A/N: I only have 2 things to say to yall.
1. Sorry this is now like 3 days late. Does anyone else go through phases where one day you feel like you're really good at writing, and then the next you feel like everything that you write is hot, steamy sewage on a plate? Well, that happens to me regularly, so I rewrote this chapter like 5 times, which is why it took so long. Hahahahahaha *cries.* But hopefully you all enjoy it!!!! (This paragraph was definitely not just 1 thing, but that's okay I guess)
2. Stuff's about to GO DOWN in this chapter. So without further ado:
_______________________
The subtle feeling of movement beside you pulls you gently from your dream, lulling you into a semi-conscious state. You shift slightly, letting out a small sleepy sigh, and then you just lie still for a moment, your eyes still closed as you gradually start to wake up from a heavy sleep.
You start to become more aware of the sounds and feelings around you. You can hear your own steady breathing and the very distant sound of birdsong coming from outside. Then suddenly, you notice a new sensation. Someone else's steady breath ghosts over your face. You can hear the gentle sound of breathing now, too. There's someone beside you. With some difficulty, you pry open your heavy eyelids.
Min-hyuk's handsome face is only inches away from yours. His eyes are closed gently, and his mouth is slightly ajar. You notice your arm is still under his head like it was last night. You're a bit confused for a moment before your brain catches up, reminding you about everything that happened the day before.
After Min-hyuk had calmed down a little, you both took Bella to the room underneath the stage. The only way to get down there is a little trap door in the center of the stage. It also happened to be where Min-hyuk's bed was (A/N: I have absolutely no clue how accurate that is. At this point I'm just making stuff up lol. For the sake of this story, let's pretend his bed is in there). After making sure Bella was as comfortable as you could make her, you encouraged him to get some rest, but he only repeated that he didn't want you to leave. He sounded so lost that you couldn't refuse. You laid down with him on his rickety old bed that was barely big enough for one person, and you held him close again, putting an arm underneath his head as he wrapped his arms loosely around your waist. He fell asleep not long after that while you gently stroked his hair with your free hand. You had planned to lay there only until he fell asleep... but you ended up falling asleep too, it seems.
He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping, you think groggily as you try to blink the sleep from your eyes. You reach up with your spare hand again and carefully brush a strand of hair off his forehead. He shifts a little in his sleep, letting out a long drawn-out breath as his eyebrows pull together lightly. You can't help but smile at how cute he looks.
Then, to your surprise, his eyes slowly open, instantly connecting with yours. You feel a sudden shyness and your cheeks start to warm up a little. After all, you're laying together in his bed. That's bound to make anyone flustered. You smile gently at him, though, trying not to let him know how flustered you are.
He doesn't smile back. He just blinks at you a few times, almost like he doesn't believe what he's seeing. Then you feel one of his hands on your waist. He lets it travel slowly to your back, taking his time to feel the warmth of your body, as if to confirm that you're real. You see comprehension dawn in his eyes as he realizes that you're really here, and he lets out a small, content sigh. His eyes close again and he suddenly moves closer to you, snuggling his head against your chest like he had the night before while his arms wrap tighter around you.
"You stayed," he comments. His deep, gravelly morning voice is slightly muffled by the fabric of your shirt, but it still gives you butterflies.
"Of course," you say as your arms wrap around him too.
You stay like that for a few minutes. You almost think he's fallen back asleep, but he suddenly moves. He hoists himself up on one elbow as he looks up at you.
"Have you been awake long?" he asks.
You shake your head, and he smiles a little. You're glad to see that he's almost back to normal. He sits up all the way and scoots back a little until his back is against the headboard. You decide to do the same.
"Are you feeling alright?" you ask quietly, studying his face. He smiles again, avoiding your gaze, and you notice that this time the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. He gives you a small nod, but you can't shake the feeling that he's just doing it so you don't worry.
"Everything will work out," you tell him, repeating the phrase that he had told you many times over the last week or so. He nods again, still not looking at you. His face turns a little serious.
"I hope so," he says quietly, then almost to himself, "But I can't shake the feeling that things are just going to keep getting worse."
Strangely enough, he just voiced your own feelings. You've been having this ominous feeling ever since last night. The feeling that things aren't going to get better. But you're not about to tell him that.
You reach up, gently taking his face in your hands, and turn his head until he's looking at you. His eyes meet yours and you can see the anxiety he's been feeling. It just now occurs to you that he probably felt anxious about the investigation all along, ever since you first told him about it, but he just didn't want you to worry. For someone who's usually so easy to read, he sure did a good job of hiding how nervous he was. You feel a little pang of guilt for not noticing sooner, but there's nothing you can do about it now.
"Everything's going to be okay," you repeat firmly, but gently. His eyes soften a little at your words. You're sure he's still not completely convinced, but he seems to take comfort in your words, at least.
His hand comes up to grasp one of yours, and you watch as he turns his head a little to place a soft kiss on your palm.
"Your hand--" he says, abruptly stopping before his lips touch your skin. You see his brows pull together worriedly as he looks at your palm. You wonder what he's looking at until you remember that you have some pretty bad scrapes on your hands from when he shoved you last night.
You quickly snatch your hand away, not wanting him to see the injuries.
"It's nothing," you say with a small, reassuring smile, but he's not buying it. He frowns at you before grabbing your wrist, stretching out your fingers until he can see your palm again. Some of the skin around the wound is red and inflamed, and small scabs have already formed around the broken skin.
"What happened?" he questions, his voice tight with worry. Then, as if he realizes the answer, he asks in a quieter voice, "Did.... did I do this?"
You're not sure what to say, so you remain painfully silent. You open your mouth in an effort to force words out, but nothing comes. Min-hyuk takes your silence as confirmation, and you hear him let out a small groan. He lets go of your wrist, bringing both hands up to cover his face. He just sits silently for a moment, and you're not sure what to do to comfort him.
"I... I'm so sorry, Y/N," he mutters, his voice muffled by his hands. "Sorry you had to see that yesterday. Sorry I hurt you.... Sorry for everything."
After a moment's silence, you take his hands, prying them away from his face.
"I knew what I was getting into, so don't go blaming yourself," you tell him calmly, giving him a small smile. "Don't worry about me. Besides," you say, holding your hand out again for him to see, "it doesn't even hurt."
That much was true. You didn't even remember that you'd scraped your hands until he noticed.
Min-hyuk looks at you, and you can tell he's still frustrated at himself, but he pulls himself together a bit. He takes your hand again, careful not to touch the wound, and studies it closer.
"That may be true," he says after a moment, "but we should still clean it up. I don't want it to get infected."
With that, he climbs over you, shuffling out of bed, then he tugs your arm gently, telling you to do the same. You kick the covers off unceremoniously and stand up. He starts to lead you to the trap door, but he stops when he notices Bella.
The beautiful parrot is laying off the to side on a wooden bench, wrapped in the same silk tablecloth as last night. You had almost forgotten about her, and it appears Min-hyuk only just now remembered the state she's in too.
"Bella," Min-hyuk mutters, as he lets go of your arm. He quickly makes his way over to the bird, crouching down to examine her. You come closer as well, watching the scene unfold with a heavy heart.
"She's still alive," he says after a moment. "But I don't know for how much longer." His voice trembles slightly, and you're worried he might cry again. You don't know if your heart can take much more of his tears. He's silent, however, as he gently strokes her feathers.
You feel tears stinging the corners of your eyes as you watch the beautiful bird's quick, shallow breathing. Bella hadn't been particularly nice to you lately, but that didn't change the fact that you've grown fond of her over the years. And on top of that, you know what she means to Min-hyuk. You weren't always able to keep him company over the years, but Bella was. She was always with him, even when you weren't. To Min-hyuk, losing her would feel like losing his best friend.
You slowly crouch down next to Min-hyuk and lay a comforting hand on his back, rubbing small circles. After a few moments of silence, it dawns on you that he probably wants to say his goodbyes. You suddenly feel a little out of place, and you're not sure if you should stay by his side or let him have some time with her alone.
"I'll leave you two alone for a while," you decide finally.
You start to stand up but Min-hyuk grabs your wrist.
"Wait," he says. "We still need to take care of your hands."
"Don't worry about me," you tell him with a small smile. "I can take care of it just fine. Besides, you don't even have any first aid materials here. I'm gonna need to go to the store to get bandages and such--"
"Then I'll come too."
You look at him and then gently shake your head.
"You should stay with Bella," you tell him softly. "I'm sure she wouldn't want to be left alone right now."
Min-hyuk looks sadly at his bird, then back at you, clearly torn between these two options.
"I'll be fine," you repeat. "And I'll be back before you know it."
A few moments pass in silence as Min-hyuk thinks it over. Finally he nods reluctantly, letting go of your wrist.
"Okay," he says, finally giving in.
With that, you lovingly smooth his hair before standing up and turning around. You find your phone on the floor by Min-hyuk's bed, and you retrieve it. You stand again, and begin to make your way to the trap door opening.
"Y/N," you hear Min-hyuk's voice behind you. You turn to look at him and find that he's already looking at you. Maybe he never stopped. You're not sure.
"Yes?" you ask, expectantly.
He doesn't say anything.
Instead, he silently gets up and walks over to you. His eyes remain locked on yours as he approaches. Finally, he comes to a stop directly in front of you, pausing briefly just to study your face. You're beginning to wonder what he's doing when he finally steps forward, bringing you into a warm embrace. His arms wrap around your frame as he nuzzles into your neck slightly.
It takes you a moment to react, but eventually, you wrap your arms around his waist, closing your eyes as you savor the close contact. It occurs to you that you've never just hugged Min-hyuk. You've shared many kisses at this point, of course... but he's never simply embraced you in such a tender way like he's doing now. The gesture feels special, and meaningful on a different level.
"What you said last night..." he mumbles against your neck. "...Did you mean it?"
For a few moments, you don't know what he's talking about, but then it all comes back to you. You told him you loved him last night. And you didn't beat around the bush either. You simply told him. You remember feeling his hand clench around your shirt when you'd said the words, as if he hadn't been expecting them.
He hadn't said 'I love you' back, and you hadn't really expected him to. After all, he'd just been through a lot. But now, as he's asking you about it, you can't help but wonder how he felt about you saying that. Does he feel the same way about you?
"Of course I did," you whisper in answer to his question. You feel his arms tighten around you slightly, then he suddenly pulls back a little to look into your eyes. Your heart starts pounding wildly when he opens his mouth. No words come out, however. He looks as if he desperately wants to say something--and your heart pounds even harder as you think it could be 'I love you too' --but it seems as though he just can't get the words out. Is he too afraid, like you were? You see him swallow nervously.
For a few terrifying moments, you start thinking that maybe he's not going to tell you that he loves you. Your brain feels like it might shut down as you think of all the worst possible scenarios that could play out. He could be trying to say that you made him uncomfortable by telling him you love him so early in the relationship. Or, even worse, maybe he's trying to tell you that he just doesn't love you.
Just when your overthinking is about to get the best of you, you feel Min-hyuk's soft lips against your own in a mind-numbingly soft kiss. All other thoughts fly instantly from your mind as his lips trace a gentle pattern on yours. You let out a small sigh of surrender as you close your eyes, letting yourself melt into the warmth of his embrace. After a few moments, his hands come up to softly hold your face as he kisses you slowly, gently. Time seems to come to a standstill as he holds you close, and you get lost in the calming feeling of his soft lips against yours. When you feel his thumb gently brush against your cheek, you have a sudden feeling of deja-vu. This is familiar somehow.
Then it hits you. This is the exact same way you kissed him yesterday. You had kissed him softly, almost reverently, just like he's doing to you now. But you had been trying to convey through your actions just how much he meant to you. Now that he's kissing you the same way... is it possible that he's doing the same thing? As the thought enters your mind, you know it's right. You suddenly know what he's trying to say.
I love you too.
He's telling you with every gentle caress of his lips, every shared breath, and every touch of his hands. You can feel it. Every movement seems to carry with it the repeated words. I love you, I love you, I love you. Your hands form themselves into fists around the fabric at his waist as he continues to kiss you. Your mind almost can't take the information it's being fed. He loves you. He really loves you. Your heart is beating so fast and hard that you wonder briefly whether he can hear it too.
You suddenly become aware that your cheeks feel wet. You wonder briefly whether he's crying again, but then you feel his thumbs brush against your cheeks and you realize that it's your tears that he's wiping away. You're not sure when you started crying, but now you can't stop. Tears leak freely from behind your closed eyelids, sliding down your face unreservedly. Sooner or later you knew all the emotions that you've been bottling up lately would surface--all the stress, worry, sadness, and now happiness and relief. You suspect knowing he loves you back is what triggered this onslaught of tears.
Min-hyuk's nose bumps against yours as he changes the angle of the kiss. He breathes out your name softer than a whisper before immediately capturing your lips again. The sound is strained, as if it pains him to see you cry. You wonder vaguely if he knows the reason behind your sudden tears-- if he knows how much joy he just brought you. Something tells you he does, and that only makes your heart flutter.
Though maintaining the same slow pace, his kiss gradually becomes deeper, more passionate, as though he's trying to comfort you in this way. At some point a hand leaves your face, traveling lower until it rests on the small of your back, where he lets it stay. His lips move against yours in a way they never have before. Not desperately or hungrily like they have in the past, but passionately-- in a way that perfectly expresses the complex depth of his love for you.
Eventually the kiss slows and he pulls back, but not all the way. He gently rests his forehead against yours as you both catch your breath.
"Hurry back," he whispers, his breath ghosting over your face as his fingers lovingly brush away more of your tears. His words convey the same message he'd been saying with his kiss. I love you. Suddenly, you're content not hearing him actually voice the words, at least for now. He'd said enough just now without using any words.
"I will," you whisper back.
---------------------------
Getting first aid supplies proved to be a more difficult task than you thought. For whatever reason, the first few small convenience stores didn't have anything first-aid related. Finally you found a place that sold it. Now you're making your way back to the amusement park.
You're walking quickly, remembering Min-hyuk's words before you left.
Hurry back.
You increase your pace a little. You really don't want him to be alone for so long, especially after everything that happened recently. A cold breeze hits you as you start the long walk up the hill to the amusement park.
Try as you might to shake it, the same feeling of uneasiness clouds your mind. Why can't you shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen?
Troubling thoughts continue to enter your mind unbidden, and you're so caught up in them that before you know it, your feet have carried you almost all the way up the hill.
"Y/N!!"
You glance up quickly to the source of the voice shouting your name. There stands Ayi by the gates to the amusement park. She's in her school uniform, as usual. She must have come to see Min-hyuk while you were at the convenience store.
Wait, shouldn't she still be in school? You think. What is she doing here?
She starts waving frantically to you when she sees that you noticed her. She looks panicked, so you run the rest of the way up the hill, a familiar sinking feeling of dread washing over you. You're slightly out of breath when you reach the top.
"Ayi? What are you doing here?" you pant. Then you notice her face. Her eyes are red, brimming with tears. "What's wrong?" you ask, your voice laced with panic.
When she speaks, her voice is quiet and calm, but you can tell that whatever just happened has really shaken her.
"They took him away," she says quietly.
You feel your stomach drop.
"What do you mean?" you ask shakily. "Who did? Someone took Min-- I mean, Ri-eul?"
Ayi nods.
"The girl that's been missing has been found dead," she says. "Someone found her body in the lake yesterday. Ri-eul is the only person the police suspect right now, so they just showed up to take him in for questioning. They left about an hour ago. I was just about to follow them when I saw you."
Your legs feel weak at this unexpected news. The police took Min-hyuk away? This is what you've been afraid of. You knew eventually, they'd trace it back to Min-hyuk, even thought he's completely innocent.
"Unni," Ayi says, and you're vaguely surprised that she's addressing you so familiarly, but you don't have time to think more about it. Her voice is trembling. "I don't know what to think anymore. Did he actually do it? Did he actually kill her?"
You look at her before shaking your head firmly. "No. He'd never do something like that. The truth will come out eventually."
She looks at you sadly with a small smile. You can tell she's not sure is she believes you.
"The officer said they did a background check on him. Is he really a crazy person? Has he really spent time in a mental hospital?"
You don't answer. You don't know what to say. It's true that he's spent time in a psychiatric hospital, but he's not crazy.
"They also said that he's been arrested multiple times," Ayi continues when you don't say anything. "And apparently they also found more evidence leading back to him. Unni, what if he's really a crazy person, and I've just been caught up in his delusions? Or what if he's a really really dangerous person?"
"From what you've seen of him, does it seem like he is?"
She pauses before answering.
"No," she whispers. "That's why I'm scared. And confused. He doesn't seem like that kind of person at all."
You're not sure what else to say to her. How can you get her to believe when there are so many voices around her telling her that she's wrong? The only thing you can think to do is wrap her in a quick hug.
"The truth will come out eventually," you repeat, holding her tight. "You'll see. He'll be out of there in no time." You feel her nod slowly as her arms wrap around you briefly as well.
Finally you pull away, looking her in the eyes as you grip her shoulders.
"Now, you go on ahead. I'll be right behind you. I just need to check on a few things up here," you tell her, gesturing to the amusement park. She nods again and starts walking away. You watch her go for a moment or two before you begin quickly walking the rest of the way to the gates.
Now that Ayi's gone and you don't have to act strong for her, your legs feel a bit shaky. You're almost beside yourself with worry. What new evidence did they find, and why does it point to Min-hyuk? What if they lock him up for good this time instead of letting him go? You try not to let these worrying thoughts enter your mind, but they break their way in anyway. You need to hurry and get to the police station. You know they won't let you in to see Min-hyuk when he's under investigation, but maybe you can vouch for his character. You're sure there has to be something you can do.
You rush to the theater and make your way to the trap door on the stage. You climb down the hole and look around, immediately spotting Bella. As you approach, you can still see that she's hanging in there, but as Min-hyuk said, you're not sure how much longer she'll last. You gently stroke her feathers before standing up again.
"I'll be back," you tell her quietly. "And with any luck, Min-ah will be with me."
With that, you grab your coat that you left by Min-hyuk's bed earlier and hurry back up through the trap door and back outside. As you're walking toward the gates, it occurs to you that you have no idea where the police station is. You stop walking abruptly, and with trembling hands, you fumble around in your pocket, finally pulling out your phone.
Before you can do anything, you suddenly feel a menacing presence behind you, and a large arm shoots out to grab you. It wraps around your body, pinning your arms to your sides, causing you to drop your phone. You're about to scream when a wet cloth is roughly shoved in your face, covering your nose and mouth. You inhale sharply, and whatever's on the cloth makes your eyes water, and you feel instantly dizzy.
You throw your arm back wildly, your elbow making solid contact with the stomach of whoever's behind you. You hear a man's grunt of pain when your elbow connects, but he doesn't let you go. He just tightens his grip around you, pulling you back against his body so you can't move. On your next inhale you feel yourself losing consciousness. You try to kick your attacker or break free of his hold but your limbs no longer have any strength. The last thing you can think to do is cry out desperately in your mind, just like Min-hyuk told you to.
Help! .... Min-ah....
Then everything goes black.
_______________
A/N: YO!! That's it for this update. I'm gonna go ahead and say that the next update will be on Saturday (for real this time), not Wednesday, seeing as Wednesday is right around the corner hahahaahhahahaaaaaaaaa.... yeah.....
Anyway, thank you so so so so so so so so so sooooooooo much for reading this story!!! It seriously means so much to me! DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!! See you next time!