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"Is it fun?" The deep voice of one of Chenle’s co-worker broke through his train of thought, making him stop abruptly.
"What are you talking about, Jeno?" The other man just looked him up and down, before letting out a scoff and coming closer to his chair.
"Is it fun being the misfit, Chenle?" Chenle felt his figurative feathers ruffle at the other man’s words, suddenly going into defensive mode.
"What are you even talking about, Jeno? Who says I'm the misfit?" Chenle hated the way Jeno just smirked at the little crack in his voice.
"Everyone seems to think that. Can't you see that no one wants to be associated with you? Can't you see that no one here likes you? I really don't understand why you're still working in this company, when it's clear that no one wants you here." Jeno's voice was as smooth as silk, but his words were sharp and they cut deep, breaking through Chenle's defenses and leaving his heart bleeding.
"Congratulations, Jeno. You have proven, once again, that you're a fucking asshole! " This time Chenle didn’t wait for Jeno's response. He got out of his seat and left, in search of a quiet secluded place where could finally let the tears run free. He didn’t want to cry, and he didn’t want Jeno to see him cry, but he wasn’t going to be able to hold his tears back for much longer.
Chenle made his way to the roof of the building, closing the door behind himself. He crossed the wide space, choosing to sit near the edge. He didn't know how long he sat there, watching the cars pass by in the streets, watching the minuscule forms of the humans running around below, trying to get to different places. He watched as the world continued to move, with tears running down his rosy cheeks.
Even when the door that led to the rooftop opened and closed, he didn't bother wiping away the tears. Nor did he bother turning his head to see who it was. After all, he was pretty sure he knew.
"Chenle?" Jeno's voice was soft now, inquisitive. There was no trace of the harsh tone from before, but it still made Chenle flinch.
"What do you want Jeno?" Chenle's voice cracked but he didn’t care anymore.
"I'm sorry." Jeno did sound apologetic, but his sincerity just made Chenle angry.
"No, you're not. If you were, you wouldn't do this again and again." Chenle once again didn’t wait for a response. He got up and headed for the door. He could hear Jeno following him, but they both walked in silence for a while. Then they returned to their offices, not bothering to say anything else to each other.
That night, Chenle returned to his dark and cold apartment. He went through his nightly routine and then, as he lay in bed, one thought kept running in circles through his mind. Jeno had a point when he asked why he kept going back to that place, where no one remotely seemed to even like him. That night, Chenle tossed and turned in his bed and, when morning finally came, he had made a decision.
· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·
The next morning, instead of going to his office, he dropped by the Department's Head office, handing in his resignation, which he had printed out before heading to work. After that, he went to his office and started gathering all of his things. He didn't want to spend any more time in this building than necessary and, luckily for him, he didn't have that much stuff to gather.
However, he was foolish to think that no one would notice that he was taking box after box to his car. The other people working around him were whispering as they passed by his office, probably happy that the misfit was finally leaving. As much as all the staring and whispering was grating on his nerves, he didn't even look at them.
As he was closing the door to his office, his last box tucked under his arm, he saw Jeno storming down the hall. He tried to get out of his way, not in the mood to get insults thrown at him today, but Jeno harshly grabbed his arm, pushing him back in his office and blocking the door with his body.
"What are you doing, Chenle?!" His voice was almost a shout and Chenle took a step back, his eyes trained on the furious man standing in front of him.
"I was about to leave, Jeno. Now, would you please get out of my way?" Chenle tried to keep his voice steady, even though he was intimidated by Jeno.
"Then why are you carrying that box?" Jeno pointed at the box he was carrying, his chest heaving.
"Because I'm leaving and I'm not coming back. Now please move. " He was almost pleading with Jeno but, instead of moving aside, Jeno took a few steps towards him.
"What do you mean, you're leaving and not coming back? Don't be ridiculous!" Chenle watched as Jeno tried to reach for the box under his arm, a panicked hint to his voice.
"Your words made me realise that there really is no need for me to keep working here, so I'm leaving." Chenle tried to move around Jeno but the other man grabbed him once again.
"No, you're not! I already apologized! You know I didn't mean that!" Jeno was frantic now, his grip tight on Chenle's arms.
"Your apologies don't mean anything to me anymore, Jeno." He was getting tired of this already. He really didn’t have the energy for this and, as much as he hated to admit it, Chenle didn’t like seeing Jeno like this.
"Lele, please don't leave! I'm begging you, Lele!" Jeno's grip tightened on his arms, and he tried to pull Chenle in.
"You lost the right to call me Lele a long time ago, Jeno. Now please stop this. Stop shouting. It's not wise to do that, unless you want Jaemin to find out that you're still in contact with me. Go back. Go back to him and leave me alone." He didn’t care that he sounded defeated. He didn’t care that he was choked up, or that his heart hurt. All he wanted was to go home.
"I don't care about that! He already knows! That's not the point! Lele, I will do anything for you to remain here." For a second Chenle wanted to turn around and put his things back on his desk, but he knew he couldn’t do that.
"It's too late, Jeno.. You had the chance to be a part of my world. You were once my whole world, but you chose Jaemin. You cheated on me with Jaemin. And then you and Jaemin had the audacity to blame me. You told everyone that I cheated, that I was the bad guy,and everyone believed you. Everyone believed the sweethearts of the company, and I became the misfit. I beg you had a really good time fucking everything up for me. I hope you're happy with Jaemin, Jeno. I couldn't think of a better half for an asshole like you. Goodbye, Jeno." Chenle didn’t care that he was crying; he told himself that he didn’t care that Jeno was crying. He pulled himself out of Jeno's grip, which by now had gone limp, and headed for the door. He meant to just walk away but, before he could close the door, he looked behind him to see Jeno on the ground trying to muffle his sobs. He felt the parts of his heart that were still whole break and, with a sob of his own, he closed the door and left.