so if he had it because of whatever we were talking about, I thought it'd be best to put it off. At least for now.

The next second my phone rings and I answered it.

"Taehyung?"

"Which level are you on?" His breathing audible over the line.

"What? How did you-" And as I limped my way out, I saw him running on the other end of the stretch of wards, a phone pressed to his ear.

The moment he sees me, he sprints towards me. "Are you okay?" He grabbed either sides of me, still panting.

"Y-yes." I shook my head, confused. "Why are you here?" I asked and he paused, trying to catch his breath.

"I came over to your place to talk but then I saw an ambulance leaving. So I followed it here."

"I'm fine. Jaesun had a seizure." I said and he frowned a little.

"Is he okay?"

"Yea, I think so." I shook my head, glancing back into the ward, Jaesun eyeing my form next to Taehyung's.

"What was he doing at your place?" He asked the question that was obviously burning through him.

"We talked and—" I took in a deep breath, looking up at Taehyung with sad eyes as I moved away.

"I can't do it. I can't leave him."

. . .

A/N: and this, kids, is the very definition of a toxic relationship.

[edit] A/N: if anyone's curious or you know someone who has epilepsy, please do not use this book or the comments as a point of reference!

As I said, this book is inspired by a personal experience and in this chapter, I did what was instructed to me by the operator but after some discussion in the comments, some say it's not right or safe. I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure. Which is why you should always do your own research and never base off something so serious from a work of fiction.

The comments in this chapter scare me a little and I do hope that if you have questions, you find the answers through verified means and not through this book.