“Welcome back Luhan.” A woman in all white said to a bronzed hair man walking through the door. Luhan knew he was late and he missed yesterday’s visit. He missed her. He fidgeted as he tried to find his ID and visitors pass so he could enter through the gate. Luhan thought he might as well get a permanent pass seeing that he came every day of every month for the past year.

“Welcome back? I only missed one day.” The handsome man replied back with a small smile as he scanned his visitors pass through.

“But you never even miss a day.” The women said again with a pout while she fixed her collar.  

“Of course I would never. Even that one day felt like torture, but it was mandatory.” Luhan replied back with an apologetic frown as he curtly glanced around.

“Looking for the mental patients again?” The women said with an exasperated sigh as she looked back down at her papers.

“Of course. Who else would I come for? By the way, they aren’t mental.” He replied back quickly as she walked quickly down the hall. He was stopped as he felt a thin hand wrap around his and he turned around and smiled.

1 year ago

Yoona:

“Stupid girl! This dish has a stain. Do you know what this means?” A burly man said holding a bat.

“I… I… sorry… it won’t happen again.” A small girl mumbled and flinched with fear in her large doe eyes. Im Yoona was terrified and it showed. She looked at the bat apprehensively trying to judge its movements. She glanced down at her dirty hair, cracked finger nails, and soiled dress trying to not make eye contact.

“It better not.” The man said putting down the bat. She sighed as she saw it hit something else rather than her.

“You going to school?” The man said sitting down to the breakfast she cooked earlier. She glanced at the man who was supposedly her father and supposedly a human. They looked nothing alike. She hoped they were nothing alike.

He was tall, strong, and handsome looking. She was a small, ugly, and mental child. Or so she was told. He was wearing expensive clothing and his hair neatly combed. She was dressed in almost rags and was never clean.

“I can actually go this year?” She said hope coloring her voice. She looked up to be silenced with a slap.

“Are you joking?” The man scoffed spitting on her. “You’re going back to that mental school where you’re going to keep pretending your retarded and hurting yourself.”

“Oh. Okay.” She mumbled.

“I don’t even need to pay for that stupid school.” He laughed as he pushed her over and his hot breath filled her ear. “So you better not screw it up.”

“I won’t.” She whispered as she was pushed back to the sink. Yoona couldn’t remember when some part of her body wasn’t bruised, broken, or cut. She slowly walked out the back door looking around furtively to see if anyone was around. Im Yoona learned three rules since her mother died.

One: Never talk about her mother.

Two: Do everything perfectly or else she was beaten.

Three: Never talk to strangers. Ever.

The third rule would seem normal from every child, except she had never talked to another soul except her father or his drunken friends. Ever. Her father made her pretend she was mentally ill and hurting herself. Why would she purposely hurt herself? Because her mother died? That poor drunk cheating excuse of a mother?

She sighed as she got up and washed the dishes again as she got ready for school. A mental hospital. She didn’t even know how to read. She just sat there all alone until her father picked her up in a shiny BMW that he probably stole and brought her back to a shiny new house that was her father’s new girlfriend’s house.

“Where’s girlfriend number twenty.” She said lifelessly as he gave he passed her more dishes.

“Machi? Shopping? She still doesn’t know your living here. I don’t know, but I’m getting board of her, so be prepared to leave soon.” Her father warned with a laugh. She sighed as she grabbed her stuff and attempted to brushed her hair before she gave up with a small sigh. She was about to walk out before her father grabbed her by the hair and pushed her to the back door.

“Back door remember?” He hissed as he pushed her out of the back door. He made her use the back door because he was ‘ashamed’ of her. How could her father be ashamed of something he created? He liked making her seem mental to get pity money and it helped him look better, but at the same time was ashamed.  She remembered all of his lies.

Lie one: They were rich

Lie two: She was mental

Lie three: They were a happy family

There were more lies, but these were the worst. She was also subject to the town’s gossip and lies too. She was a mental girl with a rich father who never talked to anyone. Barely anyone had seen her, but rumors had grown that she was hideous and unstable. Her father got weekly donations from some of the richer people to help with her ‘therapy’. Nobody saw her. Nobody cared.

She got up and dusts off her dress as she walked about a mile to the mental bus stop hiding whenever she heard a noise, but was sure nobody went back there behind the tall bushes. She was like a ghost. She was in the richer area and could see their clear pools and neatly cut bushes. She knew they wouldn’t be out at his time. Rich people liked walking out the front door showing off everything they had. As she walked she felt her soul breaking and it felt as if she was actually becoming mental.

Luhan:

“Luhan hurry the bus is leaving!” A women wearing a flower printed apron said while smacking her son on the head with a dish towel.

“Mom! I’m going! Don’t rush me.” A bronzed hair boy said while rolling his eyes while grabbing a donut that was on the table. “I don’t want to go yet.”

“Why? Did Tiffany break up with you?” His mom said concern flooding her.

“No. Don’t even think that! It might become true then!”

“Oh. Why? I though you suddenly turned into Mr. Popular last year and you suddenly enjoyed school.” Luhan’s mom said with a small laugh.

“Mom!” He groaned.

“Fine I won’t remind you of your dorky nerdy past.” His mom laughed.

“I was never nerdy!” He whined.

“Sure sweetie!” She said while giving him more donuts.

“Mom! People don’t remember that me anymore.” He said while stuffing two doughnuts into his mouth.

“It’s the first day of senior year for you! You can’t be late! Good luck!” The women yelled as she pushed him out the door. Luhan rolled his eyes once again at his mom and walked out the door.

“Luhan walk to school with me!”

“No me!!”

“Remember you picked up my pencil last year for me?”

“LUHAN!”

“Luhan I never knew you lived in a mansion!”

“OPPA!”

Luhan stopped at his front steps, blinked a couple of times, and stared down at a horde of girls yelling at him.

“I forgot my lunch and will meet you all at school later.” Luhan said politely as he smiled and then ran back into his house. He slammed the door close and breathed in and out deeply. He would never be able to get use to this. This weird thing he didn’t ask for, but was given to him. Suddenly he craved it and needed it. Popularity.