" ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ᴀ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴋɴᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴛᴀɴᴅɪɴɢ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ'ꜱ ʜᴀʀᴅꜱʜɪᴘꜱ. "
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Yeong-Ja leaned against the wall by the door as she waited for Dong-Yul and his sister to gather their things, she looked down at her bloodied hands and flexed and unflexed them, grimacing at the slight sting coming from her knuckles. Her head snapped to the door when it slowly opened, she watched as Dong-Yul came out with two backpacks on each shoulder and a duffle bag in his hand while his twin sister came out from behind him holding two duffle bags in one hand, a small suitcase in the other and a backpack on her shoulder. Yeong-Ja smiled slightly and carefully took a bag each from the siblings before motioning her head to their house gate.
"Come on, there's a place you two can stay." Dong-Yul's sister stared silently at Yeong-Ja before looking at her brother who nodded slightly. Yeong-Ja walked slightly ahead of the twins, knowing they wanted their own space, she paid no mind to their hush whispered as they walked to the bus stop, the bus arrived just as they came to a stop.
"Come on." Yeong-Ja muttered, letting the younger siblings get on first. There weren't many people on the bus as they all sat down but Yeong-Ja could feel eyes on her and shifted in her seat when she realised they were glancing at the dark bruise on her neck.
"Here." Yeong-Ja turned her head back to see Dong-Ja's sister holding out a dark grey scarf, the older woman wordlessly took it and wrapped it around her neck carefully.
After 10 minutes, Yeong-Ja gestured to the twins to get off. Dong-Yul walked beside Yeong-Ja and glanced between her and the building in front of them.
"The studio?" Dong-Yul questioned, Yeong-Ga nodded while Dong-Yul's sister glanced at the older female.
"Shouldn't you take us to your home? Not this place?" Yeong-Ja didn't glance at the twins as she entered the building pin and opened the door for the two. She looked at Dong-Yul's sister.
"Do you have anywhere else you'd prefer to go?" She questioned dryly, the siblings shared a glance before lowering their heads and walking into the building. Yeong-Ja leads them to the fourth floor, then to the small private office at the end of the hall before turning to them.
"You know where the showers are, you two can clean up first then we'll get you sorted." Her statement was directed to Dong-Yul who nodded, pulling his sister out of the room towards the showers. Yeong-Ja let herself lean against the small desk and sighed heavily, the woman proceeded to push the two couches together to make a makeshift bed and went to get her blankets for them to use.
After a while, the twins returned to the small office, freshly showered and with new bandages on their injuries, Yeong-Ja smiled slightly at them and motioned her head to the makeshift bed.
"It's not ideal I know, but...It'll be better than the floor." Dong-Yul bowed his head and sent Yeong-Yul a smile, nudging his sister in her ribs.
"Thank you." She muttered quietly and Yeong-Ja simply nodded.
"Have you two eaten?" Yeong-Ja asked and they nodded their heads, Yeong-Ja hummed in response and made her way out of the room, giving them their privacy. She walked into the break room and got herself a glass of water and sat down on the couch, taking a deep breath and slumping back and staring up at the ceiling.
"Ms Lim?" Dong-Yul walked into the break room and Yeong-Ja glanced at him, noticing him holding an ice pack, antiseptic wipes, ointment and a bandage in his hands. She looked at him confused before he pointed at her neck and knuckles, Yeong-Ja cleared her throat and smiled at him gratefully, she had honestly forgotten about her own injuries.
"Thank you Dong-Yul." She quietly said and the boy hummed and nodded, taking a seat next to her as she began cleaning her knuckles. Wincing every now and again.
"Ms Lim...Why...Why did you do all of this?" Yeong-Ja looked over at Dong-Yul who emptily stared down at the floor and sighed.
"It's the right thing to do. That man...He doesn't deserve to be a parent, not when he hurts his children." Dong-Yul looked at his teacher and swallowed thickly, shifting in his seat.
"I know. It's just...The way you reacted, it's like you've..." Yeong-Ja smiled humorlessly, understanding what he was implicating and she took a moment, staring at her hands before softly nodding and looking back at him.
"You're right." Yeong-Ja simply said, Dong-Yul stared at her, not knowing what to say.
"I've been through the exact same thing you and you're sister are going through now...The only difference is, is that I didn't have anyone to help me, at least not for a while." Yeong-Ja spoke quietly, she sent him a reassuring smile as she pressed the ice pack to her hands. They sat there in silence for a while, Yeong-Ja wrapped her hands in the compression bandage before looking at Dong-Yul who started to drift off to sleep.
"Go get some sleep, you can stay here for a few days and we'll sort something out from there." Dong-Yul sighed and got up, and started to walk out of the room but Yeong-Ja caught his attention once again.
"Contact Dajoon too. He's really worried about you." Dong-Yul glanced at Yeong-Ja and softly nodded.
"Thank you. For what you did." Dong-Yul said and Yeong-Ja nodded sending him a smile before he wordlessly walked out of the room leaving the woman alone. She let out a tired groan before getting up and walking to the bathroom, taking everything with her.
Yeong-Ja stared at her reflection, her hair tussled and dark circles under her eyes. She slowly peeled away the scarf, her eyes trained on the ugly bluish-purple bruise on her neck before slowly gliding to the fresh cut, had she not leaned away when she did, he would've sliced right into her vein. Yeong-Ja took the antiseptic wipe and carefully cleaned her neck before applying the ointment and covering it with the bandage, she stood there for a few minutes, holding the ice pack to her bruise and letting out a breath. She'll need to wear a scarf for a while, or at least until it heals enough for her to easily cover it with makeup.
"Good thing it's getting colder, wearing a scarf won't draw attention, and I don't have any classes until the end of next week." She muttered to herself, dropping the ice pack in the sink and packing away the rest of the medical supplies before heading back to the break room for some well-needed rest.
The next morning, Yeong-Ja woke up at 5 am and got ready for work, wearing black pants, a black shirt, her coat and the grey scarf Dong-Yul's sister had given her. The woman had gone down to the small bakery on the first floor to get the twins something to eat and left a bit of her own money for them to use for whatever they needed, Yeong-Ja quietly walked to the office and opened the door slightly, smiling to herself when she spotted them curled up on the couches, sound asleep. As she closed the door, her phone vibrated in her pocket and a small smile curled on her lips as she looked down at the message.
Good morning rooftop chicken.
Yeong-Ja scuffed quietly and rolled her eyes, a ghost of a smile still present on her lips.
Morning delivery boy.
The young woman turned her phone off and gathered her things, writing a note for Dong-Yul and placing it next to their breakfast and the envelope of money.
Here's some breakfast from the bakery on the first floor. Make sure both of you go to school today, here's some money, it's not a lot so use it for what you really need. I expect you both back here before 10 pm every night for as long as you are staying here. We will talk about what to do next when I get back. - Lim Yeong-Ja
Hours went by as Yeong-Ja worked her shift, every once in a while going into the staff bathroom to adjust the scarf, paranoid that it could slip and people would be able to see the dark bruise and the bandage peeking out from underneath. The last thing she wanted was for people to stare at her and gossip, she already had a few questioning stares at her cut and bruised knuckles causing her to wish she had gloves to hide them.
"Good afternoon Yeong-Ja." Soo-Ho's grandmother smiled at the young woman, and Yeong-Ja smiled back as she noticed more ramen among her groceries.
"He must love this brand." Yeong-Ja quietly commented, Soo-Ho's grandma nodded and sighed catching Yeong-Ja's comment.
"He sure does, what's weird is that he's been here multiple times this week saying that he'll get some himself but always comes back empty-handed, saying that they were out of stock." Yeong-Ja furrowed her brows and shook her head in confusion.
"This is one of the most popular items so we always make sure they are always in stock." Soo-Ho's grandmother tilted her head for a moment before waving her hand.
"Oh, he must not be looking in the right area, silly boy. Enough about him, how have you been my dear?" Yeong-Ja chuckled and shrugged her shoulders as she packed the items.
"I've been okay, just working-"
"Oh! what happened to your hands?" The older woman exclaimed, cutting Yeong-Ja off as she grabbed her hands, examining her knuckles. Yeong-Ja's eyes widen slightly and she cleared her throat, carefully taking her hands from the woman's grip and hiding them from her sight.
"N-Nothing for you to worry about. I was just clumsy..."Yeong-Ja trailed off, before smiling tightly at the older woman and handing the bags for her to take.
"Have a good day." Soo-Ho's mother smiled back at her, concern still gleaming in her eyes before nodding her head and taking her groceries.
"You too Yeong-Ja." Yeong-Ja watched as the woman exited the store before letting out a breath, clenching her hands behind her back.
Soo-Ho had arrived home after school, and he was able to spare a couple of hours before he had work, the young man walked in and smiled at his grandmother who smiled back.
"Have a good day?" He asked, leaning against the kitchen counter as his grandmother started cooking.
"Yes, went to the convenience store and got your ramen. Are you sure you were looking in the right place the times you went there? " Soo-Ho looked over at her with alert eyes.
"Of course, they were out of stock." Soo-Ho responded, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Really? Because Yeong-Ja told me they are always in stock." His grandmother slyly said, gauging her grandson's reaction. Soo-Ho straightened and his eyes snapped to her at the mention of the young woman's name. The older woman laughed to herself and pointed the wooden spoon at him.
"You never went to the convenience store to pick up your ramen. You went to see Yeong-Ja." She stated with a grin. Soo-Ho's eyes darted away instantly as he shook his head and scoffed in disbelief.
"No! They seriously didn't have any! Plus I only met her once!" He defended, but his grandmother simply stared at her embarrassed grandson and nodded.
"Sometimes all it takes is one meeting. I told you she was a pretty woman." She teased Soo-Ho, who continued to deny her accusations, Soo-Ho laughed and waved her off. His grandmother hummed before her smile started to fade away as she thought back to Yeong-Ja, Soo-Ho caught her look and raised a brow.
"What's the matter?" Soo-Ho asked and watched as his grandma glanced at him, debating whether to tell him or not.
"Well...While I was talking to Yeong-Ja, I noticed her hands, specifically her knuckles...They were cut and bruised, I asked her what happened and she just said she was clumsy and it was nothing but..." She trailed off, Soo-Ho furrowed his brows and straightened up.
"But?" He pressed looking at her as she sighed and looked back at him with a concerned look in her eyes.
"Her hands looked exactly like your's when you've been in a fight. I know it's none of my business but I have a feeling something happened to her." Soo-Ho nodded slowly in response, he was about to speak but the cooking timer went off causing his grandmother to jump and focus back on her cooking. Soo-Ho walked into the small lounge room and sat on the couch, he fiddled with his phone for a moment, lost in his thoughts before he clicked on Yeong-Ja's contact.
Hey rooftop chicken, how has your day been?
He watched as Yeong-Ja's typing bubble came up seconds later.
It's been dull.
Soo-Ho glanced back at the kitchen before focusing back on his phone screen
Have you been well? Nothing has happened?
Yeong-Ja's response was instant.
Nothing notable, everything is fine.
Soo-Ho stared at her message, and although he had no reason not to believe her or to even care. They weren't close, not close enough for him to worry as much as he was, but his grandmother's words of concern swam in his head and his gut told him something did happen. The question now was is he going to do something about it?