● 26
SHENANIGANS'Mom, can you stop me at Hana's house.' Taehyung said as h.e stared at his phone.
There were dozens of missed calls from Hana and he started to worry.
Did something happened ?
He doesn't want to think about it. Maybe she just wondered where he went. Maybe she wanted to tell him how her day had went with Hanbin.
'Are you sure, Tae ? Don't you want to rest first ? It might not be good for your-'
'I had enough rest on the plane.' Taehyung cutted before her mom could go any further. 'I'm fine.'
Worries still painted all over his mom's face, 'Don't walk back home. Call dad or me.'
They pulled over in front of Hana's house and Taehyung exhaled a breath of relief as he caught no sight of Mr. Kang's car. He said thank you to the driver and waved away his parents' concerned.
Taehyung inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before finally ringing the bell. He had missed Hana so much while he was away. More than he thought he would. There was one time when it gets so painful at night and the doctors couldn't do anything, he had wished Hana was there.
He decided to surprise Hana so he hid behind the wall next to the gate. He heard the front door opened and the rustled of footsteps getting closer before the sound of the gate's lock opening.
Click.
He jumped in front of the gate as soon as it was opened.
He didn't know what he had expected. A shocked, excited Hana that was surprised to see him. Bright, healthier Hana that was happy after spending time with Hanbin. His cheerful, chirpy Hana that he hasn't seen for a month. His Hana that he wanted to pull into his arm so bad.
Not this.
Not this Hana. She looked like she had lost weight. Her face seemed to sunken and they were no sparkle in her wide eyes. She looked like she hasn't eaten or sleep for days. But worst of all, he didn't expect to see all the bruises on her body.
His eyes traveled down Hana's petite frame. She was in her short that she only wore in the house and her crop top. Her face has mostly just cuts that didn't need any plasters. Her legs were different. The top of her thighs was full of old scars that he had never saw, but knew exist. Making it's way down was fresh marks that was turning purplish. Further down her calf was more ugly bruises, covering her milky white skin.
He felt sick.
Hana was still motionless. She didn't move. Her wide, surprise eyes started to turn glassy and he wondered what exactly had happened.
'Taehyung.' Hana muttered after a long silence. Her voice quivered. She looked like she was going to cry and something inside him broke. He wanted to hold her so much.
'Hana,' he step closer to her. 'what happened ?'
Her eyes hardened and surprising him, she pulled the gate to close it. Taehyung was taken aback but he quickly put his feet in between the gate to stop it. He pushed it a little and stuck his head in.
Hana glared at him before she let go of the gate and turn around to get back into the house. Taehyung was about to stop her before he saw the most heartbreaking view that crushed his heart.
Hana had three scars.
That can't be possible. I left her with two. What exactly had happened ?
He quickly sanpped to his senses and ran after her. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him, can't stand to have another look at her scars but when he saw her tear stricken face, he realised that it was no better.
'Hana, what happened ? Please talk to me.' He begged.
Hana snapped her head at to look into his eyes, 'I don't know Taehyung. You tell me.'
Confused, he asked, 'What do you mean by that ?'
'You left me for a month without saying anything ? I thought we're friends. I thought I deserve to know when you're going to disappear for the whole summer break ! I was so worried and then she told me that you're - oh God - I hate you so much !' Hana's voice was louder as she speak, tears streamed down her face.
Taehyung was rendered speechless. He was so shocked by her outburst that he didn't noticed her incomplete speech. He didn't thought that his leave had affected Hana this much. Looking at Hana that moment, he regretted not telling her where he went. He wanted to tell her he didn't want to go.
But that couldn't have been the reason behind her new scar, right ?
He didn't want to fathom the ridiculousness of it but he had this gut feelings, a hunch, whenever he heard a reason behind a scar. He had that hunch now, twisting, sickening feeling in his stomach. He can't believe he had caused her a scar. While trying so hard to heal her and make sure she's happy, he had hurt her himself.
'Hana, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't kn- I didn't think- oh God, I'm sorry. I should've told you. I'm so sorry.' His voice was so low and his eyes was searching her, trying to tell her how guilty he was feeling because at that moment, words was not enough. There didn't seem to be anything from his vocabulary that could let her know how sorry he was.
She must've thought so too because with one last hurtful look, she pulled her wrist out of his grasp and ran inside.
He stood there. He didn't know how long he stood there but suddenly his phone rang and his mom was asking wheter he was done or not. He had said he was and he's on his way home which received a disapprove sigh from her, telling him he shouldn't be walking home. That it was not good for his lungs. He had said sorry and walked home anyway.
He thought that it wouldn't be so bad if his lungs had failed on him at the very moment because, for the first time in his life, he felt selfish enough to wish he was dead.
He didn't even realize his eyes were red until he got home and his mom had stopped in her introduction lecture of how worried they were, and asked him what had happened. He just shrugged and walked pass her, up to his bedroom.
He had never felt so wretched and broken. He had never felt so mad with himself and everything. He felt disgusted with himself when he though about the new scar that he caused. He cursed himself for assuming that he was doing the right thing while it was him being a flight risk when he felt that he had been too attached to her.
He sat down at the warm floor of his room, resting his back on the foot of the bed. The twisted feeling in his stomach never leave.
So did the longing to hold her in his arm.
❄❄❄❄❄
Hana sinked to the floor, trembling and gasping, trying to hold herself together. The tears was not stopping, in fact, it was getting worse. She felt her breath shortened and her walls crumbling down.
It took all her self restraint to not run into his arm when she saw him in front of her house. She had been thinking about him all day, almost feeling like she might never see him again.
He looked just like how she remembered, the same soft dark hair she wanted to run her fingers into. The familiar warm brown eyes that had his way into making her feel safe. The eyes she had missed so much.
She almost broke down. Right there, right then.
Except for the sudden anger that fumed her when she saw how he was doing fine enough to answer her calls or told her where he had gone to. All the worries that has been eating her and the fear of losing him that kept her up all night. It overshadowed how much she missed him.
When his eyes dropped to her scarre
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