Chapter Text
The dinner was quiet again.
Just the clinking of forks and the soft buzz of the old ceiling light they never got around to replacing. Lina sat across from Seungmin, chewing slowly, her eyes fixed on her plate like it held some secret she hadn’t yet uncovered.
He watched her — really watched her. The way she twisted her ring when she was thinking, how her brows furrowed slightly when her phone lit up. How she glanced at the photo on the wall — the one from their wedding — but didn’t smile like she used to.
And how earlier this week, she laughed too easily at Jisung’s joke.
Jisung always had a way with words, a charisma that couldn’t be ignored. Seungmin tried not to think about how Lina’s eyes lingered a little longer on him, how her laugh sounded so genuine, even after the joke had passed. Even after Jisung had left the room.
“Did something happen?” Seungmin asked, voice too calm for how his heart ached. “You’ve been… different.”
Lina blinked, finally looking up. “Different how?”
“You don’t touch me anymore,” he said plainly. “You don’t kiss me unless I lean in first. You smile more when Jisung’s around than you do when it’s just us.”
Her fork paused mid-air.
He didn’t expect her to deny it. That hurt more than anything.
“You’re being dramatic,” she finally muttered, stabbing her food.
“No, I’m being observant.” His voice trembled despite his best efforts. “Just tell me. If you don’t love me anymore, I’ll—”
“I didn’t say that,” she snapped, her eyes sharp.
“You didn’t have to,” he said softly.
The silence after that wasn’t awkward — it was cruel.
He stood, chair scraping against the floor. Walked past the photo of their wedding day. Her in white, laughing into his neck. Him with stars in his eyes. Back when they were seventeen and stupid enough to think love was enough to last forever.
“Lina,” he whispered, back turned. “Even if it’s not true anymore… even if it’s just muscle memory, or something I forced into your chest… can you say it?”
She looked at him then — really looked.
“Say what?”
“Say you love me,” he murmured. “Even if you don’t mean it. Just once.”
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Looked down.
And when the silence stretched on, Seungmin realized he had his answer.
So he left the room before his heart could shatter out loud.