Her fingers trembled violently as she gripped onto the handlebars and pulled down on the throttle. Despite her blood dripping onto the body on her motorbike, she was determined to keep going, seeking refuge somewhere far from her old apartment. The streetlights blurred in her vision as she tried to focus on the road ahead.
The wind whipped against her face, causing her to wince with the stinging pain from her facial injury. Ryujin's consciousness wavered but she fought to stay alert, clinging desperately to her resolve to keep persevering.
Every bump on the road sent a jolt of pain through her body, but she gritted her teeth and tried to compartmentalise herself. With each passing moment, her energy wanes, and her grip on reality slowly slipped away.
As fate would have it, Ryujin unconsciously found herself parked outside a familiar apartment. The rain-soaked streets seemed to have guided her, leading her to the one place that she needed to be. She mustered all her strength to get off the motorbike, stumbling as she walked towards the entrance.
She placed her blood-stained hand on the entrance door for stability as she pressed onto the intercom. After a few buzzes, the door suddenly unlocked, granting her access to the building. Ryujin let out a soft groan as she pulled the door open, leaving a stained handprint on the glass.
With each step she took, the world felt like it was spinning violently. Her legs felt like they were about to give out at any moment. But she needed to see her.
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The cat-eyed woman sat on the couch, scrolling on her phone, waiting for a response from the woman she loved. Yeji heard a faint knock on the door. She quickly got up and made her way to the front door.
"Who is it?" She said loudly, unsure who the unexpected visitor was.
With no response coming from the other side, she slowly opened the door. There stood Ryujin, swaying with her face covered in blood.
"Yeji-"
Ryujin's eyes suddenly shut as she fell into Yeji's arms. She stumbled back a little but maintained her balance. Panic and concern flooded her mind, and without a moment's hesitation, she gently picked her up in a bridal carry and took her into the bedroom.
With gentle care, she laid the unconscious Ryujin on her bed and immediately scanned her body for more injuries. Her heart was pounding hard as she saw the cut across her face- what happened to her?!
She took the phone out of her pocket and quickly dialled Chaeryeong for assistance as she ran to the bathroom.
"Yeji?"
The cat-eyed woman took a clean face towel from the shelf and ran it under warm water.
"Ryujin came back." Yeji said with her voice shaking, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she squeezed out the excess water.
"Oh shit, really? Are you safe?" Chaeryeong replied, concerned about Ryujin's sudden appearance.
"I am, but she is severely injured and unconscious." She looked back into the bedroom, and saw Ryujin lying on the bed. "Are you able to come over?"
"I'm packing the medical supplies now; I'll be over as soon as possible." The blue-haired woman said frantically. "Just gently clean up her wounds and don't wake her up."
Yeji hung up the phone and headed back into the bedroom with her towel in hand. She stood beside Ryujin, hesitating for a moment, torn between staying by Ryujin's side and giving her space to process everything that occurred. Regardless of everything that had happened, the love that she once felt for Ryujin was still there, intertwined with anger and hurt.
She carefully cleaned the blood off Ryujin's face, ensuring not to touch the open wound.
"I loved you, Ryujin." She whispered, her voice quivering with emotion. "And I still do. I want to keep loving you."
Yeji's eyes welled up with tears as she bit her bottom lip, gently wiping the dried blood off her face. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful, even with that blemish on her face.
"I can't forgive you yet for what you did and the secrets you kept from me. I hated you for a while, but I'll grow to love you again." She smiled painfully as she placed the dirty towel on the bedside table.
"I won't blame you for who you are. I never will." Yeji placed her hand on the side of Ryujin's face, avoiding the purple mark forming on her cheek.
She then looked down at Ryujin's hand, her nail polish was chipped away with small specks of blue remaining. Cuts and bruising formed on her knuckles and fingers.
"You didn't take care of yourself, Ryujin." She said softly, feeling her heart shatter as she saw how much weight she had lost in the past months.
"With all the pain you caused, you better make it up to me with food." Yeji chuckled lightly to herself and caressed her hand. "My pain won't fade away quickly, but just make it up to me."
The cat-eyed woman raised Ryujin's hand up to her lips and placed it gently on her bruised knuckles. A sign that Yeji was willing to work through the mayhem and demise that Ryujin had caused.
Rapid knocks were heard coming from the front door so Yeji gently placed Ryujin's hand back down to her side before running to open the door.
"Is everything okay?!" Chaeryeong said panicking as she burst into the apartment. "Where is she?!"
Yeji pointed towards the bedroom to which the other immediately ran to. She quickly followed behind.
"Oh shit." The blue-haired woman gasped, shocked at Ryujin's state.
"Yeah, she fell on me when I opened the door." Yeji mumbled softly as she scratched her wrist.
"Could you grab me a clean set of clothes?"
The cat-eyed woman nodded and walked into her closet to fetch some clothes. As she was looking in her closet, she came across a section filled with clothes she had taken from Ryujin. Her heart throbbed a little as she picked out some.
Chaeryeong gently lifted Ryujin upright before looking back at Yeji, "Can you help me take off her shirt?"
"But Ryujin's back-"
"We need to check for any other injuries, Yeji." The med student said desperately, her arms straining from lifting her up.
Yeji complied and gently peeled Ryujin's shirt off, leaving her in her sports bra. Her eyes quickly darted back and forth, unsure what to look at.
"Shit, she has one on her shoulder." Chaeryeong breathed out, putting Ryujin back down.
The cat-eyed woman peeked at the wound, "Looks like a stab wound."
"It is, but you see around the sides?" The med student hovered her finger around the injury. "It's burned, so the knife must've been hot to cause that."
She closed her eyes for a moment, unable to fathom the pain that Ryujin must've endured. As the night wore on, Chaeryeong finished treating Ryujin and stood beside Yeji at the door, looking back at the woman sleeping in her bed.
"What do you think happened?" Yeji asked, leaning on the frame.
"Ryujin always found herself in mess, this is definitely one of them." Chaeryeong answered before walking into the living room. "Should I stay the night? Or are you going to be okay looking after her?"
"I'll be fine here; I'll call you when she wakes up." The cat-eyed woman smiled with gratitude as she watched the med student walk out the front door.
"Goodnight, Ryu." She took one last look at Ryujin sleeping in her bed before turning off the lights and settling herself on the couch.
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She stood on the edge of the rooftop of her apartment building, taking in the fresh air. The cold wind soothed her skin as her hair gently flew with the breeze.
"Shin Ryujin." A voice called out from behind her.
Ryujin turned around to be met with Yeji's furious gaze. "Yeji?"
"You deserve nothing but misfortune and hatred. I can never love you."
The cat-eyed woman quickly bolted at her, she couldn't move, it was as if she was cemented to the ground. Before she could react, she was pushed off the rooftop. She watched as Yeji peered over the ledge, watching her freefall from the building.
Ryujin shut her eyes, waiting for the impact to kill her. Instead, she fell into a body of water. The cold water consumed her as she sunk further and further into the depths. The pressure of the water forced her to take a breath, but her lungs were filled with a burning sensation.
Her body began to convulse, fighting for the oxygen that she desperately needed.
She immediately jolted awake with a loud gasp, waking up in a cold sweat. The nightmare had left her heart pounding in her chest, and she felt a chill running down her spine. Blood began dripping slowly from her wound as she looked around the dimly lit room, trying to ground herself back to reality.
Ryujin touched her face, wiping away the blood with her fingertips. The door slowly swung open as Yeji stepped into the room.
"You're awake." She said softly while taking steps closer to Ryujin.
The dark-haired woman avoided her eye contact, all the regret and guilt attacked her once again.
"And you opened your wound."
Ryujin immediately lifted up the covers, trying to hide her face from Yeji. The cat-eyed woman sat on the edge of the bed and picked the towel up from the bedside table.
"Let me clean it up, Ryujin." Yeji spoke calmly.
She didn't budge, preventing Yeji from seeing her face. Ryujin also couldn't bear to face her again, after everything she caused.
Ryujin's heart skipped a beat as a soft hand was placed on hers, gently lowering the blanket down. She looked down, averting her gaze.
"Look at me, Ryu."
She shook her head, biting her lower lips hard to stop the tears from falling. She didn't deserve to face her.
"Ryujin, I'm not mad at you anymore. Please look at me." Yeji said reassuringly, gently placing her hand on her cheek to guide her eyes to look at her.
Ryujin's breathing hitched as she made eye contact with Yeji's; the eyes that she longed to see again after all the time they lost. There was no longer hatred behind those eyes but hurt.
She closed her eyes as Yeji gently dabbed the towel on the blood, wiping it away.
"I'm really sorry, Yeji." Ryujin said quietly as she fumbled with her fingers beneath the bed covers. "I'm never going to ask for your forgiveness. I don't even forgive myself."
Yeji placed the towel back on the table and looked back at Ryujin, "I'll forgive you, but not any time soon."
Ryujin nodded sadly as she slightly moved her face away from her.
"But I'm really glad you're back."
"I shouldn't have come back. You and I aren't ready." She said with a tear running down her cheek.
"You're right about that. However, we can heal with each other." Yeji smiled as she caressed the back of Ryujin's hand with her thumb.
"How can we? You hate me as much as I hate myself, Yeji." Ryujin mumbled, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "Everything you said that night was true, and I deserved every part of it."
Yeji's heart felt like it was crumbling in on itself, her mind played back every hurtful word that she bestowed on Ryujin.
You're a fucking abomination.
"Ryujin, I'm so fucking sorry for everything I said to you that night."
"But you meant it." Ryujin looked back at Yeji. "It's truth, isn't it?"
Tears began to stream down her face, "I allowed anger to take control of me. If I could go back to that moment, I would take it all back."
"I guess we'll need to forgive each other at some point. Though, I'll never expect you to forgive me." Ryujin gave a slight smile as she looked down at her hand.
"Don't worry, Ryu. I'll forgive you at some point."
Note:
visual of ryujin's new cut/scar~