(Next chapter will be updated tomorrow. Also let's just take a moment for this gif 😋😋 yummy yummy hehe)
She can't breathe.
No matter how much she tries to breathe through her nose, all that comes out of it is water. The only thing she put in her stomach all day.
She sobs through it, tiny little palms desperately holding the edges of the toilet. Something about this hasn't changed. She still panics when she throws up, feeling as if something will clog her throat any minute and she will die from suffocation.
That is one of her fears. Dying from suffocation. And she has no one but her auntie to blame for it.
Whenever she would cry as a child, the woman would rightly grip her face with her hand, her face small enough for her to easily cover her mouth and her nose.
Jennie used to desperately wither in her arms, little limbs helplessly flailing for air. And when she was close to passing out will the woman let go.
Of course, she never did that in the presence of Yeri and her uncle. But that man is just as vile. They used to get off to it, she knows cause she has walked in on them multiple times.
Tears stream down her face like a waterfall, her headache ten times worse now because of the hit she got from Jay. Her cheek is burning from the impact, and she wants to do nothing but disappear.
"Jennie.." Yerin calls from outside the locked bathroom, her voice soft and shaky. "Can you please open the door?"
Jennie is not able to answer as she continues to throw up saliva, her body trembling in terror when she feels like her heart will come up to her throat any minute.
Yerin can hear her whines and she stays put outside the door. "It's alright. Take your time. I'm right here."
Yerin knows she's starving. She hasn't eaten anything, and the sound of struggle from Jennie's side tells her it's been the whole day.
She sighs and sits down outside the bathroom for a few minutes. She waits patiently until she hears the young girl flushing the toilet. She perks up and stands up on her feet to walk outside.
She knows Jennie will be shaking, so she steps outside to get the blanket that was on the young girl's shoulders before she ran towards the bathroom.
The two men outside turn to her when they see her. "How is she?" Yeonjun asks, worried sick. His hair is all over the place from constantly running his hand through them.
"What do you think? She just got harassed." Yerin picks up the blanket. "She can't even fucking throw up properly cause her stomach has been empty the whole day. She's been starving herself cause she's too busy keeping up with this fucked up world." Her eyes well up in tears as she lets out her frustration.
Yeonjun and Hyunjin stare at her, devastated at what the older woman is saying. Have they really been this blind? How come no one noticed?
Jay used to come to the store quite often, sometimes even twice a day. If he wasn't coming in, then he would just linger outside and smoke. How come no one noticed how his gaze would never leave her face?
Yerin is beyond pissed at him and her uncle, and all the people who thought it was a good idea to let that child go through all of this.
She doesn't even know Jennie that well. They met two months ago. But even when she doesn't know much about her, Yerin can see the signs of child neglect when she sees them.
She gets to watch them every day in the mirror after all. You always think you are the one who is going through the hardest times until you meet someone and have to admit you were lucky to not have ended up like that.
She understands why Jieun is so overprotective towards Jennie. They grew up in the same circle, their parents were friends. She must have seen what they used to do to Jennie after her parents died.
The shop is left open, but no one cares enough to close it. It's almost four in the morning and there are no customers anyways.
The click of the door unlocking sounds from the inside, and Yerin turns around and immediately walks inside the back room where Jennie is. The two boys stay put, knowing now she will not like to be seen in such a condition.
There is a reason why she hides it all.
Yerin finds the girl leaning her tired body against the door, small and shaking. She sniffs and immediately flinches at the dry feeling. Her eyes are red and dazed, and her cheek is swollen from the abuse.
Just the sight of it boils Yerin's blood.
She is quick to her side and wraps her in the blanket to give her a bit of warmth. She is silent when she guides the young girl's body away from the door and onto herself.
She squeezes her shoulders and hugs her to her chest. Jennie has always been warm and soft, her hugs are the best thing one can experience. But now, her body is tense and cold, unsure and unsafe.
Yerin hugs her closer because of that.
Yeonjun slowly peaks his head into the back room, waiting around the door until Yerin looks over and gives him the okay to walk inside. He and Hyunjin enter one after the other, slow in their steps as they watch the young girl who is huddled up to Yerin.
They are sitting on the small couch now, Jennie's face hidden away in the older woman's neck. She is practically swallowed by the blanket, sniffy and no doubt pouty, a hungry and neglected little lump who needs to be fed and taken care of.
But it's alright. Cause she is in good hands now.
"I will take her back to my apartment," Yerin mumbles to the two men. "I have medicine and first aid at home."
Hyunjin nods. "We will look after the shop. Text me when you get home."
Yerin starts to notice that the girl is slowly dozing off, exhaustion from the whole day gripping her all at once. So before she sleeps, the older woman pats her on the shoulder to keep her awake. She would gladly let the young girl sleep away the bad day, but she needs to get some food in her system first.
"Yeonjun, help me in carrying her, and make sure you check in on those pictures, okay?" Yeonjun steps forward at Yerin's words and slowly coaxs Jennie to let go of her so he can take her in his arms.
Yerin sticks close as he walks over to her car with Jennie cuddled up into his arm, and that is how Jennie ends up in Yerin's apartment.
Yerin sits her down first and pulls out the spicy soup she prepared this morning. She warms it up and puts it in front of Jennie. The first few spoons are painful for the little one, but with a little bit of gentle cooing from the elder, she manages to finish the whole bowl.
After that, Yerin patches up her cheek. They are sitting on the ground in her room, with Jennie's back leaning against the side of the bed.
"It's not bleeding.." The older woman mumbles to her as she applies a soothing cream on her cheek with careful fingertips.
Jennie sniffs and is unable to reply back. She had gone silent after she ran towards the bathroom to throw up. Yerin would let her be, but she is also getting worried.
So she softly asks again. "Does it hurt?"
Jennie blinks her hazy eyes. Now that she has eaten something, she feels a tiny bit better. Her eyes flit up to Yerin's face, and for a second, she wonders how she got here. She was back in the store just now.
Her lips part at the concern swirling in Yerin's gaze and she shakes her head to cease her worries. "...my uncle hit me once.. it was more painful than this.." Jennie lets out in a daze, not realizing the words she's speaking.
Yerin blinks. "He used to hit you?" She asks in disbelief, staring at the little girl with wide eyes. She is finally finding out more about her.
The little one shakes her head, quickly blinking her tears away when they start to sting her eyes. "Not that much. It stopped when I grew older.." Her voice starts to shake when she mumbles this. "But that's probably because he couldn't hide it from his daughter anymore."
Yerin can only watch her, her heart squeezing in her chest at the sight of the girl. She just turned twenty, she is basically still a child.
A sigh leaves her, and she wraps her arm around Jennie's shoulder to pull her closer. "You know you can cry. It's alright to let it out."
Jennie nods. "I know.." She sniffs, shuffling close to the woman. "I just don't know how to." She mumbles.
—————————
I swear guys. This is actually more of a comedy than angst. It's just a sprinkle of sadness and other than that it's all laughter and soft love. So please bare with it. 🤧🤧
Leave lots of love.
💜