SAVING MR. PARK | PJM

九

"everything will be fine, miss parker," he snuggled his nose into her hair to ease her pain. "y-you'll be just fine. trust me." she couldn't contain her grief. she bawled on his clothed shoulder, feeling somewhat guilty for staining his white shirt with her thick tears, and tightly clung unto his neck. "can you do that, miss parker?" he choked when her teeth pinched his skin. "can you trust me?"

her loud sobs subdued after a minute, and when they finally reached the safety of his car, which had been hurriedly parked beside the sidewalk, she attempted to compose herself from the scare.

mr. park set her down on the passenger seat, buckled her seatbelt, and sprinted over to his side of the vehicle as swiftly as possible. once he entered the car, jay's teary gaze and uncontrollable hiccups became clearer. he peered back at her in concern as she tried to shrug off her fright and pretend like she had somewhat gotten over the incident. it wasn't as easy for mr. park to forget, though, when the red streaks around her neck that evidenced the abuse brightened.

she stiffened when another tear trailed down her face.

"you don't have to act tough in front of me, miss parker. it's okay to cry. you need to let it out," he cautiously reached out for her hand but did not grab it, not wanting her to squirm from the suddenness of his touch.

jay pursed her lips, allowing a couple more tears to flow from her eyes as she glanced down at her lap in embarrassment.

she surprised herself by taking his offered hand and linking it with her own. "i-i trust you, mr. park," she wearily nodded, closing her eyes as she felt yet another shot of discomfort in the pit of her stomach. the idea of what the boy almost did to her nauseated her entirely, but she swallowed her sickness to avoid spewing it all up inside the teacher's clean car.

"things will get better, miss parker. i'll be here," he assured her by squeezing her hand. "but, remember, resilience is key. i don't want you to linger in this moment for the rest of your life, okay? i want you to fight through it. that useless piece of shit does not deserve your fear nor your tears," he wiped away at her cheek, and his gentle stroke caused her to flutter her eyelids open again. "it's okay to feel perturbed and weak right now. it's okay to feel hurt. but, baby, i know you'll get through this. i know you'll return to your normal, quirky self soon enough. i know that you'll go back to teasing me and making inappropriate remarks because you know it secretly amuses me. i know that you won't let this traumatizing event scar you. it'll strengthen you, instead. i believe in you, miss parker. i just need you to focus on your breathing for now, okay?"

"you called me baby," she sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand and meeting his stare rather expectantly.

"w-what? no, i didn't. i-i said–"

"you called me baby, mr. park. i may be unstable and emotionally impacted right now, but i heard you loud and clear. please don't deny it. i don't think i can handle feeling even more humiliated right now," she begged in a whisper, looking down at her fingers that were now twiddling with his own.

she took notice of his blood-stained knuckles, doe eyes widening as she traced her fingertips over the dried-up stains. mr. park observed the way her thumb rubbed against the lingering plasma that evidenced his previous loss of temper, her intense gaze boring into his ring-filled fingers.

he defeatedly sighed, now admiring the sheath of innocence that majestically shone in her incomparable features.

the word had slipped past his lips without realization. it just came so naturally to him. in his mind, that's what she was to him now—his baby.