TEAR [MDP]
It was dark outside, and she could hear nothing but the shallowness of her breath and the crickets hidden in the grass. She's unsure of how long she's been walking, but her legs were tired and her eyes threatened to shut.
The bruise on her cheek was hurting, and her eyes stung as she remembered how she got it. How easily he abused her like she was nothing.
That's what she felt like. Like she was nothing. A ghost walking somberly through life. Nobody cares for her, and why should they? Ghosts are invisible to people, aren't they?
She sees the house and squeezes the wad of cash tighter in her palm. The house was huge, and the size of it intimidated her.
She was far from home.
She walks up the porch and knocks on the door, fighting the dizziness that begs her body to lay down.
A man opens the door just a crack, peeking down with sharp eyes at the little girl. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he studied her. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and her cheeks were covered in dirt and tear stains.
And yet she stared at him like he was a God.
"Please," the 6 year-old whispers, holding out the wad of cash.
The man's eyebrow lifts and he opens the door, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "What's this, kid?"
"It's his money, I—" she licks her lips, eyes darting nervously. "I stole it. I need you to help me."
"Do you know who I am?" he asks roughly.
"Kim Namjoon," the girl says. "I've heard you take out the bad guys. Is that true?"
Namjoon chuckles. Taking out the bad guys was a cute way of describing his job as an assassin. "I guess so."
"I need you to help me take out a bad guy," the girl pleads, and suddenly tears bubble in her eye. "Please. Please help me."
Namjoon's eyes fall to the bruises on her face. The dark circles under her eyes. The finger marks around her throat.
Namjoon crouches down to her height and reaches out to wipe her tears, but she flinches back.
Namjoon presses his lips into a firm line.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he says quietly.
The girl looked at him for a few seconds, lost and confused, before her eyes rolled back and her body suddenly gave out.
Namjoon quickly catches the little girl in his arms, blinking several times to try and process what just happened.
He takes her inside and locks the door behind him, his head full of questions and his lips turned down into a deep frown.
***
"You WHAT?" Yoongi shouts through the phone.
"Thanks for shattering my eardrums, asshole," Namjoon hisses, stirring the ramen he was making. "I don't know, okay? She just passed out. What was I supposed to do?"
"Drop her at an orphanage," Yoongi deadpans. "You don't know anything about this girl, Joon. Can you really handle being a father with the kind of work we do?"
"Yes," Namjoon sniffs. "No. Maybe. I don't know!"
As Yoongi began spewing a long lecture, Namjoon turned to see the girl shyly walking into the kitchen.
"Yeah, yeah, gotta go," Namjoon mutters. "Love you."
"HEY—"
Namjoon ends the call and smiles at the girl. "Did you sleep well?"
She nods stiffly, unsure of what to do with herself.
"You can sit at the table, um...?"
"Maisie."
"Maisie," Namjoon nods, pulling out a chair for her. "Your food is almost done."
"Food?" she asks, sitting down. "You mean I get to eat?"
Namjoon ignores the tight feeling in his chest. "Of course you do."
Maisie's eyebrows furrow when the bowl of ramen is placed down in front of her, as if she can't understand the fact that he's made a meal for her. She looks at Namjoon with confused eyes and he sighs.
"Eat," Namjoon says. "We need to get you bathed and ready for bed."
Namjoon prepares a bath while she's eating. He tells himself it's because he's saving time, but in reality he can't bear to watch her scarfing down the bowl like it was the first meal she's eaten all week.
Once she's done, he peels away her dirty clothes and sets her into the bath. There's bruises and cuts along her body, and a long scar that runs along her back. Namjoon pokes his tongue through his cheek as he squeezes soap onto a washcloth.
"Where are these from?" he asks, washing her body gently.
"The bad guy."
Namjoon runs water down her hair before massaging shampoo into it. "I see. And who is he?"
"My dad."
Namjoon freezes. Confused as to why he stopped, Maisie turns back and looks at him with innocent eyes.
Namjoon forces his face to be emotionless.
He clears his throat before continuing to wash her hair. "Anyone else home with you?"
"No," she says quietly, shutting down. "He killed my mother a long time ago."
Namjoon can't believe what he's hearing but perhaps this is just another reminder of why he does what he does. Kill those who abuse others. Kill those who think it's appropriate to torture children.
Namjoon wants to shoot this guy in the head.
The rest of the bath was carried in silence until he put her in one of his shirts and a pair of boxers. They were way too big, amusingly so, but he would have to wait until tomorrow to get her new clothes.
He settles her into the guest bed and tucks her in before sitting down on the mattress with a sigh.
"Will you protect me tonight? What if he comes looking for me?"
Namjoon smiles. "I'll shoot his face if he comes anywhere near you."
Maisie looks nervous, but she tries to smile. "Thank you, Namjoonie."
Namjoon scoffs at the nickname and stands. "Goodnight, kid."
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idk how i feel abt this story 🧍🏻♀️ but we're gonna give it a try lol. thank you for reading 🍓🫶🏼
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Viper
Fanfiction"How could someone as pretty as you become an assassin?" he asks quietly. "You're too beautiful to be in such a dark business." "Being beautiful doesn't mean I can't be strong," she bites back. "I can be feminine and a killer." "I see that," Jungko...
