The Virgin & The Tattoo Artist

Part 9

Taehyung POV
Listening to the steady rhythm of her breath, my heartbeat grows faster.
I should do it now.
My fingers trace the outline of her face down to her delicate neck & they linger there for some seconds until I abruptly retract them.
I can't do this. Not today.
Pushing my hair back in frustration, I get off the bed & quickly clean up the mess on the floor.
Then, I hoist my backpack & put my right ear on the door. No sound.
I straighten my back & glance at her one last time, before I take a deep breath & slowly open the door.
The corridor outside is dark & empty.
I close the door behind me & stealthily move across the hallway to the stairs. Adrenaline rushes through me, blood pumping loudly in my ears.
The security cameras are off as indicated by the unblinking black dots on them, but I still feel like I'm being watched.
In a swift move, I arrive downstairs & dash straight towards the exit. But then, a slightly opened door on my right side catches my attention.
Kang sajangnim's office.
I bite my lower lip, contemplating about what I should do. After a short minute, I brace myself & push open the door towards the office.

The next morning, Y/n POV
"Y/n! Y/n! Omg.. Y/n ah, please don't leave us. Y/n ah!"
The sound of someone loudly calling my name pulls me out of oblivion.
I try to open my eyes but I can't. My limbs are as heavy as lead & my voice won't come out. It's as if my living soul is trapped inside a dead body.
What's going on? Why can't I move?
Panic overcomes me.
"Miss Y/n! Miss Y/n! Wake up!" Another voice calls out.
I can feel the person lightly slapping my cheek but I can't react to it.
Y/n, you need to open your eyes. Focus.
I muster all my energy & finally feel my eyes fluttering slightly.
"She's awake! Miss Y/n, can you hear me?" The man shakes my body & asks.
A sliver of light enters my vision as my eyelids slowly part & Park Jimin materializes in front of me.
"Hana ssi! She's opened her eyes! Hana ssi!" He frantically yells towards the door.
"What? She's awake?" Hana appears beside Jimin, a surprised expression painted on her face.
"I'm going to tell Sajangnim & call the doctor." Jimin abruptly takes out his phone & leaves.
"E-Eonni.." I manage to croak, my throat as dry as a sandpaper.
"Omg, thank God you're awake. I was so worried. You were still sleeping when I came to your room this morning. I thought you were just tired, but then you didn't wake up even after your alarm went off. So I tried to wake you up & you didn't even budge. I thought- I thought you were dead. What happened?" Hana asks, eyes glistening.
"I- I don't know.." I reply, feeling similarly confused.
But then, it hits me.
Did Tae put something in my drink? No, that can't be. Why would he do that? But he asked me to grab some tissue & then when I went back, he'd already poured the drink for me. Wait, stop right there, that's crazy. He wouldn't do that to me. Maybe this is only the effect of alcohol, since I'd never drunk it before.
"What's wrong?" Seemingly noticing my troubled expression, Hana asks.
"N-Nothing. I'm thirsty, could you please get me a glass of water?" I decide not to tell her anything.
"Ok, wait a second." She rushes towards the table & comes back with a glass in her hand.
Right when she's finished helping me drink, my father barges through the door.
"What's wrong? What happened to you?" He barks, not an ounce of affection in his voice.
"A-Abeonim, I-" I try to lift myself up but fail to do so because my head is spinning like crazy.
"Jimin ah, didn't I tell you to watch over her? How could this happen?!" Abeonim turns to Jimin & slaps him loudly across the cheek.
Hana & I jump in shock at his sudden outburst.
"I'm sorry Sajangnim. It's my fault." Jimin readily bows at him like nothing happened.
"It sure is. Didn't I tell you to check the alarm & security cameras before you leave?!"
"I did check it, Sir. Everything was turned on when I left last night & when I arrived this morning." Jimin explains without lifting his face.
"Then you must have not checked it properly. Someone broke into the house again last night. And whoever that is must have poisoned my daughter!" Abeonim continues to shout.
My heart stops for a second hearing his remark.
No, there's no way..
"But the alarm was on this morning, Sir. I don't understand-" Jimin says in bewilderment.
"My watch is missing. I placed it inside a drawer in my office, but it was gone when I checked it this morning. The intruder must have stolen it when he broke in last night. You go check the security camera footage now. I want to know who he is & then I'm going to kill him. Now go!" Abeonim shouts at Jimin.
"Yes, sajangnim." Jimin bows again before striding away hurriedly.
"You." Abeonim turns towards Hana.
"Y-Yes, Sajang-" The rest of the word is cut off by Abeonim's hard slap on her cheek.
"Abeonim!" I gasp, completely startled.
"If you don't want me to ask someone to pull the plug on your mother, you better do your job diligently. Do you understand?!" Abeonim screams at her face.
"Y-Yes, Sajangnim." Hana bows as she clutches her face, tears rolling down her swollen cheek.
"And you, Kang Y/n. You watch yourself too. You're making me uneasy these days. If I find you doing anything indecent, I won't hesitate to punish you as well." He hisses at me, sending chills down my spine.
"Yes, Abeonim." I nod at him.
He storms out of my room & slams the door behind him.
"Eonni, are you okay?" I immediately tug Hana's arm & ask in concern.
"I-I'm fine." She stammers, obviously not fine.
"I apologize on behalf of my father. It wasn't even your fault, yet he-"
"It's alright. Is it Taehyung again this time?" She shakes my hand off & looks away.
"No. It wasn't him." I lie.
"Are you sure? You aren't lying to me, are you?" She frowns at me suspiciously.
"I'm not. I didn't ask him to come here." And that isn't a complete lie.
"Huh.. Fine. Let's just go get ready." She heaves a deep sigh.
Sorry eonni, I can't be honest with you, because I don't want you to suspect him as the thief who stole Abeonim's watch. But if it wasn't him, who did it?