[ jaejin shakes his head in response almost immediately. he knows vie couldn't have anticipated any of this, knows he never wanted it. from what he's said and shown him, it's always been a means to an end. it's not what he means and certainly not what he wants to say, but he can't make any of vie's decisions for him, not now or in the future. everything in him aches to turn back to him and reach out for him, too conscious of the pain in his tone and knowing he's the cause of it. he still wants to take care of him, still wishes he could.

sunni was right, in the end. he was right about a lot of things. maybe this is just everything coming full circle. ]

I can't choose for you, Vie. If it had been me, we could have left. [ it's gentler this time, maybe because he knows they should be quieter because of the hour, or maybe because he can feel the fight bleeding out of him. he wouldn't have cared if they had to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives, he doesn't think. at the end of the day, they would have been together. that should be what matters. ] We just need to do the best we can with this situation now. It was your dream, wasn't it? We can just go back to that plan.

[ if they do, vie will be free to make any decision he likes instead of the ones he feels he has to. he'll be free in every sense. jaejin doesn't know why he feels so hollowed out. ]