Wren stormed out of her father's office, leaving her parents yelling after her. But she ignored their protests and continued until she got to her room, grabbed her keys, shoe box full of money, and then her boxing duffel.
She left everything else behind.
Wren opened the passenger seat of her car, threw in her belongings and then got into the drivers side. She pulled out of the garage just as her mother came out the front door trying to wave her down.
Wren didn't look back. She continued to ignore her mother's voice telling her to pull over.
She couldn't stop.
Pressing the gas, Wren drove out of the driveway at a ridiculous speed. When she got onto the highway tears were swimming in her eyes. She gasped for air as a hiccuping sob escaped her.
She didn't want to have to leave like that. But they'd left her no choice.
Wren glanced at her minimal belongings in the passenger side and another sob escaped her. Despite being able to fight like hell with her fists, she was weak. Her insides had been shattered ten years ago, and she still wasn't completely put back together. There were cracks and tears in her soul that still caused her immense pain. Boxing was just a mask. Underneath she was just a young girl trying to find herself.
Wren unthinkingly drove, her subconscious taking her to a place she hadn't been in months. Rain started to fall at one point, peppering her windshield with fat water droplets that matched her mood.
She surprised even herself when she pulled into the cemetery, stepping out into the sprinkling rain. She didn't bother with a hood, she simply let the drops dampen her hair and skin.
She shoved her hands into her pockets and started walking on the path to the grave she used to visit once a week. She'd come to the cemetery many times to think when things got difficult.
After a bit of a walk up the hillside, Wren found Eun's headstone. Wren read the engraving on the slate stone, water dripping off her eyelashes and onto her cheeks.
Wren swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to calm herself.
"What do I do, Eun?" she asked aloud. Hoping he could hear her. She firmly believed he was still watching over her. She knew he wouldn't just abandon her, even if he was just a spirit now.
Eun had been her teacher, her friend, and mentor. At one point, he'd known her the best. If he hadn't been there that day to save her, Wren didn't want to know where she might've ended up.
When Wren had been kidnapped, she'd been in captivity for eight months. She'd been kept in a dark room, and the things that happened to her while in that dark place were the things that resurfaced in her nightmares. Some of it she remembered, other things she'd completely blocked out because they were too horrific for her brain to process.
During one of the rare times her captors had taken her with them to a market she'd been in the car. She'd looked up out the window, too broken to do anything but look out and wish that someone would find her and take her back to her family.
Then a miracle occurred. A man spotted her sitting in the backseat of the car. He recognized her from the news and had immediately got out his phone and called the police and started to try and get her out of the car.
Her captors had returned to find Eun trying to aid in her escape, and Wren watched from the window as Eun single handedly took down three men much larger than him.
Wren had been entranced by the technique Eun had exhibited. In Wren's eyes, it was the thing that saved her.
If Eun hadn't had his boxing and martial arts he wouldn't have been able to fight off her captors, and the police never would've gotten to the parking lot and broke into the car to get her out.
Eun had been her savior. And that's when she knew she wanted to be a boxer.
She'd met up to thank him after everything had happened. And she'd asked him to teach her how to do what he'd done to save her. At first Eun had tried to tell her no, but eventually she convinced him and he allowed her to come learn at his dojo. He knew her parents didn't approve of the boxing so he kept her secret, when she was supposed to be at ballet she'd walk the two miles down to his dojo and he taught her how to box and do martial arts.
Those first few months of walking to the dojo were the scariest time in Wren's life. She'd worried at any moment her captors were going to find her again despite them being taken to prison and being locked away for a very long time. But after a while, she stopped flinching. Wren learned new skills that made her confident to be out on the streets.
Needless to say, Eun changed her. He made her stronger and helped her learn to defend herself.
So when Eun died a year ago in traffic incident. It had crushed Wren. He'd been walking when a car came up onto the sidewalk and killed him.
It had been so difficult for Wren to lose the person that taught her to take care of herself. For a long time she didn't know if she could keep boxing without him. But then she found the underground clubs and she'd continued to increase her knowledge. Slowly but surely she'd become the fighter she was today.
Wren kneeled down in the grass, reaching out with her fingertips to touch the grey headstone stained a darker color now due to the rain.
"I have to try and live again," she whispered. "I have to stop being afraid."
She felt like Eun would want he to follow her heart. He would want her to try and stop being so scared of life.
Wren's phone pinged, pulling her back to reality. Sniffling, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Rain droplets splattered onto the screen as Wren read the newest message.
SANG: Please come home. I know you and your parents had a fight but I'm sure things can be worked out.
For the first time, Wren didn't think Sang was right. Things couldn't be worked out. Sang hadn't seen the look on her father's face. The determination to make her bend to his will.
The only way she'd be free was if she went off on her own and showed them that she was capable. She had to commit or they would always think they could just make her do what they wanted her to do. She had to take control of what she wanted.
Taking in a deep breathe, Wren stood and walked back to her car.
But before she got into the drivers seat Wren clenched her phone in her hand and with a swift swing, smashed it onto the road. It cracked right down the middle, flickering for several moments before it subsequently died.
Wren picked up the smashed pieces of the phone, and proceeded to discard them into a nearby trash bin.
If they couldn't find her, they couldn't control her.
She slid into the expensive leather of the driver seat, and started the engine. Feeling freer than she'd ever felt, she shifted into gear and headed towards someplace where they wouldn't be able to reach her.
***
Wren took her meager belongings and went to the furthest place she could think to go. She couldn't stay in Seoul, and she didn't want to be in any nearby cities her parents would think to look, so she decided on Busan.
It was about a four hour drive to Busan. Wren stopped at a nearby convenience store on the way and got herself a burner phone. She found some listings for rent and called on several of the locations as she drove.
Out of all twelve rental properties she called on, only one was in her price range with the things she needed.
Fully furnished, on a top floor, and close to a nearby fight club so she could earn a living.
Wren realized she could try to find an everyday job, but it was just too risky that someone might recognize her so she stuck with the mask. Though it was criminal it would have to do until she figured something else out.
So Wren called the landlord on the property and asked if she could move in that night. The landlord was surprised by her unexpected call and her impatient demand.
"I need to move in tonight," she said. "I have this months' rent in cash, and next months ready to go."
The landlord agreed after a bit of persuasion. Wren thought maybe she'd scared him off by being too eager, but after she mentioned the two months of rent upfront he was more than willing to accommodate.
Wren found herself in Busan's countryside not long later. It was quieter in this part of the city, and didn't have skyscrapers like she'd previously passed. It was more quaint, and a little more run down, but still looked like a decent neighborhood.
She pulled up to the little two story apartment complex and parked. Then she got out of her car and found the landlord waiting on the porch for her in the drizzling rain.
His eyes were wide when he saw her Lambo pull up and Wren realized that it she was going to have to do something about her car.
"Hi, I'm Wren. The one renting the top apartment." She gave a little bow and he returned the gesture.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Joon."
"Here's the money for rent." Wren quickly fished out the money from her pocket. On the drive over she'd hastily counted out what she would need for two months and thankfully she had that and more in her shoe box.
He looked at the cash, his eyes a little bit wide.
"Well, here's the key. The apartment is fully furnished and has all the utilities included. You can park in the garage behind the building if you'd like. And yeah, that's pretty much it. Rent is always due at the first of the month."
Wren nodded, taking in all the information. The garage would solve her car problem.
"Thanks. And if you could not let anyone know I'm staying here that would be great. I would like to keep my location confidential."
The landlord nodded, giving her a look that told her he probably thought she was a little crazy but wasn't going to question it.
"I don't go around telling people who lives in my apartments anyway. So I'll be sure to keep it under wraps."
"Thank you," Wren said. She returned to her car, pulling it around to park it in the small garage that was more like an outdoor carport behind the apartment complex. It did it's job though, and shielded the car from the main road so it wouldn't stick out.
Then she took her duffel and her shoebox and walked up the metal staircase to the second floor where her apartment was.
Wren inserted the key and then with a shove she got the squeaky hinges to release and she walked in.
Immediately Wren was overwhelmed by the smell of musky carpet and dust. It was a small little one bedroom with a quaint kitchen and a dingy sofa. But despite its need for a vacuum and a duster, it was perfect. There was a little balcony that overlooked the suburbs and she could see the skyscrapers of Busan in the distance.
Wren opened the window to air out the place, and took in several deep lungfuls of wet air.
The kitchen had white cabinets and dark wood floors, though scuffed and scraped, they added to the overall charm of the place. Wren walked into the bedroom to find a queen bed with a ragged quilt on the top and one lone pillow. The closet was empty and Wren threw her duffel in, knowing that she'd have to go shopping for clothes and some groceries as soon as possible. The bathroom was small, but there was at least a tub. She might have to bathe it in bleach, but she could work with it.
Wren sat down on the edge of the bed, still hugging her shoe box to her chest. She was wet and disheveled from traveling in the rain, but her heart was lighter. Though she literally had only her duffel and her shoebox, she wasn't worried.
She could finally start anew here. And though she was alone in that moment, she didn't feel lonely. It was quiet, and peaceful. And Wren felt like she could finally breathe.
She knew her parents and Sang were probably already sending a search party to find her, and she knew she should be feeling guilty for worrying them. But in that moment Wren couldn't find it in herself to focus on that.
She was an adult now.
And soon, her parents would be forced to see that she was capable of living on her own after all.
A/N: I know this takes things for a turn, but stay with me! I promise Jungkook will fit back into all of this!
~Sasha