The Red of the Rose | Taeyong

19 | Release

'Uh,' Miah looked up at him from the teacher's desk and clutched the side of her torn shirt.

'I have a spare shirt in my bag, wear that.' Taeyong offered and before Miah could reply, he was already rummaging through his bag to find her the shirt.

It was a white shirt much like Miah's, only this was much bigger and not soaked in blood. Placing the shirt in her hands, he said, 'I'll go stand by the windows, and turn around. You can change here.'

'Thanks,' Miah whispered.

Taeyong stood by the closed windows on the other side of the room, far from the teacher's desk. The sky was darkening outside and the window in front of him reflected the classroom behind. He was careful to select a spot from where the reflection of the teacher's desk was not visible and busied himself in his phone. But when he looked up again, reflected in the window in front of him was Miah facing away from him. She had switched to the other corner of the classroom.

He froze the moment his eyes landed on her, watching Miah's delicate shoulders as she slid down her own white shirt, her skin glistening under the dim light. He couldn't dare to move, nor make the slightest movement and even forgot to breathe. Don't look, he told himself. This is wrong, turn around, don't look. God she is beautiful. His bag thumped to the floor, sliding off from his hand, bringing him back to his senses. Immediately, he turned to the other side, letting go of his held breath.

'I'm done,' Miah's voice echoed in the classroom after some time and when Taeyong turned around, he couldn't help but chuckle seeing his shirt on her.

'Let me just...' He stepped forward and folded the long sleeves of the shirt to uncover her wrists, then wiped the remaining tears off her face and got her bag off the floor for her.

'Let's go?'

At this hour in the night, there was only one place where they would find a doctor readily. Taeyong took her to the hospital owned by Johnny's family and while Miah got treated by the doctor, Taeyong took care of every formality for her.

'I'm taking you home. You're not going by a cab,' he had said after their business was finished at the hospital.

It was a long way back from the hospital to Miah's home and Taeyong was driving slower than usual to avoid any sudden brake or turn which could cause strain on Miah's newly bandaged cut.

The roads were nearly empty, and the highway barely had any cars. Much like the silence outside, there was a stillness inside the car too. Taeyong was replaying the events of the evening in his mind, always getting stuck at one moment – the moment when Miah broke down into tears.

A month ago, when he had made the bet with Serin, it was only a game, too easy to win with a prize already within his grasp. But when he saw Miah crying like that today, something stirred inside him. The bet was only game, but Miah's emotions were real. Is this how she is going to cry when he breaks her heart? What if she hurts herself again like she did today? Who will bandage up her wound then? Who will hold her then?

Real. All this was as real as the moon in the sky tonight. The desperation inside him was growing, the desperation for Miah to talk to him again, smile at him again. Was it because he was losing the bet or was it because of something else? He couldn't dare to admit it to himself either way. He could no longer tell what was part of the game and what was reality, their lines blurring like the lights of the passing cars.

'I'm sorry, Miah,' he cried out desperately, unable hold it in him any longer.

His hands on the steering wheel, and eyes still on the road he said, this time softer but still desperate, 'I'm sorry. I know what you must think of me, and it's correct too. I have been a jerk. But please, don't look at me like that, like you never want to see me again.'