[MC Tales: Story time!]

//

            The library cafe was quiet for a Wednesday afternoon, but that didn't matter to Ella. In fact, she rather enjoyed the rare silence. A break from the chaotic atmosphere called high school was what she needed on a cold winter day like this.

            In the small store, Ella sat comfortably in one of the sofas with her favourite book and a nice cup of hot chocolate she had ordered. 'Ah, this is nice,' she closed her eyes and took in a nice long breath.

            "You're going to pass out if you hold that breath for too long, Noona," Gong Chan giggled and pinched her nose, completely cutting off her air supply. She swatted at his hand, whining. Her face grew red from the lack of oxygen. Panicked, Gong Chan let go of her nose and worriedly wrung his hands. Ella took in a few breaths before playfully glaring at him.

            "Are you trying to kill me or something?" she pouted.

            "No! I was only playing with you, noona. Besides, you could've breathed through your mouth, you know?" he innocently tilted his head at her. The other boys chortled at his comment. He was right. She could've done that.

            "Well, I was scared! Besides, you would've done the same."

            "Um, no I wouldn't." Everybody burst into laughter, including Ella. Sandeul took a seat next to her, wrapping his arm around her petite frame. Their relationship was a comfortable one. They understood each other and neither of them minded taking things a little bit slowly. Ella was still getting used to the fact that she now has a boyfriend.

            "How is my girlfriend doing today?" he nuzzled her cheek. She laughed and lightly shoved him away. Skinship was still awkward for her.

            "I'm okay. Just taking a day to relax from exams and studying," she held up her book to him. He nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by his ringing phone.

            "Sorry," he mumbled and accepted the call. "Hello? Mom? What? You need me now? No, I'm just with my friends. Yeah, I can meet you there. Okay, see you soon. Bye!" he hung up his phone and turned to Ella with a pout.

            "Oppa, what did I say about pouting?"

            "I don't remember. All I do remember is us kissing," he laughed as she reached over to punch him. "Anyway, my mom needs my help at home with the groceries. I'll be back!" he pecked Ella on the cheek and waved at the boys before running to the store. The group sat awkwardly on the couches. Although they know of each other, this was only the second time they've officially met. Without Sandeul or Jin Young there, nobody knew what to say. Maknae Gong Chan was restless in his seat and couldn't take the silence, so he was the first to crack.

            "Ah! I can't take this! Why don't we reintroduce ourselves?"

            "You were quite comfortable with her earlier; I don't see why we need an intro. Hey Ella, remember me?" Baro winked at her. Ella held back her laughter and managed to quietly nod her head.

            "Yeah, I remember you, Baro-sshi."

            "See, nothing to be awkward about," he arrogantly sat back in the seat, resting his feet on the table.

            "Sir, can you please remove your feet. We have a 'cups only' policy for our tables," a worker politely scolded Baro. He coughed in embarrassment and bowed apologetically. CNU, Gong Chan, and Ella stifled their giggles that threatened to come out.

            "Cough...Smooth, Baro. Smooth," CNU chortled behind his hand. Gong Chan was fighting the urge to laugh out loud and ended up snorting, causing a whole fit of giggles to go around the group once more. "Anyway, Ella dongsaeng, how are your exams?"

            "They're okay. Hopefully I pass."

            "You're being modest. I'm sure you'll pass with flying colours, Noona!"

            "Thanks, Gong Chan." The four of them talked more about school life and midterms at the own schools and managed to kill some time. All was going well until Baro's curiosity got the best of him. There was a question that he was dying to know the answer to, about Ella. He had heard nasty rumours about her and honestly wanted to know the truth. Well, her side of the story, at least. He was waiting for the right time to bring it up and finally, there was a breather from the other conversation. He made his move.

            "I've been dying to know something about you," he looked at Ella curiously. She instinctively crossed her arms and avoided eye contact.

            "A-about what?" she asked, her voice trembled in anticipation. What did he want to know? He remained silent, dragging on the suspense just for the fun of it. Ella shifted in her seat anxiously while the other two were looking back and forth between Baro and Ella, clearly confused of what was going on. Ella was just as confused, if not even more so. He cleared his throat and looked at her in wonder.

            "Please don't get offended when I ask."

            "I won't."

            "Okay then. Here goes. How come you never say no? There are some nasty rumours going around because of that. I'm slightly curious as to why you don't ever say no," he tilted his head at her in thought. Ella let out a breath of relief. Was that all he wanted to know? 'Should I tell them? Even Deul Oppa doesn't know. Well, I could wait until he's here, but then we'd be all awkward again.' Baro noticed her hesitation. He really wanted to know and felt guilty for what he did next. "Ella, can you do me a favour? Tell me your story, please? I really want to know." CNU smacked him on the back of his head while Gong Chan covered his mouth in shock.

            "Why'd you say that?!" he tried hitting him again. Baro blocked the slaps as best he could. CNU was fuming and had to be held back by the maknae.

            "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" Baro began.

            "Really now?!" CNU snapped.

            "Okay, I meant to do that, but it's not my fault," he scrambled out of CNU's reach. "I can't help it if I'm curious." CNU swatted for his head again and sat down in frustration. He was too angry for words and could only give her a silent apology for his friend's indecent behaviour. She shook her head and told them it was okay.

            "I haven't told anybody this story yet, not even my father. But, I've been meaning to tell somebody about it," she placed her book on the table and got comfortable. And so she began her story.

//

[MC Tales: I recommend you all get comfortable. Grab some snacks. This story is a long one.]

//

            3 years ago, Ella was living happily with her mother and father in a small neighbourhood. Everybody knew everybody in the tight knit city. There was no such thing as secrets for gossip travelled fast. People of different generations got along and there was never any quarrel. However, that one day changed everything.

--

            "I just don't get why you won't let me go!"

            "Because, honey, everyone going is in high school and college. You're still in middle school, for crying out loud!"

            "But all of my friends will be there!"

            "Just the more reason for me to be worried! I don't like that JinAe girl; she's a bad influence on you. I got another call from the school about your little escapade with her during class. When will you settle down and start thinking about the consequences of you actions?"

            "She's not a bad influence, mother! I want to go to this party!" Ella stomped upstairs and slammed her bedroom door.

            "Well, don't even think about asking me ever again because you're grounded!" her mother slumped down onto the couch and let out a frustrated sigh.

            Where did she go wrong with raising Ella? She was such a good girl growing up, always doing her homework and respecting everything her parents said. That JinAe girl changed her. All the parents in the neighbourhood knew of JinAe. She was young, but always went to college parties and caused trouble. Her parents were so embarrassed and disappointed in her that they've cooped themselves indoors and avoided making contact with other parents.

            'I don't want my Ella to turn out that way. Even if she hates me now, I'm doing this for her,' Ella's mother sighed and got up from the couch. She had to start making dinner before her husband came home.

            Meanwhile, Ella was throwing a tantrum in her room. She hated her mother for not letting her go to the party. All the popular kids were going and she was finally invited by JinAe. After weeks of trying to make an impression, she finally was approached by JinAe. Why was her mother being so uptight about it? She was a big girl now and can handle going to senior student parties.

            'Ah! I hate my mom!' she threw her stuffed animals across the room. A plan began to brew and she formulated an escape. If her mom wouldn't let her go, she was going to have to sneak out. 'I've got to go to that party, no matter what.'

--

            "Honey, come out for dinner," Ella's mother knocked lightly on the door. Ever since their little argument, Ella had stayed in her room, completely silent. Her mother was starting to worry. Ella was always an eccentric child who knew right from wrong and picked her friends wisely. What happened this time? Why did she have to be friends with JinAe, the worst girl in their city? Her mother knocked again, but her daughter ignored her.

            Inside, Ella rolled her eyes at her mother's feeble attempts to reconcile. There was no way she was apologizing, not when her mother was depriving her of her biggest opportunity to fit in.

            She lifted her map, a sly grin spreading across her face. It was foolproof; wait for the parents to sleep and sneak out the window, down the tree, and escape to JinAe's house. Nothing could go wrong.

--

            "She still not out?"

            "Yes. She's been in there since 3. I'm a bit worried," Ella's mother rested her hands against the edge of the sink. Mr. Choi stood beside his wife and massaged her shoulders.

            "It's going to be fine, dear. She's just going through her rebellious stage. Everything will be back to normal soon enough," he kissed her on the cheek and went into the living room. Her mother sighed heavily. 'I hope so.'

            Ella held her ear close to the door, listening for any movement from outside. Voices from the TV echoed down the hall. The news was on and Ella knew both her parents were probably sitting in the living room. 'Good. I can make it to the bathroom unnoticed.' She quietly unlocked her door and slipped into the empty halls. Or so she thought they were. As soon as she stepped out, her mother walked by with the garbage bag.

            "Oh, honey, you're finally out. Could you be a dear and take out the trash? My back has been sore for the last few days and lifting this bag is straining it."

            "Sorry, mother, but I don't take orders from you anymore," Ella stubbornly turned away and went into the bathroom.

            "Honey, did you see that? She wouldn't even do me a favour. What has happened to our little girl? What happened to our daughter?"

            "Don't worry about it. She'll come to her senses soon enough," Mr. Choi waved his hand unconcernedly, eyes glued to the news. Her mother sighed in defeat and dragged the bag down the front steps.

            In her room, Ella watched her as her mother heaved the bag into the trash can out on the curb. 'Be a dear and take out the trash? Please, I'll only do it if you let me go.' Angry of her deprivation, Ella turned away from the window. She had only looked away for less than a second when the sound of crunching metal was heard from outside. She didn't think much of it at first, assuming it was a neighbour running over their garbage can, but soon realized that it wasn't so when her father's frantic yells filled the neighbourhood. Ella broke out into a cold sweat and her hands became clammy. She was afraid to look outside; afraid that if she did, she would see the worst.

            Sirens wailed in the distance as fire trucks, cruisers, and ambulances were fast approaching. By this time, all of the neighbours had gathered around a hysterical Mr. Choi. Ella had made it outside and pushed through the crowds to get to the center. Each step she took felt heavier than the last. Her father's sorrowful sobs reached her ears as she broke through the crowd. Her breath got caught in and she stopped breathing all together. Tears threatened to spill as she looked at the scene in front of her. Her mother lay bloody and lifeless in her father's arms.

            Ella collapsed to the floor, feeling a suffocating pressure pushing down her on all sides. Throaty sobs escaped from her lips as she took in what was happening.

            Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She watched as some paramedics pried her mother's seemingly lifeless body out of her father's arms and lay it down on a gurney. They were speaking to one another, but all Ella could hear was a deafening silence. She could see the lights flashing on the vehicles and people's lips moving, trying to communicate with her.

            Police men dismissed people from the scene, all in attempts to clear the roads and getting her mother to the hospital as soon as possible, but curiosity got the better of everybody and crowds grew larger by the second. Cruisers, and ambulances alike, were shut in by the mobs, ending any slim chances of saving her mother.

            Ella and her father climbed into the back of the stationary ambulance. The heart monitor beeped weakly as her mother slowly succumbed to the heavens. She managed to open her eyes one last time and her husband and Ella's cheeks. She whispered something to the both of them before her hands dropped lifelessly to her side. Mr. Choi sobbed into his hands, completely broken and at a loss of what to do now without his wife. Ella's silent cries pierced his heart. What will he do now without a wife? What will his Ella do without a mother? The pressure of the future was suffocating him and he left the truck to clear his mind.

            Ella held tightly onto her mother's hand. Regret, guilt, and shame coursed through her body. Her mother's last words will forever be engraved into her heart. A painful reminder of her selfish, naïve desires.

            "Be a good girl and listen to your father, Ella. I love you, forever and always..."

--

            Ella sulked around the house, broken and hollow, void of any emotions other than guilt. With her mother's funeral days away, she did nothing but mope around. Her father was running around taking care of preparations for the ceremony and even called in his mother to take care of Ella while he was busy. She came the next day, showering Ella with care and comfort. Ella didn't react and walked around lifeless all day.

            It was the day before the funeral. That day things had already felt weird. Ella sat in the living room staring at the blank TV screen. Her grandmother came down the stairs with a basket of laundry.

            She saw her granddaughter dazed on the couch. It broke her heart to see her like this, so lifeless. The loss of her daughter-in-law was such a shock to Ella that it rendered her mute. She had to do something else other than mope.

            "Ella, dear, can you help me bring the laundry downstairs? I have arthritic knees and they are acting up right now." Ella stayed in her catatonic stupor. It wasn't that she ignored her grandmother, she just couldn't hear her. The deafening sounds of the accident kept playing in her head like a broken record, skipping and replaying in a nonstop loop. Metal crunching, her father yelling, her mother’s words all replayed, twisting her insides with shame.

            Her grandmother sighed and lost any hope left. She lifted the basket and struggled down the stairs, unaware of the loose step Mr. Choi never had the time to fix. With one fatal step, Ella's grandmother went tumbling down the stairs and landed heavily at the bottom. The fall shook Ella out of her daze and she scrambled down the stairs. The sight of her motionless grandmother sent cold shivers down her spine, bringing back lucid images of her mother's lifeless body. Hastily, she pulled out her phone and dialled for help.

--

            "She has suffered a fractured hip and shattered her wrist when trying to break her fall. It'll take about 3 months for recovery considering her old age and weak bones. We advise you to keep her in the hospital or hire a full time house nurse," the doctor bowed out and left Mr. Choi and Ella in the room. 'It's my fault. All my fault,' Ella silently cried, clutching onto her grandmother’s cold hand. She was still unconscious and it didn’t seem like she was going to wake up anytime soon. Her pulse felt weak under Ella’s touch and was getting weaker. Mr. Choi left the room to talk to the doctor.

            “Grandmother, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t help you. I should’ve. If I did, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. You know, I despised myself for killing mother. I don’t know what I would do if you died. It’s my fault…,” Ella sobbed into the sheets, her fragile frame trembling with each breath.

--

            "We are her today in honour of a bright, caring, intelligent woman. With a heart of gold, she always looked out for the children of the neighbourhood like they were her own. Mrs. Choi left us with heartfelt memories and we cannot help but feel extreme remorse for her widowed husband and child. Mr. Choi, we are extremely sorry for your loss. If I could turn back time, I would jump in and take her place...."

            Ella flinched at those words. 'If you could turn back time....' she bitterly clenched her fists. If she could, she would take out the garbage like her mother had asked; also, she would listen to her mother when she said JinAe was a bad influence. There were so many things she would've done that might've changed the fates and kept her mother alive.

            "...horrible that such a fate dawned so early for this strong woman. At this time, I would like to ask Mr. Choi and his daughter to come up and say a few words." Mr. Choi stepped up to the podium first. He struggled through his speech, choking up on a few of the memories he recalled. Ella helped him down and went up herself. She spoke robotically, like she had memorised everything. Maybe it was because she had. She didn't want to think about messing up on her mother's funeral day. She already messed up the lives of the loved ones around her by killing off her mother.

            "Her last words to me were, 'Be a good girl and listen to your father, Ella. I love you, forever and always.' I regret not listening to her. I regret not doing what she had asked me to," Ella broke down and started speaking her mind, straying from her written speech. "She loved me and cared for my well being, but I brushed her off that day. I even slammed the door on her. What was I thinking? Why did I act like such a spoiled brat? Just so that I could fit in? I cost my mother's life for being the selfish child that I am. I should be the one in that coffin. I should've been the one that was hit. I shouldn't be here, and she shouldn't be there!" Ella pointed at the dug grave and collapsed. Her father rushed to her side and called out for help.

--

            The funeral was cut short from Ella's fainting spell. She opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling above. The putrid smell of disinfectant penetrated her nose and she knew she was in a hospital. Why was she such a nuisance? Killing her mother, ruining her burial, causing problems for those around her. 'I'm a burden, aren't I? I'm weak and hopeless and I rely on everybody without giving in return.' Tears escaped her eyes and she reached up to wipe them away, but her hand was tightly clasped in her father's. He was sleeping next to her bed, hair askew, clad in his suit from the funeral. She stifled her cries at his fragile state. 'I'm the cause of this....' she cried into her free hand. After what felt like hours, Ella dried her tears and looked at her sleeping father determinedly. 'I vow to never refuse a favour. For the sake of my parents and family and the people around me, I promise to never reject a favour. Risking their lives with rejection will never be an option anymore.’

//

[MC Tales: So now we know why…Must be hard living with the burden of a death…Poor Ella…]

//

            Baro handed Gong Chan the box of tissues, not forgetting to take some for his own tears. CNU patted Ella on the back as she wiped her wet cheeks. Recalling the memories brought tears to her eyes. The sorrow of losing her mother and almost killing her own grandmother were overwhelming and haunted her for life. They were memories that she would never forget.

            “I’m so sorry, Ella. I should have never asked you,” Baro bowed his head. Ella stood up and walked over to Baro and wrapped an arm over his shoulder.

            “It’s okay, Baro-sshi. I’m actually glad I got to tell somebody about it. It’s better to understand than to believe in rumours, right?” she hugged him and went back to her seat. Gong Chan rested his head against her shoulder and sighed. He sat up and tilted his head.

            “Do you think you will ever stop?”

            “Stop what? Doing favours?”

            “Yeah. Sandeul hyung has told me some of the things they make you do and it makes my blood boil just listening to him,” he pouted and poked her leg. She chuckled and patted his head. Unless these things have happened to them before, they’ll never be able to understand her.

            “Truthfully, I don’t know. This habit isn’t something I can stop overnight. I fear of losing those who are close to me and that I am the cause of it. So far, that has been the case. Maybe, with time, it will go away. Although, I highly doubt it…” she stared off into space, unconsciously Gong Chan’s hair. Her phone buzzed on the table, breaking their silence. It was a text from Sandeul.

            (Ella~~ I have to help my mom at home and won’t be able to go back to the cafe. Can you ask one of the guys to take you home? Sorry! >_<  I <3 You!)

            She sent him a simple ‘Ok’ and put her phone away. The boys were flipping through books she had carried to the table, fascinated by her preferences in books.

            “You like fairy tales, Ella dongsaeng?”

            “Neh, Shinwoo Oppa. Fairy tales, fantasy worlds, any book with whimsical creatures and story lines are my all time favourites.” She clutched the book to her chest and smiled brightly at him.

            ‘All these stories have make believe worlds and happy endings…You want a happy ending, don’t you?’ CNU thought. The waiter came by and collected the drinks, reminding the group that the store would be closing soon. They packed up and left the store.

            “Today was really fun. Thanks for listening to my story, it means a lot to me. Anyway, it’s late, I’ll see you guys another time!” Ella waved and began to walk off, only to feel an arm loop through hers, holding her back. She looked up to see Gong Chan smiling down at her.

            “We’ll walk you home, Noona. It’s dark and dangerous for a girl to walk home alone,” he dragged her along with him. She laughed aloud and patted his arm to slow down. ‘How is he so tall?’ she wondered.

            “Okay, okay, you can walk me home, but just to let you know, I live in the opposite direction,” she snickered and pointed behind them. CNU face-palmed and Baro smacked Gong Chan. He giggled and started dragging her the other way. The four of them walked off into the night, a new bond formed; a new chapter written in her fairytale life.

Weeee~~~~ MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE~~~

I'm finally back with a new chapter. Finally. I'm surprised people are still subbed to this story >_< Although, most people unsub when I update LOL It's so full of fail LOL Anyway, I'm now fully recovered from post exam depression cause I checked my marks and I'm midly surprised at the outcome. It is better than I expected, so I'm a happy camper. Hope this long chap makes up for my unofficial, mini hiatus XD Also hope I don't procrastinate and get some more chapters up XS Wah, and it's almost my birthday XD Another year older, but not any wiser LOL

Anywho, please comment and subscribe! They really do keep me motivated. 

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-