Three Promises || Lee Know

29 | Arcade

At that moment, my body just acted on its own as I pulled Hyunjin in a tight hug.

"You're literally the best friend I could ever ask for, Hyunjin." I mumbled.

"Glad to have you back, silly. You better stay close now." He chuckled.

Changbin and Chaeryeong cooed in the background while Seungmin just chuckled.

Just then, Yuna came towards us.

"Chaer? Class is about to start- oh." She halted in her steps as she eyed me hugging Hyunjin.

"Oops, I got busy with these idiots too much." Chaeryeong laughed as she bid us goodbye.

I didn't miss the way Yuna whispered the words 'now Hyunjin, huh' under her breath.

For some reason, it left me feeling a little weird. But as the day passed and excitement about the arcade grew, I soon forgot about it.

I couldn't wait for the school to end like usual, but that day for an entirely different reason.

***

"Iseul? You seem so out of it these days. Is everything good?" Lee Minji, my coworker asked.

"Huh? Yeah... Everything's fine." I unconsciously replied.

"Doesn't seem that way to me though," She said uncertainly. "I see scars on your face more often these days. You know you can always talk to me-"

"Minji. It's nothing, trust me." I said, my voice coming out a little harshly.

Minji seemed taken aback by the tone of my voice, so she stopped questioning me further.

"Um, if you say so."

"Also, I'm ending a little early today because my friends are dragging me somewhere." I informed her.

All of a sudden, she beamed at me, as if forgetting my previous rudeness.

"Really? I'll let Mrs Lee know! Have fun! I'm so glad you're hanging out." She smiled. I just let out a chuckle at her strange enthusiasm.

She was always like that, caring about me as if she had known me for years. It was cute.

After my shift ended, I walked towards my house, already planning my outfit for the day.

Day after day I was starting to feel more exhausted, barely having any energy at the end of the day. But that day, I didn't mind the tiredness.

I missed hanging out with everyone else without a care in the world. I missed laughing with them at Changbin and Hyunjin's silly jokes. I missed having heartfelt conversations with Felix. Finally, after so long, I wouldn't feel lonely anymore.

I missed Minho as well, his comforting presence, and the way he always seemed to just know when I needed help.

I didn't like being alone. It was too scary, too tiring.

I knew I'd talk to him some day, hopefully resolving anything that I did to upset him.

Somehow, Hyunjin's words from earlier gave me hope that I wasn't alone, because even after so many misunderstandings people cared about me. It was enough for me to completely forget about Jiyeon for once, who apparently didn't come to school that day.

However, I should've known how my fate tends to be.

As if on cue, a group of people blocked my way, some of the faces all too familiar.

"Oh my god, Jiyeon really didn't lie. This bitch is still the same." A girl's voice came, making the others laugh.

"Oh, Iseul. How much I've missed seeing you every week." A familiar voice came, making my whole body shiver.

No... I didn't want to fall into this life again... Why couldn't things go right for once?

A hand grabbed my hair, pulling me towards the dark street.

"Look at you, Choi. So fucking pathetic like usual." A guy sneered.

Someone pushed me from behind, making my body fall to the ground.

I knew what came next, and I also knew fighting back wouldn't get me anywhere. But despite that, I screamed and tried to free myself, hoping that atleast someone would hear my cries for help and save me from going through this hell all over again.

Even though I knew it was coming, I choked out a sob when a kick landed on my abdomen.

Another kick, this time on my back.

It just kept on coming, the girls pulled my hair harshly, throwing ice cold water on my face.

I could feel my body protest in pain, leaving me with no option but to just curl up in a ball as I took all the hits.

I was supposed to go have fun with the rest, then why did I have to end up here getting beaten until I couldn't move my body?

Just when I thought the sun would rise in my life again, a storm appeared all of a sudden, turning my entire world dark all over again. What did I ever do to deserve a life like this?

By the time they were satisfied, I was in no condition of being able to even lift myself up.

Maybe it would be better if I just died here on the streets.

Anything was better than this. This numbing pain. It was too much.

And before I realised, my eyes were already falling shut. Maybe this would be my fate. Dying alone on the streets and all beaten up, not even knowing what I ever did wrong.

I didn't even have the energy to cry anymore.

The arcade... It just felt like a distant dream now.

***

10k... GUYS 😭😭

Literally in tears rn, from publishing my first ff as a joke thinking absolutely no one would read it to hitting 10k within an year... I'm literally so proud rn. Thank you so so so much my loveliest readers. I love you guys, really. I'm literally sbdhdjjdjsjs

I hope you liked the 10k special even though it was quite depressing <3

Until next time! *Sniffle*