“That’s it? ‘You’re right’?”
“What do you want me to say? You already called me a hypocrite."
I hear the van door close behind me and glance back to see Carey leaning against it, arms crossed, making no move to intervene. His whole demeanour is composed because he's been expecting this showdown all along.
“Get up,” Eden demands. “Get up so I can hit you again.”
I rise slowly, wiping blood from my lip. “Go ahead.”
"Eden!" The shriek of Jintae's voice stabs straight through the middle of us both. He skids to a stop beside Eden, his eyes bulging at the sight of my bloody lip before he turns to Carey. "Why aren't you doing anything?"
"Because this isn't my fight."
"But he's bleeding," Jin protests, gesturing to my face.
"He can handle it. They both need to get this out of their systems if we're ever gonna move forward." Carey approaches him with a calmness that makes me so fucking proud to call him mine. "Come on." He places a gentle arm around Jin's shoulder. "Let's give them a minute."
"But—"
"Trust me. I know your brother, and he knows mine. They need to do this their way."
Physically shaking, Jin looks back at Eden, but there is something in Carey's quiet confidence that convinces him.
When they disappear behind the cafe I turn back to Eden. He winces, flexing the fingers of his right hand and looking over his knuckles.
"Your brother is a better man than either of us."
Eden fists his hand again. "Don't start talking like you know him better than me."
"Is that not how you feel about Jin? Like you know him better than I do?"
Eden digs the heel of both his palms into the center of his forehead, then drags them out to his temples as he paces unevenly. "Just… Just, be quiet."
"Why? Because it's hard to hear the truth? I've spent more time with Carey in the past three months than you have in the last ten years."
"My god, Tek. Would you just shut the fuck up for a minute?"
"We don't have a minute. My parents could show back up at any time. And for Carey and Jin, we need to go in there united." I gesture towards the cafe.
Eden glares at me side on. "I need to hear you say sorry for the things you said to Jin."
"I've already apologized to him, but I'll say it as many times as you both need to hear."
"And what about the things you accused me of?"
My stomach knots. Jin is only nineteen, and even though I trust that their love for each other is genuine, my reaction was a logical one. "I'm sorry for that too. But honestly, how did you expect me to react?"
"Not like you did. Not like a crazed animal."
"You just punched me!" My voice raises.
Eden dismisses me with a wave of his hand. "That was a retaliation punch. I don't want to keep hurting you."
I roll my eyes. "My hero."
"Quit the attitude."
"Quit acting like a victim."
