(Sujung’s POV)

 “What are you doing here?” my father growled, walking towards me with threatening steps. I quickly stood up from the couch, unable to think clearly. I was terrified. “How did you get out?” he nearly screamed, anger boiling.

 When he finally understood that I was too terrified to actually talk, he continued his speech.
 “I want you out of my house!” he sneered, continuing to approach me.
“Just let me stay for one more day! Please!” I begged, tears already about to fall.
 “I don’t want you here even one more second! GET OUT!”

The yell made me shrink, and when he took another heavy step towards me, I quickly ran up the stairs, trying to find the best possible way to get out of this situation. He was drunk, I could notice that much. What I also could notice was the heavy steps that were taken up the stairs. The only good thing about his drunken state was that he would be slower than usual.

 I rushed into my room to find my phone, but my father probably knew I would go there, so just as quickly, I made my way to the end of the hall, shrinking together in an old closet. As I took my phone and dialled a number, I could only hope that luck would be on my side, and that he was not going to look for me here.

 “It’s 3 o’clock in the morning-“
“Minhyuk, I’m sorry!” I whispered into the phone with a desperate voice, fear clear in it as well. “I’m sorry I made you mad, but I need your help!”
 “Sujung, it’s okay, what’s going on?” he asked, sounding panicked.
“Appa- he- he came home, and he’s drunk, he wants me out, and Minhyuk, I don’t know what to do!” I heard my father come closer to where I was, so I had to rush my words.

 “I’ll come and get you,” Minhyuk said, “Just try and avoid him, and I’ll be there right away, I promise-“
 “You can’t come!” I cut him off, my voice a tad too loud. “Whatever you do, promise me not to come here! I can’t allow you to get hurt, just call the police or something!”
 “I’ll call the police, and I will be there. He won’t hurt you if I’m there,” Minhyuk insisted.
 “You don’t know what he’s capable of doing-“

 The closet door opened up, and I was yanked out by my hair, allowing a cry to leave my trout.
 “You are not escaping this. No one will come and save you,” my father growled into my ear as he kept dragging me through the hall by my hair. As we reached the stairs, I was bracing myself to be dragged down the whole way, but instead, he pushed me, right down, making me dizzy and hurt when the fall finally came to an end.

 “I’ve changed my mind,” he said as he walked down the staircase, “I’ll let you stay here. Hell, I won’t even let you out. I’m going to make you pay for all these years where you just couldn’t spare yourself the care of ruining my life.”

 I watched him with tearful eyes as he walked past me, picking up something in the corner of the room. When he stumbled towards me again, he was dragging something heavy behind him. The sound of wood against wood made me shiver, and I frantically tried standing up, but I was unable to as I felt something hard hit the back of my leg, making me fall right back down.    

 “You are just like your mother,” he stated, raising the baseball bat over his head. “Useless.” He slammed the bat against my arm, ripping a scream out of my trout. “Worthless.” I received another . This time against my stomach. “Waste of space.” My screams continued to echo through the room. “Pathetic!” There was put even more force and anger in the last . My body was aching. I wanted it to stop.

 “Please!” I cried, holding a weak arm up, “No more!” But he only laughed at me. An evil laugh. An insane laugh. I had never seen him in such a horrible and angry state since I lived in Wando.

He kicked me in the side, stopping the laughter. “Are you begging me to spare you?” I did not know what to reply, whatever I said or did would be wrong to him anyway, so I decided to only look up at him and do nothing about it. As a result, he started kicking me again, and I could only sob helplessly. After what seemed to be an eternity, he kneeled down beside of me, gripping my trout, using little enough force to allow me air.

 “You know,” he started, pressing me just a little harder against the floor, “By begging, you are only confirming how pathetic you are.” He closed his fingers tightly around my trout, preventing any air to reach my lungs. He kept choking me, and tears kept running from my eyes as I clawed at his hands to let go. I thought I was going to be choked to death, but the same moment I lost hope, the door was slammed open and my father was roughly pushed away from me.

 I was gasping for air, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Minhyuk kneel over me. I took a grip on his arm for any kind of support.
 “I told you… not to come,” I said, still trying to catch oxygen.

Instead of replying me, he stood up, looking over at the laughing man who was doing his best to get his drunk self up from the floor.
 “You lay another finger on her, and I swear to God that it will be the last thing you ever do,” Minhyuk threatened, stepping closer to my father, who was now on his feet, bat ready in one hand.
 “Is that so?” he laughed, “What are you going to do, huh? Beat me like you did before?”

 Hearing that Minhyuk had beat someone, no matter who, even my father whom I knew he hated with his whole heart, made me want to shrink into a ball. Minhyuk was so nice and gentle, he wouldn’t beat anyone. Not my Minhyuk. There was just no way.

 The moment when Minhyuk stood completely still, my father used the first chance he got, and aimed the bat at him. I wasn’t sure where he had hit him, but Minhyuk fell unconscious down to the floor, making me cry out his name. As if it would help.

 Everything just stopped for a moment. I was in complete shock. Quickly, I used the little strength I had in my body and crawled over to where his body laid, hugging his chest. I was too panicked to see if he was dead or alive, all I knew was that he was laying there, unconscious, because I had called him for help.

 Sobbing helplessly, I was dragged off of the one that I loved, and was soon laying on my back in the middle of the room. Rapidly, I was hit all over my chest and stomach with lots of force. The last thing I could remember was sirens, red and blue lights and people in uniforms rushing into the house.

-

 “Eomma!” I jumped up from the couch and ran into my mothers’ arms.
“Sweetie!” She hugged me back tightly, a bright smile on her lips. “Have you been behaving well?” she asked, as she sat me down on the ground, crouching so she was on my level. I nodded my head happily in response.
 “She has been behaving nicely,” my aunt said, approaching us where we stood in the middle of the living room. “She even helped me prepare dinner.”
 “You did?” Eomma gasped, looking so proud and excited. Again, I nodded in response, not hiding my huge smile.

 “Are you ready to go home?” she asked me, taking my hand in hers.
“Can we buy ice cream first?” Honestly, I did not want to go home. I would always make an excuse to prevent going there.
 “No, I’m sorry Sweetie, it’s getting late,” Eomma told me. I was disappointed, but I did not let her know that. Instead I only smiled, saying it was okay.

 “Thank you for letting her stay here.” Eomma had lowered her voice slightly as she turned her attention to my aunt. “I can’t leave her at home while I am at work. Namtae hasn’t been himself lately…”
 “That is okay. If something happens, just tell me and I will either take care of Sujung or I’ll talk some sense into that guy,” my aunt replied, looking serious. My mother thanked her again before she took me outside, leaving for our own home.

 That night, I woke up feeling a pair of arms shaking me and a soft voice calling my name. I lazily opened my eyes and saw my mother in front of me. She was crying and she looked scared.
 “What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up and taking her hand in mine to comfort her. I did not like seeing her sad.
 “There is nothing wrong, Sweetie,” she said, a shaky chuckle leaving her lips. “Appa is just a little angry, and while Eomma calms him down, you have to come and wait in a secret place, okay?”

 I looked at her with uneasy eyes. I was confused, but I agreed and followed her as she led me out of the house and into the backyard.
 “Whatever happens, whatever you hear, just stay here and don’t make a single movement. Eomma will come and get you soon. Do you understand what I’m saying?” I nodded, feeling threatened by the situation. My mother only kept crying more as she was talking and I could clearly hear the pain in her voice.

 “Don’t let Appa find you. If you see Appa before I come and tell you everything is fine, don’t go near him. Don’t let Appa see you. Don’t make a sound.” She kissed my forehead, then walked away. I wanted to follow her, but I knew I should not. I knew it was dangerous.

 My father had been angry before. I knew he was angry like before. I saw him hurt my mother several times. He would hit her or kick her. Some days, I saw her with big bruises on her body. I wanted to protect her, but I was unsure on how to do so.

 Suddenly, I could hear a scream from inside the house. The scream belonged to my mother. I now knew what was happening. He was hurting her again. Scared, I sat down on the ground. Tears were falling from my eyes.

 Her screams could still be heard. I heard my fathers’ voice as well. His angry shouts. I heard him feed my mother with bad words, calling her pathetic and worthless. I could hear loud noises.

 Those horrible sounds kept entering my ears for a long time. I was shaking and crying on the ground, doing my best to not be loud. My mother had told me to be quiet after all.

 When even a longer while had passed, it became silent. Too silent for my liking. It made me feel uneasy. By the time when it was already morning and the sun was shining, I could spot my father walk out to the garage. I held a hand over my mouth, hoping he would not hear me, because I was still crying, and fortunately, he did not. He seated himself in his car and drove away.

 Before I stood up, I made sure he was long gone, then ran into the house. I called out for my mother, but there was no reply. I searched and cried out after her, but I could not find her. It took a lot of courage from me as I entered the cellar. I found it scary and unpleasant. I never liked it.

 “Eomma?” I called out as I took careful steps with my bare feet down the stairs to the dark cellar. There was no answer, so I carefully went further inside the dark room. And there she was. On the ground. Bruises, wounds and blood covering her exposed and lifeless body.

 I kneeled down by her side, shaking her slightly and calling out for her again, tears streaming down my face. I told her to wake up, but she gave no signs of life. She was so cold and the expression that had frozen onto her face was a terrified one.

 Understanding that I had to find help, I rushed to knock on the door of our neighbours. An elder woman I had never really seen before opened up the door, asking what was wrong as I was sobbing helplessly. I told her I had found my own mother dead and bloody in the cellar, I even had to take her with me back there to show her she was really lifeless, and the woman called the police, who then called my father.

 The next days were all so confusing. The police tried to ask me if I knew what had happened, but although I did, I was unable to speak. I simply could not make a single word slip past my lips. I knew this was my fathers’ fault, but the police already let that idea slip.

 During the last six days I spent in Wando, my father kept arguing with my aunt on who was going to take care of me and who was going to pay for my mothers’ funeral. When that had passed, I left nearly everything behind as I was forced to go to Seoul with my father. Only three days after we had stayed there, he hit me for the first time. Right across the face, saying I was the one in fault. And he only kept hurting me. Sometimes so much I was unable to walk, other times only with bad words.

 However, I got used to living that way. I wanted my mother back. I wanted to have someone who could take care of me and could love me, but there was no one. No one was there and made sure I was okay, and I learned after a while that it was okay living like that. I was okay. Or, at least, that was what I kept telling myself I wished I was.

-

   (Minhyuk’s POV)

 “Are you okay?” Eomma asked, sitting down beside of me on the red couch in the hospital hall.
 “I don’t know,” I replied, sighing. “Do you think she will survive?”
“It’s been more than two weeks…”

 “This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t yell at her,” I stated.
“It’s not your fault,” Eomma said, not letting me even try and continue my speech. “Maybe this was meant to happen. She’s now rid of her father and you are rid of that ty attitude of yours.”
 “What are you talking about?” I looked at her with furrowed brows.
“When Sujung first disappeared a year ago, you changed completely. You turned into a total idiot, but after you woke up here last week, you suddenly turned into yourself again.

 I won’t say you turned into the old happy you, because you’re not happy, and no one in your current situation would be, but I think you needed a blow to the head. Just remember that this was not your fault.”

 I sighed slightly as I leaned back against the couch.
“But what if her aunt takes her. You heard her, Sujung called her and begged her to get her-“
 “Let’s wait until Sujung wakes up. She should be able to make that decision for herself.”

 Days passed, and she had been unconscious for three weeks. The doctors said the best thing was to turn the machines that kept her alive off, said there was just a tiny chance for her to survive, but I didn’t let them. If there was a tiny chance, there was a chance. And she had done it before; surprising everyone by waking up.

 Day by day I would sit by her side and hold her hand, telling her everything and nothing, although she probably did not hear what I said.

 When a month had passed, I still sat by her side, holding her hand and it with my thumb carefully. Suddenly I felt her fingers tighten slightly around mine. I froze, eyes going wide.
 “Sujung?” I questioned, looking at her in shock. Her eyes were closed together tightly and she wore a pained expression. Her chest was going quickly up and down.

 “Minhyuk-“ She was gasping for air, eyes still closed.
“It’s me, I’m here!” I told her, holding her hand a little tighter. “You have to calm down and try and breathe slowly.” I kept instructing her until she had calmed down. At least enough to breathe easier.

 “Why can’t I breathe?” she asked, looking at me with tearful eyes. I could imagine this was all hard on her.
 “You only have one lung that works,” I explained, “Your right lung collapsed.”
 “Why am I not dead?”
“The question isn’t why, it’s how,” I pointed out. “You were so close to dying at the place and time, it’s a miracle your awake right in front of me now.” It truly was. I probably looked as if I had seen a ghost or something. I was so relieved, yet so shocked. Somehow, I was not expecting her to wake up.

 “This isn’t what I wanted.” Her voice was so weak, it only came out as a whisper.
 “Don’t finish that sentence,” I told her, feeling as if someone held my heart tightly in their fist, squeezing it. “I don’t want to believe that you wished you actually died from this, so don’t tell me. It’ll be harder to believe if you don’t say it yourself.”

 “Minhyuk, I really can’t breathe…”
“Just endure it for a little while, I’ll come right back.”

 I made my way out to the hall. I quickly found one of the nurses and told her that Sujung had woken up and I told her how she struggled to breathe. I was told to wait until the Doctor was able to come and check on her, and in the meantime there was an already installed oxygen mask she could use if breathing became too hard.

 I thanked her and went back into Sujung’s room. She looked so depressed. The tears in her eyes were screaming pain. She was probably even unable to move. So many broken bones and so many bruises… It hurt only looking at her.

 “What happened to Appa?” she asked, voice still low, as I sat down beside of her again.
 I gave her a slight smile. “The police took him. He’s in jail now. I told them what he had been doing to you all these years. He won’t be around for a while,” I told her.
 “But… what about me-“
“Kitty, you’re old enough to decide what you want to happen to you. You can decide where you want to live.”

 “I don’t exactly have any options…”
“You can either live with us, like you have for a while, or you can leave together with your aunt to your hometown,” I said, making it clear that living alone on the street was none of the options. “Your aunt said you called her and wanted her to take you with her, so if you want to go with her, it’s okay.”
 “I don’t really want to go back to Wando…” she stated.

She used to live in Wando?
 “Why did you never tell me you came from Wando?” I asked her, “My cousin and her family lives there.”
 “I’m sorry… I just don’t like remembering it…”
“Do you still not want me to know what happened?” She nodded, looking up at the ceiling.

 “Minhyuk, I really can’t breathe…” she said again after a silent moment. I looked around, seeing an oxygen mask to my right. As the nurse had said, it was already connected and ready for use. I carefully took out the mask and placed it over her nose and mouth, letting her hold it in place herself as she insisted doing so by lightly pressing her fingers over mine.

 “Are you okay?” she asked, after pulling the mask away, still holding it in her hand.
 “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“I didn’t mean to make you mad…”

 “No, Kitty, it wasn’t your fault. I had no reason to be mad at you,” I assured her, keeping a soft expression. “I’ve been stupid. I just didn’t know what to do when you disappeared, I was devastated, and somehow I was imagining that everything would be perfect when I found you, which was a foolish thing of me to do, because there is no way you would be perfectly happy after everything you were put through that year.”

 “Yeah, but I mean when he hit you… are you okay?” She looked at me with uneasy eyes, as if she was really worried and wanted to cry if she was told something she did not want to hear.
 “Oh that…” I started. I did not want her to know that I needed to be watched at the hospital for two days and two nights, after being unconscious for three days, because he had hit my head so hard. “I’m fine,” I eventually said, “It wasn’t too bad, only a to the head.” She looked more at ease when I told her that.

 “How long have I been here?” She kept asking further. She was probably really confused, and I would not blame her for that.
 “A little more than a month,” I replied.
“Did my lung really collapse…?”
 “Sujung, aren’t you in pain?” I cut in.
She looked at me for a moment. “My head is throbbing, my whole body hurts and it stings when I breathe.”

 “Exactly! Then you should lay down and just rest. Don’t use your head on these questions now. Just wait until your bones are healed a little more.” I told her.

 “If you rest, you will become better.”
“But I… I don’t want to become better... I just want to leave…” I took her hand in mine as tears started to fall from her eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about it... It’s so scary…”
 “What’s wrong?” I asked her, feeling my heart sting.
“All I want is for myself to be dead. Minhyuk, I want to leave everything so badly. It’s scaring me… these thoughts…”

 “Kitty, you shouldn’t think like that,” I told her, holding back my own tears. “You’re awake now, and you’re going to be okay, right? Also, I am here now, and I’m not mad, and we going to go through this together because you know I won’t let you off that easily.” A small smile formed around her lips.
 “I’m going to redo my last year of school, so I’ll catch up with everything, so don’t think about that.

 Also, you will as well. Whenever you feel good enough to go back in school, they’re going to give you a special program so you can be able to learn what the others did, and since you’re so smart, you don’t have to redo any of your years in school. I’ve already made sure everything is going to be 100% safe for you.

 Just don’t doubt in yourself, because you can do it. You’ve fought yourself all this way, you can’t just give up when you’re doing this good. Give yourself a chance, Sujung. You woke up 20 minutes ago after a month of being unconscious. It’s going to be alright. You are going to be alright.”

   (Sujung’s POV)

 The first week mostly consisted of sleeping. The day I woke up, I was expecting to see Doctor Choi check up on me, but instead, there was another doctor. Doctor Choi had resigned. They said he felt ashamed for letting my father go too far and moved away from Seoul. I did not feel like he should be the one standing with guilt, but he did.

 My aunt, who I was prepared to have a long discussion with, told me the next day when I found her to my left as I woke up, that she had moved to Seoul so I did not have to leave Minhyuk, and to be closer to me if anything ever happened. She was also left with a lot of guilt. After avoiding us, my father and I that is, for years to that point where when I needed her, she was already out of my reach and could not help at all.

 The first week, I slept with the oxygen mask over my mouth, and there were several times during the daytime I would suddenly need it, but I was gradually becoming more and more used to breathing without it.

 I usually stayed inside one of the cheaper private rooms, that Doctor Choi would pay for, but this time, it looked a lot more expensive. I had asked Minhyuk about it, and he told me not to think too much of it, because his mother had fixed it. But still, I could not really get it off of my mind. I did not want them to waste money on me.

 It was hard. All of this. I could not do much but lay in bed, because I was too badly hurt to move. According to what I had been told, I had to lay in bed for another week before I could gradually start living more normally. I hated not being able to sit up or cuddle with Minhyuk, who clearly suffered from this as well. However, although he went through this with me, he had clearly changed. He was not behaving like that cold guy who sent me away any more. He was back to the caring and loving person that always watched over me and made sure I was okay.

 Sungjae had come over to visit one day. He told me Sungmi was doing well, that his parents had hired a special teacher to help her learn how to read and write. He would take her with him to see me when I was feeling a little better.

 “Minhyuk, how come you started liking me in the first place?” I asked him one day. He was leaning his head onto his arms, which were resting on the side of the bed. He took a moment to think.
 “You were this super-pretty, sad girl, and I just really felt the urge to protect you,” he said.
 “So you’re saying I was prettier before?” I teased, acting so he would not understand I was in fact teasing him.
 “No no!” he quickly protested, “Honestly, you get more and more beautiful every day! It’s just, now, you’re all beaten you know.”
 I laughed at him. “You’re cute.”

 A few more weeks passed inside of the hospital. They had reduced my dose of medicines, because they said I did not seem to need it. Although I was taking all of my medicines, those I at least had to take, I was starting to get bad again. I would hear things from outside the room, and I could see things outside of the window. Even if I knew I should tell someone, I could not. I just could not make myself do it.

 Minhyuk thought I was finally doing good, but I was not, and I did not want to hurt him by telling him otherwise.

 I was allowed to stand up now, but when any of the nurses had suggested that I should go for a walk with them outside, to get used to walking again, I would refuse. I did not dare to go outside of the room.

 “Kitty, don’t you want to go outside?” I quickly shook my head, bringing my knees up to my chest. “Why not? What’s scaring you?”
 “N-nothing…”
“You’re stuttering. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

 I kept my gaze down. When I did nothing to even try and reply, he moved himself from the chair and sat down beside of me, bringing one arm around my back.

 When the urge to tell him what was going on became stronger, I started hearing it again. Footsteps. They were far away, but coming closer to my room. They wanted to take me back there. They wanted to separate Minhyuk and me again. I knew they did.

 I was so focused on listening to the heavy and slow steps from outside in the hall, that I did not realise Minhyuk had been talking to me he whole time.

 “Sujung, you’re hearing things again? You’re not focusing,” he told me.
“I…” I was not even sure what I was thinking. It was as if my whole head just suddenly stopped working. I could only focus on the footsteps, I could not focus on Minhyuk’s voice. I was confused. Why did I feel like this?

 They kept coming closer. Two people? Maybe three. I was unsure. They were almost outside the room. When they finally reached the door, they stood still for a moment, until one suddenly twisted the doorknob. I jumped slightly by the sudden sound.

 However, the door did not open. Luckily. I could hear muffled voices, but they were too low for me to hear what they were saying. In addition to their voices, I could hear Minhyuk call my name over and over, asking me what was going on.

 In the end, there were too many different noises for me to take, so I ended up covering my ears with my hands, closing my eyes tightly together. They kept twisting the doorknob roughly, doing anything to get it open. Soon, something was clawing against the window as well. I wanted it to go away, but no matter how hard I tried avoiding the noises by pressing my hands against my ears, the sounds grew louder.

 It only kept going, and I understood it would not go away. Those monsters were always after me. No matter what I did, they were still there.

 I brought my arms around Minhyuk, who still sat by my side, and cried into his neck. Everything was so hopeless. Why would it not go away?

*Author's Note*

 Long update this time^^  5050 words 0.0

So... I don't really know what to say this time... The chapter actually tells you most of the things itself.
 I revalved how Sujung's mother died ! And I cried writing it ><

I am already writing the next chapter :D I would have uploaded this one sooner, but I spent a week in Turkey with my family, and I had 5 minutes of internet every day. Literally.

 I love reading your comments, they make my day~ subscribe and upvote if you have not already~~