Shatterproof | SB19 Sejun [SB19 Series #2]

Sejun's POV

The clock read 2:45AM. I have not realized that I have spent the last hours mesmerized by Gab's handwritten letters. I wiped my tears. I had not realized that I was crying.

I know it was an unholy hour but then, Drake was my attending physician and he was Gab's friend. I needed to talk to him.

I quickly dialed his number. Drake answered on the 5th ring.

"What?" He asked sleepily. I almost felt bad for waking the guy up. Almost.

"We need to talk," I told him.

"Can it wait until later? Like when the sun is up?" He whined groggily.

"You're used to waking up in the middle of the night," I pointed out.

"This is not an emergency, Sejun. This is not a life or death situation. You're alive and kicking," Drake said. He seems ready to kill me.

"Basta. I need to talk to you."

The line went dead. Drake hung up on me.

Well. Fine. Okay.

Drake was grumpy that morning as he made rounds. He was holding a cup of coffee, sipping it as he glared at me.

"What do you want to talk about?" Drake asked me, setting his coffee cup down on the bedside table. He sat on the couch and looked at me expectantly.

I looked at him straight in the eye. This was Gab's friend and confidante for so long, since med school, since I ever came into the picture. We never talked man to man and this was my opportunity right here.

"Did you ever love Gab?" I asked him. Straight to the point.

Drake looked slightly taken aback. My question clearly shocked him. He quickly recovered from his surprise.

"Of course I love her," Drake replied, matter of factly. Of course he does love her. I know what he was trying to point out. He loves her as a friend. That was not the gist of my question though.

"I mean you love her. More than a friend," I clarified.

Drake was silent. I was anticipating this, though.

"Why are you asking me this, Sejun?" he asked, pained.

"You can tell me the truth, Drake," I told him. I won't hold it against him. He just had to tell me the truth.

Drake sighed. He looked like he wanted to hold back but he bravely met my eyes and answered, "Yes. I love her. More than a friend."

Clearly, I was not surprised.

"Then why are you pushing me and her together?" I asked. "She could have had you. You'd be perfect for each other."

'We both know she's never looked at me that way," Drake pointed out wryly. "I love her even before you came. I thought we might have a future together."

Drake rubbed his palms together and sighed. "But I saw the way she looked at you. I saw how she adored you. And even if I was there first, she never looked at me with such love and adoration. When you broke up, her heart was just set on you."

I recalled Gab's letters. I remembered how she wrote her heart out, each word perfectly crafted that spelled out how much she loved me.

"Her heart was stubborn. She was stubborn. And...." he trailed off.

"And?" I prompted him.

"There was just no way that I could ever compete with you. Right from the start, I know when you got together. I knew that I already lost. I had years with her but I never got the courage to tell her how I feel. But you, you saw her and got to her already. And at first I was jealous of that," Drake said.