Attraction | Ateez

Chapter 20: The Calm

He stumbled out of the door and slowly made his way around the side of the house. The once-white paint had chipped, revealing the old rotting wood underneath. He stopped and leaned against the house, looking at the sparkling lake. The mountains towered high above and tiny birds flew around freely in the sky. The sky was crystal blue. Fluffy white clouds dotted the sky like cotton balls. The calmness frightened him. 

Seonghwa began walking to the lake. Hyejin. Where did she go? Where is San? He nearly tripped over a rock not paying attention to where he was going. He stopped at the edge of the lake and stared out into the distance at the towering purple mountains that were colored with the soft sunshine. The water was still and undisturbed except for the tiny water bugs that occasionally made an almost unnoticeable ripple in the water. 

They couldn't have gone far, but then again, Seonghwa didn't know how long he had been unconscious for. He had only assumed it had been a few minutes, but he really couldn't have been for sure. 

A sudden pounding headache ripped through his skull and he was almost blinded by the pain. When the pain subsided, he turned back to the house. He needed to find Hyejin. 

As he started to walk, a low voice caught Seonghwa's attention. He stopped and listening, cupping his hear to hear better. The voice came from his left. He quietly made his way to the corner of the house and listened. The voice continued. It was low and deep, but it almost sounded panicked. A small female voice answered him, louder than the man's voice. Hyejin. 

Seonghwa followed the voice as quietly and quickly as he could, trying to keep out of sight. He pressed his back to the side of the house. The voices stopped for a moment, but then continued. As he got closer to the source, the angrier the voices sounded. Seonghwa ducked behind a natural wall of thick bushes when he made out two figures a few feet ahead. 

Hyejin laid under San on her back while San was on top of her, looking down and speaking to her. He had her arms pinned on the ground above her while his other hand was planted on the ground by her side. 

"Hyejin, please, stop fighting me." San pleaded in a whisper. Hyejin shook her head, almost on the verge of tears. 

"No, San. Please, don't. " A tear slipped down her cheek. "Please don't...please." She was crying now. San's hand slid up her thigh and up under her shirt. She tried to wriggle her arms from his grasp, but he was too strong and she was too weak. She opened her mouth to scream out, but quickly clamped his hand over her mouth, cutting off her scream. 

Seonghwa quickly stood and stumbled forward. "Hyejin!" He yelled. San's head whipped around, anger filling his face. He stood and glared at Seonghwa. Hyejin quickly crawled backward, trying to make distance between herself and San. 

San's face turned from anger to amusement. He let out a low, disturbing chuckle that sent shivers down Seonghwa's spine. 

"I must not have kicked you hard enough," San said, smiling. Seonghwa clenched his jaw. San took a few steps towards Seonghwa. "Please, don't hurt him," Hyejin said in a tiny voice behind San. He looked back at her, "Shut up." 

"Mr. Park, you always show up at the most random times." Seonghwa didn't respond. He knew he was too weak to do anything and San knew it too. He took a few steps back and crouched down next to Hyejin. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up so that his face was level with hers. Seonghwa took a quick step forward, but stopped. San was testing him. 

San's hand moved up to Hyejin's jaw. While still looking at Seonghwa and smirking, San kissed Hyejin's neck. Seonghwa clenched his teeth together, hard. Hyejin's hands curled up into tight fists, but she didn't dare try anything. 

"Stop it," Seonghwa said. San smiled and threw Hyejin's head back and stood. Her head hit the ground and she yelled out, curling on her side. San quickly walked up to Seonghwa and hit him in the stomach. He doubled over and almost fell. San laughed.

"You're too weak to do anything." San pointed out. Unexpectedly, Seonghwa threw his fist up and hit San square in the jaw. He fell over and landed on his back with a thump. A rise of anger surged through Seonghwa's body, giving him new strength. He sat on San's chest and started throwing blows at him. One after the other, Seonghwa's fist made contact with San's face. Seonghwa cried out with every hit. Tears streamed down his face, blinding his vision and he kept hitting San until his knuckles bleed and his hands shook. 

He looked down at San's bloody face. He wasn't moving and instead stared at the back of his eyelids. His head hung to the side. Blood streamed steadily from his nose and mouth and his breathing was labored. Seonghwa stood, staring down at his hands as they shook. Dark blood formed a glove on his hands. He looked up at Hyejin who stared back at him with wide eyes. 

"Hyejin," he said, taking a step forward. She scrambled backward. She was afraid of him. 

San's limp body lay on the ground at a twisted angle. His arms lay at his sides. Seonghwa bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to taste blood. 

He slowly sat on the ground, pulling his knees into his chest. He pressed his forehead to his knees and closed his eyes as a final tear slipped down and fell to the ground.