A subtle groan was heard as Jisung began stirring in his sleep. Slowly, his eyes opened, taking in the semi-dark ceiling above him. He briefly wondered what time it was, but his thoughts were interrupted as he turned to the side and noticed something. He gasped for air as his body stiffened in an instant.
Haeun was laying beside him, rather on top of him, for a lack of better words. She was tightly embracing his arm, her head laying peacefully on his shoulder. One of her legs was swung on top of his, and he couldn't help but get chills from the direct clash of their skins. It was smooth, unlike his, something that for some reason made his cheeks heat up and a droplet of sweat roll down his forehead.
He'd never denied his feelings for her. They sprung up like wildfire from the very first moment he'd laid eyes on her. But he'd never admit that to anyone. Because he didn't expect someone like her to ever like someone like him.
Jisung bit down on his bottom lip, thinking of an escape plan. Painfully slowly, he loosened her grip on his arm and slid out of it. He did the same with her leg, raising it slightly and allowing it to fall back to her side. Haeun didn't even flinch.
'What if she's just pretending to sleep?'
The thought occurred to him in horror.
Quietly but quickly he sprung up, now watching over her. He watched her for a split second, and flinched slightly as she began to mutter something.
"No, Mr.Bamboo, you have to live. Or Mr.Pig will take over the world."
It was difficult for Jisung to hold in his laughter, but he somehow managed to do it.
'Cute. Embarrassing, but cute.'
He thought, but before giving her the chance to catch him watching her, he quickly slipped out of the room to go bake some breakfast.
Haeun didn't wake up in the best mood. In her dream, Mr.Bamboo got captured by Mr.Pig, but right as she was about to go save him, she'd woken up.
She internally debated whether to go back to sleep and didn't notice the figure entering the room.
"You're awake?"
Haeun jumped slightly as she turned towards the doorway, finding Jisung leaning against it.
"Don't sneak up on me like that." She warned him and could see a smirk forming on his lips.
"Come have breakfast." he said shortly, backing away from the door and continuing down the hallway. Haeun was quick to follow, and both were soon in the kitchen. On the table was a display of several dishes, including pancakes, fruits, and different condiments such as honey, jam, and chocolate. Haeun's face literally lit up, realizing just how hungry she was.
"I didn't know you could cook!" She exclaimed, taking a seat at the table and instantly bringing a pancake onto her plate. Jisung chuckled as he placed down a cup of orange juice beside her and then sat down.
"Living alone teaches you some skills."
"You live alone?" Haeun replied, confusion lacing her voice.
"Not fully, but basically."
"What does that even mean."
"My parents are international businessmen. They're only home for around 1 week each month." He explained, shoving some food in his mouth.
"Wow. That must be lonely." Haeun exclaimed, surprisingly gently.
"I have friends coming over often, so it really isn't." Jisung shrugged.
"Don't you have a pet?"
"No. My parents hate anything that has fur on it."
"Aw."
"You know what, if you come over more often, you can earn the title of house pet. How does that sound?"
Haeun looked over at him with the most 'are you deadass?' expression, and Jisung couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The 24 hours of slavery being over, Haeun soon packed up and decided to leave for her own home. She politely denied Jisung's offer to take her back by bike, as she wanted to take a walk to take her mind off things a little bit.
After some time, she reached her home, and took her keys out of her pocket to open the door.
At first, the house seemed empty. However, as Haeun walked forward, she was soon interjected by a figure.
"Haeun."
The girl looked up and gulped, staring into those dark eyes. The woman's voice sounded displeased. Something bad must've happened.
"Yeah?" Haeun straightened her back.
"Where were you? You didn't come home last night." Her mother questioned, her fierce eyes still glaring.
Haeun bit her lip. "I slept over at a friend's house." She announced, afraid to elaborate.
Haeun knew she could beat her. She was far more experienced and trained in fighting than her mother. However, she never wished to hurt her. No matter how much hate pricked at her mind, she could never raise even a hand or voice at her.
But her mother would just never stop.
"Did you ask me for permission?"
"I didn't..."
"Do you know how many problems you've caused for me? How much you've embarrassed me?!" She began yelling, and Haeun felt herself becoming smaller and smaller with each word. "I didn't give birth to you for you to disrespect me like this! I had someone over last night, and he wanted to see you-"
Although she hadn't stopped talking, that was all Haeun heard. Her mind was engulfed by shock, and she looked up, right into her mother's eyes.
"Don't tell me you tried to sell me to someone again."
Her cold words made the woman pause, and she took a second to clear herself.
"Sell you? I never tried selling you-"
"So selling off my virginity, or some bullshit like that again?"
Her silence said everything.
Haeun had rarely ever felt so angry. Her fists clenched, and her chest tightened. Tears of anger, sadness, and disappointment filled her eyes, as her emotions all seemed to explode all at once.
"I. Fucking. Hate you." She muttered, unable to speak louder than just a whisper in fear of straight up slapping her mother across the face.
The girl then ran over to the stairs, skipping one at a time to get up to her room as soon as possible. As she shut and locked the door behind her, she stood still for a while, just listening. There were no footsteps.
Sliding down with the door against her back, Haeun buried her face in her hands and began violently weeping. The rage turned into hurt. Hurt that her mother would even consider doing that to her. To let a man take advantage of her. Hurt that always tried to be kind and obedient, but never got any love in response. Hurt that that was the life she was living.
After a while, Haeun used the door handle to pull herself up, stumbling over into the bathroom. She reached into the cabinet above the sink, taking out a metal item. A gulp was heard when more tears rolled down her cheeks as she eyed the sharp edge.
Her inner voices were fighting.
Haeun, don't you dare.
It hurts too much... I need relief.
Stop it, right now!
I just can't do this anymore.
That's it!
Shaking, her hand reached into the pocket of her shorts. The actions didn't seem to match what she wanted to do, as her face twisted in resistance, but she was unable to stop. Taking out her phone, she hastily unlocked it and dialed a number. The phone rang for a while, meanwhile the pained voice in her head was winning. However, that all changed as Haeun heard a voice on the other line.
"Hey Haeun."
"Yuri..." She exclaimed, voice cracking. "Please help me." More tears ran down her face.
"Haeun? What's going on?"
"I don't want to do this... but I can't stop myself... please- please help me." She cried out.
"HAEUN, DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID! I'LL BE THERE SOON, JUST HOLD ON!" Yuri yelled out, and Haeun couldn't hear whatever else she said as the phone dropped down to the floor. Her head throbbed at the internal conflict, causing her to nearly fall over.
Just shut up and stop being stupid!
Nothing else can help me.
We promised ourselves to never do this again last time!
Promises are meant to be broken.
Chenle and Mark were strolling down the suburban street, enjoying the pleasant Sunday morning. They were heading to Jisung's house, because supposedly, they needed to discuss something important. They heard someone sprinting behind them but didn't pay much mind. Following that was the sound of a fence door behind kicked open, and a loud banging ensued.
"HAEUN, OPEN THE DOOR OR I'LL KICK IT DOWN!" A yelling voice threatened.
Shocked by the familiarity of the voice and name, both Chenle and Mark turned and looked towards the entrance to the nearest house. There stood Yuri, screaming and banging on the door. After a couple of seconds, the door slowly opened, revealing another figure. The boys were too far to hear their quiet conversation, but witnessed as Yuri grabbed something out of the other girl's hand and threw it into the grass, following that up with a tight hug.
"Ha-eun?" Mark questioned, his words choppy from the shock.
They continued observing as Yuri gently led Haeun back into the house, shutting the door behind them.
"Something must be really wrong..." Chenle looked over towards Mark, but the latter was already on the move.
Walking through the opened gate, Mark reached the patch of grass where Yuri had thrown away the mysterious object. And to his dismay, he found a-
"Razor blade?" Chenle asked in bewilderment, having now reached the elder. "But why-"
"I have no idea." Mark retorted, and although terrified of what this could mean, he maintained his calm. With a quick movement, he bent down and grabbed the blade, carefully sliding it into his pocket. "Let's talk about it later."
Then, the two boys grimly left the front yard.
I just can't let you guys have a moment of peace, can I?