NEFARIOUS ○ ZHONG CHENLE

○ 10

Flickering her sight over to Eun tak's palms, Joo ri screwed her eyes sharply into a cold inimical glare. Lunging forward, the younger girl attempted to latch onto her possession however failed to do so when Eun tak jolted up in a spree.

"I never knew you had a diary" Eun Tak dragged out with a teasing smile. Whilst fanning the item at her face she rested her other palm on the dip above her waist.

Taking a deep inhale she breathed out heavily before sharply connecting her orbs to Eun tak. "Can you give it back?" she calmly demanded. The forceful tightness in her words escaping by. Shaking her head, Eun tak seated back onto the sofa and patted beside her, gesturing for Joo ri to do the same.

Suspiciously eyeing Eun tak with a wary gaze, Joo ri fell into deep thought. She knew that it would be a waste of time endlessly asking her. She had to approach this in a more civil way. Therefore, Joo ri gave in to the older girl and did so.

That was when Joo ri spotted the worry float on the surface of her orbs. Eun tak gazed deeply into Joo ri's soft pupils as if she was on an expedition to explore and find answers. "How are you doing?" she questioned with raw sincerity and concern.

Without a second to let her breathe, Eun tak intervened before a word could even be spoken by Joo ri. "Don't scream at me saying that you don't fucking know" she emphasised on the swear word whilst pointing a finger to her.

Lips parting slowly, Joo ri's mind mentally flickered through all the pages in her book. She settled on one, as realisation came upon her. She knew what section Eun tak had read and it was not one she hoped to share.

With a devastated sigh, Eun tak shut her eyes and slowly tilted her head down to her palms that ran over her face. "Joo ri . . ." she began with a faint voice. "Do you-" hesitating slightly, Eun tak connected her desperate orbs that searched for answers into the younger girls. "Do you perhaps feel lonely?"

Biting her bottom lip softly, Joo ri wavered her sight away and sent a short shrug of her shoulder. "I don't know" she was avoiding the question and it was obvious. Joo ri was reluctant to share anything. She feared to trust people or open up. Especially her feelings. She had always been the type to never be able to express her emotions and thoughts properly. And in the past her words were used against her by the ones she confided in. Therefore she did not want to share.

Writing them down on the other hand helped her realise any tension she had. It made her feel better. Those pages have always been beside her more than any human has.

Therefore, she was reluctant to tell Eun tak. However, the older one had already read her diary.

What difference would it make?

Momentarily, closing her eyelids she thought through every word before talking. "I just haven't been feeling myself lately" she vaguely responded. Eun tak nodded lightly in an understanding manner. She knew what Joo ri meant. There are times when you just feel exhausted with yourself to the extent that you cannot do anything at all. She wasn't entirely sure that was the case with Joo ri's position at the moment but nonetheless she wanted to help.

Joo ri had regrets not going to university. Not that she did not get in but it was more to do with a financial perspective. With her grandmother in a more critical condition, her mother left for Jeju to look after her. So right after school finished, Joo ri took over her mothers nail salon and disregarded her dreams of pursuing a degree at university.

She thought that it would be selfish to complain knowing that it was inevitable. However, there were times where Joo ri felt extremely awkward because she had crashed over at her brother's place. She wouldn't have felt that much of an inconvenience if it weren't for the fact that he lives with his fiancé - Eun Tak.