I winced once he ran his thumb on my scarred cheek. I pushed his hand away and pouted. The words: “burden”, “ugly” and “worthless” played through my mind over and over again like a never ending song on repeat. His hand travelled to my face again this time with a bandage, but I pushed his hand away, afraid of the upcoming pain.

“Yah. I’m trying to help you out.” Eli growled, placing the small bandage quickly on one of the scars on my right cheek.

I winced in pain and snarled at him, pushing his hand away again, without saying a word. Nothing was to be said, I didn’t want to tell him what happened. I’d end up explaining the situation which Ren obliged me not to. I stared at his eyes deeply and smiled weakly, my hand supporting my side. Right after I called Eli, he managed to race here in 2 hours. I avoided Kevin as much as possible by hiding in the alley, freezing cold. He probably wouldn’t be looking for me anyways, he’s busy with Hyuna. I can’t risk his career. I nodded to myself in deep thought and felt a warm hand on my side wound. I groaned in pain and straightened my legs, avoiding any contact with anything.

Eli sighed heavily and picked me up, bridal style, walking to my bathroom. He set me down on the counter slowly and patted my head softly. He rested both hands on the counter on each side of my thighs and stared at me deeply concerned. “What happened? Who did this to you? Why won’t you let me take you to the hospital, huh?” Eli shook his head as I stubbornly turn my gaze away.

“Yah. I’m trying to help you, why aren’t you cooperating? Who did this to you? If you don’t tell me, I’ll end up dragging you to the hospital, you hear me?” He growled, his eyes frightened me. I felt the tears well up, but I managed to wipe them quickly. Sniffling, I covered my mouth to muffle out my coughing. His hand reached for the cupboards, taking out a thermometer.

“You probably have a fever. Why didn’t you go inside? It’s freezing cold. Yah. Look at me.” He raised my chin and gestured me to open my mouth. I obediently did what he said and let him enter the thermometer. I hate colds. He gasped and stared at the thermometer: “40.7.. . Yah. Take more better of yourself! You should have known.” He grabbed a face towel, warming it with warm water, placing it time to time on my forehead.

“W..Why do you care for me? “ I asked, trembling, quiet tone.

He stopped and stared at me, smoothening his concerned expression with a smile as bright as day. He continued unwrapping the other bandages and whispered:

“Because, you’re different. You.. when I see you, I smile. You’re bubbly, smart and absolutely beautiful. Why am I taking care of you?  Because at times like these, I want you to depend on me, always. Too many words, too many.” He smiled at me and placed the third bandage on my left cheek.  “Please. Tell me what happened. You can trust me, ______.” He held my hands and squeezed them tightly.

I sighed heavily and explained:

“…I was misunderstood. Hyuna thought I kissed … Kevin.” I lied, avoiding speaking of the timer. “And she saw me, and …well. She..”

“Beaten you. That’s not freaking excuse to beat someone up. Did you try to explain the situation?” He placed gestured me to take off my hoodie, which I did. “Did you?”

“I .. couldn’t. It happened too fast.” I trembled as I felt Eli’s warm hand lift up the tank top from the side, to have a better view of the wound on the side of my ribs. He washed his hands once again and told me to take a deep breath. I did what he has told and wiped the dried blood with the face cloth. I squeezed his arm as the pain was something I never felt before, physically that is.

“You need stitches..” Eli murmured. “We have no choice but to get to the hospital, _____.” He stared at me and offered his hand to help me get off the counter. He shook his head and picked me up once again, walking back to my bed, laying me down slowly. He lifted the soft blanket over my body and whispered:

“Your scratches on your cheeks will be just fine. But as for you wound… you need to get some stitches. I’ll bring you over to the hospital tomorrow, no excuses! By the way… Did Hyuna cut your hair?”

I stared at him, eyes widened. “I don’t think so, why!?”

He grabbed a mirror and tossed it at me. I stared at the mirror and stared at the uneven strands of hair, my long hair was chopped off. I gasped and covered my mouth. It was the long hair that I kept long for Eli back then... I can’t believe she... When did she... I must have out when she cut my hair. I covered my face and let out a frustrated sigh and felt my body tremble once again.

“It’s okay. It’s not the hair. It’s the heart.”

I looked up and stared at Eli, who was sitting right beside me, on the empty space of the bed. He smiled and my destroyed hair and whispered again:

“Go to sleep. I’ll leave the bed once you’ve fallen asleep, I’ll sleep on the couch over there right after. Alright?”

I nodded and shut my eyes. I felt an arm around my waist and a head close to the back of my own.  I was afraid that Hyuna would walk in and hurt me again but.. with Eli, I felt safe. I turned my body, earning a shocked expression from Eli and placed my head against his chest, and stayed there.

“I sleep better on this side.” I muttered, blushing.

He chuckled and held tighter;

“Go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow, _______. “ Knowing, I wasn’t going to be able to sleep, he started to hum the same melody he has hummed back when we were stuck in the vault. Eli’s lullaby. I closed my eyes and melted into his arms, hoping for the pain and worries to go away. But… one thing was stuck on my mind: Kevin.

***

I stared at the stitches on my side and pouted. It looks so ugly, I thought to myself. I feel like some warrior that came from a battle. Being the dork I am, I did a battle stance and then regretted it, as the I winced at the pain. Shoot. That wasn’t a good idea, I giggled.

“Dork.” I heard Eli laugh, I turned to face him and blushed, embarrassed.

I looked at the ground and realized something I could do for myself. I never thought of doing this before because I thought my appearance was fine and I didn’t give a damn at what people said but because .. I looked at the large mirror and stared at the chopped hair. I need a change, I told myself.

I stared at Eli and smiled;

“Eli-oppa, you think you could accompany me to the hair salon? I think..I want a makeover.”

His eyes widened and he stared at me, concerned, but then he realized what I wanted to do. “As long.. As long as you won’t change your bubbly personality.” He smiled and offered his hand. I grabbed his hand happily and squeezed it, I nodded and made a pinky promise. “Then, what are we waiting for?” He his car’s engine with the small remote and we were off to make a change.

[ Eli’s POV]

I fiddled with my fingers and flipped through the hair magazine. I tried to peek to see what the hairdresser was doing to _____, but I couldn’t catch a glimpse of her. She had such long straight silky hair… dark as the night sky, what could she possible change? Color? Length? Style? I felt anxious yet excited to see her new appearance. But she looked beautiful before, and she will always be. I smiled and flipped through the magazine once again nervously. This Hyuna girl… She likes Kevin. Kevin likes her. But why do I feel like Kevin likes ____? And _____ likes him back… I threw the magazine slowly on the seat across of me. . This… this is a freaking love triangle. I got up and ruffled my hair in frustration. I’m not going to lose to Kevin… am I? I ruffled my hair once again and paced back and forth in the waiting room.

“She’s my first love. And Kevin knows that. He won’t..He won’t turn on me, will he?” I muttered to myself. But then again… It’s all about fate and destiny, there must be a reason why I bumped into her again, right?

Vibe.

Vibe.

Vibeee.

I flipped open my phone and stared at the new notification: 1 New Message! Open? I clicked the Open option and read the text quickly, it’s from Kevin.

“Dude, I need to talk to you when I get back to Toronto. How’s the weather over there? Did _____ talk to you? I haven’t seen her for the whole day.. – Kevin “

He’s worried about her, I said mentally. I wasn’t sure if I should text him and let him know that I was in Montreal, taking care of _____ but she wanted me to specifically not tell him. She wanted to explain it to him herself. I closed my phone and decided to not text him back. I’ll just text him later, I ordered myself.

“Eli..?” I heard a soft voice whisper.

I turned around and stared at the reincarnated angel of mine. Her short light caramel hair, complimented her light brown eyes. I stared at her, my eyes glued to her rosy pink lips, shimmered from the lip gloss. Her short hair, short from the back gradually got a bit longer to the front; her bangs elegantly flowed on her forehead. Her hair was up to her collarbone, not longer. I couldn’t say a word, she was stunning, beautiful, extravagant. I gulped and approached her slowly and flowed my hand through her new hair, and smiled.

“You look beautiful.” I murmured, unable to contain my smile. “Did you put on some makeup?” My eyes widened as I examined her beautiful face. Her lips were rosy pink, her skin milky white. Her long lashes curled and volumized, dark long lashes. Her cheeks showed off its pink charm.

“Is..Is it too much?” She asked, afraid that she looked like a clown. She always said she hated makeup cause she didn’t want to seem all caked up. But she wasn’t. It wasn’t a lot of makeup at all, it was simple and beautiful. It was her. It was _____. I smiled at her and shook my head; “You’re beautiful as always. You look beautiful.” She smiled and traced her fingers on the bandages. “Don’t worry about the bandages, just keep it on for now. You’re still stunning even with the bandages on your face.” I chuckled, running my thumb over the back of her hand. She smiled, her white teeth glowed and squeezed my hand.

“Can I ask you a question though?” I asked her, curiously.

She titled her head and permitted me to continue my question with a nod of her fragile head.

“Why the change?”

She looked at me in deep thought and said:

“Hyuna has made fun of me, mocked me, bullied me, and harassed me all my life. I feel it’s about time to pamper myself and bloom. Show her that I’m not going to let her get the best of me.  I’m no longer that weird stupid girl who is afraid of what people say about me. I won’t be pushed by her anymore. I can’t believe I haven’t realized that way back then but… you helped me realize that everyone has their own beauty on the inside and out, it just takes the right people to realize that and bring it out. For me, it’s you. And I want to thank you. If people call me weird, that’s what makes me unique.” Her soothing laugh rang in my ears. “I am me. Simple me.”

A sudden warm feeling overcame my body and I smiled radiantly as she mentioned my name. I am so happy to be such a big influence on her life. I pulled her arm slowly and pulled her into a soft embrace, without knowing, I kissed the side of her temple. I felt her hug back, still a bit awkward. I closed my eyes shut. I wish you could see me more than that.

“Always depend on me, _____.” I whispered, I blushed and held her tighter, making sure I don’t touch her wound. “Please.”

Please let me the only one you look at, I pleaded in my mind.

She pulled away from the hug and smiled.

“Let’s get you a new wardrobe. Shall we?” I suggested, holding up my wallet. “Don’t say I’m spending too much. Let’s show this Hyuna girl, that you’re even more prettier than her. And I’m not just saying that cause I’m your bo… uh friend. It’s about time she realized that you are also as beautiful, and in my eyes, stunning.” I stared at her blushing face and nodded.

“Fighting!” She cried out with joy, clenching her fist. I smiled at her and brought her to many various stores.

***

“That was fun!” She smiled, as we walked back down the hallway.

“How’s your side?” I asked, concerned, holding the large amounts of bags.

She nodded and gave me a thumbs up. I smiled at her and stared at the number of bags of clothes that I’ve bought her. Each article she bought, I made sure it was her. Nothing provocative, but elegant and simple; her. I halted and stared at her. She looked back at me and tilted her head in confusion; “Oppa?”

I cleared my throat and behind ______ from a distance, I saw Kevin, standing there, shocked. I forgot that he didn’t expect me to be here with _____. Knowing that Kevin was there, I dropped the bags on the floor and approached ______ quickly. With the swift of my arm, I wrapped it around her petite waist and pulled her closer, landing my lips softly on hers. I pressed my lips softly onto hers, she wasn’t responding, she was shocked. Her eyes fluttered slowly, closing slowly. Her hand squeezed my arms and I knew she asked to pull away. Slowly, my eyes still on hers, I retreated my lips from hers and stared at her rosy lips. She placed one slender finger on her lips, tracing her bottom lip and stared at me, speechless.  My eyes scanned the room and stared at Kevin, who was speechless, himself also, with Hyuna right beside him. They both saw everything, from the entrance of _____ with her shocked appearance to the kiss I’ve tried to bear for a long time. I stared at Kevin, showing that I was not going to back down, Kevin staring right back, clenched fists and a Hyuna who couldn’t contain her shocked expression. With that being done, Kevin stomped away, leaving a confused Hyuna behind.

______, oblivious to what was happening, was still tracing her lips and her bottom lip, staring at me, not knowing what to say. Before she could say a word; I smiled at her and nodded apologetically.

“Give me this chance.” I asked her.

“Ch-Chance?” She stuttered. I knew she felt unsure, she was unsure. I knew she loved Kevin in a way she, herself, doesn’t understand. But I don’t want to lose her. I can’t lose her.

“The chance to protect you and the chance to love you.”