God damn it, So-hyun thought to herself as she reached the park. The male she had least expected and had least wanted to see, was sitting at the bench solemnly and silently as he twirled around his fingers onto the palms of his hands. Upon seeing Dongwoon’s blonde-hair from a distance, she steadily turned around and attempted to tiptoe away from the bench, hoping that he wouldn’t see or catch her. Of course, So-hyun was caught already as he heard the rustles occur behind him.

“So-hyun-ah, come sit.” Dongwoon said without turning back, already foiling the girl’s disguise.

How?!

Sighing inwardly, So-hyun had no choice but to face him. It was now or never, and besides, she had missed his presence heavily over the last two days. Though she didn’t want to make up with him, the girl knew it was her only last resort as he was part of her defense at school. Turning her head up to face the boy’s stares, she gave the tall male a sad look, as in oppose to the small grin he gave her. Motioning the girl with a smooth movement from his hands, she walked slowly up to him, finally putting her weight onto the bench along with his.

They sat in aching silence.

“So-hyun, are you mad at me?” Dongwoon finally asked worriedly as he rubbed the side of his neck. She quickly shook her head. “No, it’s just frustrating,” She admitted, “It’s hard for me to even see myself talking to you. An idol. Someone who’s worshipped by everyone.”

This was all becoming familiar to Dongwoon as this has happened many times to the other Beast members. Opening his mouth then shutting it again, he regretfully crossed out the next thoughts he had in his mind, and thought of a more approachable way to convey his feelings to her. “I knew this would happen.” Dongwoon said sadly after a few thoughts. Turning his head sideways towards her, he continued to smile grimly as she couldn’t bare to see his saddened expression.

“What?”

“That someone would find it hard being friends with an idol.”

She sighed, “I never said I would give up. It’s just hard.” With the tiring fangirls, the loud exclamation promotions about them, and their ever-so hectic idol schedule, she found it hard to keep a consistent friendship with any of the members, though whenever she did get the time to hang out with them, she cherished the moments heavily.

It was his turn to sigh. “I just don’t want you to get hurt anymore.”

“So you try to ignore me at school?”

“I didn’t do that So-hyun. How many times do I have to tell you?” Dongwoon said in a strained tone. He didn’t mean to hurt her in any way if he did. It was for her own sakes, and she was lucky he had seen the scene from an eyesight. Without him, who knew what could’ve happened to her. Dongwoon cringed at thoughts of seeing the girl all bruised up and bloodied in the bathrooms. It was now one of his new worst fears.

If it wasn’t for the quiet park’s atmosphere, he would’ve never heard one of the worst sounds he pained to hear. Her muffled tears. Without even looking, Dongwoon pulled the girl into a deep embrace, as she restricted her face into his chest, baring her eyes from his.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Dongwoon said, giving his best effort at comforting the girl. He was never used to these type of situations as usually the girl would always leave him in this scenario. The girl continued to sniffle lightly as he continued hugging her tightly.

She croaked out quietly, surprised that he could even hear her silent sobs, “I’m sorry. I-I just overreacted.”

His heart ached at the sights of her like this. Dongwoon guilted himself as he realized the cries he was still causing. Even if they weren’t from abuse, it still pained him to see her like this. Slowly pulling her out of the hug, he finally saw her eyes with red-stained marks. Tears continued to stream out of her eyes as he struggled to wipe them off.

“Don’t cry.” He said sadly. She couldn’t help but inhale the familiar scent of his cologne as she pulled him back for yet another embrace. It was more tightening this time, and it felt more constricted but she didn’t complain, it was the way she liked her hugs from him.

Continuing to comfort the girl, he softly brushed his fingers against her cheek as he pulled away from her once again, “It’ll be alright,” He said softly, “We’ll take on the world by each other. Alright?” He said meekly as his arms looped around to the other side onto her shoulders. The moon was quick to rise that night as whenever they both turned their attentions to the atmosphere, it was already late. That didn’t mean anything to the couple as they continued hugging each other comfortingly.

Her vision was blurred still, but she no longer continued to cry. So-hyun now felt embarrassed as she realized that she had broken down in front of Dongwoon once again. “You’re stupid.” She said in a broken voice,  though still able to chuckle at his determination though. He groaned inwardly at his dumb comments as well as outwardly complaining towards her, “Aw, come on!”

So-hyun was full of gratitude. She was thankful for how she was granted with a friend who cared. A friend who knew how she felt, knew how she reacted, and knew how she worked. She was thankful that she had met Dongwoon. The figure who she hated the most, was turned to be one of the human beings she loved the most within the planet. She quickly pulled him by his neck into once again, another hug but this time it was more playful.

“Thank you, oppa.” She said within the playful gesture as he hugged her back with no regrets inside of him.

“No, not thank you. Don’t be thankful, let’s just enjoy this moment while it lasts.” Dongwoon said quietly. She didn’t object and soon enough, she fell asleep within his arms.

~

And when she woke up, she suddenly felt the harshness of the world cave into her. Still half-asleep, she managed to confirm the thoughts of being by herself as when she called out to the last male’s name she had heard, she heard no answer.

So-hyun questioned how long she was in slumber since now, the moon was brightly shining in it’s half-form while the outer environments remained quiet and steady. It felt peaceful but with a hint of terror. She struggled to not remember the haunted warehouse. Mustering enough power to open up both of her tired eyes, So-hyun was greeted with nothing but pure darkness. No longer was it the navy blue she had fell asleep to, but now a musty red that drained the whole city’s beauty. It frightened her deeply and the memories became harder to resist.

At first instincts as she always did, So-hyun flicked on her phone’s power, where then she learned about the several missed calls from her mother but as well as a text message from Dongwoon. She couldn’t help but quiver happily on the inside while on the outside, she chattered her teeth quickly within the cold weather.

From: Dongwoon~

Hey, sorry I had to get home for a performance rehearsal. Please don’t be mad at me and get home as soon as you see this. It’s super late! Keke, text me back~ ^^

~

She grinned slightly at the text message, quickly pressing against the device nimbly to send back an urgent reply.

To: Dongwoon~

Ah, it’s fine, don’t worry! You have a comeback in like two days~ And I’m on my way back now~ ^-^

~

So-hyun knew most likely that since it was close towards midnight, Dongwoon probably wouldn’t reply back but she still couldn’t help but have the small flint of hope located within her. His texts were always the ones she would hope for whenever she heard the familiar text notification. But as well as all of her joyful feelings were being expressed inwardly, the young girl also realized at the same time how much trouble she would be in as soon as she got home. The atmosphere around the house had remained awkward ever since her scar had been revealed, but thankfully her mother hadn’t questioned her about it any longer despite the lingering glares she would receive at the dinner table. She did know for a fact though that she still had a curfew, and it was still heavily enforced around their household. So-hyun was truthfully grateful for her family’s protection but sometimes she felt that they took it out of proportions, and it ended up making matters much more worse than what they initially would’ve been. She knew how to avoid the law enforcers around town, but she didn’t know how to avoid the ultimate officer, her mother.

Sighing in defeat, So-hyun began walking home in a trudging manner where her feet lazily slumped against the pavement as she dragged herself towards the doomed residence. It wasn’t that she was scared of her mother, but it was that she didn’t want to cause yet another commotion at this time of the night. The list of their fights began growing longer and longer as the days festered by quickly.

Pushing open the door with her last amounts of strength, she was greeted with nothing but silence. The house remained pitch-black, as nothing could be heard but the soft crickets from outside critters. This was usually nothing, as many times before her mother would simply pop out of the dark shadows to frighten So-hyun. This time though, it felt different. She heard nothing but the soft snorings from the younger children’s room combined with the soft cricket sounds and the whistling winds from outside. Closing the door as quietly as possible, So-hyun continued to tiptoe through the cozy living room where the fireplace remained crackling with a small fire lit while the rest of the area remaining black. She was utterly confused. Where was her mother at this point?

Assuming that her mother was simply just at another nighttime shift for the hospital, So-hyun readied herself for bed, and soon indulged herself into yet another slumber. This time though, it wouldn’t last as long as it did at the park.

~

Moments later, the door was heard being barged in, lazy footsteps being heard throughout the floors groaning. The young girl was awoken immediately after being jerked up into a sitting position. She automatically reeled her thoughts to an intruder as the footsteps sounded as if they were trying to be sneaky. Who’s home?! She asked herself as she threw the covers off of her in a quick stance. Her worries were redirected towards her younger siblings as they were located on the bottom floor, directly by the front door. , she thought to herself as she gripped onto the nearby metal pole that was given to her for self defense. She never thought she would have to use it, but situations occur like this everyday within the dark areas of Seoul.

Silently tiptoeing down the stairs, So-hyun silently hoped the intruder wouldn’t catch her. All she needed to do was grab her siblings, and Grandma and they could be on their way. Plus, she had a phone to call the enforcements if she needed to, but she had a hint of confidence she could handle this situation herself. Reaching the bottom base of the stairs, So-hyun stealthily pressed herself against the wall. It was nerve-wracking.

Normally, a regular intruder who had a more evil mind would’ve already caught the girl whose shadow lurked out within the darks easily, revealing herself but this wasn’t particularly an intruder.

“So-hyun-ah, is that youuu?” The woozy voice called out. She froze. She now knew who it was, and her mind completely froze in shock.

Backing up against the staircase slowly, she began trembling as she vented up the stairs step by step while still managing to call back out. “Hi mother..”

The reek of alcohol stained the room.

Managing to pull the light switch with trouble, a pitchy orange was illuminated against the room, revealing So-hyun in mid-stance as she walked up the stairs. Her mother was tattered and ragged. Her hair was ruffled wildly while small slobber was drooling all over her chin. And of course, she held a booze bottle right by her side as if it was her own child. Seeing that her own child was trying to escape her, she sneaked over towards her while moving within a zombie-like trance.

“Don’t runnn from mee!” She groaned as she reached out her arms to reach the girl, dropping the alcoholic beverage and shattering the contents all over the floor.So-hyun’s mind froze once again. She’d never seen her mother like this. What do I do? She panickedly asked herself. She had a jumble of feelings mix together within her, but none of them would match up to the strong feelings she had of disappointment towards her mother.

“Umma, why were you drinking?” So-hyun asked quietly as her voice beginning to quaver in fear that her mother would lash out irrationally. She didn’t know the possibilities of her mother whenever she was intoxicated. She’d never seen it happen before.

The woman merely drooped her head down towards the floor for a few moments before turning her head upwards again to reveal a new person. The blood-shot within her eyes showed the heavy amounts of booze she had consumed. Where’d she even go? It didn’t matter. She was still drunk and that was entirely unacceptable.

After hearing no reply, the girl quietly continued. “You shouldn’t be drinking,” So-hyun whispered towards her mother, hoping that she wouldn’t hear the naggings. “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

The alcoholic aura began to intensify as her mother stumbled even closer to the girl, causing a reaction in which the girl would back towards the stairs even more.

Her mother become frustrated and distressed at the girl’s evasiveness. Lashing out quickly, the older woman yelled at her daughter while grabbing onto her right arm, preventing her from going any further without adding onto her presence. “I said don’t run!”  

“Let go of me!” So-hyun hastily yelled, struggling to push her mother’s weight on her. It was as if the arm contained all of her weight as she swayed towards the girl in a threateningly manner.

And then she raged.

The mother’s feelings had abruptly blasted up on full power as she let go of the girl hesitantly. That was only the mere beginning though.

“Gah!” The mother screamed as she picked up a nearby vase and threw it onto the wooden floors, causing the younger girl to shriek out in panic.

“Stop!” So-hyun yelled at the woman but it did nothing except cause the woman to raise her head in astonish. She soon continued picking up house antiques and simply chucked them across the room or slammed down onto the ground, shattering the fine furnitures into many pieces. So-hyun tried her best to avoid the sharp pieces of glass that were spread upon the floor now. She already had enough with her purposed cut. She couldn’t have any more questions before she’d be revealed to the rest of the world.

While holding up her hands in defense against the wall, she heard a sound. A questionable sound that puzzled her.

The soft chuckle was heard from the figure who was thought to be her mother, but at this point, she really didn’t know who she was. The intoxicated woman began laughing louder, sounding more pathetic and delusional until her knees broke out. “Mother!” So-hyun yelled exasperatedly towards the crumbling human who fell onto the sharp shards of glass. The other female did nothing but continue to laugh before quickly erupting into tears. She had no what idea to do at this point. But being the soft-hearted person she was, So-hyun braced herself as she walked through the floor that was now coated with speckles of glass.

Alas reaching her mother, she bent down to comfort the older woman who was in no better state than hers. “Dad…” Her mother muttered. Tears were streaming down her eyes, colliding with the specks of glass that initially were from the plates.

“It’ll be fine.” So-hyun said comfortingly while holding her mother within her hands. She felt fragile. Weak. Pained. And she realized that the world wasn’t only based onto her. The problems were spread out to everyone. Everyone had a story. Everyone has a secret. Everyone has a problem.

The younger voices startled the girl. “What’s going on?” Jun asked while rubbing his eyes tiredly. Min stood behind him with her eyebrows scrunched up attempting to put together all the pictures of a crying mother, a scared sister, and broken furnitures everywhere.

“Nothing guys, just go back to sleep.” So-hyun said calmly. The woman in her hands rustled slightly but remained crying. She would be in this position for a few hours but soon enough, it wouldn’t just only be her crying. The younger girl would eventually join in with her, expressing her tearful sorrows as well for her grandpa, herself, and the many problems that she had.

i am soooo sorry. i just got busy and like ugh. i been deciding my classes for the next few years of my school. but now it's the weekend and i'll make it up! hopefully. the new series is beautiful though like forreals. can't wait! ^~^ kyaa, okay enjoy! comment and subscribe!