~💮~

“Damn it, Lee Min Hee!” The busy woman yelled from her daughter’s bedroom. Min Hee heard her from the kitchen and rushed upstairs to see what her mother was shouting about. She had been studying all day and finally took a break to make something to eat and already her mother was complaining about something again?

“What is it?” She asked after making it upstairs and stood in the doorway. She did all she could not to sound bitter about her question.

“Why do you still have this?!” Her mother complained while picking up the scary female doll off of her computer desk and held it up forcefully.

“Careful!” Min Hee rushed over to take the doll from her and cradled it like it was something precious to her, because it was. It was The Bride of Chucky Doll, Tiffany. She bought the doll the other month when she came across it while out shopping, the only day she was allowed to go to the mall by herself. Laying eyes on the scary looking doll, only one person came to mind and he was the reason she up her fear and bought the doll.

“Get rid of it!” Her mother demanded.

“Why?!”

“You don’t need it.”

“What the heck, if it’s going to be like that I can list a lot of things that you don’t need!”

“Min Hee, don’t test me!” The woman said in a threatening tone.

“Fine, just give me a few days to figure it out. I’m not just going to dump her in the trash like that!” Min Hee said while carefully setting her doll on her bed. “Now if you’d do me a favor and get out of my room, I need to study…”

“You better study.” Her mother said harshly before leaving out the room. Min Hee wanted to slam the door, but she’s learned from last time not to do that. She wasn’t allowed to leave the house for a week, not even to the library to study. She couldn’t lose that privilege of going to the library, not after running into Ren and telling him to study with her.

“Can it be Monday already?” She sighed while plopping onto her bed. Tiffany fell forward from her spot on the bed and her hair touched Min Hee’s arm, causing her to shriek. She was so startled. “Gosh, I’m gonna give myself a heart attack one of these days…” she sighed while sitting Tiffany up again. “Sorry, Tiffany. My mom is just…” she trailed off. There were so many mean things she wanted to say but deep down… She just wants me to do my best so I can have a good life.

Great, now came the guilty feelings. Her mother could be a total pain, always yelling and demanding but at the end of the day, it was for their own good. “Does she have to be so mean about it, though?” She glanced at her Tiffany doll and was met with pure silence. “I wonder how Ren talks to Chucky… it seems like he gets replies but I don’t?” She laughed nervously. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s okay if you don’t talk. I’ll understand!” The doll continued to just sit there silently and didn’t move a muscle because it wasn’t supposed to! “Why am I talking to a doll?” She asked herself before a sad smile grew on her lips. “But you’re not just any doll, you’re The Bride of Chucky… the bride of Ren’s doll. If I had to be honest, I kinda miss seeing Chucky even though I’m afraid of him.” Then something clicked in her brain and she glanced at the Tiffany doll once more. “Tiffany, you should go stay with them!” This time she got a non-existent reply. “Monday you’ll be reunited with Chucky, I promise!”

~💮~

Ren was excited now that the weekend was over. Today was Monday, today was the day he'd get to see Min Hee again at the library. He hadn't said much about his encounter yet to the others including Minhyun, but he knew he'd say something after today.

He talked to Chucky all weekend about it, about how excited he was to how nervous he was, too. He wasn't sure what to expect this time and tried to prepare himself as much as he could. Because he just couldn't wait, he left to the library early and left a note to the other housemates that he left to get some books and would be home for dinner. I'd appreciate if no one disturbed me at the library. He had also included. Now that he thought about it… Am I being too selfish?

Was he? They were her friends first… keeping his encounter to himself was probably not fair to the others. I'll tell them at dinner tonight. He decided when he entered the library. After navigating to the back table, he put his bag down before opening it up and pulled out his homework. He lied it out on the table where he would sit, leaving room for Min Hee when she arrives. Then he stepped away to go fetch the books he needed because he wasn't just here to meet Min Hee… maybe he was but he should at least do some of his homework while he's at it!

Once he was absent from the table, Min Hee had also arrived early to the library because she was too excited and came straight here without eating. When she saw Ren's stuff at the table, her heart started to race. Right! Quickly she took her bag off and opened it to pull Tiffany out and sat her in the seat on top of her textbooks she was going to use today to give the doll a boost.

Now that things were in place, she quietly hid behind the bookshelf across from the table and waited for Ren to return to the table. She wondered how he was going to react? Would he be surprised? Of course he would be surprised to see a spooky doll suddenly show up out of nowhere but she was sure he wouldn't be scared, he'd be excited, right?

About 5 minutes passed before Ren finally returned to the table. He was too busy looking at the books in his hands to notice the doll sitting in Min Hee’s reserved seat, and sat down in his own, not looking up once. Wah, he's so focused! She grinned. She gave him another minute or so to notice on his own before she made a small ‘pssst!’ to get his attention.

He heard that noise and looked up quickly and looked around the bookshelves before he finally noticed the doll sitting across the table. “Tiffany?” He looked surprised! A happy surprised since he was smiling. It was so adorable that Min Hee had to hide her small squeal. “How did you get there?” He asked looking a tad confused.

“I brought her.” Min Hee finally emerged from her hiding spot. An even more genuine smile spread across his face and she could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, her cheeks started to warm up and she was amazed at how she could get so flustered from one smile just like that. I missed him so much… she thought as she felt a sting in the back of her eyes. None of this is fair! Why couldn’t I keep staying at the boarding house? It was the only place that made me happy. To be living with my friends and create such wonderful memories, now I’m home alone the majority of the time at my parents place. We never eat together and I’m always studying in my room…

“Min Hee…” Ren’s voice snapped her out of it. She noticed he had gotten a lot closer by now and he looked concerned before he reached out to catch a tear that slid down her pale cheek. I’m never happy. Her negative thoughts continued. Without Ren, I’m not happy… she didn’t have to say anything as Ren pulled her into a tight hug to comfort her. She was slightly surprised but got over it quickly and returned his hug. Her arms wrapped around him tightly almost as if she never wanted to let him go. “I miss you.” He said softly during their embrace, that only made her heart ache worse. They didn’t deserve any of this!

“I do too, Ren.” She managed to say in reply and they remained like that for a few minutes before eventually parting. They couldn’t waste too much time like that and they didn’t want that to be the only thing they do during this small window of time. It was hard, but they were able to make some small talk and do some homework before it was time to leave again.

“Take Tiffany.” She told him after they packed up their things. “I want you to have her, she’s my present to you for your birthday.”

“Really?” She thought he looked so adorable with that thankful smile of his face when he held Tiffany close to his chest like he was already treasuring her. “Thank you!”

“No problem. Take good care of her, alright?”

“I will… you should also take good care of yourself, Min Hee.” He said with a sad smile. “I know it’s difficult, but you have to take care of yourself despite all of this. I’m worried about you.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll be sure to do that!” She tried to give him a positive smile. “See you tomorrow?” She asked with a small tilt of her head and he nodded in confirmation.

He walked her out of the library before walking her to a cab, he did think about getting in so he could stay with her until she got to her house, but he felt like he shouldn’t do that. It would make parting that much more difficult, let alone, if he found out where she was living, he’d most likely go there and ask to meet her in secret which could get her into a lot of trouble. He would control himself for her sake. He had been patient these past three months, he could be patient for longer.

After the cab took Min Hee away, he started his small journey home with Tiffany in his arms. He got many stares from people passing him on the sidewalks but he didn’t care since he had Tiffany there. He felt comfortable with her in his arms, she was a present from Min Hee, it was enough to keep him calm on the crowded sidewalk. “Chucky is going to be so happy to see you.” He said softly while crossing the street.

When he made it home, he was greeted by Minhyun who was a bit surprised to see the new doll in his hands. “Where did you get that doll?” He of course asked with curious eyes.

“I got it for my birthday.” Ren smiled while holding Tiffany up for Minhyun to get a better look. “Isn’t she pretty?”

“Yes.” Minhyun chuckled, he learned to play along with Ren’s persona ever since Min Hee left. He did think Ren was strange sometimes, but it was a good kind of strange at least. “I bet Chucky will be pleased to have his bride with him now.”

“He will!” Ren nodded happily.

“If only your bride could be with you as well…” Minhyun sighed and Ren looked up at him with a confused expression. “You know… Min Hee.”

“What?!” Ren blurted out, shocked by his words. It didn’t help that he just saw her today, too. “What do you mean my bride?!”

“Didn’t you say your mother told you to propose to Min Hee? She’s your future bride, right?”

“... my future bride.” The blonde repeated while getting lost in thoughts. Should I really ask her to marry me? He wondered. Would she even say yes? He was nervous about bringing it up when he didn’t know how she felt about him in the first place, let alone, he had no dating history to begin with. They were just friends! Friends don't ask other friends to marry them, do they? Even though he’s had the help of Minhyun to realize his feelings for her, the question was, did she feel the same? He would never know until he asks her, which he was going to be really shy about it for sure.

Ren left after Minhyun said he needed to get back to cooking dinner. He naturally went back to his room to present Chucky’s bride to him as it was what he’s been waiting for since the moment Min Hee gave Tiffany to him. “I know you two didn’t have such a lovely relationship before but things are different now.” He said innocently. “Min Hee found Tiffany in a store and bought her because of you, Chucky. I guess Min Hee also liked you.” He said with a small pout.

There was a short silence before Ren chuckled. “It’s not like that, Tiffany. Min Hee was just nice to Chucky, that’s all. It’s me, I’m the one who likes her, not Chucky…” he trailed off when he realized what he just said. “I mean… uh…” The two dolls just stared at him and he frowned. “Nevermind, forget about it! I’m going to help with dinner. Don’t kill each other while I’m gone, got it?” He said sternly like he was talking to a pair of disobedient kids. “Good. I’ll be back shortly.” He added before getting up to leave his room. It felt nice to have Tiffany keep Chucky company while he was out of his room. Thank you Min Hee.

~💮~

“You seem to be in better moods these days, Ren.” Minhyun mentioned as he was preparing lunch with mentioned person. “It makes me happy to see you doing well.”

“Oh… really?” Ren asked while looking a bit surprised at his words, they were so sudden.

“Would you like to share why you’ve been happier lately?” The older asked with a hopeful look on his face when he turned to look at Ren.

“Uh… well…” Ren mumbled as he thought about it. He figured it was time to say why, but he couldn’t help but still want to keep it a secret. He failed on telling them that Monday and it’s been two weeks now.

“Did you run into Min Hee?” The room fell silent and Ren had that ‘deer caught in headlights’ expression on his face that made Minhyun laugh. “I thought so!”

“I’m sorry!” Ren quickly apologized, looking so guilty.

“Why?” Now Minhyun was confused by the apology.

“She was your friend first, I should have said something when I saw her on my birthday! That wasn’t nice of me to keep it a secret when everyone has been so worried about her… I don’t know why I was being so selfish.”

“It’s okay, Ren.” Minhyun assured him. “I ran into her at the store last Saturday… you weren’t the only one hiding something.”

“You did?”

“It was nice to see her after so long. She made sure to have me pass a message off to the others, since you two already met and planned to see each other again today.”

“I see…” Ren nodded, a small smile gracing his lips. So at least he was still the first one who got to see her before the others.

“She seemed really happy when I mentioned how you were doing since she left. She was glad to hear you’ve still been making progress on joining everyone at the table and being friendlier with the others.”

“It’s still hard, though…”

“I know, but you’ve been doing really good, so be proud!”

“Thanks.”
 

“Be sure to have fun when you see her later.” Minhyun gave him a bright smile.

It was nice to see Ren happier compared to before when he seemed so down and distant from the others. He was definitely in better moods like Minhyun mentioned and it seemed like he was actually trying to be more social with the other housemates, he didn’t wear his black cape anymore and spent more time outside of his room(probably because Tiffany was there to keep Chucky company while Ren was gone), and most of all, he’s been leaving the boarding house more often, even if it’s just to study at the library. Things seemed to be looking good.

~💮~

The month of November seemed to pass fairly quickly as it was now the first week of December. Ren and Min Hee still met up at the library to study together to do homework while at the same time catching up with each other. The two seemed to be really happy now after being reconnected but they couldn’t help but feel like that wouldn’t last very long.

Min Hee kept complaining about how unfair her parents were treating her at home and how she really longed to return back to the boarding house to be with him and the others. She tried to keep her complaints to a minimum but it was difficult to stay quiet about it. Ren understood that and eventually decided he should do something about it. He hated to see her unhappy like that. But what could he really do? I have to do something…

“Ren?” Her voice snapped him out of it. They were currently standing in a convenience store nearby the library to get a snack. They ended their studies early today since they had been studying extra hard at home just so they could have some time to hang out while they were out to study. “Are you okay?” She asked in a worried tone.

“I’m fine.” He assured her with a quick nod of his head before facing the options of chips in front of him. He reached out and picked a random one just so they could leave the store already. Once they paid for their snacks they left the store and the walk back to the library was slow. It was like they both didn’t want to go back to that boring and quiet place where they couldn’t do anything but study. They wanted to talk and be free like all the other teenagers around them walking with their friends to hangout spots and to eat out. The sad part was Ren could do all of that, but not Min Hee.

“You know, you don’t have to do this.” Min Hee mumbled as they were nearing the library.

“Do what?” Ren asked.

“You don’t have to give up on being a normal teenager because of me. I have rules to go by and curfews to stick to, I’m so limited but you’re not. I’m sure you want to go and have fun with the others, right?” He could tell she was sad by the tone in her voice. She sounded guilty, too.

“I’m already having fun by just being with you, Min Hee.” He answered her question with a cute smile. His answer had her stop walking as she looked at him with surprised eyes. “I may have improved a lot, but not enough to be like all the normal teenagers.” He admitted quietly.

“But-”

“I’m perfectly fine with this.” He cut her off. “Seeing you Monday through Friday is enough for me.” He continued. “Even if our time together is really short, I’m glad we could meet, even if it’s just for a moment.” His words managed to touch Min Hee and she almost cried. He was being so sweet! And that made her miss him even more now…

“One day we’ll be able to see each other whenever we want and for however long we want… I’m waiting for that day.” She closed her eyes with a smile and dropped her head because she didn’t want him to see her tears.

“I’ll patiently wait for that day, too.” She could hear Ren say softly before she felt him take a hold of her free hand. That made her open her eyes and look up at him. He was smiling fondly at her, like she was someone he also treasured. “There’s still an hour until you have to go home.” He mentioned. “Let’s eat our snacks someplace nice?” He added before tugging on her hand for her to follow him.

He held her hand the entire way to the local park and she was stunned to see him being so bold. I’m sure it’s just a friendly gesture. She thought to herself once he let go of her hand. Don’t get any funny ideas Min Hee! The park he chose was actually pretty close to her parents house and she was relieved that she didn’t have to worry about being too far from her personal hell. She started to wonder if he knew and was tempted to ask… but she didn’t want to bring up her parents in their conversation, not right now when they were having such a good time being together.

“How’s Tiffany?” She decided to ask instead.

“She’s doing great. Chucky’s been really happy since I brought her home.” Ren replied with that cute smile again.

“Aw, that’s good. I’m glad.”

“I know they might not have the best relationship but…”

“Do they fight?” She frowned. She honestly didn’t know a lot about Chucky and his bride to be honest.

“Well,” Ren gave a sheepish laugh before deciding to tell her about the storyline. “But things are different now, so don’t worry!”

“Wow, I had no idea!” Min Hee was speechless. The relationship between the dolls really didn’t sound like a pleasant one after all. Though, it was just a movie in the end. “As long as they’re getting along now, right?”

“They are.” He nodded. “Chucky says he wants to marry Tiffany real soon. He was hoping you could attend the wedding…”

“Oh!” She was shocked for a second and let out an apologetic laugh. She had found it funny how she was sitting in the park with Ren and they were talking about his dolls getting married. Other people would think he was super strange for that but here she was, thinking it was totally normal. “I want to go.” She nodded. “I’m just not sure how I can be there without getting in trouble.”

“We’ll figure something out, don’t worry.” He assured her with a small laugh. He had found it cute that she played along so well with his strange antics. She’s so nice… “Maybe we can bring the wedding to the park next time.”

“That could work.” Min Hee nodded in agreement. “I should pack a spare outfit to wear. I could change in the library bathroom.” He liked how excited she looked. I’ll never find someone as accepting as you, will I? He thought while he admired her quietly.

A moment later she checked for the time and frowned when she saw how much time had already past since they sat down to talk. “It’s about time for me to go.” She sighed and instantly he sighed as well, both their moods started to take a nosedive. “Next week is exams. I suppose we won’t get to see each other until that’s over with.”

“Really?” Because it was different for Ren.

“Oh, right. I forgot, you’re homeschooled so it’s different.” She said with a sheepish laugh. “I kind of wished I was homeschooled right about now…” but that would depend on who her teacher would be, of course. She thought it’d be nice if she was homeschooled along side Ren, but that idea was far fetched as is.

“Doesn’t winter break start after your exams?”

“Yes.” She nodded reluctantly. “I won’t get to see you until next year?” She asked, clearly hurt over that.

“It’ll be fine.” He gave her a small smile. “We can be patient, right?”

“Right.” She nodded, feeling a little better after seeing his smile. She wished she could take a photo of him, but she knew her parents would question her if they saw a random boy in her camera roll. I wish we were older… maybe then I wouldn’t be so easily controlled. She thought to herself after parting from Ren. He had given her a long and tight hug and she was already missing him a lot now. If we could meet again before the year is over… that would be nice. She smiled up at the sky, hoping someone heard her wish.

~💮~

When Min Hee arrived home she was surprised to see her parents were there along with three other people. Two were an older couple, about the same age as Min Hee’s parents and the other… “Oh, Min Hee, you’re just in time!” Her mother said with a bright smile and beckoned her over to join them. “We were waiting for you to get here so we could have dinner.”

“Sorry.” Min Hee apologized and bowed to the older couple before staring at what appeared to be their son who was her age. He’s from the boys school across from mine, right?

“Min Hee, meet the Kwon family. This is their son Soonyoung, I’m sure you two have seen each other at school, right?” Since both schools would have events that allowed each other to socialize.

“I think so.” Min Hee nodded quietly before Soonyoung snickered at her reply.

“You think so? I’m one of the most popular guys there, of course she’s seen me around!” Soonyoung said with such an attitude, it shocked Min Hee since she didn’t remember him behaving this way at school. From what she remembered, he was kind and friendly. He seemed to like sports and dancing and was always joking around with his friends.

“I’m sorry, I just got back from studying, my brain is a bit slow right now.” She said before her mother smacked her on the shoulder and scolded her for using such a lame excuse. She got it now… her parents were trying to impress this family standing across from them. But why?

“I think we’ve waited long enough, let’s head to the dining area, shall we?” Min Hee’s father spoke up and led the way. Min Hee stayed in her seat for a moment and tried to calm down, she was so angry for her mother doing that in front of other people and just wanted to run upstairs and slam her door shut.

“Hey.” She suddenly heard Soonyoung’s voice and snapped out of it. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She cleared and stood up. “Sorry for not recognizing you right away.”

“It’s fine.” He assured her in the kind and friendly attitude she remembered. So why was he being so rude earlier? She was confused about this whole situation now. She didn’t talk to him often since he was always hanging out with his large group of friends, he was definitely popular among his friends, not the school. She would always see him competing against his friends during their co-ed P.E. classes and dancing in the dance studio when she’d pass by since it was on the way to the library in the jointed building at school. From what she could gather, he was nice and a fun person. But what she saw a few moments ago was definitely not him… unless he was faking all of that at school and this was his true self? I sure hope not...

Before they could ask each other any questions about this strange and sudden meeting, their parents called for them to join them in the dining area. There was definitely something going on by the looks of this.

~💮~

“What’s the matter, Ren?” Minhyun asked at the doorway of Ren’s bedroom. The blonde had came straight to his room when he got home and immediately got into bed to ignore the world. When he heard Minhyun’s voice, he turned around to face his friend at the door.

“I miss her.” He admitted.

“But you just saw her today, right?” Minhyun asked after shutting the door behind himself, now the room was pitch dark and Minhyun tried to make his way over to Ren’s bed but tripped on the blonde’s school bag. Down the taller boy went with a thud.

“Are you okay?!” Ren jumped out of his bed to aid his fallen friend. “I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine!” Minhyun laughed in embarrassment. “I should have turned the light on but I didn’t think you wanted me to do that.”

“Sorry…” Ren said, his tone was so apologetic and Minhyun understood why. Whenever Ren started to miss Min Hee and was separated he’d revert to his old self sometimes.

“It’s okay.” Minhyun assured him. “I understand you’re upset.”

“But I don’t want to be.” Ren said softly. “I want to be happy like I was when she was here.”

“I’m sorry, Ren. If I could bring her back, I would.” Minhyun felt so bad for him.

“I won’t get to see her till next year.” He blurted out. “Exams are next week and she won’t be coming to the library during that time. She won’t be coming to the library during winter break, either… I won’t get to see her for at least three weeks.”

“I see.” Minhyun reached out to give a gentle pat on Ren’s shoulder but accidentally almost poked Ren in the eye.

“Ow!” Ren yelped and covered his cheek that was suddenly poked a bit harsh.

“Sorry! I really can’t see!” Minhyun laughed after finally finding the younger’s shoulder and gave him several pats.

“It’s fine.” Ren let out a small chuckle before he got up to turn the light on. “Next time, just turn the light on, okay?”

“Okay.” Minhyun nodded with a small smile. Ren’s mood seemed to lighten up after that small mishap, but it was clear that he was still upset about not getting to see Min Hee until next year. “Hey, I’ll think of something. I’ll try to make it where you can see her before the year is over, okay?”

“Really?” Ren asked with hopeful eyes. “You’d do that for me?”

“Yes, of course!”

“... thank you.” Ren managed to say and gave Minhyun a hug for the first time in 10 months since they’ve known each other. The older found it adorable and made sure to hug him back.

“No problem, now… what do you say about helping with dinner tonight?”

“Sure!” Ren was definitely in a better mood now.

~💮~

The dinner was quite lengthy as the two older couples had loads to talk about regarding in getting familiar with each other. Min Hee and Soonyoung didn’t talk as much since they really didn’t have much to say and only listened to what the adults had to say at first. They found it strange how their parents went from small talk to personal talk about their kids and eventually to business talk. It slowly started to dawn on them why they were at this dinner now.

“Are we in agreement, then?” Min Hee’s father asked to Soonyoung’s father.

“Yes.”

“In agreement about what?” Soonyoung blurted out. “What’s going on?”

“Well, sweetie, we’ve decided that you’ll marry the Lee family’s daughter, Min Hee.” His mother explained.

“What?!” Sooyoung almost shouted while standing up quickly. “I don’t want to marry her!” He added like he was appalled and for a split second that hurt her feelings but she quickly recovered and stood up as well.

“I don’t want to marry him either!” She said out loud before facing her parents. “Why are you dumping this on us all of a sudden?! Didn’t you stop to think about how we’d feel about this?”

“We thought you two were getting along at school.” Soonyoung’s mother frowned.

“That doesn’t mean you should make us get married! There’s a ton of other girls I like way more than her! Why can’t it be one of them?!” Min Hee was about to use the same reply when she realized that would be a mistake. She shouldn’t bring it up and risk never getting to see Ren again. “Can’t I marry someone prettier?” She snapped out of it and shot Soonyoung a glare.

“He has friends who are way more good looking than him, can’t I marry one of them?” She snickered when she saw his offended expression. “You started it!”

“Enough! I understand you both are shocked at the decision, but just take a moment to breathe.” Soonyoung father interrupted them. “If you two just spent some time together, I’m sure you’ll get along and everything will go smoothly.”

They definitely knew that was not going to happen since they both folded their arms and faced away from each other. If this was how my life was going to be, why couldn’t it have been Ren who I have to marry? This really isn’t fair! Because she’d rather marry someone she loved than someone she didn’t.

Chapter eight!

Ren is not going to be happy when he finds out this piece of news.

Sorry for taking so long to update again, but slowly and surely this story will be completed, I promise!

I do need to go back and edit the existing chapters since I just reread it and saw errors and typos, but it won’t be a huge change so don’t worry about it.

I’ll try to work on the next chapter as soon as I can. I’m still in college, but this is supposed to be my last semester. I don’t know what will really happen after I graduate but I’m hoping I’ll have more time to write to my stories, even if it’s just for a short while. A lot’s been going on and so I haven’t had time to update all my stories, but hopefully it’ll change soon.

I have ideas that will surely make Ren happy in the next few chapters, I’m not sure how long this fic should be, I was hoping it’d be short with 10 chapters but I think 25 would be okay since the anime this was inspired off of is 25 episodes LOL so we’ll have to wait and see.

Until then~

(Wtf Aron, lol)

Ps. If you didn’t know, everyone in NU’EST besides Aron is currently participating in season 2 of Produce 101. If you can, please vote and support them!