(Warning! This chapter includes: Blood (not intense)
Katarzyna's POV
Soft, sweet humming echoes through the room. I feel something stinging on my head as I want to open my eyes. But they feel incredibly heavy and I can't manage to open them. The humming comes closer until it is right next to my ear. A cold shiver passes through me and slowly I regain consciousness. My arms are free but I am too tired to move them. I feel the cold pull up from my back. It feels like someone put an icepack on my back. I guess I am sitting against a tiled wall or something.
The tapping of something bouncing on the ground is followed by a hand gently grasping the underside of my chin. My chin is held up slightly causing my head to tilt up. Then I feel a big sting in my forehead. From shock, I regain consciousness and manage to finesse back. "Oh you're already awake...Hey, hey! Shhhh. It's okay dear...shhhh...It's okay." Says a soft voice as I feel a cloth on my head. "I just need to disinfect it. The pain will be over in no time." I feel someone dabbing my head with the cloth. The tiredness feeling slowly starts to drain out of me. "Whatever you do, keep calm. It's for your own safety." Says the voice again. Hyunjin said the same before, but then it was a lie. Who will it be this time? Finally, I can open my eyes and look straight into 2 brown eyes. A man with a sweet look in his eyes looks at me with a shy smile. "Here we go. Look at that, I'm glad you're awake." For some reason, I am so surprised that I do not know how to give any response back. I can't stop it but for no reason I suddenly start crying. "Awe no, don't cry honey. I know several people have said this to you but you can really trust me. You are I good hands for now. I promise you that."
I don't know if it's because I feel relieved or because I'm just afraid this is another trap. But for some reason, my eyes only start to water more . The man looks at me with concern, not really sure what to do. "Wait... uhm, just stay here for a second okay? I'll just grab something." The man walks away into another room and only now do I look around the room. I am sitting on the floor of a bathroom. Through the reflection of the mirror I can see myself sitting there. For a moment I startle when I see the large wound on my head. What will have happened? I can't remember... Through the reflection of the mirror I see myself sitting against the edge of the bath. Ah...hence the cold against my back. The whole bathroom is white with some soft wood tones and mostly lots of plants. The man soon returns with something in his hand while I am still sobbing on the floor. The man closes the bathroom door behind him and crouches down in front of me again. "Look" he says while holding up a book covered in silver. "I thought I would read to you from my favourite book. Maybe that will calm you down. Once you're relaxed again, I can tell you where I found you." I nod and the man smiles again as he opens the book a little awkwardly. Then he extends his hand to me. "Oh uhm I'm Seungmin by the way." He says with a sweet tone. Automatically, I grab his hand. "Katarzyna" I say. I look at him piercingly for a moment and think. Seungmin... I've heard that name before. Seungmin sits down on his knees and starts reading. It doesn't take long before my tears start to dry. His voice is so calm and sweet. So innocent.
Time skip of 30 minutes
With a clap, Seungmin clapped his book shut. "So...Feeling better now?" He asks cautiously. "Hmh." Say I as I nod. I indeed feel a lot better and safer. Seungmin puts his book on the floor and looks around for a moment. "Do you want me to explain it to you right here or do you prefer to go to my room for a while? It might be a bit warmer in there." The fact that he lets me decide anything feels special. I usually don't have a say in here. "Okay" I reply. Seungmin looks at me a little confused. "Okay what?" ... "uhm okay sir." I quickly continue. "No...that." Seungmin smiles a little uncomfortably. "I mean, do you want to say okay we'll stay here. Or okay we go to my room? And please just call me Seungmin or Seungi whatever." ... "okay" I answer again. Seungmin's defeated laugh makes me realise what I just said. "Oh no...I" I now start giggling myself with the dried tears still on my cheeks. "I meant 'okay' as in, I'll call you Seungmin." I say. Seungmin nods. "I think you are as awkward as I am. Come with me, let's go to my room." I feel my cheeks burning from embarrassment as he reaches his right hand to me. I carefully grab his hand, pulling myself up.
As soon as we step out of the bathroom, we enter Seungmin's room. "Sit wherever you want." Says Seungmin as he releases my hand. A little unsure, I look around. It is a beautiful room with lots of white and silver details. Unlike the rest of the rooms in this house, this one has a colder and has a mixture of futuristic and antique into it. He certainly likes books a lot because there is a huge bookcase from the floor all the way up to the roof. "What are you waiting for? Here, take a seat." I only notice now that Seungmin is already sitting in a chair next to a white marble side table. He points to a chair opposite him. Without hesitation I walk towards the chair Seungmin assigned for me.
I made a mood board of Seungmin's room
Seungmin waits patiently until I sit down and cross my legs. I look at Seungmin and nod at him as if I'm trying to say, tell me. "So basically I heard a loud bang in the room next door. I was wondering if everything was okay and I walked out of my room towards Changbin's room. Hyunjin also just walked in from the other side of the hall. I told him I would take care of it since I already thought you would be in there. Hyunjin agreed with me and I went into the room. And that's when I found you. Laying on your back with a lamp stand on top of your head. Making your head bleed heavily. Carefully I picked you up and sneaked towards my bathroom with you in my arms. At first I wanted to take you to my bed but I changed my mind because of how much you bled." So he did save me from Hyunjin? I think to myself. But wait, he... he knew I was there? Apparently Seungmin noticed the questionable look in my eyes because soon afther his last sentence he speaks up again. "Anything you would like to ask?" ... "uhm...yeah, I uhm... How did you know I would be in Changbin's room?" A small light of joy appears in Seungmin's eyes. "Because Changbin texted me. Can you hold a secret?" Seungmin looks me straight in my eyes as if he is trying to guess my answer. But even when he's trying to look intimidating, he still looks like a sweet puppy or teddy bear. "Yes I can." ... "Okay so, Changbin and I took care of you the whole time after you broke out of Hyunjin's mystery room. Changbin stood in the hallway to lead you towards the art room. Changbin put a blanket on you when you where hiding behind the painting frame. I made sure to tell Changbin to go to Hyunjin's room and see if you where still safe in there. And he did, by shining through the room with a pocket lamp. Lastly he made sure to pull you towards him underneath the desk to make sure you wouldn't accidentally touch Minho's legs and betray yourself."
My mouth falls open from amazement. Flabbergasted, that's how I would describe my feeling right now. Seungmin grins as if he's reading my thoughts. He leans back as he rest his right arm on the right arm rest. He puts his left foot on his right knee while leading with his head on his right arm. "But... but what about the picture that got deleted?" I ask. "What about it?" Seungmin asks. I want to respond but I'm so confused that I've nothing to say. "The picture is gone. And thank you for deleting it. I already heard about it from Changbin but he was more than happy to hear it from me that you deleted it. Minho later confirmed that he lost the picture." ... "didn't he get mad about it?" I ask. "Well he definitely did." Seungmin says with a bit of a nervous tone underneath his voice. "But he didn't know you are the one who did it so you're good. Don't worry about it." Seungmin winks at me as if he's trying to reassure me. Automatically I wink back. "Hey you little flirt!" Seungmin says while jokingly softly slapping me on my knees. I giggle and kinda forget about all the bad stuff happening right now. I feel so safe around Seungmin. "I like having fun with you but we need to talk about something seriously now" Seungmin says as the look in his face indeed goes from happy to serious and kind of businesslike. "So I know you're safe here, but there's a problem. I do indeed need to give you to Minho within a week. It's your own choice if you stay here with me or if you want to wander around this house until someone else will find you." A shiver goes from my toes all the way to my eyebrows. Minho? No pls tell me you're joking. "Wh...why do I need to go to him? He will be so mad since I escaped." I stutter as I feel the bad feeling return to my body. Seungmin looks at me with a bit of pity in his big eyes. "Because in the end of the day I'm still one of the lead members. It's my duty. And I can't and won't abdicate it. And besides, the curse also passes over me if Minho does not marry within seven days. I am very sorry and it hurts my heart saying this to you but I have to. It will be all right honey, I promise." A gleam of dejection can be seen in Seungmin's eyes. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about having to live with Minho. He scares me. It's like Seungmin reads my thoughts since he immediately starts talking about Minho. "Listen, I know Minho looks scary and acts cold. But deep down he cares about the people he really loves. Like he does with Han. Have you met Han yet?" ... "no." ... "Oh I think you will met him soon. But anyway, I'm sure Minho will treat you with love and respect when you're his wife. But until then he will act cold." ... "why?" I ask. "I don't know... he's just a bit different." Seungmin replies. "But what do you want?" He continues. Without a second thought I reply with "I will stay in here." I feel safer than ever around him. So why would I want to go out of this room into this scary house again? "Can I drink some water?" I ask. "Yeah of course, take what you want." Seungmin replies. He's so sweet, I think to myself as I stand up.
But the moment I stand up, I feel something sticky on the inside of my thighs. I turn around and look at the seat. Oh no... blood. I gasp and look from the seat to Seungmin and back to the seat. So that's why I had cramps the last couple of days. 'I...I'm so sorry I'm on my pe..." Before I could even finish my sentence Seungmin soothes me with a finger on his lips. "I know. It's okay, I will take care of it." He says as he stands up and puts a hand on my shoulder. I don't dare to look him in the eyes. Periods are a very normal thing but still I feel so embarrassed. "Why don't you take a shower? But make sure you don't wet your head. It will make your head wound sting terribly." Seungmin says. I nod and walk back to the bathroom without looking at Seungmin. I don't want him to see how red I am. "The towels are under the sink. I will grab some clothes for you and put them outside the shower door okay? I will first clean this up." ... "okay thank you Seungmin." I say as I close the bathroom door and lock it. I look in the mirror. Oof my hair is so greasy. Unfortunately, I can't wash it now because of the head wound. Whatever. I turn around and walk towards the shower cabin. Within a few minutes the warm water surrounds me. Making my bad thoughts flow away from my brain. Like they just disappear with the water, washing away in the sink.
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