Ameliorate | Jeno FF

1

A door opened and shut quickly, a tired, messy-haired girl walking in. She was dishevelled but that was her normal at this point. Sighing, she kicked off her shoes, slipped on her slippers and dragged herself past the kitchen.

"Mirae, how are you?" The tall boy looked up from his cooking.

No response. Instead, she walked right past him and set her things down. Mirae ran her hands through her hair as she looked in the mirror. Disgusting, she thought. Grabbing a sweater and shorts, she headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

"That was rude." The boy muttered, finishing up in the kitchen. He set the table and waited till Mirae finished her shower so they could eat together.

Mirae walked out of the bathroom, but instead of heading for the table like she usually would, she walked right past him, not sparing a glance at the older male. Immediately, he rose from his seat, rushing over to her and blocking the entrance to her room.

"Where do you think you're going, Mirae?" He watched her eyes shift upwards. "You need to eat."

"I'm tired." She sighed. "Please, let me skip tonight, Johnny."

"I can't, Mirae. I didn't see you eat breakfast, I never know if you eat lunch, so at least let me see you eat dinner." He pleaded, worrying for her health.

"Ugh, fine." She turned around and headed for the dinner table. "What did you make this time?"

"Kimchi stew." He stated, using the ladle to fill a bowl for her. He handed it over and filled a bowl for himself.

"Thanks." She mumbled, digging into her meal without another word.

Johnny watched the girl eat while he ate too. He took a pause when he noticed something on her face. He leaned over the table, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Mirae what is this?!"

She dropped her spoon, quick to cover her face. "Nothing." She pushed his hand away, attempting to return everything back to normal. He wasn't buying it. "I... I just fell."

"Yeah right." He shook his head. "I highly doubt that you got a bruise that bad from 'just falling.'"

"Don't worry about it, seriously." She quickly wrapped up the conversation, not wanting to say more.

Johnny got the hint and silenced himself. Of course, he worried, but he didn't want to force her to say anything. He knew better than to pry, it often hurt her more anyways. They sat in silence for the rest of dinner.

Mirae finished first, brought her bowl and utensils to the sink and washed them, putting them on the rack to dry. Quickly, she escaped to her room before Johnny could question her more. Once inside, she let out a sigh. That was close, she thought. If he had pressed for an answer, she probably would have broken and given in. Mirae had no energy left to try and keep her guard up.

Instead of doing her homework right away, she went over to her shelf, a picture of her and Johnny standing side by side at a playground. Ever since they were young, Johnny towered over her. Well, they were eight years apart anyway, but still. Her eyes bore into the image, remembering the exact moment. She was just seven years old.

"Seo and Shin!" Mirae exclaimed. "S&S, that's us!"

Johnny smiled. "Yup, that's us." The teen picked her up and spun her around. "S and S."

Mirae's face brightened up as he spun her. When he set her down, she attached herself to his side. "My big brother."

Johnny looked down at her, too stunned to speak. She had never called him that before. Before he could respond, Johnny's mother spoke. "Turn to me you two, I want to take a picture." The two did as told, both wearing wide grins on their faces.

"Seo and Shin." Mirae smiled. "My big brother." Mirae set the frame down and went off to do her work, accidentally falling asleep on her desk in the process.

~*~

Mirae was on her way home, her head low. It was a tiring day. As she walked towards the crosswalk, she bumped into someone. Mumbling a quick "sorry," she walked past and got to the other side of the street.

The male watched her from the other side, quick to notice a group of girls trailing her. An unsettling feeling set in his stomach. Acting on instinct, he followed them.

Mirae too felt uneasy, she knew she was being followed, but she was too afraid to turn back. Before she could say anything though, a hand reached for her hair and tugged her back. Mirae instinctively rose her arms, trying to reach for the ones that pulled her.

Another pair of hands reached for her backpack, tugging it off and throwing it to the side. Before she knew it, Mirae was on the ground, being attacked by some of her grade mates, the one leading it all was Haeun. Instead of screaming and fighting back as any normal person would, Mirae lay there. She had no energy left to defend herself. Shutting her eyes, Mirae waited for a big blow to her body, typically the last thing the girls would do before stopping.

But it never came. She slowly opened her eyes to see a looming figure over the girls. Mirae leaned on her hands, watching as the seemingly older male spoke.

"You girls better stop doing that. If you've got nothing better to do, go home and study." He stood still, unfazed. "Who are you to think that hurting someone else would be a good thing to do?"

Mirae scrambled to her feet, grabbing her bag before stepping backwards slowly. She made eye contact with the male, stopping in her tracks and averting her gaze. His eyes travelled back to the cowering girls.

"You better stop. Now go home!" And with that, the girls got up and scrammed. The male nodded, knowing they would not bother the girl he just saved. Gaze wandering, he looking for her. His eyes fell upon the girl, limping while running off towards some houses. Left alone, he watched her go until he could no longer see her.

Shaking his head, he turned away, headed for the large building down the street. I couldn't even ask her if she was okay. He thought to himself, walking through the doors of the Lee Corporation.

a/n: ohoho lee??