▲▼ CHAPTER 8 // CONSTERNATION BEFORE THE EYES

     Gulping, your heart nearly stopped beating as you saw the anger rose inside Ilsung's eyes. It sent a cool crisp of shiver down your spine as if his eyes were threatening you. If looks can kill, you were dead by now. Daehyun didn't bother to budge as he stood rooted right in front of you, giving a cold stare to Ilsung. Ilsung took a breath as he wiped off the dust on his jeans, standing upright slowly but still holding onto his tight jaw. "Who are you." He asked, almost not like a question but a demand. His once angelic and light voice turned into a much huskier, creepy call. Your body was shaking vigorously, saliva gulping down your tight aesophagus followed by drops of sweat forming on your wrinkly forehead.

        You wanted to move but your legs were glued on the spot as it started to feel like a jelly-like substance. Even shuffling your feet a little, it made you fell on your knees instantly like a crippled old lady. Daehyun took a hold of your arm as he helped you up. "I'm asking you, who the are you?! So this is your new replacement?! It's so easy for you to replace me right?!" Ilsung's voice raised as his eyes widened too. He ruffled his hair and pulled the ends of it, almost seemed like he was going chaotic. "You , you worthless !" The hot despaired tears that were streaming down your face then turned into hatredness. Your fist were clenched together as you found yourself gritting your teeth hard. Your tears wouldn't come out anymore which made you feel angry.

        Angry at yourself. Angry at Ilsung.

        Angry at almost everything. Ilsung took a large step, attempting to grab you near him when Daehyun pushed him hard against the wall.

        "Don't touch her." He growled, gritting his teeth as his eyes bore into Ilsung's soft ochre brown ones. "A man is worse than a coward when he beats a woman." Daehyun pressed onto his words as he hurled another effortless punch to Ilsung's magnificent jaw, making him cripple and groaning to the ground. Your eyes became teary again as you saw the incident right before your eyes. Daehyun took off his heels as he steadily took you down the stairs, making sure you didn't step onto any of the shattered pieces of glasses. You ran, trying to catch up with Daehyun's pace but your knees didn't listened as it sent you down to the cold floor. "I-I'm sorry you had to see this.." You sobbed, using your sleeves to get rid of the tears that stained your damped cheeks. You didn't know how you were suppose to feel at the moment. A mixture of distress, hatred and exasperation filled your entire emotions. Most of all, you felt embarrassed to let a stranger witness the deadly secret that you had been keeping for all your life. Daehyun panted, putting his palms on his thighs as he narrowed his soft brown eyes at your silky and naturally brown hair. 

        Holding the end of your wrist that was now bleeding, you hissed and bit your lower lip trying not to put too much pressure on it. Daehyun huried as he took your arm and slowly helped you up. You sniffed and choked onto your own saliva as you steadied your balance. "C'mon, let's get you treated." Daehyun pursed his lips into a thin line as he took a hold of your backpack and held your wrist. You quickly pulled your hand away as soon as the contact hit you, sending cold electric volts down your body. You were still not used to sudden contacts and insisted that you were able to walk by your ownself. Your mind was bare - eyes widened, looking elsewhere without much thoughts. What happened awhile ago wasn't what you asked for and it was a surprising one. Quickening your pace to catch up on Daehyun, who had your huge backpack on his shoulders, tears overwhelmed your eyes once again. You never meant anybody to get hurt or to even witness what just happened.

        Guilt washed over your skinny body as you saw a stray cut on Daehyun's forearm - nice, clean cut that was still bleeding. His hair was dishevelled and you could see he was tightening his fist that was now hurting pretty bad. You felt awful. Your dark secret was witnessed by someone who was once your rival enemy, and may be still. Fear then engulfed you as you saw the vivid images running through your mind again like a slideshow as Ilsung's fiery eyes bore into yours, capturing the tensed moment. Anger was buried inside you deeply as you felt how his fingernails were digging deeply into your milky skin as if trying to find gold, giving away a red permanent cut. It hurt but it never hurt as much as it did to your heart. You didn't know where you were going when you realised a very familiar building which had a great raw exterior of red blocks and some graffiti on the walls. Slightly opening the door, Daehyun invited you in as you stood there with your eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. "I'm not going to do anything, just get inside so I can clean those cuts." His long lashes flickered at you, trying to sound convincing as ever.

        "Stay here, I'll get some aids." Daehyun said. "It's not like I'm going to ing run away." You snapped, still sniffing in between your sobs. Daehyun left quickly as he went inside a room, mumbling to himself incoherent words. You settled down on the couch with your bare mind and stared in space. This sudden energy that was filled with numerous unexplained emotions filled your lifeless body. You felt yourself cringing, holding the sides of the couch tightly followed by the gritting of your teeth. The fiery emotion engulfed your whole body as your thick eyebrows then furrowed into a straight line and your mouth snickered, showing the whites of your teeth. Gritting your teeth as hard as you can, your jaw tightened as it sent a pressure to your veins up to your head.

        The anger that flowed inside your body lingered but now, your wrinkly forehead relaxed as your eyes then lowered it's gaze. The once fierce & hatred eyes were now full of tears b to the end of it's tear duct. It made you feel aggrivated at yourself when anger turns into tears. Droplets of clear, crystal water flowed down your chubby cheeks as it damped the once smooth texture on it. They skidded down your cheeks and as you shut your eyes again, it flowed down once more and this time, uncontrollably. Your hands were still dugging into the couch as it left a mark there. You let the fearless droplets of water down your eyes as you felt the aching of your chest stopped a bit. Daehyun saw you from afar as he had his hazelnut brown tousled hair peeking out behind the pillar from the room. He heard the soft whimpers and it made him uneasy. He wanted to go there and console you but it's not going to happen if he can't even console himself!

        He told himself to give you some time alone and just let the tears fall. Grabbing the first aid kit, he went to your side beside the couch leaving an empty space in between and started assembling the ointments. You sneered, looking at the unnecessary things needed. "Does your cheeks still hurt?" Daehyun questioned, opening the cap of the ointment. You stared at him, bobbing your head up and down as your small eyes were still narrowed at his direction. He toppled the ointment on the cotton pad as he examined the scraps of cut on your arm and leg. The prominent bruise was still engraved deeply into your milky skin as it gave a small cringe to Daehyun's eyes. As he gently placed it onto your bulging bruise, you whinced and glared at the crown of his head. "I can do it." You said, swiftly picking out the cotton bud from his hand and gently dapping it onto the affected area. Daehyun's eyes travelled to the scars imprinted on your pure white arms as a sense of hurt washed over his body. This scene somehow felt so familiar to him as he hung his head low, fighting back the tears that were overpowering himself.

        Your eyes then darted to Daehyun who had his gaze avoiding you. Looking at the deep scratch that was finely engraved on his forearm, it made you have the urge to treat it. "Here, get it treated before it gets worse." You handed him a clean cotton bud and shoved it to his ribs. His long lashes fluttered open to your direction as his eyes met your brown ones in an instant. Placing the ointment on his wound, he pursed his lips together. Biting your lower lip, you let the silence took over the whole atmosphere as the thin air engulfed. There was this certain fiery emotion building up inside you again as the images passed through your mind vividly. You shook it off as hard as you can but it never gave in.

        It was like something deadly that stuck onto your memory pad right inside your brain in which you never wanted to reminisce it ever again. The appearance of the light brown hair came into action as you remembered how Daehyun effortlessly threw a punch on Ilsung's upper jaw, tightening it as it sent his right to the cold floor. Coming back to reality that hit you, Daehyun was still busy cleaning his wounds after himself. You cleared your throat and winkled your nose, wiggling your seat to a comfortable posture. "Hey, I just want to thank you over what happened back there. I-"

       "There's no need to thank me." He tightened his lips together as a hint of smile was formed. He continued on washing his infected wounds away. "No, really. He would probably beat the out of me if you weren't there. But most of all... I'm sorry you had to see it." You lowered your gaze and softened your volume. Daehyun, who had the crown of his head facing towards you, then looked up from his voluptuous long and curly lashes. A small smile was drawn on the side of his mouth as he nodded.

        You then dug your hands into your rugged backpack and whipped out the similar bulky wallet. "I owe you 6 right?" Taking out 3 pieces of thin paper, you placed the money right on the table.

        Daehyun had his lips pursed as he suddenly shook his head vigorously. "No, take it back. I'm sincere on paying the tab back there. Besides, it's only 6 right?" You sighed and nodded bobbing your head up and down to show your gratitude. Daehyun then showed his perfectly straight white teeth which always dazzled everybody as he then placed the bandages, including the ointments back inside their respective places.

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