Key’s POV

                They kept me in the hospital for three more days. “For observation,” they said. Observation of what? My wounds were healing just fine; they didn’t need three days to see that. Observation of my mental state? Well, it’s pretty screwed up. I could have told them that.

                Jonghyun, of course, didn’t come back to visit. I was sure at this point that we would never truly speak again. And it was better that way.

                Taemin and Minho came for a few minutes, but I convinced them to leave after Taemin burst into tears at the sight of me. I couldn’t handle any more sadness.

                When the doctors had come to discharge me, I had lied casually about how I was getting home. “Yes, doctor, I have a ride home. My mom is waiting outside.” They had believed it easily enough.

                And so I trudged down the sidewalk, the cold breeze ruffling my hair as I fiddled with the zipper on my jacket. They had given me the clothes I had arrived in, seeing as I had no other option, and the outfit brought back painful memories.

                I glanced at the key on the sleeve, remembering Taemin’s face as I had pulled the jacket from its box. Then, the turquoise fabric had been clean and new; now, the hood and parts of the sleeve were soaked through with dried blood. I closed my eyes.

                The boots from Jonghyun felt heavy on my feet. Those were the hardest things to think about. His smile when he gave them to me; the way I had fallen asleep on his shoulder after everyone else had left the party. I fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. We would never be that way again.

                I turned into my driveway and let out an involuntary sigh of relief. The car was gone, which meant my father wasn’t inside. I had no idea where my mother was. I hadn’t heard from her since the police dropped us off at the hospital. I could only hope that she was okay.

                I pushed open the door and froze when I saw my mother at the table. She glanced up at me, and I braced myself for the onslaught of drunken insults that I knew was bound to follow.

                “Kibum,” she gasped, pushing her chair back and running up to me. I flinched instinctively. Her eyes widened as she took a small step back. “I’m not going to hurt you…” Her voice was choked with tears.

                I marveled at how sober she seemed. Her eyes were clear and focused, and she stared at me with recognition. Apprehension played across her features, but it was better than the alcohol-induced hatred that usually resided there.

                “Umma,” I whispered hesitantly.

                Her lips tilted upward in a small smile as her eyes filled with tears. She held out her hand tentatively, like one does with a jittery animal that they’re too afraid to approach. I grabbed her hand and pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her and resting my head on her shoulder. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of my jacket.

                “Kibum,” she whispered. Her voice caught as her shoulders shook with sobs. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It wasn’t supposed to be this way-”

                I wiped away the tears that spilled down my cheeks and onto my mother’s shoulder. “I know, umma. I know. It’s not your fault…”

                “Yes it is, Kibum. I could have stopped this… I should have done something…” She pulled back and stared at me with angry, tear-filled eyes. An intense self-loathing turned her tone bitter. “Instead, I sat here like an idiot and went along with it. It was easier to just get drunk with him than it was to argue about it. And the alcohol made everything seem…,” she took a shaky breath and pressed a hand against her forehead. “Seem so…perfect.”

                I watched as she collapsed to the floor and buried her face in her hands. Her long, dark hair fell past her shoulders as she sobbed. I knelt down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shaking figure.

                “Umma, it’s okay…”

                “It isn’t okay, Kibum! None of this is okay!” She ran a hand through her hair and gestured toward my blood-soaked jacket. “Does this look okay to you?” She spread her arms wide, indicating the sparsely furnished house, the peeling paint, and the horrors it had witnessed. “Does any of this look okay to you?!”

                I squeezed my eyes shut as the tears fell faster. No, it really wasn’t okay. For years, this woman had beaten and insulted me. She had threatened to kill me, and there had been times when I had almost done the job for her, just so she would be rid of me. She had made me feel lower than worthless and less than human.

                But I knew it wasn’t her fault. It had always been the alcohol talking, and she only succumbed to the alcohol because of my father’s drunken, reckless behavior. Everything that had happened, every horror I had suffered for the past five years, could be linked back to him. He was the one to blame.

                “No, umma. It isn’t okay. I’m not going to lie to you and pretend that I’m fine. You have no idea what I’ve had to go through.” I cringed as my voice caught. I hated myself for sounding so weak, but having a rational, sober conversation with my mother forced me to confront the emotions I had tried so hard to suppress. “I’m afraid to come home… I’m afraid to make friends… And every day I hate myself more for being so weak…”

                My mother glanced at me and seemed prepared to say something, but I cut her off before she could.

                “But I know it isn’t your fault, umma. I don’t blame you for any of this.”

                She closed her eyes and covered with one hand. Her tears fell into her lap, leaving small spots on the fabric of her jeans.

                “Don’t be so nice to me, Kibum. I don’t deserve it.”

                I wrapped my arms around her more tightly. “You just made a mistake. I understand. With appa acting the way he does…,” I sighed. “Anyone would have done it.”

                My mother buried her face in my shoulder. “No. Only the lowest, most worthless scum on the face of this Earth would have done it. And that’s exactly what I am.”

                I ran my fingers through her hair. “Umma, don’t think that way. I know why you did it. It was easier for you, wasn’t it? It was easy to go along with appa and pretend like life was normal. I understand that. But he’s the one who started it. All of this is his fault. I will never forgive him, umma. But I can forgive you. I already have.”

                Her hands shook as she pushed me away. Her eyes were laced with a bright red color, and for a heartbreaking instant she looked like the wasted mother I had grown so used to. Her hair fell around her face like a curtain, and her cheeks shone with a layer of tears. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” she whispered. “You have every right to hate me.” A sob caught in and she laughed bitterly. “Hell, it would be easier for me if you did.”

                “Umma, I could never hate you…”

                She reached up and hesitantly brushed away the tears that were still running down my face. “Kibum… I love you so much… You know that, right?”

                I nodded, and I was surprised at how much conviction the gesture held. It was as if some small part of me had always known that my mother had never stopped loving me. Even when I forgot it and believed that she wanted me dead, that piece of my heart held onto the hope that she would come back to me someday.

                “I love you, too, umma. I always will.”

Jonghyun’s POV

                “There is no way I am letting him go back to that house!”

                I cringed as my mother’s voice rose.

                “Umma, you don’t even know him-”

                “He’s your best friend, isn’t he? That’s all I need to know.”

                My heart contracted as I remembered his expression at the hospital. Was he still my best friend? Our relationship had become so complicated…

                “He’s probably already home…”

                My mother grabbed the car keys off the counter. “Then we’re going to get him. Your father told me what he saw, and I am not just going to sit here while an innocent child is forced to go through that.” She turned and glared at me. “Wait. Probably? Shouldn’t you know if he’s home? How could you just leave him at the hospital without even-”

                I held up a hand and let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s really complicated. I didn’t want to leave him… But he didn’t want me there… He begged me to go…”

                “Well you should have at least gone back. You only visited him once… You don’t know what he could be going through right now…”

                “Trust me, umma, I couldn’t have gone back. You don’t understand…”

                “Look,” my mother said forcefully, throwing the keys back on the counter and running a hand through her short, dark hair. “I don’t care what drama you two are dealing with right now. When it comes down to it, Key is being beaten by his parents. He isn’t safe! Don’t you see that?”

                I turned my face away to hide the tears that always began to fall when I thought of Key’s life at home. “I know, umma. Trust me, I know. He denies it, though. He won’t accept help… He’s too stubborn.”

                “Yah.” My mother’s voice softened as she came toward me. She reached up and gently brushed away the tears that I had tried so hard to conceal. “You really care about him, don’t you…?”

                “He’s my best friend. Of course I do.” The words were automatic, and they felt empty and meaningless. He was so much more than my best friend… But… What was he, exactly? It was difficult to put a name to our relationship.

                “At least call him,” my mother said softly. “Make sure he’s okay. And if he needs a place to stay, tell him that our door is always open.”

                I nodded. “I will.”

                I made my way up the stairs and closed my bedroom door securely behind me. Talking to Key was bound to be awkward. He had kissed me. I had kissed him back. So much for toning down my mixed signals. It was difficult, though, when he made me feel so…confused.

                I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and scrolled through my contact list. I highlighted Key’s name, took a deep breath, and pressed the call button.

                It rang. And rang. And rang some more. The sound reverberated through my head until I couldn’t bear to listen to it anymore. With a sigh, I hung up and placed my phone on my bedside table. Worry shot through my veins. What if he wasn’t answering because he physically couldn’t? What if he was sprawled on the floor, broken, bruised, and struggling to reach his phone?

                I shook my head. This wasn’t a soap opera. He was probably just fine… Probably…

                “Like it, like it, like it, drop it. Oh my beautiful target~”

                I jumped as the familiar B1A4 song blasted from my phone’s speaker. I snatched the device from the table and sighed in relief as I saw Key’s name flash across the screen. I hastily pressed the answer button.

                “Ne? Key? Are you okay?”

                “I’m fine, Jonghyun. Sorry I missed your call.”

                “It’s okay, I just wanted to-”

                “Don’t worry about me. I’m all right.”

                My mouth fell open in surprise as the line went dead. That was it? Not even a “goodbye”?

                “Yah!” I yelled at the lifeless piece of technology. “You’re the one who kissed me! If anyone’s going to be acting reserved, it should be me, not you!” I stopped when I realized that I was arguing with an inanimate object. Well, at least it wasn’t yelling back.

                I threw the phone to the floor and pulled my blanket over my head. At least Key was okay. That had been the purpose of the call, and I had fulfilled it well enough. So why did I still feel so upset?

Mi Sun’s POV

                I pressed the phone against my ear and dragged the eraser back and forth across the page. I was doodling instead of doing my math homework, but the random drawings weren’t good enough to keep.

                “Really, oppa?” I muttered into the phone, rolling my eyes in exasperation. “The amusement park? I think you watch too many dramas. The ideas you throw at me get more and more cliché each time, you know.”

                “Yah, I’m doing my best. I don’t have experience with this kind of stuff.”

                “What if Jonghyun refuses to go? He might not even like amusement parks.”

                “Who doesn’t like amusement parks? They’re so…amusing.”

                I laughed. “How insightful. Did you come up with that one all by yourself?”

                He sighed. I smiled as I imagined his beautiful face painted with an adorably frustrated expression. “That isn’t the point. This is the next step of this Phase, okay? It’s all worked out in my head.”

                I tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it. One second, let me practice.” I leaned back against my pillows and put on my sickly-sweet schoolgirl voice. “Jonghyun oppa, I was thinking we could go to the amusement park on Saturday. Wouldn’t that be so much fun?”

                He laughed, and the sound played throughout my head like a symphony. “That was perfect.”

                I shuddered. “I’m getting too good at this.”

                “You’re doing great! Call him tomorrow, okay? After school.”

                I twirled my pencil absently on the tips of my fingers. “You got it, oppa.”

                “You’re the best, Mi Sun.”

                I shrugged. “I know. See you tomorrow.”

                He laughed again. “Humble, as always. Good night.”

                I closed my phone and tossed it on my nightstand. The amusement park, huh? Aish~

                “You owe me big time, oppa,” I mumbled, closing my math book and dropping it on the floor. “I still can’t believe I’m doing this for you.”

     Sorry... this isn't actually an update... Apparently AFF was having a spazz attack and deleted this chapter... so here it is back up again... >.<

     I'm going to update for real, though. Very soon. ^;^  <3 <3