Why Do We Have to Break Up?
"What?"
Juhyeon asked again, as if to confirm what she'd just heard. Her mind went completely blank. Her plan had failed.
"Let's break up. I can't take it anymore."
"Ah... n-no, that's..."
No words came to mind. Juhyeon's brain spun desperately, trying to find a way out of this situation. It was bitterly ironic. Just days ago, she'd been the one thinking about ending things. Now she was the one scrambling to keep the relationship alive.
But against her wishes, the situation flowed in a direction she didn't want.
"Get out."
"Huh...? G-get out?"
"Yeah. Get out. I'll give you time to pack. Grab your stuff and leave quickly. I don't even want to look at your face anymore..."
Along with the breakup announcement, Minho also ordered her to leave the apartment. Drops of tears fell from his eyes, slowly soaking the floor. He felt both rage and sorrow at the same time. Those tears seemed to prove that he had truly loved her. Of course, that was now past tense, not present. He didn't love her anymore.
Juhyeon was given a grace period to pack her things. She had to change Minho's mind right now.
"Are... are you dumping me now because there are more women in the world?"
"No. It has nothing to do with that. Even if the world was still the old Korea, it'd be the same."
Her prediction had missed the mark again. That's right. This had nothing to do with how the world had changed. In other words, Juhyeon's own behavior up until now had brought about this current situation.
"Since I'm saying it, I'll just tell you everything. I know all about you going to clubs when you weren't answering my calls."
"What??"
"I also know that last time you went to some club and slept with another guy."
"Ah... n-no, that..."
He began listing her shameful secrets one by one. Unfortunately for Juhyeon, she seemed more concerned with how he'd found out than with feeling sorry toward Minho. That alone showed exactly what kind of person she was.
"D-do you have proof?"
This was the worst. The situation was already bad enough that she should have been on her knees begging for forgiveness, yet Juhyeon made the absolute worst choice. She played dumb.
"I saw it myself..."
"Y-you saw it?"
"Yes! I saw it all!!!!!!!! With my own two eyes! Fuck!!!!!!!! The two of you holding hands and walking into a motel!!!!!!!!"
The emotions Minho had been suppressing finally exploded. His face was a complicated mix of sorrow and rage. What could possibly be more painful than personally witnessing your lover cheating on you? It was actually surprising that he'd managed to keep it bottled up inside all this time without saying anything. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a person of truly remarkable character. Minho had been an incredibly good person. And now that good person had finally exploded. Everyone says that when a kind person gets angry, it's terrifying. Overwhelmed by Minho's outburst, Juhyeon couldn't even open her mouth anymore.
"I was going to confront you right away, but I held back. I agonized over it thousands of times in my head. But in the end, I endured it. Why? Because I liked you that much. You know what people said when I told them? Huh? They called me a pushover. The biggest pushover of all. But I was fine with being called a pushover. I didn't want to lose you. But do you think that's all? You don't answer my calls more than five times a month, every time we barely manage to go on a date you compare me to other guys, you make me pay for every meal, every coffee, every movie, you always nag me to buy you things, you openly stare at other men and say they're handsome, if I say I can't afford something you call me a beggar, if I say even the slightest thing you threaten to break up with me, you badmouth me to your friends saying your boyfriend is trash, huh? There are so many more I can't even remember them all now. Fuck, do I really have to endure more than this? After I even put up with my own girlfriend fucking another man, do I have to keep enduring?"
"Ah... no, that's not..."
"Shut up!!!! Fuck!!!!!"
All the resentment, unfairness, and anger that had built up poured out like a waterfall.
"And yet... this is all I get in return?"
"......"
"When I said I was struggling, that I was scared of the women outside and wanted to lean on you, when I asked you to help me, you hit the panic button and threatened me again?"
She had nothing to say. Even if she had ten mouths, she couldn't speak. Juhyeon had quite a temper herself, but right now she couldn't utter a single word. Because she knew better than anyone that not a single thing Minho had said was a lie.
Minho grabbed a suitable bag and started stuffing Juhyeon's clothes and belongings into it haphazardly.
"M... Minho, o-okay... I get it..."
"......"
This time Minho remained silent. Juhyeon tried to place her hand on his shoulder as he roughly packed her things.
Slap!
Minho answered by knocking her arm away. His face now looked utterly fed up, as if he were looking at filth, yet it was still tinged with sorrow. There was no hesitation in him.
With the sound of the zipper, the bag closed. He thrust it roughly into her arms.
She caught the bag in a daze.
"Get out."
He pointed at the front door and ordered her once again to leave this studio apartment.
"........."
Juhyeon hung her head low.
Fuck. I'm screwed.
She muttered quietly to herself.
"Get out!! I said get out!!"
Thud! Thud!
Minho shoved her back roughly, forcing her toward the front door. In truth, if Juhyeon had wanted to resist with force, she could have easily held her ground. Since the world had changed, their bodies had changed too. Juhyeon's height and build had grown larger, while Minho had become smaller. It was the complete opposite of their previous world. Minho had already noticed this discomfort long ago. Juhyeon still hadn't realized it. She'd spent the past week rolling around in her room, lamenting her situation and only eating, so there was no way she would have noticed. Juhyeon didn't even think about resisting with strength. Whether it was because she still hadn't realized the changed power dynamic between men and women, or because of the last bit of pity she felt for her boyfriend, or simply because her mind had gone blank and she was frozen in place, only Juhyeon herself knew.
Powerlessly, she let Minho push her toward the front door.
Beep beep. Click!
Minho pressed the door lock button himself and turned the handle to open the door. In that state, she was pushed outside.
"M... Minh..."
"You really won't even apologize until the very end..."
Bang!
She tried to say something to Minho one last time, but he acted as if he couldn't even hear her. He muttered quietly to his girlfriend and slammed the door shut. Minho's final expression had been one of desolate loneliness. Now he was no longer visible.
Juhyeon stood alone in the hallway of the one-room building, a bag containing the belongings Minho had packed for her in her hands.
"Fuuuuck... this is bullshit..."
The tough Yoo Juhyeon from before was gone. Only now did her brain finally process reality. This was the first time she'd stepped outside since the world had changed. Of course, it wasn't by choice. It felt utterly hopeless. How was she supposed to live from now on? She couldn't go back to her parents' house. Her relationship with them had been very bad. She didn't know yet whether that had changed in this new world. Since she hadn't done anything since the world changed, there was no way she could know.
As she stood there blankly in front of the door, her mind gradually calming down... her nose caught a smell that was quite familiar to her. The smell of cigarettes. When she turned her head toward the source of the scent...
A young woman who was taller than her, with a somewhat fierce and very intimidating aura, was openly smoking in the hallway.
"Ahahaha! Hey, what the hell. Were you kicked out?"
"W... who are you?"
The woman spoke to her first. The mysterious woman, who had been cynically holding a cigarette between her lips, couldn't hold back her laughter as if mocking Juhyeon. That attitude was quite unpleasant for Juhyeon.
"This is fucking pathetic. I heard some commotion inside so I was listening from out here. You cheated? This is the first time I've heard of a woman cheating since I was born. Just how good are you that other guys..."
"Fuck off, shut up you idiot. Why the hell should I tell you that?"
When her confusion and panic about the current situation began turning into anger and irritation, and some woman was picking a fight with her, Juhyeon lashed out with her usual temper. But when swearing at someone, you should always carefully assess who you're dealing with. If you curse at someone with higher social status or who is physically stronger than you, the consequences...
Would not be good.
"Keeeeeek..."
Juhyeon's head slammed against the door with a loud thud. The woman's hand was already pressing against her throat in the blink of an eye. Reflexively, she grabbed the hand and tried to pull it away. But it wouldn't budge.
"Fucking bitch, you've got no manners at all. You stupid cunt. I've been so fucking stressed lately I'm about to lose my mind..."
"Ke... eeeek... krrrr..."
"Where does a bitch who looks like dog shit get off acting tough? You wanna die for real?"
Swish.
"Huuuurk..."
The woman's hand that had been choking Juhyeon's throat finally loosened. Just as she tried to gasp for the air she'd been lacking, the moment the hand released her...
Grab!
She seized Juhyeon's hair in an incredibly powerful grip. The pain was so intense that Juhyeon's face twisted involuntarily.
"Now, how should I fix this bad attitude of yours... Oh!"
The woman, who had been glaring at Juhyeon's contorted face with a vicious expression, suddenly broke into a smile as if she'd had a brilliant idea. That grin was quite chilling.
"Uuuu... ugh..."
The sensation of her hair being yanked was apparently quite painful. Juhyeon clutched at the woman's hand with both of her own, groaning. The woman then gave her an order.
"Open this door."
"What?"
"What do you mean 'what,' you bitch..."
Slap!
... Tap tap.
"Hey, wake up. How weak are you that you pass out from one slap?"
The woman was lightly tapping Juhyeon's cheek, forcibly bringing her back to consciousness. She must have been hit hard enough to lose consciousness for a moment.
"Uuu... uuuuu..."
The unpleasant sensation on her cheek forced Juhyeon's brain to regain awareness.
"Hey, open the door already. She's your girlfriend... no, your ex-girlfriend, right? You must know the door lock password."
"Uuuuu... huh?"
One side of her face felt completely numb as if it had evaporated. Juhyeon was still too disoriented to answer the woman's question properly.
"Aish... fuck... Want me to hit you again? Maybe that'll wake you up?"
The woman raised her other hand again. Only then did Juhyeon grasp the situation and answer the question.
"Y... yes!!!! I know it!!!"
Even though she'd briefly lost consciousness, she clearly remembered why she'd been hit. Her speech had become extremely polite.
"You should've done that from the start."
The woman lowered her hand again. With that same hand, she put the cigarette that had been in her mouth back between her fingers.
Sizzle.
The quiet sound of the cigarette burning reached Juhyeon's ears.
"Huuuu..."
She pursed her lips into a circle and deliberately blew the cigarette smoke right into Juhyeon's face. Juhyeon's already scrunched face frowned even more deeply. Her eyes stung slightly from the smoke. Since Juhyeon herself was a smoker, she didn't cough, but deliberately blowing cigarette smoke into someone's face was extremely rude.
Without even putting out the cigarette, she dropped it on the floor. Then she released Juhyeon's hair, grabbed both of her shoulders, and spun her around to face the door.
She brought her face right next to Juhyeon's head and gave the next order.
"Open it."
"Y... yes..."
Apparently not wanting to get hit again, Juhyeon completely submitted to the woman's commands. How pathetic, our Juhyeon.
Beep beep beep beep. Ding. Ding.
Her trembling fingers entered the door lock password, but she was so nervous that she got it wrong. The sound announcing that the password didn't match echoed through the hallway. She brought her fingers to the keypad again and tried once more.
Beep beep beep beep. Ding. Ding.
Wrong again.
"Are you fucking doing this on purpose?"
She yanked Juhyeon's hair again.
"N... no!!! I'm just nervous..."
"Sigh... You fucking... Press it again quickly. If you get it wrong one more time, I'll beat you so badly you'll never walk again, so be careful."
With a terrifying expression, she gave Juhyeon a stern warning. But Juhyeon hadn't been lying. She brought her fingers to the keypad once more and entered the password again.
Beep beep beep beep. Ding.
Perhaps her desperate wish not to get hit anymore had worked, because this time she entered the correct password she remembered. With a cheerful sound from the door lock, it unlocked.
Click.
The woman roughly shoved Juhyeon aside and flung the door open. She stepped inside the apartment. Juhyeon, still in a daze, followed her back in.
"W... who the hell are you!!! Huh?"
The momentary panic at someone breaking into the house lasted only a second. The moment Minho saw the woman's face, he turned deathly pale.
"My sweet little darling~~ Noona came to play!"
The woman's previously vicious face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a happy, joyful expression as if she were reuniting with a boyfriend she hadn't seen in a long time. She kicked off her shoes haphazardly and walked further into the apartment.
"H... h... how..."
"Your ex-girlfriend kindly opened the door for me. Isn't she nice? She must be cheering us on."
"......"
With a bruise on her cheek and her hair disheveled, the tattered Juhyeon stood frozen in front of the front door, once again at a complete loss for what to do.
The woman, seemingly in a great hurry, began stripping off her own clothes.
"Noona's been really pent up, you know. Should I relieve some stress first and talk later?"
While taking off her clothes, she turned her head slightly to look back at Juhyeon, who was standing there awkwardly. She grinned again with that unpleasant smile.
"Just stay there and watch your ex-boyfriend get fucked while you jerk off. If you call the police or anything, you know what'll happen, right?"
"G... get out!!!! Fuck!!! You crazy bitch!!!!"
With a terrified expression, Minho scooted backward as far as he could while sitting down.
"Fucking another man right in front of his ex-girlfriend? Fuck... who could endure this..."
By now she'd stripped off even her underwear. The woman looked at Minho with sticky, goosebump-inducing eyes.
"Not taking them off? Does our sweet darling like it rough? Then I should accommodate that request~"
Finally, the woman threw her body forward like she was diving and pounced on Minho.
Crack. Rip. Tear.
With both hands, she began ripping Minho's clothes from the top down at incredible speed. The buttons on his shirt flew into the air and fell helplessly onto the bed. Her strength was so monstrous that his clothes tore apart like paper.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Haaa... It's been so long since Noona used her pussy. First, let's have our sweet darling's cock clean out all the cobwebs inside, okay?"
The crude word choice and vocabulary. Minho screamed. What good would resisting do? Minho was beginning to be defiled. The one who had endured even his girlfriend's cheating, who never said harsh things to others, who worked hard, who knew how to be generous... If you asked a random passerby which of the two, Juhyeon or Minho, deserved divine punishment, most people would say Juhyeon. But that kind, good-hearted young man was receiving divine punishment right now. In place of Juhyeon, who stood frozen in front of the front door.