CHAPTER 41 — THEY CAME TO APOLOGIZE
Jae was sitting on the bed, holding the coffee Ci-n gave her, when she noticed something was off.
Ci-n and David were too quiet.
David kept checking his phone.
Ci-n wasn't making jokes.
That was suspicious.
She looked at them slowly.
"…What did you do."
Ci-n didn't answer.
David looked at him.
Bad sign.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You did something."
Ci-n sighed.
"Don't get mad."
She put the cup down.
"You brought someone."
Silence.
Her heart dropped.
"…Who."
No answer.
Knock.
Her body froze.
She looked at the door.
Then at Ci-n.
Then at David.
"…Tell me that's not who I think it is."
Ci-n spoke fast.
"It's not Keifer."
She froze.
"…Then who."
David answered quietly.
"Section E."
Her face went blank.
Not angry.
Not shocked.
Blank.
Another knock.
Freya's voice from outside.
"Jae… please… we know you're inside."
She closed her eyes.
"…Open it."
Ci-n hesitated.
"You sure?"
She didn't look at him.
"Open it."
The door opened slowly.
Freya walked in first.
Grace behind her.
Rakki.
Mica.
Jae didn't react.
She had already forgiven them before.
But then —
the boys walked in too.
Mark Keifer Watson was not there.
But the rest of Section E was.
Yuri Hanamitchi
Ci-N already inside
David already inside
Felix
Eman
Denzel
Kit
Mayo
Rory
Edrix
Eren
Josh
Drew
Blaster
Angelo not there
Aries not there
They all stopped near the door.
No one came closer.
No one smiled.
The room felt heavy.
Jae crossed her arms.
"…Why are all of you here."
Freya spoke softly.
"They wanted to apologize too."
Silence.
She looked at the boys one by one.
"…For what part."
Rory swallowed.
"For everything."
Edrix nodded.
"We knew about the plan."
Her jaw tightened instantly.
Grace spoke quickly,
"But we stopped halfway."
Denzel added,
"We thought it was just revenge on Aries."
Kit continued,
"We didn't know he would go that far."
Jae laughed bitterly.
"He humiliated me in front of the whole school."
No one argued.
Felix looked down.
"We know."
Eman spoke quietly.
"We stopped it halfway."
Her eyes snapped to him.
"What."
Rory nodded.
"We told him to stop."
Mayo added,
"We said it went too far."
Drew sighed.
"He didn't listen."
Silence.
Her breathing got heavier.
"You still let it happen."
Rory shook his head.
"We didn't know what else to do."
Blaster spoke,
"We were stupid."
Eren nodded.
"We were kids."
Josh said quietly,
"We didn't think you would disappear like that."
Her eyes flickered.
Freya's voice broke.
"You were our mutya."
The room went silent.
Jae looked at her slowly.
"…Don't say that."
Grace wiped her eyes.
"You were."
Rakki nodded.
"You kept everyone together."
Mica added,
"You were the only one who treated everyone the same."
Edrix looked at the floor.
"When you left… everything changed."
Denzel sighed.
"Section E wasn't the same."
Rory spoke softly.
"We missed you."
Her throat tightened.
She turned away.
Walked to the window.
Back facing them.
"…Why now."
Silence.
Then Yuri spoke.
"Because we saw you last night."
Felix nodded.
"You really moved on."
Kit added,
"And we didn't want you to think we were all like him."
Her hands clenched.
"You should have said this eleven years ago."
Edrix laughed quietly.
"We were scared of him too."
She turned.
"…Scared?"
Rory nodded.
"You think only you cried that day?"
Silence.
Denzel said,
"We lost you too."
The room went quiet.
Jae stood there for a long time.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Finally she sighed.
Long.
Tired.
"…I already forgave the girls."
Freya looked up.
Her eyes filled again.
Jae continued,
"But not all of you."
The boys stayed quiet.
She looked at them one by one.
Rory.
Edrix.
Denzel.
Kit.
Felix.
Eman.
Josh.
Drew.
Mayo.
Blaster.
Yuri.
Rabin.
Eren.
Her voice got softer.
"…But I don't hate you the same way I hate him."
Relief spread across the room.
Not happiness.
Just relief.
Edrix spoke carefully.
"…Does that mean…?"
She closed her eyes.
Then opened them again.
"…I forgive you."
No one moved for a second.
Then Grace cried.
Rakki hugged Mica.
Rory exhaled hard.
Denzel smiled slightly.
But Jae raised her hand.
"Don't celebrate."
They stopped.
Her expression turned serious.
"This stays between us."
Everyone nodded.
"No Angelo."
Nod.
"No Aries."
Nod.
Her voice dropped.
"…No Keifer."
That one hurt them.
But they still nodded.
"If he finds out…"
Her eyes turned cold.
"I disappear again."
No one argued.
Edrix spoke quietly.
"We won't tell."
Rory nodded.
"Promise."
Freya whispered,
"Promise."
Jae sat down on the bed slowly.
Exhausted.
"…Now go."
They didn't complain.
One by one they left the room.
Freya last.
Before leaving she said softly,
"…We really missed you, mutya."
Jae didn't answer.
The door closed.
Silence again.
Ci-n looked at her.
David looked at her.
She leaned back on the bed.
Covered her eyes.
"…I'm so tired."
Ci-n smirked.
"Good. That means you're human."
David nodded.
"Finally."
The apartment was quiet after everyone left.
Jae sat on the couch, phone still in her hand, staring at the screen without really seeing anything.
Ci-n and David were in the kitchen, talking quietly, giving her space.
Her mind was still full.
Awards.
Keifer.
Section E.
Apology.
Mutya.
Too much for one day.
She took a deep breath, then unlocked her phone.
Video call.
Min-jae.
The call rang twice before he picked up.
His hair was messy, hoodie on, blanket around his shoulders.
He blinked when he saw her.
"Hey… you look tired."
She smiled a little.
"You look worse."
He smirked.
"I'm sick, I'm allowed."
She sat properly on the couch.
"I have news."
His eyebrows lifted.
"You sound serious."
She hesitated for a second.
Then said it.
"…Section E came."
He froze.
"…All of them?"
"Yes."
His face changed instantly.
Not angry.
Not jealous.
Just alert.
"And?"
"They apologized."
Silence.
He stared at her.
"…And?"
She exhaled slowly.
"I forgave them."
For a moment he didn't react.
Then he smiled.
A real smile.
Not forced.
Not fake.
"I'm proud of you."
Her eyes softened.
"That's it?"
"What else should I say?"
"I thought you'd be mad."
He shook his head.
"You needed that."
She looked down.
"…Yeah."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"You okay now?"
"Better."
He nodded.
"Good."
She hesitated again.
Then said,
"I'm calling everyone here."
His eyes widened.
"Everyone?"
"The crew… Ci-n… David… Section E… the girls… all of them."
He laughed softly.
"That sounds dangerous."
She smirked.
"It probably is."
He smiled.
"Call me when they come."
"You stay."
He blinked.
"On call?"
"Yes."
He smiled again.
"Okay."
She stood up.
Walked toward the door.
Opened it.
Ci-n looked up.
"You alive?"
She nodded.
"I'm calling everyone here."
David blinked.
"…Everyone?"
"Yes."
Ci-n grinned.
"Oh this will be fun."
One hour later
The apartment was full.
Crew everywhere.
Yuna on the floor.
Sora on the couch.
Jiho opening snacks.
Rory talking with David.
Edrix laughing with Ci-n.
Denzel near the balcony.
Kit and Josh arguing about music.
Blaster already touching the speaker.
Freya, Grace, Rakki and Mica were sitting next to Jae like they always did now.
They already knew everything.
They didn't ask questions anymore.
Min-jae's phone was on the table, still on video call.
He was watching everything like a livestream.
"You people are louder than the hospital," he said.
Yuna waved at the phone.
"Hi Min-jae!"
He waved back.
Then suddenly—
Blaster jumped up.
"PARTY TIME!"
Everyone cheered.
"YES!"
"Finally!"
"Music!"
"Drinks!"
"Let's go!"
Jae's eyes widened.
"No."
The whole room froze.
Blaster blinked.
"…What."
She crossed her arms.
"We can party."
Everyone relaxed.
Then she finished —
"But no alcohol."
Silence.
Real silence.
Kit frowned.
"…Since when."
Rory looked confused.
"You're the one who used to drink the most."
Denzel laughed.
"Yeah what happened."
Freya looked at Jae carefully.
She knew this look.
Jae looked down.
Didn't smile.
Didn't joke.
Ci-n straightened.
He knew too.
David looked at her quietly.
Min-jae on the phone stopped smiling.
Jae spoke softly.
"I stopped five years ago."
No one moved.
Josh frowned.
"Why?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Her fingers played with the sleeve of her hoodie.
Then she said it.
"I had depression."
The room went completely silent.
Blaster slowly sat down.
Rory blinked.
"…What?"
She kept looking down.
"After… everything… back then… I couldn't sleep."
No one spoke.
"I had anxiety attacks."
Kit's face changed.
"I needed sleeping pills every night."
Denzel looked at Edrix.
Edrix didn't say anything.
She continued.
"My chest would hurt… I couldn't breathe sometimes… I thought I was dying."
David looked at the floor.
Ci-n crossed his arms.
Then she said the part that always made the room freeze.
"I got lung cancer."
No one moved.
No one even blinked.
Josh whispered,
"…You're joking."
She shook her head.
"I survived."
Freya held her hand quietly.
She already knew.
Grace too.
Rakki too.
Mica too.
But the boys didn't.
Rory looked like someone punched him.
Denzel sat down slowly.
Blaster stared at the floor.
Kit ran his hand through his hair.
"…We didn't know…"
Jae shrugged lightly.
"You weren't supposed to."
Silence again.
She touched her chest.
"My lungs are weak now."
Her voice was calm but tired.
"I can't drink."
"I can't smoke."
"I can't stay up all night."
"I can't do stupid things anymore."
Min-jae spoke softly from the phone.
"You already did enough stupid things for one lifetime."
She looked at the screen and smiled a little.
Ci-n sat on the arm of the couch.
"You didn't tell them before."
She shook her head.
"They didn't need to know."
Rory stood up slowly.
Walked closer.
Stopped a few steps away.
"…We thought you just left."
She looked at him.
"I almost didn't come back."
That hurt more than anything.
Silence filled the room again.
Then Blaster raised his hand slowly.
"…Okay."
Everyone looked at him.
He nodded seriously.
"No alcohol."
Kit sighed.
"Juice party?"
Yuna laughed.
"Yes."
Denzel nodded.
"Juice party."
David clapped once.
"Approved."
Ci-n smirked.
"Best party."
Music started.
Not loud.
Just enough.
People sat on the floor.
On the couch.
On the carpet.
Talking.
Laughing slowly again.
Min-jae still on the phone.
Watching her.
Jae leaned back against the couch.
Freya on one side.
Grace on the other.
Ci-n behind her.
Crew everywhere.
Section E around the room.
And for the first time,
no lies
no secrets
no plan
no revenge
just people
sitting together
like they should have eleven years ago.