Karma ━━ Jake Sim

𝟭𝟯 ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀Patching Things Up

"Hold still." Sora murmurs. And Sujin doesn't know why, but she does. The Nishimura girl makes quick work of soaking another cotton ball in the antiseptic, hovering it over the scratches. She pauses, eyes flickering upward to meet Sujin's with a gentle reminder, "Let me know if it starts to hurt too much."

"Okay." Sujin replies, voice no louder than a whisper.

With a deep breath, Sora begins to press the alcohol-soaked ball against parts of the wound Sujin wasn't able to reach herself. Her movements are skilled and efficient, lightly dabbing away any excess traces of dried blood from her roommate's arm.

"Ah-" Sujin flinches when she taps at a particularly raw spot.

"Sorry," Sora shoots her an apologetic smile, "Just a little more."

Sujin braces herself.

"Ow!"

"Sujin, hold still!" Sora chastises, tightening her grip on the girl's arm, "I'll be done soon, I promise."

Ow. Ow. Ow. O-

She doesn't know how much more of this she can take.

"Can you, uh -" Sujin diverts her gaze to the ceiling, cheeks heating with her following request, "- Talk to me, or something? Distract me?"

Sora pauses her movements, looking up at the girl with an amused laugh.

"Not so big and bad now, are you?"

"Shut up."

"I thought you wanted me to do the opposite."

"... Well played, Nishimura."

Sora grins.

She goes back to cleaning the wound, letting her mind wander as she speaks, "I thought it was pretty cool, y'know... What you did back there." There's a hint of smile teasing at her lips, "God knows Chaeyoung's had it coming for years."

"Seemed like it." Sujin scoffs, eyeing the older girl's movements with an unreadable expression. She has to fight off a visible grimace when she starts dabbing over yet another sensitive spot, "I- Ah... I get the feeling you're not her biggest fan."

"That's one way to put it," Sora rolls her eyes.

She replaces the cotton ball in her hand with another, moving on to the final portion of the wound that needs to be cleaned.

Per usual, Sujin's curiosity gets the better of her. Before she can stop herself, she finds herself asking: "Did something happen?"

Now it's Sora's turn to direct her gaze to the ceiling, silently debating whether to confide in her or not. She sets the cotton ball on the countertop after a final dab, reaching over to pick up the bandage roll next. She toys with the edge of the material as she ultimately decides to continue.

"We used to be best friends." She reveals. A hint of sadness washes over her eyes, an expression Sujin isn't used to seeing on her, "Roommates, actually. From seventh grade 'til the tenth."

A quiet "Oh." is all that Sujin can manage in reply.

"We had all our classes together, all three meals every day... not to mention all the free time we spent cooped up in our room. We were inseparable, basically, for all of those years." Her shoulders slump ever so lightly, "Then the first day of eleventh grade rolls around, and I come back to find out she's requested to move dorms. Up and left without a trace... just iced me out like I was nobody."

Sujin frowns, "Surely there was a reason."

"Yeah," Sora unravels the bandage, an attempt to distract herself now in the process, "She found something out over the summer."