haechan
i owe you an apology

juniper
???

haechan
for how i acted about donghyung

haechan
i shouldn't have jumped to
conclusions like that without
knowing the full story

juniper
what do you mean?

haechan
i talked to him about it. he said
it wasn't your fault

juniper
he

juniper
he said that?

haechan
i always thought you were the bad
guy in his story without ever talking
to him about it. when i told him i
confronted you he got upset and told
me the truth

haechan
so i'm sorry. you're just as
much a victim as he is

juniper
do you think i could have his number?

haechan
yeah. i'm guessing you have
a lot of catching up to do

juniper
thank you

juniper
and i'm not upset with you okay?
i would have reacted the same way

haechan
he's all i've got left you know

juniper
you're his brother

haechan
wow you finally pieced
it together 😃👏

haechan
sorry

juniper
he really said it wasn't my fault?

haechan
yeah

haechan
why? do you think it is?

juniper
i have been beating myself up
about it for years haechan

haechan
oh damn uh

haechan
he doesn't trust random numbers.
his @ is dong_leehyung

juniper
thank you so much

haechan
oh and juniper

haechan
good luck

juniper
is this|

juniper
hi|

juniper
do you remember m|

juniper
haechan told m|

donghyung
you do know i get a notif every
time you type something, right?

juniper
shit for real?

donghyung
wow it's been a long time

donghyung
you look great june!

juniper
i'm sorry

juniper
i'm so so sorry

donghyung
for what?

juniper
you know what i'm talking
about hyunggie

juniper
please please forgive me
i'll do anything

donghyung
juniper calm down

donghyung
i forgave you a long time ago

juniper
why?

juniper
i don't deserve..

juniper
yell at me or tell me you hate me
or that i'm a terrible person

donghyung
june... you were my best friend

donghyung
we were KIDS

juniper
that doesn't excuse what i did

donghyung
i would have done the same thing
if i was put in your position

juniper
don't lie

juniper
you are better than me.
you always have been.

juniper
i shouldn't have let them force
me to do that to you

juniper
we were kids

juniper
we were friends

juniper
and then i fucking ruined it all

juniper
i am so so sorry donghyung

juniper
i was a fucking stupid kid

juniper
it was supposed to be me

dong_leehyung is calling...

juniper sniffled, taking several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself before answering. the second she heard his voice, the girl broke back down into sobs.

"june..."

sucking in a shuddering gasp of air, juniper began crying into the phone. "i was an idiot, hyung, i was an idiot! you didn't deserve to be bullied, i shouldn't have helped them—"

"you didn't do it willingly, they forced you. none of it was your fault. i don't blame anyone but them."

"i should have stood up to them. i should have helped you. i'll never forgive myself..." she whimpered, eyes pinched shut when she was met with silence.

meanwhile, donghyung was simply unsure of how to convince his old friend that he'd forgiven her long ago. "juniper park. i could never hate you. not then, and certainly not now."

there was a pause, and juniper felt fresh, warm tears roll down her puffy cheeks. "i loved you, juni. i may not have understood at the time, but once you left, i realized it was never you that i was upset with. i missed you more than anything in the world."

"i missed you too," she choked, "so much."

donghyung rubbed the wetness from his eyes and sniffled once as he beamed. he felt like a kid again. "i wish i could hug you right now."

"oh god, you read my mind!"

"then let's meet. right now. hyuck said you go to his college."

juniper scoffed out a short laugh, flinging her feet off of her bed. "that's ridiculous! it's nearly midnight and it's about to rain."

"when has that ever stopped us?" he teased, and the girl was already slipping into her shoes. "where? i'll be there."

after thinking for a moment, donghyung let out a breathy chuckle. "remember that old candy shop we'd always steal lollipops from?"

she did. the picture felt so fresh in her mind juniper couldn't practically taste the stale sugar on her tongue. "i'll be there in fifteen minutes. tops."

"i'll be there."

•
early update cause i feel bad for forgetting about this book </3