缘分 y͏u͏a͏n͏f͏e͏n͏ -; j͏u͏n͏g͏r͏i͏

c a i m 該隱

"fuck," he curses under his breath, instantly wrapping his other hand under her legs and lifts her up, rushing into the house to be greeted by his mother, who literally screamed at the sight of yerim. "oh my gosh, jeongguk, hospital. we have to get her to the hospital right now."

the male is about to change his direction by heading towards his mother's car, when yerim shakes her head, "n-no, we can't go to the hospital." jeongguk is about to argue, when she adds on, "my sisters. t-they can't lose their parents."

and that's when jeongguk's heart shatters ― the fact that yerim has been badly treated by the people she grew up calling 'family', yet she is still thinking for her sisters, to grow up in a proper family despite being the one suffering. "yerim-ah."

"i'm fine, i-i just need to c-clean up," she winces softly, as she lifts her arm. jeongguk's mother then shakes her head as she rushes off to grab the kit, "bring her to the washroom, and i will get the other things ready." the male then remembers his mother is a doctor after arranging his thoughts, "right. right."

jeongguk then rushes her towards the washroom in the guest room, gently placing her down on the edge of the bathtub while taking in her entire appearance, sucking in deeply as his heart aches at the battered sight. "w-why?" he asks gently, bending down as he places his palms over her hands, "why didn't you tell me?"

"because i don't want you to witness this ugly side of mine," she chuckles softly, cupping his cheeks as she wipes a fallen tear from the male's eyes. before jeongguk can even argue, his mother enters and shoos him outside, ordering him to get her a set of new clothes and to inform his father to set up the guestroom for that night.

"now," his mother says sharply and strictly, rinsing her hand under the water before washing it with some sterilized water. yerim pats jeongguk's hand reassuringly, before urging the male to do what his mother says, and she will be in good hands. "it is you anyway, i can be safe here," she whispers, shooting him a pained smile as the male takes his leave.

"alright darling, this is may take a while and it may be quite painful too as well. i'm going to remove all the glass shards first," his mother smiles at her gently, petting the shoulder of yerim to encourage her, while silently telling her for being so brave in which the girl breaks down, her tears overflowing like a waterfall. "you're safe now, you're safe now," jeongguk's mother repeats gently, as she begins to work on the glass shards that have pierces the female's skin.

a good hour later of bandaging up yerim's wounds, and applying ointment at certain areas, jeongguk's mother nods her head, "you're alright, just rest well for the next few weeks. come, let me help you with the bathing first." as she fills the bathtub with water, jeongguk's mother then asks yerim gently, "are you the girl that my little boy has been chasing for months?"

yerim widens her eyes by the fact that his mother is aware about jeongguks' activities in school, in which the older lady simply chuckles, "he talks a lot about you, even though there's no name stated. and i'm his mother, i know when he's in love."

"i see. i-i'm sorry, it is not that i am purposefully rejecting him, i―," she begins to explain, afraid that jeongguk's mother may view her differently in which jeongguk's mother only laughs, shaking her head.

"sweetheart, i can understand why. you're just afraid that somebody won't be able to love you after seeing this side of you, but trust me, jeongguk, our entire family is here for you when you want to talk, and you want to act. you don't deserve this sweetheart, in fact, nobody does. nobody should ever undergo or experience domestic violence, be it a child or an adult. if you allow, let me handle for you," jeongguk's mother squeezes the girl's hand gently, looking at her for permission. and with, yerim breaks down again, touched by the older lady's kindness and the fact that she is receiving such love and care from a stranger, and not the people she wanted to receive the most ― her parents, who ended up being her biggest nightmare.