ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗬-𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥
─◌✰್ 𝗍𝗁𝖾
❝𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿?❞

Mya got out of the limo and looked around, seeing Obsidian for the first time in almost a month. Taking a deep breath of the warm spring air, she surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes almost immediately landed on the Yang mansion.

It was a large, imposing building made almost entirely of shale gray and black stone. Even though the Yang family was known for their animal domestication dealings, their housing was designed to match the rest of the dark kingdom. It made her feel a little sad, all the drab, uniform tones.

"You know, I forgot how dreary it is here," she said, attempting to start conversation.

And not for lack of trying, on her behalf. She'd pointed out the window at every cow and sheep, every pretty tree or flower, every beautiful house. But Jeongin wouldn't said one word to her. She'd thought he loved animals of all kinds. Back in high school, he would ooh and ahh and every living creature, big or small. Almost to the point of irritation, for most people. But Mya had loved it, even found it endearing. But now, even after all that time trying to convince her to give him one more chance, he turned silent? It made no sense.

"I'm sorry I've been so silent." Jeongin broke through her thoughts, almost like he could read them. "I-I wanted you to come back with me so you could see my parents. And... well, I'm a little nervous." He ducked his head, not meeting her eyes, the same as he had all day.

Mya sighed, but couldn't stop herself from smiling like an idiot. He was nervous about her meeting his parents, again? While it did make sense, she had to admit it was cute.

"Are you nervous that I'm mad at them?" she questioned. "Or that they won't like me, after all that happened?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe a bit of both? I wouldn't fault you for holding a grudge against them, especially my mom. You held a grudge against me, and now that I told you we were both at fault, you might be upset with her. She really did do what she thought was best, even though I didn't agree with it."

Mya nodded slowly, trying to come up with a response that wouldn't make him even more nervous. But she couldn't think of one. "Well... why don't we just go inside and say hi?" she said, her voice lilting up in a sore attempt at positivity.

She had to admit, she did hold a grudge against Countess Yang. Ever since Jeongin had told her the whole story, that she had essentially been the one to break up with Mya, she'd inwardly cursed the woman, every time her mind would drift to the past. She was usually a very forgiving person, so it was a foreign feeling, holding such a harsh grudge against someone. She had no idea how she would react to seeing her for the first time in years. So maybe Jeongin was right to be nervous.

Clearly, Jeongin thought the same thing. His face tightened at Mya's words, his entire body stiffening. His hands were balled into fists, but he still managed to send a curt nod her way. "Alright then, let's go."

The ever-silent butler opened the door for them, and they entered, neither of them speaking.

A woman in her mid-fifties approached them, graying hair pulled back in a tight bun, tired eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. It was Mya's turn to freeze, her entire body rigid.

"Hello, son." The woman's harsh face broke out into a small smile, eyes crinkling at the edges. Mya remembered all the good times she'd spent with the Yang family, laughing around the table during game nights, or even baking a cake with Countess Yang for Jeongin's birthday.

"Hi, mom." Jeongin went in for a hug, enveloping the shorter woman tightly. "It's been awhile, how are you?"

But the countess ignored him, gaze lasered in on Mya. "And who do we have here?" she asked, head tilting to the side as she scrutinized the young duchess. Then, her eyes widened in recognition. "Mya? Is that you?"

Mya swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to speak. "Y-yes, it's me, ma'am," she said, words coming out high-pitched and nervous. Her cheeks began to flush, resentment rising in her throat like bile. She shouldn't have come back here, even years later. It was too soon. Maybe she should just-

"I'm so glad youre here." Countess Jang beamed once again, eyes lighting with a warmth Mya hadn't witnessed since the final day she'd been welcomed into this home. A day she hadn't even known would be her last.

And before she knew it, the countess was pulling her in for a hug, those thin, yet inviting arms melting any sense of built-up anger Mya might have been holding inside of her. All Mya could feel was... gratitude. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she tilted her head up, trying to keep them at bay.

When was the last time she'd been hugged like this, by anyone except for her friends? She fished wildly for an example, but couldn't find one. Her father was, admittedly, a huge ass, and her mom wasn't much better. Towards the end of her relationship with Jeongin, even he had stopped giving her such heartfelt gestures as this.

Finally, the countess let go of Mya, still smiling at her. "I would like to speak with my son for a few minutes, if that's okay. If you'd like, you can wait in the living room, or maybe in Jeongin's room? You still remember where that is, right?"

Jeongin smiled at her encouragingly. She could see the lines of relief around his eyes. Clearly, their reunion had gone much better than he could have imagined.

Mya nodded, still trying to process what had just happened. There was still a lump in her throat, but it was now replaced by a flurry of tender emotions rather than the fiery, pissed off ones from earlier.

Then, she was ascending the stairs towards Jeongin's room to wait for him. She was so deep in thought, in fact, that she barely registered what she was doing. She unconsciously sat down on the bed, peeking in the drawers of his bedside table.

Jeongin's room was exactly the same as she'd remembered it. A generous size, as were most royal bedrooms. There were two comfy leather chairs, and a matching couch in front of a 60" television, tons of animal-themed art hanging on the walls. He had a sheep plush on his pillow, with gray sheets and pillowcases on the bed. The two bedside tables were made of matching stained black wood. While his room matched the traditional Obsidian decor, he'd added his own unique touches, which was one of the many things Mya had loved about him.

Suddenly, her hand landed on a stack of papers, sitting neatly inside the bedside table she was absentmindedly rifling through.

Now usually, Mya wasn't known as nosy. Overly curious, perhaps, but she always tried to stay out of people's business, if it was clear they wouldn't want her snooping. For the most part, at least. She had to admit, her best friends, Riley and Alaska, had been a bad influence on her in that aspect.

"What isn't hidden is public knowledge!" Oh Alaska. Mya cringed.

"If you found it, it's yours." Typical Riley...

It was with her friends' convincing words that she snatched the papers - there were at least two dozen - and began to read.

My dear Mya,

Holy crap. Mya's eyes snapped up from the letter, broken from her trance. These letters were to her. Were all of them to her?

She flipped through each one, peeking at the top of the paper quickly.

Yes, every single one was addressed in the exact same way.

Should she be reading these?

"What isn't hidden is public knowledge! If you found it, it's yours."  Once again, the (potentially problematic) advice of her friends' drifted through her mind.

Oh fuck it, she thought, eyes once again glued to the page before her. Jeongin had left her, all those years ago, without so much as a goodbye. He owed her. She deserved to read these!

My dear Mya,
So... I'm in the hospital. It's my first day here, and it sucks. I hate lying in bed, all alone, with nothing to do. I just scroll on my phone or watch tv, all day. I would much rather be outside with the animals, my friends. With you.
The way I left you was wrong. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself. And I'm sure you won't forgive me, either. The way I never said goodbye, you probably hate me now. And I deserve that, and so much worse. But what I do want to say to you, what I would say to you if I could, is that I'm sorry. If I ever get out of this place, I will tell you, I promise.
And I have one more thing I'd like say to you, Mya. I love you. I never got to tell you, one last time, and I'll have to live with that regret until I die, which might actually be sooner than I thought.
I hope your friends are able to protect you better than I ever could. I miss you already. Not sure how to end something like this, when I know you'll never see it so... bye, I guess.
Yours,
Jeongin

Mya finished the first letter, tears falling freely onto the page. She didn't even try to hold them in, staining the aged ink, causing it to smudge. She quickly turned her head, so the words wouldn't be ruined.

So all this time, Jeongin was telling the truth. He really had loved her. And he really had thought he was going to die. This letter was his way of saying goodbye, even though he knew she would never read it. In a way, that made the words he wrote even more precious to her. He'd written without holding back, and for the first time, even though the letter was short, she felt like she truly knew him. Understood what he had been going through.

She moved to read the next one, dying to know what else he had to say.

"So you found them."

Mya whirled around, letters flying out of her hands and onto the bed. Eyes wide, she cast around for words, an excuse as to why she was nosing through his stuff. "I-I'm sorry!" she gasped. "I wasn't thinking, and I started looking in this drawer! I shouldn't have, I'll put them back right now!"

"Don't. Please." Jeongin had strode across the room, and in one swift movement, grabbed both of Mya's hands in his. His eyes bored into hers with an intensity that made her squirm. "I want you to read them. All of them.

"I wrote those letters with the assumption I would never be able to give them to you," he continued steadily, not breaking eye contact. "And for a long time, I didn't have the courage to give them to you. But now that I've been given the chance, I want you to know exactly what I was feeling, during the moments I thought might be my last. And it's not just because I want you to give me a second chance. I don't think I'll be able to convince you to do that. But I want you to understand what happened to me."

All Mya could do was nod, as she stared right back at those intense brown eyes that she'd fallen in love with. And all she could feel inside was a turbulent mix of conflicting emotions.

Did she want to give him a second chance? She had no idea.

"Girl, he's literally obsessed with you!" Alaska's eyes flashed.

A couple days ago, Alaska, Riley, and Mya had all gathered in Mya's room. Lanhua was gone, escaping Changbin's grip once again. They were gathered for their weekly boy talk, and as always, Mya was in crisis-mode.

"But I can't be with him!" she insisted. "I can't let him off the hook that easily! He broke my heart, and lied to me! Then, he refused to find me when he got out of the hospital! He just let me think he'd ditched me for no reason! That's like, red flags everywhere!"

"But he's doing everything in his power to make it right, isn't he?" Riley pointed out.

"Yes..." Mya mumbled. "I guess you could say that."

"And you want to be with him." It was a statement from Alaska, not a question. "I see it in your eyes, you're just as in love with him as you were in high school."

"I-I-" Mya stumbled.

But of course she was. She always had been, and probably always would be.

Alaska and Riley shared an exasperated look, before saying together, "then give him another chance, ya dummy!"

Mya placed the letters behind her, out of sight. Her friends were right. No matter what anger she felt towards him, it was time to move on, right?

Jeongin stared at her, confusion clouding his vision.

"Y-you don't want to read them?" he asked, unable to keep the hurt from his voice.

Mya smiled, shaking her head. "Yes, I'm going to read the letters. But... they don't matter."

Jeongin's brow crinkled. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because I feel like I truly know you, Jeongin. I want to be with you. After all this time, I want to give us another chance."

laska's note —
aww look at that, is mya trying to forgive jeongin?? 👀👀 we love to see another couple potentially getting together! i guess we needed a bit of softness before we jump back into all the craziness that is happening at the mansion, right? i wonder what game are they gonna be playing in the next chapter? i hope it's gonna be something fun, and hopefully it'll end well, too! i guess you will have to stay tuned! 🤭

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟰𝟱 - 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻
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