─── chapter six.
❛ FLESH WOUND ❜
OVER THE YEARS, deok-ja had developed an uncanny ability to detect presences near her. mostly it was because of a certain black and blonde haired duo, who loved sneaking up on her whenever they got the chance.
the feeling was often muddled when in the presence of too many people, because more often than not, there was always someone staring at her.
but staring and watching were not all the same.
and deok-ja felt sinister intentions through the prickle in her skin, goosebumps dotting her arms and the hair on the back of her neck bristling.
after a difficult night tossing and turning, the pain in her lower abdomen had soon ebbed away slowly as time progressed. however, the squeeze in her heart remained ever present.
deok-su's tears were like a haunting image repeating into her head, a broken record playing a haunting melody.
the dark haired girl didn't fully understand the weight beneath his tears, nor the effort he'd put into quelling the thrill his fists ached for, but seeing him cry still hurt.
maybe it was just that — the expression on deok-su's face, that had been making her feel uneasy this whole time. or just her mind, connecting one problem with another.
maybe she was just too high strung at the moment to think clearly.
"deok-ja!" warmth pressed itself to her body, and then there was zoe.
zoe, with her sweet (although sometimes it was false) smile and her need to keep friends close.
"i have sooo much planned!" she grinned up at deok-ja, long lashes fluttering together as her eyes creased in the slightest.
pushing away the unease building up like bubbling lava in her body, deok-ja gave the girl a small nervous smile. how could she possibly ruin her day and tell zoe that she had a bad feeling when she looked so happy?
deok-ja wished she wasn't so complacent around her.
but, that's what friends do, she supposed.
"i bought snacks, and — and lots of sweets! we can watch a movie too, and maybe do your makeup! you're already pretty, but i think you'll look even prettier with the right products..." deok-ja mindlessly nodded along to the girl's words, a smile painting her face.
finally, a friend that doesn't reek of manliness and protein powder!
THE DAY WAS SOON LOST, replaced by nightfall. laughter rang from the inside of zoe's room, where two girls chatted away and ate snacks.
soon, the small trash can in zoe's room grew full of chip bags and candy wrappers, and deok-ja took that as her cue to go home.
"i'll walk you out!" zoe smiled, in her hands a tied up trash bag. "i gotta take out the trash anyway."
deok-ja opened her mouth to suggest she stay here, that nighttime is dangerous, but soon closed it. zoe would be better off going with deok-ja now than going alone later.
"sure." deok-ja replied, waiting for zoe as she closed the door to her apartment, yelling something to her mother before bounding back over to the taller girl.
the air was chilly, and deok-ja was grateful for the fact that she was in the architecture department and didn't have to wear the regular thin uniform.
"so how's your streaming gig going?" deok-ja made idle conversation as they walked, her eyes trained on her surroundings.
she didn't like the silence on the street, nor the knot slowly forming in her stomach.
"great! i almost have enough money saved to quit streaming soon. speaking of... your brother's kind of scary." zoe said bashfully, making deok-ja's head whip to stare at her.
"did he glare at you? or maybe he smiled? yeah, deok-su's fucking terrifying when he smiles with his teeth. its like a psycho." deok-ja snickered, making zoe hit her on the shoulder with a giggle.
"no, i asked him what kind of snacks you liked and he looked at me with those big empty eyes." zoe shuddered. "but overall, he's much nicer than he seems."
"he's not a bad person. just a little... odd." deok-ja said, not knowing what other word she could use to describe her eccentric brother.
"excuse me..." a voice cut into their conversation, and deok-ja felt every single hair on her arms rise.
standing right underneath the eerie glow of the flickering lamplight was a short, smiling man. he reeked of filth and alcohol.
"i need directions." he said, laughing pleasantly. it sent chills down deok-ja's spine.
without much thought, she nudged zoe behind her taller frame as the man approached.
"i don't know the way, so..."
"oh, i don't really know..." zoe trailed off nervously, her hand reaching to cling tightly onto deok-ja's.
"zoe, deok-ja!" a shout halted the man's approach, and deok-ja saw a familiar part-timer running towards them.
"run!" he urged them, and suddenly deok-ja's heart rate spiked, taking a few steps back with zoe in tow.
"hurry!" he cried as he stood between them and the grinning man, but deok-ja couldn't move.
how could she, when zoe was frozen in place?
i can't leave her, deok-ja gritted her teeth, glancing between daniel and the man, then to zoe.
"he — he bought a knife!" little daniel yelled, and deok-ja's heart almost failed her.
she absolutely hated knife fights.
but the shiny object was nearing daniel, and deok-ja's body took action before she could fully process what she was doing.
her arm exploded with pain as she shoved the smaller boy out of the way, the tip of the knife slicing through her skin and leaving beads of crimson liquid to drip onto the dirt road.
"deok-ja!" the two yelled in fear, gasping at the wound the knife had inflicted on her.
her vision was popping with lights, blurred figures going in and out of focus. one moment she had disarmed the man, and the next he was slamming his fists into daniel's back as he shielded zoe, who was crying hysterically.
one moment she was clutching her wound, trying to keep her balance, then the next she was on the floor, pain like if she was getting stabbed for the first time making her grit her teeth in pain.
"how dare you cheat on me! i donated all my money for you! i loved you!" the man screeched angrily, his eyes reflecting the insanity within him.
deok-ja slumped further against the wall she'd found herself resting against, her eyelids struggling to stay open.
wow... i've never felt more useless in my life, she laughed humorlessly to no one in particular, slapping herself awake with her good hand.
"i've done nothing wrong! it's all your fault!" the man raised the knife once more, as if to plunge in into the smaller daniel's back, but by some miracle, a dumbbell crashed against the man's head.
deok-ja, in her state of mild blood loss, chuckled as vasco appeared wearing a tank top and pajama pants.
"you... are something else." he huffed, resting his hands on his thighs for support.
as the man writhed in pain on the floor, vasco glared down at him. "i saw everything, you punk."
deok-ja almost swooned at how hero-like her class president sounded (it was probably because she was loosing a lot of blood, but the sentiment sticks).
"now, deal with me."
she couldn't keep her eyelids open longer, only hear the yells of protest through her slowly failing hearing.
"i overcame it." the last thing she heard before she completely blacked out.
she soon came to in the back of an ambulance, where a paramedic was wrapping her arm.
"your friends told me what you did." she smiled as she gently finished putting on the bandage. "you're a brave girl, and a good friend."
"are they safe?" deok-ja asked as she glanced at her torn coveralls. there was a large gash stained with red on one arm.
"there's a young man waiting for you. we sent the girl home, she seemed really shaken up. as for the chubby kid, he ran off somewhere." the woman explained before smiling in satisfaction. "there, all done! next time, please run away if you encounter anybody suspicious."
deok-ja nodded to her words before thanking her and walking out of the ambulance.
"so you were the one waiting for me." the dark haired girl hummed as she spotted vasco pacing around the sidewalk in a pair of polka dotted pajama pants.
relief washed over his face as he ran over to inspect her wound.
"daniel told me you got hurt while protecting him and zoe." vasco said as he ran his fingers gently over her bandages.
"tis but a flesh wound." she said eloquently, before her gaze strayed down to vasco's pants.
she stifled a laugh.
"what? what's so funny?" he asked, looking curiously at deok-ja.
"your pants," she burst into laughter. "they don't fit your image at all!"
vasco felt his face grow warm at deok-ja's laughter.
"are you... teasing me right now?" he said incredulously. "after passing out from blood loss?"
"i'm fine now, so don't worry. and for the record, i wasn't teasing you. they're cute — the pants." she grinned up at him, gesturing to the piece of clothing.
deok-ja almost allowed herself to say and so are you, before catching herself. her ears reddened at the thought, because since when had she thought that?
looking at him then, with his embarrassed expression and red face as he offered to walk her home, deok-ja really couldn't deny how adorable the goof was. maybe looking at his face all day softened his harsh features in her eyes.
he wasn't so bad, if she really thought about it.
he wasn't bad at all.
# LOVE, RAY !
more of vasco and deok-ja for my heart <33
a shorter chapter bc it was just a continuation of last chap
sorry for making deok-ja get stabbed but it honestly seems like something she would do so i was like alr might as well 😭
i adore vasco in those pj pants he looks so cute and no one can change my mind<3
this chapter covers a bit of ep 31 and 32-33!! next chap is when zack gets scammed so it'll be ab both siblings (usually i've been taking turns writing ab each one per chapter but this time they'll meet bc burn knuckles and deok-su in fashion dept so yeah)
please vote and comment if you can, i love interactive readers<33 love y'all and stay safe!!