CHINESE= RED

ENGLISH= PURPLE

KOREAN= BLUE

~~~

When you wake up in the morning you groan at the thought of getting up, realizing that it’s Friday. You snuggle closer to Heechul and trying to avoid remnants of the bad feelings already welling up. You sigh, sitting up and smacking Heechul hard, making him groan. “Wake up, idiot. We still have school today.” You pulled off the covers.

“What’s the ing time?” He mumbled, cowering from the sunlight streaming through the blinds. “I don’t wanna goooo~” He kicked in the bed, throwing a fit.

“Stop being a child. Get up; it’s already 6:30.” You slide off the bed and then pad over to the restroom, taking the clothes you had chosen last night. “You better be up when I’m done!” You call over your shoulder.

“msphfsnjor” You hear him mumble back.

After washing your face and changing out of your nightwear, you walked out, glad to see that Heechul had energized himself, and now functioned normally.

Breakfast was an interesting ordeal, that is, if a tense atmosphere and complete silence could count as interesting. Other than that, nothing else happened, and you were glad. You walked to school with Heechul, as your brother had to go pick up Sarah. Just hearing her name had the guilt bubbling up.

School was ordinary, work, get up, move to another classroom, sit, work, and repeat. Soon, the day was over, and you walked home alone, since Kris was on a date with Sarah.  Heechul had to go home too, his mother was not happy with him for staying over at your house last night.

You got home and dumped yourself on your bed, not even bothering to put down your stuff. You felt tired, completely drained of everything physically and emotionally. You sighed and turned over, closing your eyes in hopes of sleep. Too bad your dreams of sleep and rest were crushed. No matter how you turned and sprawled your body around the bed, you could not get too sleep. Giving up, you got up and stretched, looking around. As you were craning your neck a slip of paper laid out on on your desk caught your eye. You walked over to it and unfolded the paper.

Hey, the fabulous Kim Heechul here! I’m betting that you still feel like crap, right? Well no worries! What I’ve got here will make you happy! Flip this paper over and you’ll find 50 bucks of cash! Take it and go shop. You need it. But don’t you dare get anything I wouldn’t approve of! I’ll check, don’t even mess with me.

Love, your greatest best friend Kim Heechul.

You cringed at the amount of exclamation marks and flipped the paper over as instructed. You found 5 crisp 10’s just as he had said there would be.  

~~~

You sighed as you stood in front of the giant mall. Shouldering your satchel, you took a deep a breath and stepped through the glass doors. You shopped around for a while, doing more browsing than actual purchasing, before you saw something that caught your eye. A pair of cute bear earring sparkled under the light behind the glass windows of a little accessories store. You unconsciously gravitated towards the cute shop and walked in, taking in our surroundings in awe. The entire store glistened and shone with silver and gold accessories.

“Hi, how may I help you?” A petite and cute Asian girl said, head poking out from behind the check-out desk.

“No, it’s fine. I’m just looking around.” You said softly, taking a pair of friendship bracelets up for examination.

“Well that’s fine. Are you looking for anything in particular today?” She perkily asked, and her ponytail bobbed with every bounce in her step as she made her way towards you.

“No.” You murmured.

“Alrighty then, you just come ask me anything you have questions about. My name’s Minjee.” She sent you a cheeky smile and hopped back to the desk.

You walked around; face shining like a kid in a candy shop till you saw a huge panda plushy that you knew you just had to have.

“Ah, I see that our signature Panda Puff has captured your attention.” A voice perkily said from behind you.

“What the-“ You whipped around in surprise.

“Oops, sorry did I surprise you?” She worriedly looked at you.

“No, I’m fine.” You turned back to the plushy.

“You don’t look very happy.” She suddenly voiced.

“What?” You asked incredulously.

“You don’t seem very happy.” She said again, a slight frown marring her pretty features.

You forced a smile. “I am happy.”

“No you’re not. Your eyes are dead, and you lips are too tight for that smile to be real.” She pointed out.

You found it weird to be having this kind of conversation with someone you had just met. What did she know about your happiness?

“So, mind telling me what’s wrong?” She looked at you with big round eyes.

“I don’t think…” You hesitantly mumble.

“Pish posh, It’s fine! Just tell me what’s been bugging you. You may not think I look like it, but I’m a great problem solver!” She let a bubbly laugh.

“I just…” You decide ‘why not?’ and let it out. “I feel guilty. My brother’s girlfriend visited for dinner last night and I snapped at her and ruined the night.” You looked down, feeling pathetic.

You waited for a response but got nothing, surprisingly. You looked up at Minjee and saw her rubbing her chin with concentrated expression. Her eyebrows straightened out and a warm hand grabbed your wrist. Before you could catch on to what was happening, she had left the store to a co-worker, and you were being dragged out of the store, out of the mall, and into the parking area.

“What the heck?! Let me go!” You yelled, attempting to yank your arm out of the newly deemed crazy kidnapping girl’s hold. Surprisingly, however, her grip was much stronger than you anticipated, and no matter how hard you tried, resistance was futile. The girl had a death grip on her.

“Don’t worry about anything! I’m just taking you somewhere to meet some people. They'll know what to do” She laughed, shoving you forward and continuing the journey.

“What? Are you going to sell me or something? Let. Me. GO!” You screamed and hollered the entire trip, yet people ignored the commotion as if they hadn’t even seen you.

Soon, the two of you ended up in front of an old abandoned warehouse. The building was in crummy conditions, and the day was getting late, the sun starting to set, casting an eerie shadow over the area.

“I knew it, you were planning on selling me from the very start, weren’t you?!” You frantically looked around for a way to escape. “Well I’m not going to let you do that. You will pay dearly for this!” Yet you could not remember which alley you had taken before.

Minjee just stood there, arms crossed, as she watched you flail and whine loudly. She sighed and grabbed your wrist once again. “Come on, it’s almost time for dinner.” She pushed you forward by your shoulders, forcing you to enter the shabby building.

You freaked out, screaming and kicking, nails flying around in hopes of catching every bit of skin in your way. Suddenly, you went silent and still, mouth covered by a gloved hand, body entrapped within the hold of two girls, each pinning your arms behind your back and kicking the back of your knees. Your knees gave out from the hit, and you fell into a kneeling position on the ground, the two girls holding your arms behind you with the same strength as Minjee.

“Hey, calm down guys. Don’t hurt her.” You heard Minjee hiss worriedly at the girls.

You cursed in your head, thinking ‘If that damned Heechul hadn’t given me money and made me shop, this would not be happening.’ Before a pair of high tops came into your vision.

“What are you doing, Minjee? Why is there some girl being held down on the floor?” A cold voice gritted in Korean. Your ears perked up.

“Well, uh, you see, I saw that she was having some problems, and so I decided to bring her sown here to see if I could help her.” Minjee whispered back in your mother tongue, sounding a bit ashamed.

A sigh. “Let her go, girls. Just don’t let her run.”

You felt the hands holding you down on the ground loosen, and instead haul you up from your kneeling position. You raised your head and looked around, taking time to observe your surroundings. What you saw surprised you. The inside of the warehouse showed no signs of the state the outside had been. Contrary to the falling apart look from the outside, the inside looked like any other regular house, with couches and rooms, a television and a kitchen.

“Where am I? Why am I here? Who are you people?” You fired off questions.

“I’m sorry that our crazy little friend here has taken you hostage or whatever it’s called, but you are on our turf, so we ask the questions. Who are you?” The girl you assumed was the leader or the oldest looked just a bit surprised that you spoke their language.

“Kate Wu. Who are you and what do you want from me?” You narrowed your eyes.

“Well, Kate Wu, I suppose it’s time for me to introduce myself. My name is Serin, and these are my girls Sujin, Hana, and Ari.” Serin said.

“Great, now can I go home?” You grumbled.

“No. I see now that Minjee was right about you.” The words caught you off guard.

“Tch, I’m never wrong. You guys just like to doubt me all the time.” Minjee pouted.

“Yes, you do have considerably less sparkle in your eyes as normal people. Your eyes are like a dead fish’s, blank, yet sad.” Serin pointed out.

You didn’t know whether or not to be offended or weirded out. Did this girl really just compare you to a dead fish?

“So what do you know? Just let me go home.” You began getting irritated.

“No. I will not let you go. Come in and sit for a while.” Serin cocked a finger and the two girls behind you gently pushed you further into the warehouse.

“Welcome to our home. Please, have a seat. I will tell you our stories briefly.” Serin said, waving a hand around the room.

You awkwardly took a seat, carefully observing your surroundings for anything that could be threatening.

“The reason why you are being kept here, is because we know.” Sering crossed her legs and folded her arms.

You eyebrows scrunched up just a tiny bit. What did they know?

“We know what it’s like to have eyes like that.” She continued on. “We know first-hand, the feeling of not being happy, of not being able to find your own true happiness. You see, years ago, there was a young girl, only 11, who was always bullied, always beat up, and neglected by her parents. The little girl went through so much hurt until she couldn’t take it anymore. Soon enough, she ran away. She ran far far away, as far as her scrawny legs could take her, until she could run no more. But just as she was about to give up and die in a dark alley, in came another little girl, only 9 years of age. When the 11 year old girl saw what state the 9 year old was in, she felt sympathy for her, for she had been through the same thing as her. So they ran. Together, they survived in a little abandoned shack in the woods. But one night, there was a great storm, and the two girls heard a knock on the door. They opened the door, only to find 3 young girls aged 10, 9, and 8 ½ soaked in rain water and shivering in the cold winter winds. They quickly took them in and took care of them; nourishing them with food and making them rest. Soon, the 3 girls regained god health. Through the months that they had stayed with the two girls, they had told their story, and grown impossibly close with the 11 and 9 year old. They lived in the shack for many more years, barely getting by with enough food to feed all 5 mouths. Finally, years later, the oldest girl reached the legal working age and found job, and the second eldest followed later. It was difficult though, because they had no proper schooling. All of them cut down on food and other things, because the pay was low. But they managed, and slowly income started to come in. Many years later, they scraped up enough money to move out and start paying for school for the younger ones. They found a new home hidden in the shadows and brightened it up, and then the younger girls also found jobs, bringing more money into the household. This is our story, and we went through extreme pains and hardships, but here we are today, all in one piece and able to take care of ourselves, sending our younger ones to school daily. We made it out of the darkness and the light feels damn good.” Serin ended her speech with a sniff.

You were in awe. How could a mere 11 year old have done all of that, taking care of 4 others and not breaking down and giving up? Their story made yours look like a fairytale, and suddenly you felt ashamed of all the complaining and crying you did.

“Now, tell us our story.” You hear Minjee say.

You looked down, ashamed to even meet their eyes. How could you tell them your problems when they had gone through things 100 times worse? They would surely scoff at you and laugh. So you kept quiet, refusing to speak even a word.

“It’s okay, you can tell us.” A new voice said. “We’ll help you.” A different girl spoke.

You bit your lip. Should you or should you not? However, the vibe in the room was not a hostile or awkward one, but one filled with warmth, and you could feel how much the girls truly loved each other. You felt out of place, a stranger in a family’s house. Oh God, was this how Sarah had felt? The sudden thought hit you like a bulldozer, and you knew, you knew you had to get it off your chest before you blew up.

“I don’t live lives like you, but instead, live in a house with a loving family.” You started, raising your head. Your voice was steady.

“I have an older brother who loves me a lot, and a father who cares for us more than anything in the world. We just moved here from Korea, and I was always the fat kid everyone bullied. I was kicked around, hit, ect. I only ever had one friend. Even after I moved here a couple months ago, people laughed at me, the new fat girl who didn’t speak English. But I met someone I’ll never forget. He taught me English and took me to the gym, and was the first person to torture me with that stuff called makeup.” You chuckled, reliving the pain in your head. “The kids still bullied me, but not as much anymore, and I thought everything was going to be okay. But just the other day, my brother brought his girlfriend home, and I said a lot of things that were so out of character for me, and I’m disgusted. I feel so guilty for what I did, and my family’s been ignoring me because of it. I don’t know what to do, I feel so bad, and I just want everything to be fine again, and apologize to my brother’s girlfriend.”

“So apologize.” One of the girls said.

“Yeah, listen to Sujin and just apologize. It’s what you want to do, so just do it.” Minjee said.

“But I can’t-“

“Why not? What’s holding you back?” Another girl cut you off.

“I- I just can’t. I’m a coward. I’m afraid.”

“What are you afraid o-“ Serin was cut off by a loud voice.

“SO THEN IT UP AND JUST GO APOLOGIZE DAMN IT” Minjee screamed.

All was silent.

“What she means is, don’t let your fears hold you back. Overcome it, and that’s what makes you stronger.” Serin calmly explains. “Don’t let this fear destroy everything. Fight back, and do what’s right.”

~~~

You walked home with Minjee in a somber silence. As you reached to unlock the front door, she stopped you with a hand on your arm.

“Don’t be afraid.” She said, and with a last squeeze to your arm, she turned and left.

You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for what was to come.

“Ge ge?” You knocked on his closed door. You heard the faint music playing within shut off.

“What.” His voice was neutral.

“Can I…come in? I would like to talk to you for a second.” You stood in front of his door for a moment longer before it creaked open slightly. Taking the sign as a sort of invitation, you opened it wider and stepped in.

“What do you want to talk about?” Kris asked as he walked back to his bed and picked up the book lain face down on the mattress. 50 Shades of Grey you noted.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry for being rude to you and Sarah. I shouldn’t have said any of those things, and I feel ashamed because of my actions. Please forgive me.” You spoke quietly, but knew he had heard you when he placed his book back down next to him.

“You should be apologizing to Sarah, not me.” The sentence was short.

“I know, which is why I am also here to ask you if I could bring her over tomorrow so that I can apologize to her face to face.”

“Fine.” With that one word, you knew you had been forgiven, even if it was only your brother. You threw yourself into his arms, a huge smile painted on your face.

“I’ll bring her over tomorrow, and you’ll make everything right, alright?” Kris whispered into your ear, and you nodded your head frantically, face smushed against his chest.

"You ever pull something like that again and I'll whoop your , little brat." He said gently and you could only fake gasp a little and give a small smile.

~~~

Saturday came with a great start, as things felt normal in the Wu’s household once again. The morning passed peacefully, and soon, Sarah came over.

“Hi, Mr. Wu.” She said with a smile as she walked in.

You walked out to greet her. When she caught sight of you, her smile faltered a bit and became forced looking. You gave her a sheepish smile, wringing your hands awkwardly.

“Babe, Kate has something she’d like to discuss with you.” Kris said, and pushed her towards you.

She seemed surprised at first, and looked at you with cautious eyes before nodding and following the both of you to your room.

“So…I’m sorry.” You said as you turned to face them.  “I’m sorry for being mean and rude and a y person I’m just really sorry and could you ever forgive me?”

A few seconds of awkward silence followed your abrupt confession.

Sarah’s facial expressions melted into a soft smile, and she strode up to you with 2 steps, pulling you into a tight hug.

“Yes. You’re forgiven. But may I ask why you were acting like that? Did I do something wrong?” She asked while letting you free.

“N-no!” You waved your arms around frantically. “I was just freaked out about the whole idea of Yifan having another girl in his life. But then I thought about it some more, and realized that you wouldn’t just be another girl, but someone like a sister to me, and that excites me.” You explained.

“Awww!~” Sarah squealed, and launched herself at you once more, squishing your cheeks and pinching your nose lightly. “I already think of you as a little sister.” She declared.

“Me too.” You mumbled into her shoulder.

“Hey guys, this is great and all, but I think you’re forgetting something or someone.” A gruff voice cut through your moment.

The two of you turned your heads towards Kris, who was standing with his arms crossed and a pout gracing his features.

“Aww, poor baby! We can’t forget about our precious Fan Fan now can we?” Sarah cooed, and you laughed at the ridiculous nickname as she reached over and yanked Kris down by the arm into your little hug fest on the floor.

The three of you were interrupted once again when the door slammed open and only Kim Heechul when voice declared “HOW DARE YOU ALL LEAVE OUT PRINCESS HEEHEE?!” and a body slammed into you guys.

“Hi, I’m Heechul, but you can call me whatever you want, pretty.” You rolled your eyes at Heechul’s words while your brother growled a “She’s my girlfriend man, back up a couple miles.”

“Iknowpleasedon’tkillme.” Then you heard a soft thwack and a yelp of pain before things went quiet and you felt Heechul crawl up next to you.

“Isn’t this nice?” Sarah says besides you.

You nod. 

~~~

“Hey guys, what’s up? Why did you call me over this late at night?” You say as you walk through the door of the warehouse you call your second home now. As you walk in, you see the girls all sitting together with slightly tense faces.

“Hey.” Serin says, and the other nod at you.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Why do you all look so tense?” You take a seat on the couch.

You see the girls nudge each other until everyone is staring at Minjee.

“What, me? I’m the maknae you can’t make me do this!” She straightens and argues. A look from the rest has her sighing and nodding slowly.

You frown a little, unsure of what’s going on.

“Guys, just tell me what’s bothering you guys.”

“Jinghwa, you know you’re like a sister to us, right?” Minjee starts slowly, searching your eyes,

“Yeah, and you guys are like sisters to me too.” You reply, getting more and more confused.

“So would you be angry if we told you that we aren’t really what you think we are?” She continues.

“What do you mean?” Your eyes narrow.

“She’s saying that the us that you know isn’t completely the real us.” Hana, never one to beat around the bush finishes.

You sit there dumbly. “How…is that even possible?”

“Listen, we’re gangsters. We go around beating people up and running a night club. You know Breath? Yeah. That’s our gang name and club name.”

“…What the hell.” 

~~~

AYYYEEEEE! Wassup people. Wow it's been a long time, eh? /dodges flying food/ Well I just want to tell ya'll that this chapter ended up being so long and unsatisfactory that I had to cut it in half and edit the next part with vigor. But this thing is long enough as it is anyways, at a whopping 3,840 words. Whew, that's the most I've ever written for just one chapter and this is only the first half haha. So pretty much all I'm trying to say here is that this chapter was utter crap to my eyes and that the next part wil be up sometime by next week hopefully. Have a nice day, everyone, and if you could just take a few moments out of your life to tell me what you think of the story or even just a certain chapter, I would be very thankful.

Just in case you got hit by a bus and got amnesia... 

 Comment, Upvote, and Subscribe!