Pain

Ryu!? Darah was shocked in her spot, not knowing what to do as he tore his gaze away from her. 

"Answer me you fucker!" Jake spat angrily and pulled him by his collar, making Ryu get up from his seat with disgust in his eyes. He swat Jake's hand away from his hoodie and stepped backwards slowly. 

"You love to lie don't you?" Ryu spoke coldly, fixing his hoodie over the place where Jake roughly held him. 

"Lying!? You must be out of your mind-" Jake lost his patience and pulled him by his hoodie again as Ryu glared dead into his eyes. For some reason, even with the mask on, Jake felt like he had seen this man somewhere before.

"Jake. That's enough." Darah stepped in before the manager could come to them, her eyes staring in concern at the tall man in black.

"But Darah he-"

"I know... And it's alright. I'll take care of it. You don't have to worry." Darah assured Jake who frowned at her first but then nodded slowly.

"Sir. Can you please step outside?" Darah pretended to not know him for the time being. Surprisingly, Ryu nodded almost immediately with a smirk under his mask. Jake watched suspiciously the duo stepping outside without a word to each other under the night lights. 

Darah walked a little distance away from the entrance of the cafe, Ryu's hand suddenly getting hold of her wrist. He pulled up the sleeve carefully to see that her skin looked almost okay but Darah immediately shook her hand away in discomfort.

"Ryu? Why're you here!? And what was that for?" She demanded with shaking hands, seeing him slowly pull down his mask with a weak smile. 

"I wanted to see you." He smiled, the sides of his lips completely curving up. It looked so new to her, watching genuine happiness on his face like that. Her heart raced subconsciously, almost forgetting what she intended to say for a moment.

"By hurting Jake? What's wrong with you?" Darah glared and saw how Ryu's smile dropped immediately, his eyes going lifeless.

"He did it to himself." Ryu scoffed, turning behind. 

"I know Jake… He wouldn't lie like that." 

"He lied straight to your face."

"I'm sorry but what does he get from lying like that? I know him well enough to believe him!" She said so, placing a hand to her chest. 

"Oh…" Ryu's smirk dimmed as he turned to face her again with disappointment in his eyes. He extended his hand out slowly to her face and pushed back the hair falling over her cheek which she had ignored after the tiring hours of work. 

"So you believe a man you've barely known for a few weeks… rather than me?" His pitch black orbs dwelled deep into her soul with that piercing gaze making Darah angrier than before. She swatted his hand away aggressively.

"Stay away from him… He's not the kind of guy who you should be around." Ryu said seriously but Darah shook her head in disappointment.

"How would you know? Are you a mentalist!? Stop making up lies!" Ryu scoffed at her conclusion.

"I can tell things about people from first glance. I've been around all kinds of them..." 

"And what about you then? What exactly do I know about you!?" Darah spat back angrily, tears almost welling up in her eyes. For a second she felt like her emotions were completely controlling her so she took a deep breath and held it in. But it was of no use…  Ryu was silent for a few seconds, confused in her hatred towards him. 

"You know me… Better than you know him. I need you to trust me." Ryu was very much sure about his words. His eyes showed it.

"Why should I trust you!? What do I really know about you!? Anything other than the fact that you fucking kill people!!!" She yelled, tears finally dripping down her cheeks. However the moment she said it she felt instant regret seeing how the light in Ryu's eyes immediately dimmed, his shoulders dropping weakly. But she had to do it… If I don't then I'll hurt the both of us, she reminded herself.

"I must've been really stupid to… feel things I shouldn't have felt in the first place. Thank you for saving me back that day when I should've died. And thank you for making me feel deserving of love at all… But I really cannot stand the fact that I actually fell for someone who kills people! I still remember how I tried to ignore the fact that you had literal blood stains over your hands when you tried to "train" me! I hate myself more than anything!" 

Darah cried, hugging herself in the cold breeze flowing through her loose dress, her shoulders shaking from hiccups. But it still hurt her more that instead of ranting back at her, Ryu was at a loss for words, shaking his head slowly in denial. One thing he couldn't figure out was whether he should feel happy or sad for the fact that she actually loved him... He extended his hand out again to wipe the tears flowing down her cheeks but she stepped back with disgust written all over her face. 

"Let's forget everything Ryu. Just wipe my face off your mind. You might be thinking I'm crazy at this point but it's the best for the both of us. I'm just a coward who can't make up her damn mind." Darah wept as she covered her face. Even though her tears had completely blurred her vision, a blink of her eyes made her see how hurt he looked, his eyes closing slowly to feel the terrible pain… The pain which wasn't physical this time, but scorching his heart instead. 

"Do you think it's my fault?" Ryu spoke after a brief silence, making Darah step out of her thoughts. The fact that he looked so oblivious made her even more sad. 

"Do you think I'm not deserving of love… Because I've killed people?" Ryu said so, keeping his gaze on the ground. Darah couldn't bear to look at those betrayed black orbs.

"Yes. You can leave me alone now." She said firmly, wiping her tears. Ryu lowered his head and put on his mask immediately. He seemed saddened enough by everything she's said but couldn't put it to words somehow. He didn't find a point in standing there in silence. As he stepped backwards slowly and turned to head to his car, her cold voice called out again. 

"And I don't want to be near you anymore. I'll be moving out quite soon. D-Don't come looking for me…" Her voice broke halfway as she cried to herself silently. Ryu's hands turned into fists as he kept his gaze straight to his car. His eyelids felt heavy. Looking at her would only make it worse because he hadn't felt his heart break like this in years…