Howon had been standing on the porch of the lodge and waiting for Eunhye to come out the entire time, and had heard her scream. He forgot all about the fact that he could’ve been seen disappearing into a blur of navy blue as he ran, taking only a second to arrive at the girl’s side of the lodge. He twisted the doorknob, only to find out that it was locked.

“You deserve every single second of this!” Someone shouted maniacally.

He now had the choice of destroying the door completely and getting to Eunhye in the blink of an eye, or picking the lock and risk having her be beat up for a minute longer.

He decided that destroying the door was the better decision.

Howon kicked the door with all the strength he had, sending it flying off and snapping in half at the same time. He wasted no time in prying Bora off of Eunhye, but it took him a while to calm down and not throw her out the window. Once he was sure that he could handle his anger, he dropped a flailing Bora onto the ground, not even blinking when he heard a painful crack once she hit the floor.

“I’ll give you ten seconds, and if you’re not gone by then, I’ll make sure that you’ll never be seen ever again.” Howon threatened, his arms trembling as he held back his urge to rip Bora apart.

Bora got up and ran out while clutching her shoulder.

“You didn’t have to scare her like that.” Eunhye groaned as she sat up and winced.

Howon took in a sharp breath at the sight of her bruised and battered up face, the rage bubbling inside of him as he was tempted to hunt down Bora. “What the hell were you thinking when you listened to Kyungjoo’s words?!”

“Howon, it could’ve been-”

“Let me emphasize your use of could’ve. It could’ve been a nice action ordered by the teacher, but weren’t you thinking that it was also something dangerous?” He raised his voice in a fit, his anger not properly vented yet. “And you didn’t even fight back, seeing how you’re in this horrible state while that disgusting human is clean of any scratches! What if I wasn’t around here to help you?”

“Then I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place!” Eunhye screamed back as she stood up. If she had the energy to, she would’ve burst out yelling everything that she had kept quiet about, but she was too exhausted.

Howon lost all of his anger, his entire body relaxing as he stared at Eunhye helplessly. It was true that he was the cause of everything.

“I’m sorry.” He breathed out quietly, and gingerly held onto her out of nervousness. “Let’s get on the bus first, and I’ll help care for your injuries, okay?”

On the bus, Howon chose to sit in the very front with Eunhye, making sure that Joon was at least five rows away from them. He gently applied ointment and put ice against a bruise on her cheek. He took his time checking every single scratch and bruise, even if it was only a small one.

And, well, he spent a lot of excess time checking her face too.

“Thank you,” Eunhye muttered and sat properly in her seat when he was finished.

The ride to Seoul was awkward and silent. The entire bus was full of loud teens, and everyone was talking or doing something to contribute to the noise; everyone but Eunhye and Howon.

“I’ll help you walk home.” Howon had only mustered up the courage to speak thirty minutes away from the end of the ride. The other time he had wanted to speak, he realized that she had fallen asleep.

“No, it’s okay, I can…” Eunhye trailed off as she realized what would happen if she showed up at home with her current appearance. Panic filled her and she sat straight up, her eyes wide open as she tried to think of a solution. She had nowhere else to stay, and it was impossible to sneak back into the house when her guardians were expecting her return. “Oh.”

“Oh, what?” Howon anxiously waited for an answer.

“No, never mind.” Eunhye whispered quietly and leaned back into her seat, her eyebrows still furrowed.

Howon was worried about the troubled expression on Eunhye’s face, and so he took to doing the one thing he was rusty at in an attempt to calm her.

Aegyo.

“Eunhye, look!”

She lazily turned her head slightly to get a better view of him, and almost had a heart attack when she saw him attempt to act cute. She thought that only adorable people were supposed to do the ‘bbuing bbuing’ act, but nope.

He smiled in embarrassment and laughed, his ears turning into a bright shade of red as he turned away. Taking in a deep breath, he faced her once again and attempted to make funny faces while making noises to go along with them.

“Stop it, you’re so embarrassing!” It was so cringe-worthy to the point that Eunhye was bursting with laughter. “Stop!”

Howon laughed along with her, relieved that she wasn’t tensed up anymore.

“Hey, Howon?”

He hummed and looked over at her, a smile stuck on his face and his eyes bright with joy as he stared at her.

“Do you think I’d be able to sleep over at your house until all this,” she waved at her face. “Goes away?”

Eunhye waited patiently as Howon blankly stared at her, the idiotic grin still plastered on his face. It bothered her that he wasn’t saying anything, and she wondered what was going through his mind at that point. Maybe he was freaked out – he had all the rights to feel that way.

“Forget what I said.” Eunhye mumbled. She wondered exactly when she began trusting and leaning against Howon so much – just before the trip, she had been bitter and hoping that they would grow far apart.

“No, it’s alright. I’m sure my friend will let you.” If it was possible, his smile got wider.

“You’re dorming with someone?”

“Yeah, my parents are in America.” Howon lied smoothly. “They didn’t trust me with the house, so they made me find a place to rent with someone else.”

“Well, anyways… thanks.” Eunhye was more relieved than Howon could ever imagine.

Howon ruffled her hair, earning an annoyed glare from Eunhye when she smacked his hand away. He chuckled and stopped bothering her, letting her rest for the remaining fifteen minutes.

But the whole time he had played with her, he couldn’t find out the exact reason of why she would ever be afraid of returning home with injuries.

look at how unattractive Howon is

i mean, look

at

that

face

i h8 ur face

Edited: 131225

Author's Note: MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'AAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL