When She Finally Broke

The second my door clicked shut, I pressed my ear against the wall.

Yeah, I know. Mature, respectful, not creepy behavior at all…

But there was a guy who made a pregnant girl tremble, who’d waited outside her apartment for hours… and was now inside with her. Alone…

So if eavesdropping was my only option? Fine.

Just why… Why did she ask me to leave?

The wall was cool against my cheek. I could hear… something. Voices bled through, muffled. Not words. Not clearly. Just sound leaking through like light through a cracked door.

I pressed harder. It didn’t help. The words smeared together, turning into just tones and volume.

I imagined him standing too close, smiling. Waving some contract in her face.

I imagined her shrinking, apologizing over and over again.

“Just knock.” I whispered to the wall. “If it gets bad, just knock.”

Nothing.

Minutes dragged.

10 minutes.

15.

20…

Then… Click.

The muffled sound of a door opening. Footsteps in the hallway.

Every cell in my body screamed to go back.

To knock. To ask if she was okay.

To tell her she didn’t have to face all of that alone.

But…

We weren’t that close…

Not yet.

And whatever had just happened between them… ‘boss’, ‘client’, ‘contract’, ‘agency’... it was all tangled in a life I wasn’t part of.

Not yet.

For now, she needed space… but that didn’t mean I was walking away.

I was going to find out exactly what was going on, and when I did… this bastard would wish he’d never laid a hand on her life.

Sleep came eventually.

But it didn’t last.

—-----------------------------

I jerked awake to raised voices next door.

My phone lit up when I grabbed it…

2:07 a.m.

For a second my heart stopped.

Is he back?

Then I heard it properly.

Not multiple, just one voice.

Her… Yuna.

Loud.

Laughing.

High-pitched squeals.

Oh… She was gaming.

Again.

“...Of course.” I muttered. “Of course you’d start doing all-nighters again today…”

She turned on the PC… trying to shut off reality for a few hours, because facing real life was too heavy…

That must be it.

Now I know the reason why she keeps gaming every night…

“I’ll check on her tomorrow…” I decided, rolling onto my side. “Afternoon, evening, whenever. I don’t care if it’s weird.”

I waited for my heart to slow down.

It didn’t, really.

But eventually, exhaustion dragged me back into sleep.

—---------------------------------

The next day, late afternoon, I stood in front of her door. I’d brought her lunch, but the bento box was still sitting there, untouched. It made sense… she’d been up all night again.

I didn’t know why my heartbeat always spiked right there like I was about to walk on stage or something…

It’s just a door.

I raised my hand.

Ding dong.

Silence.

I waited. No footsteps, no chain, no “give me 5 minutes.”

I pressed the bell again… still nothing.

A flicker of worry crawled up my spine. “Yuna?” I called softly. “It’s me.”

Nothing. No sound.

Was she asleep?

Collapsed again?

The last thought made my chest tighten painfully.

“Think…” I muttered to myself.

If she was gaming until, let’s say, 6 in the morning… this was probably her deep sleep window.

Still. I just can’t stop myself from being worried… I guess my sister was right…

After the 3rd try, I backed up.

I went back into my apartment and wrote something on a sticky note, then returned to her door and attached it to the bento box.

I wrote carefully, since my handwriting tends to look like a doctor’s prescription.

You didn’t answer so I assumed you’re sleeping. Eat this when you wake up. And if you need anything at all. I’m next door.

— Ren

I stared at it for a second before leaving.

Too much? Too weird? Too…

Whatever.

I left it there together with the bento box from lunch and went back inside.

—--------------------------------

2 hours later, my doorbell rang. I almost dropped my phone.

I opened the door.

She stood there, hugging the empty bento box like it was a shield. Hair messy again… her eyes looked tired.

But most importantly, she wasn’t wearing a mask.

I took that as a quiet kind of trust.

“Hello, Ren…” she said quietly. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you.”

“Not at all.” I said immediately, stepping aside. “Do you want to come in? Are you hungry again? I’ve got snacks, not healthy ones but…”

She shook her head quickly.

“That’s not why I’m here.” she said, voice small. “I just… wanted to say thank you. For the food. And…”

Her fingers tightened around the bento box.

“...sorry.”

My smile faltered for a fraction of a second without me even noticing.

“Sorry?” I repeated. “For what?”

“...Because of yesterday.” she whispered. “That whole thing… it must have been really awkward for you. And I can’t even explain the situation properly, so… I’m sorry.”

I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms.

“You don’t owe me an explanation.” I said. “And you definitely don’t owe me an apology.”

“But I…”

“If anything.” I cut in, the bitterness slipping out before I could catch it. “I should be the one apologizing. For leaving you alone with that guy.”

Her eyes widened. “But you… I told you to go…”

“And I listened… Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”

She stared down at the floor. Silence stretched between us for a few seconds.

Then I sighed and forced my shoulders to relax.

“Look.” I said more gently. “I’m just glad you’re here. I rang the doorbell 2 hours ago, were you still sleeping?”

She hesitated.

“Um…yes.” she said slowly. “I… went to bed late.”

“Right… Because you started gaming all night again, didn’t you?”

She froze.

Her fingers toyed with the bento box in her hands.

For a moment she didn’t answer.

Then quietly:

“...Yes.”

She took a shaky breath.

“I’m sorr–”

She stopped herself mid-word, slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide like she’d almost committed a crime.

That… did something to me.

I stared at her for a second. Then I moved.

Before she could back away, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.

She made a tiny, stunned sound.

“Huh?”

Up close, I could feel how tense she was. Her shoulders were stone. Her breathing shallow. Like her body had learned to expect punishment.

“People only say ‘sorry’ that much... when someone taught them they’re a burden." I said softly, near her ear.

She didn’t respond.

Didn’t joke, didn’t deflect.

She just stood there, frozen, like she didn’t know what to do with kindness that didn’t demand payment.

“I know we don’t really know each other.” I went on, and the words kept coming before I could overthink them. “...but I want to be here for you. I don’t think you’re a burden.”

Her fingers curled into the back of my shirt. Hesitant. Like she was asking for permission.

“In fact.” I added, letting out a small humorless laugh. “I’m… glad. That I can finally be of some use to another person… for once. I know it's selfish...”

The words surprised even me. I hadn’t planned to say them. They just slipped out.

Honest. Vulnerable. Ugly.

But strangely…

It felt right.

She still hadn’t said anything.

I waited.

Her weight was light against me, even with the baby bump between us. Too light.

Her hair brushed my chin.

When nothing came, I slowly loosened my hold and stepped back, ready to apologize for overstepping.

“Sorry, I…”

I stopped.

She was crying.

Not just a few tears.

Silent, ugly crying.

Tears streaming down her face, dripping off her jaw, vanishing into the fabric of her sleeves.

She tried desperately to wipe them away with one hand, turning her face aside like that would hide it… like they were evidence of weakness…

Her shoulders shook. Her chest hitched. Her eyes were red and glossy and swollen.

“Hey…” I said softly. “Hey, it’s okay…”

“I’m…” she started, voice breaking. “I’m… not…”

She cut herself off, recognizing the familiar shape of an apology forming on her tongue… and stopping it before it could escape.

I did the only thing that felt right. I stepped closer again, and pulled her into another hug.

This time, she didn’t freeze.

She broke.

Her arms slipped around my back, gripping handfuls of my shirt.

And she cried.

Really cried.

The sound that tore out of her chest wasn’t quiet anymore… a broken, gasping sob she couldn’t hold back.

She tried to breathe. Failed.

Each inhale stuttered, each exhale cracked into another sob.

I held her.

I didn’t ask any questions.

I just stayed.

“It’s okay… you’re allowed to cry.”

Her fingers tightened.

“You’re allowed to be tired… You’re allowed to be scared… You’re allowed to be… anything. You don’t have to apologize for existing, you know?”

I didn’t ask about contracts… or her ‘boss’... or this ‘agency’.

Not yet.

Right now, this was enough.

…I didn’t know what I was to her.

A neighbor.

A temporary lifeline.

Maybe she recognized me from the internet… and decided not to say anything.

But it didn’t matter right now.

As she cried into my chest, one thought settled quietly in my mind.

If being “of use” meant staying right here, then I’d do it as long as she needed.

Even if it hurts to watch. Even if I didn’t fully understand.

Even if all I could do…

was make sure she never had to cry alone again.