KING

一 03

She was very lucky to have people who still cared about her, even if her existence meant nothing to the people who she once lived with within the walls of the grand structure above her prison.

Rina smiled, mouthing a thanks, as a way of gratitude for taking her. He smiled, before turning away and walking out, locking the cell door behind him.

And as his foot steps echoed down the stone hallway, getting fainter and fainter.

It was saddening to her, a small realisation she had every time someone walked into her cell and left, but it hurt more each time. The sharp prick of jealousy when she saw someone exit the cell she was bound to be trapped inside for an eternity.

To distract herself, she skimmed through the writing material she had been handed, pressing the nib of the pen against her pale skin, smiling joyously as the ink began to bleed into the skin, forming spider web like patterns against a canvas. Carefully taking one paper out of the bundle the younger by had given her, she continued to smile as she allowed her mind to wander mindlessly as the pen stroked against the paper, messy scrawls and lines forming pictures and sentences.

Her mind began drifting to what she knew of the world, back when she was free. That's why she liked to draw and write, to remember the faint, fading memories that were years old. She doodled a small meadow, a large apple tree at the corner of the page. There was a small figure sitting hunched under the tree.

That was her happy spot, she remembered. She would go there to escape her suffocating room, all the miserable memories her house contained. In that meadow, she was someone else, not the imperfect girl people were insistent on fixing.

In the distance, another figure was running towards the girl under the tree. "Kim Rina!" She flinched, looking up as the voice echoed around her. Something wet fell against her cheek, her finger pads softly brushing against her skin. Was she crying?

It was all just a memory, she consoled herself, as she stared at the bleeding ink on the paper, where her tears and the black liquid had mingled together.

"Rina!" The black haired boy had run up to her happily, his blue sweater too large for his petite frame, fingers barely peeking out from under the sleeves. His black hair fell into his eyes, the wind messing up his hair more. "It's been so long since you've come here!" He cheered, sitting next to her.

"Chittaphon," Rina looked up, her voice dull. "If I went missing, would you look for me?" Chittaphon looked at her in surprise, the look of happiness fading as he sat down on the grass in front of her. "Of course I would, Rina." He said softly. "I would tear apart every city if I had to." She was silent, his words registering in her mind, making her smile as a warm feeling spread through her. "I would, too." She replied, looking up at him.

"But you're not going to leave me, are you?" He asked her, threading her fingers with his. Rina looked down at the grass, picking at the blades with her free hand. "I don't know," She said softly, her hand moving up to her throat, massaging the area. He noticed this, concern becoming apparent on his face as he leaned forward, face inches from hers as he moved her hand aside, staring at her throat.

"Does it still hurt?" He whispered. Rina nodded, her eyes meeting his brown orbs.

He looked beautiful, the picture of a worried angel, with black hair and shimmering eyes, the flecks of amber in them looking like droplets of the sun. He looked small and vulnerable in his loose clothes, yet here he was, worrying over her wounds as his soft fingers skimmed over her collarbone, taking note of the marks.

She could only imagine what a horrifying picture she must have painted of herself, marked and bruised. "You should stop talking if you're going to lose your voice." He said.