Farewell, Neverland (Choi Yeonjun x Reader)

Chapter 26: All My Fault

After Yeonjun stormed out of your office, you realized you messed up.

All of your bottled-up stress from your job made you release it on Yeonjun. Anger wasn't supposed to be in the picture; you were only tired.

After putting away the last file, you decided to find Yeonjun and apologize for what happened. You walked to his room, knowing he would be there, but you were surprised instead.

The room was dark. In the opened closet, clothes meant to be hanging on the racks were gone.

Confused, you walked to Yurim's office and knocked on the door. After she told you to come in, you asked her if she'd seen Yeonjun."Is he not in his room?" asked Yurim.

You shook your head. "No, I already checked. The room was empty as well."

"Hm, that's weird. Then, if Yeonjun isn't in his room, he must be at the crop fields."

"But aren't the gates closed right now? Yeonjun can't access it unless he's special personal," you said.

"Don't worry, Y/n, he's probably with Mr. Noh. But before you check, I need you to do a favor for me."

Yurim bent down, seizing Jihyun from behind her desk and handing her to you. The toddler was so quiet that you didn't even realize she was there. "Huh? Aunt Yurim-"

"Y/n, can you watch Jihyun real quick? Kiyoung and I need to check over something with another compound. It shouldn't last no more than an hour."

Yurim didn't even give you a chance to speak. She picked up her purse and briskly walked out of her office. Jihyun watched her mother disappear, and tears emerged from the young girl's eyes.

"Wait, Jihyun, don't cry!" you said, lightly bouncing the toddler in your arms. "Your mommy will come back. Let's go play in your room!"

Jihyun just looked at you, and she didn't let out a sound of a cry. You walked the short distance to Jihyun's room and sat on the colorful carpet, giving Jihyun some of her toys to play with.

Watching the toddler, you suddenly had a flashback of you and Yeonjun meeting for the first time.

Your mother and his father had placed both of you in the daycare at the science lab back on Earth. Yeonjun was rocking in the corner, whining and refusing to talk to anyone. It happened daily, and none of the daycare workers could cheer him up. Curious one day, you went to the crying boy and asked what was wrong.

"I want my mommy," younger Yeonjun had wept.

"Your mommy isn't here?" you asked. "My mommy is here at this place. She's going to pick me up soon." Those words only made Yeonjun cry more. You were young and had a big mouth, so you didn't know anything better to say. Yoona gave you a stern talking-to when she came to get you.

The next day, you sat by the crying Yeonjun and began having small conversations with him, apologizing too. Soon, the boy grew more comfortable with you, and his cries disappeared.

You and Yeonjun were inseparable afterward, still best friends on the move to Mars.

After waking back up in reality, Jihyun put a toy in your hand, wanting you to play with her. You did, and no more than an hour later, Yurim came back with Kiyoung. Jihyun squealed happily, and Kiyoung picked her up in his arms, kissing her cheeks.

"Y/n, thank you for watching Jihyun on short notice," said Yurim.

"You're welcome. I don't mind watching my younger cousin," you said.

Saying goodbye to everyone, you ran outside the lab and to the crop fields, resuming your search. Locking the gate stood Noh Jongyoon, the older man in charge of the crops. Before and during the days of Earth's heavy pollution, he had owned a farm. Because of his experience, Mr. Noh leads the Seoul Compound's crop fields.

"Mr. Noh!" you shouted, stopping before him to catch your breath.The man was surprised to see you there. "Oh, hello, Y/n. What can I do for you?"

"I hope you're doing well, sir. I was just wondering if Choi Yeonjun was here with you. He wasn't in his room when I checked."

Mr. Noh frowned. "I wish I knew where that man was, Y/n, but I'm sorry. The last time I saw him was at dinner," the old man replied. "He may be somewhere else, yet I wouldn't be so sure since curfew is about to be in place."

"No worries, thank you, Mr. Noh," you said.

"You're welcome. Good luck with your search!"

After saying goodbye, you continued to scour for Yeonjun all over the compound until the curfew bell rang. Defeated, you dragged your feet back to the lab and flopped onto your bed.

"You'll find Yeonjun tomorrow, Y/n," you whispered. "he wouldn't disappear like that without saying goodbye."

Sadly, your words came to be false the next day; Yeonjun was nowhere to be found.

Everywhere you looked and asked, your friend wasn't there. If you could, you would have searched for the whole day but had other responsibilities. Today, you went with Kiyoung to another compound to advise where to place a small well. And you had to advise others at your compound.

Throughout the day, you kept your eyes open for Yeonjun. You hoped he would be at lunch or dinner, but he wasn't. Mr. Noh said he didn't even show up to work today.

"Maybe he ran somewhere to be away from me," you told yourself when you went to bed that night. "I'm the one that dragged him here and kicked him out anyway.

"Thinking about it, you realize that during this whole journey, you were selfish. You came up with all the plans, and Yeonjun voluntarily followed you.

You don't even remember asking him what he wanted to do or if he wanted to go in the first place. You felt as if he had no choice but to go with you.

Maybe Yeonjun never wanted to leave Mars. Maybe Yeonjun went with you because he was forcing himself to protect you.

What were his true feelings about all of this?

You couldn't stop the tears from stinging your eyes.

"Everything is all my fault," you sobbed.

Yeonjun, if he still considered you his friend, was nowhere to be seen. There was no one else to turn to. Sure, you had your aunt and uncle, but they were more focused on you becoming the next leader of the Seoul Compound. They wanted you to follow in your father's footsteps. They didn't seem to care that you were suffering on the inside.

If you hadn't left Mars, maybe the relationship with Yeonjun would've been as perfect as it was before. It could've possibly turned into something more. But that won't happen anymore.

Everything was all your fault.

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This chapter was supposed to be a lot shorter, but I didn't want that lol. How will everything end up in the last 5 chapters?
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