“You! You took my phone, didn’t you?”

A girl shouted nearby. I really thought she was crazy. A missing phone? Wow, what a big problem.

“And you! You stole my keys!” she continued to shout. This girl is so careless. Geez.

“And you told my boyfriend to break up with me! Why did you have to do that?”

Ohh. Now I can make up her story in my mind – a broken hearted girl who went crazy and lost her things because she cannot think clearly.

“Why??” she shouted again. But this time, I can feel the pain in her voice. So much pain that it made me curious what really happened to her to make her that miserable.

I went to check what was going on. I followed her shouting and weeping. I found a group of people trying to stop this crazy girl from causing anymore trouble. But still, she was pointing at people accusing them of things they did not do.

Aishh… Jinyoung! You and your thoughtful self! I simply can’t stand to see someone crying. Especially if I see that she’s this hurt. I went straight at her without thinking about the people I bumped into.

“Yah! Who the hell are you?” she yelled at me. She’s really mad at everybody she sees. This is gonna be a loooong night.

“Come with me, everything’s gonna be fine,” I told her, without really knowing how to comfort her.

She didn’t answer. Instead, her sad eyes looked at me. She looked at me as if she was begging me to hug her or comfort her or something. And, again, I cannot stand to leave her just like that – humiliated.

So I carried her on my back and took her away from the crowd. She looked forward, wanting to look away from the scene she has caused. As soon as we left, she started crying again. Though this time, she was calmer but still hurt.

“Where am I gonna take you?” I asked her.

She just continued crying.

“To your house?” I asked again.

She stayed silent for a moment but wept loudly after.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

Again, she just cried. I tried to remember the things she was shouting a while ago. Then I realized. “Ohh, right. You lost your keys. Let’s just call someone at your house to let you in then.”

That made her cry even more.

Why am I so dumb?? She also lost her phone, idiot!

“I’m sorry…” was all I can say. “everything’s gonna be fine.” I assured her again, more sincere than before. I was determined to make her feel better.

With my assurance, she leaned her head against my shoulder. I was relieved. I was making her feel better little by little. But she was still crying. I was thinking of what to do when she spoke for the first time since I carried her on my back.

“He made my life miserable!” she said crying with hurt and anger. She must be talking about her ex.

“During our first few months, we were always fighting. Getting angry at each other for the smallest reasons.” she continued. “But I did not break up with him… because I love him. And it’s very hard to let him go. But then, I made the right decision, to hold on.

He eventually changed. He did not do things that frustrated me anymore. He was sweeter this time. He even introduced me to his parents. That really touched me. Our relationship went on for two years and six months. Until I received a text message from him one late night. He told me he was outside my apartment.”

She paused for a long time, as if hesitating to tell me what’s next. But she went on.

“I honestly thought he was going propose. We were going strong for two years, he already introduced me to his parents, what else would he tell me at that late hour? When I went outside, he wasn’t there. All I found was a box. I opened it, slowly, not sure what I will see inside. Again, I thought it was a ring and that he was hiding somewhere waiting to surprise me and ask me to marry him. But I was entirely wrong,” she said with hatred. “Inside the box was the necklace I gave him for our first anniversary and a piece of paper.”

For the nth time, she cried harder.

“On the paper was a letter for me. I quickly read it to understand what’s happening. I remembered every word he said on that letter…

Yoonhee-ah,

Hey, it’s me. Keep that necklace for me. I’m not gonna need it anymore. I’m not gonna need anything from you, from now on. I don’t need your gifts, your messages, your I-love-you’s, everything! – I don’t need you. Let me be, alright?

-- Baro

He was everything I had. He was everything I ever needed. But what did he say? He said he doesn’t need me,”

I was starting to get angry at this guy, even if I haven’t seen him. And the more this girl, oh- she said from the letter that her name was Yoonhee, cried and wept, I felt like I should be the one to hold her, to protect her.

“He doesn’t need me… he doesn’t need me… I need him so much, but he said he doesn’t need me,” she kept on repeating to herself, sobbing.

“Shh, there, there. Stop crying,” I said, not wanting to hear another weep from her. “Let’s see, where will I take you now?”

There was no answer. “Yoonhee-ssi?” I tried to ask again… but again, no answer. I realize that she had fallen asleep. She must be really tired, of everything.

I let out a sigh, walking slower, trying to think where to bring her. I couldn’t leave her on her own out in the streets. I wanted to bring her somewhere safe, somewhere she can breathe, somewhere she can relax. I sighed again. I think I have no choice but to bring her to my apartment.

As we reached my place, I lay her down on my bed; I covered her with my blanket. She looked so tired and beat up. She must have been through a lot.

I continued to look at her, trying to figure out what to do. I cannot think of anything. I sighed.

I guess I have no choice but to sleep on the couch now. But as I tried to stand up, she whined, grabbing hold of my hand, “don’t go… please… don’t leave me”. I just squeezed her hand back as an assurance. And with that she fell asleep again.

“Why did I even take you in? For the 21 years that I’ve been living, this is the first time I’ve felt so protective of someone,” I said to her, knowing she couldn’t hear me, “I feel like you’re a stray kitten who is so vulnerable alone that she needs someone to take care of her.”

I thought to myself, ‘You made the decision, Jinyoung – to rescue her from everything she’s afraid of. Can you really take care of her? Can you protect her? Or will you just hurt her like that Baro did?’ I thought again… ‘no, I’ll protect her with all my life.’

Finding her like this has a purpose, what that really is… is still left to be found out. But now, I’ll stay beside her, no matter what. I’ll give her back her life. I’ll make her happy. From this night forward, I’m gonna try to bring back that smile, that happiness she lost.

I don’t know how hard it’s gonna be. But I am determined to do it.

“Don’t cry again, Yoonhee-ssi. I’m right here.”

Hope you like this chapter. :D

Happy Holidays <3

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