She was in no condition to be left alone. She was in distress and tired, she was worn-out and in pain, she cannot be left alone. Luhan was sure of it. She was sitting next to him, completely wasted, as he continued to drive back home. She would moan out Kai’s name from time to time, murmuring some unclear words, or suddenly yelling like a mad woman. Her laughter would suddenly bursts, as if she was mocking herself. Most of all, she reeks the smell of alcohol so badly.

He wanted to hold her close, yet he was afraid he might break her. She was too broken; he fears a single touch might shatter her to pieces. Her plump lips turned bluish, as the night has turned colder than usual. Her fingertips were cold, too, as it brushed against his palm. He took off his jacket, as he wrapped the thin layer around her petite figure, hoping it would be enough to warm her up.

His car stopped in front of a small cottage. It was somewhere out of the town, quite far away from the city, it looked rural and rather peaceful, a nice place to relieve one’s thoughts and distress. Again, he carried her in his back, she was cold. He could feel her cold breath against his neck, her cold body against his back, and again the smell of alcohol against his nose.

The cottage was empty, filled with silence, yet unlike her apartment, it was a bit more warm and welcoming. It was a bit more comfortable. Luhan flicked the switch, and the lights quickly shine upon the darkness. Everything was nice, clean, and tidy. He was a clean freak after all; he loves to be clean to an extent that some people found it annoying. Now, that it was mention, it left people wondering why he let Lee Ji Eun enter his house when she reeks of alcohol.

He carried her upstairs, into the one and only room in the cottage, gently lying her down on the king-sized bed. He brushed off some strands of hair, unveiling her beautiful face. She looked stressful and tired. Her forehead formed faint wrinkles and her eyebrows twitched from time to time. She had a hard expression on, as if she was having a nightmare. He sat next to her sleeping figure, before going off to clean her.

He gently wiped off the sweat forming on her face with wet clothing; dip in warm water, so she wouldn’t have to suffer in the cold night. Her expression would harden from time to time, even worse as the gloomy clock continued to tick over the night. A long sigh escaped his lips, as he watched her closely. She was pure, kind, and beautiful, what had she done to deserve such a cruel fate? Luhan wonders, what sin has she done in her previous life?  His heart thumped at the thoughts of it.

He wanted to hold her by now, he wanted to lie down beside her and comfort her. He wanted to trace her cheek. He wanted to plant sweet kisses on her lips. He wanted to heal her. Yet will he be able to? Will it be okay? He fears he might be the wrong man for her that she might be too much for him and he would end up breaking her apart once again. He did not wish for it to happen. He liked her and there’s no doubt that he has grown to love her.

***

She found herself, lost in the darkness. She found herself in the midst of nowhere, as she blinked her eyes opened. It was dark, everything was painted in black. She could not spot a single thing, except her petite body which was shivering in cold. She could not move, as if she was put under a spell. She lies down on the cold ground, surrounded by the darkness. She was helpless, without any strength nor the will to fight it.

She felt nothing, not a single pain was straining her, yet not a single feeling was living inside her. Her body turned limp, her heart turned cold. She didn’t feel alive at all; it feels as if she was in the afterlife. She did not have a single clue of where she was, or how she ended up in such a scary place. She stared blankly at her surrounding – darkness. Yet why didn’t she feel lonely or scared? After all, she has been living in the darkness for the past five years.

“Jieun-ah,” A man voice called, it felt so close yet out of her grasp. “Do well. Fighting!”

She could not see a thing, except the darkness. Her eyes have lost the glimpse of light that used to be her guidance. The cold wind brushed against her skin, she shivered at the rough contact. Voices suddenly came to her senses, trying to rewind the time, as if she was inside a time machine, that would bring back all of her memories – the painful one.

“You pig! Get off the stage!! Pig! You can’t even sing! Get off the stage pig!” She could hear the screams, cursing her. It was slightly scary, yet the wound has engraved itself inside her, that it would not scare her at all.

“For the sake of – can’t you do a thing right? Come on, IU!”

“Jieun-ah, she’s gone. She passed away. Can you come home? Her funeral will be tomorrow. Your best friend wish was to see you one last time before being buried.”

“IU-ah, your grandma is sick; you need to come home soon. The doctor said it won’t be that long. She wanted to see you.”

It rushed back to her head, the memories that has left deep scars inside her. It’s not as if she didn’t try to forget it, instead she has tried to forget it all in many ways, including hurting herself. But how cruel, none of them left her heart, it engraved themselves as unhealed scars inside her. How her happiness was taken one by one, bit by bit, until she had to suffer in sadness, reminiscing the fragments of happiness that used to be hers.

Beneath the darkness, when everything seems so gloomy, she stares blankly at the dark ceiling. She has been living in pain day by day, that such a pain will not eat her up any longer. The way people cursed at the little her, it won’t break her. The way her best friend and grandmother were taken away, she will not cry over it. She was too broken to cry after all and it seems, the pain has come back to life.

The blinding light suddenly comes to her vision, something she would dream of every night. She shut both eyes closed, suddenly her breathing stops, as the voices turned clearer than before. The sound of tires screeching, screams, crashing sounds, and the smell of blood – all of it was traumatic to her.

“Jieun-ah, we’re leaving now. We will back soon enough,” The voice that belongs to a woman suddenly rings in her ears, bringing back the sadness that has long been buried inside.

“Mom,” it was the only word that could lifelessly escaped her lips, as she lied down helplessly without a single strength to reach out to the older woman.

She found herself in a whole different place, as she fluttered her eyes opened after the blinding light that shocked her. The atmosphere was gloomy; she could hear her own sobbing. Everything was black, people were wearing black. The faint cries and sobbing could be heard. She was there, watching, wondering what had happened, despite the fact that it seems so familiar. It was a graveyard, with her parents name engraved on the stone.

Kim Jongin was there, with her in his embrace. She was crying so badly and he was there. When was it? Was it five or six years ago? The day she stopped living properly. He was there, when she needed someone so badly. He was there, when she needed to know she is loved, that someone out there does love her. And he was there; the man she falls for was there to comfort her.

“Tell me this is all a lie, Jongin. Please tell me this is not real. Please help me to run away from all of this. I wanted to be a fairy in the fairy tale right now,”

Where the lies began? It was that day. Whose fault was it? Hers.

***

He loved her so much, it was an undeniable fact. He loved her more than anything in the world and he can swear it has stayed the same for the past years that they’ve been together. It breaks him more than anything in the world, each time he saw her breaking apart. It hurts him, each time she hurt herself. Every time she broke, a part of him followed her to destruction. Even until now, his love for her has never been a lie. But would she know it?

They were young, she was fragile, he was stronger, and they were in love. There were times when he wondered what kind of sin she had done to deserve such a pitiful fate. She lost it all, the person she loved, her happiness, bit by bit eaten by the cruel world. She could do nothing but to accept it all, watching the world in vain. It was when the will to protect the woman grows inside Kim Jongin’s heart.

What kind of good deeds has he done in his previous life to deserve someone like her? He never knows she would accept him and that they would be dating for a very long time before he ruined everything. She depends on him, he has become her everything. She, too, has become his everything. He loved her so much, it was a fact.

“Tell me this is all a lie, Jongin. Please tell me this is not real. Please help me to run away from all of this. I wanted to be a fairy in the fairy tale right now,”

It was a request she once made for him to fulfill. She was in so much pain, that she wanted to run away from reality, living in lies of sweet fairy tales. Therefore, she had asked him to fulfill those. It was him fulfilling her request, every lies that escaped his lips, every betrayal he had done. It was him trying so badly to make her happy, for her to be living in sweet fairy tales, as how she wished for.

Day by day, he lied to her, for her to never stop smiling. He loved her so much, that he would fulfill anything in the world just to make her happy, even if it is wrong. He took her hand, helping her to run away from reality, to bring her to the world of non-existent fairy tales. At least, she wouldn’t have to suffer; she wouldn’t have to be in pain by then. It was what Kim Jongin thought, when he let his lips to blurt out those lies.

“This is a dream, Jieun. It’s just a nightmare. By tomorrow, you would wake up with them by your side, alive. It’s okay, Jieun. It’s just a nightmare. Close your eyes and pray. It will be okay.”

It was his first lie, telling everything will be just fine, that she would wake up to found her parents smiling at her. But now, it will never happen. It was a fact of reality, how her parents have passed away. It was a lie, rather than comforting her, it breaks her even more, knowing it was a mere lie that can’t be granted. Their love, it slowly grows out of lies.

“Your cooking does taste great! No wonder you’re a great cook!”

His second lie, it was the first time she cooked for him on their first anniversary date. It wasn’t that horrible, nor was it that good. It was simply plain, slightly unfitting to his taste, yet seeing how excited she was, he could not even say a word to break her. He simply smiles at her, saying it was one of the most delicious dishes he ever tasted. It was a simple lie, yet he slowly got used to lying.

“You look great on it. I’m proud to have you as my girlfriend. You looked perfectly fine with everything. ”

It was the third lie. She was wearing a bubble dress that was quite unfitting for her. She looked a bit too skinny to wear the bubble dress, making it looked lose as if it was too big for her. Yet again, he didn’t want to hurt her, therefore he lied. Isn’t it every girls dream to be called beautiful at all times? After all, she was the one to request him, for her to live in the world of fairy tale.

His lies, it began from the request she blurted out carelessly on her parents funeral, something that may seems insignificant yet he has engraved it deep inside him. It began from simple white lies, to remain sweet and romantic as a couple, to prevent her from getting hurt, yet it turned big. He got used to lying and soon, what supposed to protect their relationship was the thing that brought it upon destruction.

“I love you.”

But those three words that he has always blurted out so easily, never once has it ever been a lie. He loved her, he loves her. Every time those three words escaped his lips, it was sincere, although there were times when they both would doubt it. It was sincere; it has never been a lie, unlike those praises he has always given her. He truly loves her. It was a question to mind, why did he break her?

***

It was her fault.

Lee Ji Eun blinked her eyes open, with the guilt taking over her heart. It wasn’t his sole mistake, but part of it was hers. It was her fault that he decided to lie to her, that he decided to betray her. She has requested such a foolish thing to him and without her realizing, he has engraved it deeply. It was their fault.

She stares lifelessly at the white ceiling, still lost in the midst of nowhere. She was living in the portal, between her consciousness and underworld, the nightmare she had, she has yet to snap out of it. It was too much, she wanted to scream on top of her lungs, but she can’t. She was weak; her strength was somehow drained out of her soul that she felt very tired. She felt very dizzy; her stomach didn’t feel very well either. It was a scary nightmare.

It took her a full minute to realize she was lying in a strange place. She truly did not know where she was, or how did she managed to come to such a place. The smell of alcohol that stains her body made her cringe, how much has she been drinking? It seems she was drunk last night. A faint smile formed her lips to a curve; the thought of being drunk made her feel slightly happier. At last, she managed to get drunk after all the sufferings. Does it feel great? She has forgotten what it feels like.

It was quite hard for her to stand up, exiting the room, to at least clean her up. It was truly a strange place, which she doubts she has ever visited. But then, even with herself being weak, it didn’t stop her anger from dwelling up inside her. It was then, when she spotted a familiar blonde figure, sleeping downstairs with a thin blanket covering half of his body. It angered her, despite the fact that he has saved her. He was the last person she ever wanted to see at such a time.

Yet he was sleeping so peacefully, despite the uncomfortable couch he had to sleep on because of her. Once again, it touches her, her cold and painful heart. But it won’t be for long, once he’s awake; she’s going to explode in front of him. He should’ve left her alone, just like how he should’ve let her die that day. She slowly took out her phone, to check if Kai ever do care to call her, but no. The screen remains blank and black.

Too short! I'm sorry! Happy reading, guys! I'm waiting for the comments box to be filled with new comments! It's exciting to write a story when you received lots of feedback from readers!