You stormed out of your house, absolutely fuming. Your face was flushed and you hadn't even noticed that it was raining before you took off aimlessly down your street. You pulled your hood up over your head to shield you from the rain and shoved your hands in the pockets of your hoodie as you walked away. You kept your eyes down as you stomped through the muddy roads of your neighborhood, a permanent scowl playing on your face.

You came home after school earlier in the day to find both of your parents smashed out of their minds. You could smell the alcohol before you even walked through the door, so you put up a calm facade and made your way inside. They didn't speak to you as you took your shoes off and put your book bag on the table and you didn't offer up any conversation either. You made your way to the kitchen and found, suprisingly, nothing substantial you could fix your “family” for dinner. You sighed, thoroughly annoyed, and made your way back into the living area.

“Weren't you going to get groceries this morning?” You looked at your mother accusingly. She glanced over her shoulder at you, sitting on the couch with your father where they were both engrossed in some movie. You looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. When you didn't receive one, you continued. “I gave you money, umma.” You sighed. “Did you just buy alcohol instead?”

Before either one of you could say anything else, your father chimed in. “What is it now?” He barked, his voice laced with liquor. He stood up from his seat making you instinctively flinch, but you held your ground. He stumbled around the living room until he made his way to you and stopped, his body looming over yours. He leaned his head down until you were nose to nose with him. “I need some money,” he said, his voice mocking yours. When you didn't respond, he continued. “Aren't you hungry? Give me some money, ____. So we can eat.”

“I don't have any,” you mumbled and turned your face away from his.

He scowled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “What the hell are you good for then?”

You felt the stinging before you heard it. Your father stumbled his way back to the bedroom now while you held a hand up on your cheek where he had just slapped you. You looked to your mother for something but she merely stood up and followed your father to the room.

And now you were here. Walking in the rain and covering your feet with mud—of course you forgot your shoes.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket when you felt it vibrate and glanced down at your hand to see Jongup's name flashing on your caller ID. You hit ignore and put the phone back in your pocket, continuing to wallow in your self pity as you tried to find shelter from the rain. Your phone vibrated again as Jongup tried to reach you once more, and you ignored that call too. He tried two more times and each time you ignored him.

“Yah!” You jumped at the sound of his voice and turned guiltily, spotting him walking a few feet behind you with an umbrella. “Are you ignoring me?!” He ran up next to you and held the umbrella over you both, cutting off the rain that was pounding on you seconds before. You didn't say anything and he frowned in concern when he noted your expression. “Yah.. I was just kidding.. What's wrong?”

You didn't answer him and turned away, leaving the shelter of his umbrella as you took off in the rain once more. He frowned again at your actions and followed you, catching up easily and holding the umbrella over you. “____?”

You took off running this time. Didn't he understand that you didn't want to talk right now? You ran as fast as your bare feet would carry you down the mucky road, mud now splashing up over your jeans. He heard him running behind you, calling out your name but you kept moving. You didn't want him to see you like this. However, it didn't take long for him to catch up and soon he was standing in front of you, the umbrella sheltering you once more while his free hand gripped your arm tightly. “What the hell are you doing??” He wasn't yelling, but his voice was loud and out of breath.

You didn't answer him and just turned your face away. You didn't try to run again. You were already out of breath and you knew it was useless. He would catch you no matter what.

“What's that?” You heard him ask suddenly, his voice low as he yanked your hood off of your head to reveal the shiney new mark on your cheek. Your eyes widened slightly as you turned around completely, your back to him. “Stop doing that!” You heard him say, but you didn't face him as he continuously moved around you to get a better look at your face.

He grabbed your arm suddenly and spun you around to look at him, his hand instinctively going to the back of your neck to hold you in place so you couldn't run away from him again. His eyes scanned your face carefuly, his brows furrowed in concentration as he studied the mark on your cheek. He removed his hand from the back of your neck and ghosted his fingers over the soreness on your face.

“Does it hurt?” He asked.

Refusing to look at him, you sighed. “.. A little.”

“What happened?”

“I don't want to talk about it.”

You could tell that he wanted to say something else, but he refrained for which you were grateful. He knew that your home life wasn't the best, but you weren't sure that he was ready to hear how bad it truly was. “Come on,” you heard him say finally. He took your hand in his and lead you both out of the rain. You sat on the stairs of an abandoned building, allowing the cover of the roof to protect you from the brewing storm. Jongup put the umbrella away, but he kept a firm hold on your hand. You didn't object as you sat with him, neither one of you saying anything.

He pulled your joined hands into his lap and let his other hand cover the rest of yours. You swallowed nervously as you stared down at your lap. He rested his elbows on his knees, your hand still in both of his as he rested his chin on the hands that were now holding yours captive. He looked at you finally, his cheek taking the place where his chin was previously resting. He watched you, unabashed. You looked at him for a moment before looking away again, the silence between you two growing uncomfortable.

This was strange. There would be times when you and Jongup wouldn't talk for hours and just enjoy the other's company, but this silence was different. It was tense. As though there was something unspoken between the two of you.

“Hey...” He said finally, his voice quiet and snapping you back from your thoughts. You looked at him, careful to void your features of much emotion. He stared at you for a beat longer before saying, “You're beautiful, you know that?”

You blinked at his compliment, not quite sure how you should respond. He laughed lightly at your expression and let go of your hand, turning his back to you for a beat before leaning back so his head fell in your lap. He contiued to watch you. You frowned down at him cutely. “I don't like that he hurts you,” you said, finally.

You blinked once more at that statement. What? “What are you talking about, Jongup?” You did your best to sound annoyed.

“Please don't act like I'm stupid,” he sighed. “I'm not an idiot. I know your dad hits you.”

You scowled down at him and looked away. He sat up and turned to face you. “Why don't you tell someone?”

“I'm not talking about this,” you snapped.

“Why not??” He sounded angry. “You're just gonna let him keep doing it?”

“I said I'm not talking about it!” You shouted finally and covered your ears with your hands so you wouldn't have to listen anymore.

He grabbed your wrists and instantly pulled them away from your ears and stared at you. “Don't,” your voice shook slightly. “Don't look at me like that. Stop feeling sorry for me.”

He let go of your wrists and put his hands on either side of your face, stunning you momentarily while he pressed his forehead against yours, “You're too pretty to keep getting beat up by him.” He whispered. You continued to stare at him—What had gotten into him??
 

Neither one of you pulled away as the atomosphere around you began to shift completely. He kept his eyes locked onto yours for what felt like an eternity. His gaze shifted over your face before stopping at your lips. His eyes lingered there for a moment longer before he trailed his eyes back up to yours.

“I want to kiss you,” you heard him say boldly, though his voice was barely above a whisper. You didn't say anything for a long time before you felt yourself nodding—What were you agreeing to?

He watched you for a beat longer before slowly moving in, closing the distance between you two and placing his lips against yours. His lips moved slowly over yours as he kissed you. You allowed your lips to move with his as the two of you sat on the stone steps, allowing your relationship to delve into something much deeper.

It was at that moment that you realized that Jongup had become much more than just your best friend. You were certain that he had realized it way before you, but now the truth was shining brightly before you. He became a person whom you couldn't live without, and you hoped you would never have to.