"Let's run away."

Jongup and I decided to be sneaky and not go home just yet. Instead, Jongup drove into a nearby forest and parked his car deep into the trail. We were lying on the hood of his car gazing into the night sky, not talking much. Just being by his side was enough for me. However, the first words that he had spoken to me in a while surprised me.

I glanced at Jongup, who wasn't even looking at me. He was staring up at the sky, his fingers fiddling around with his necklace.

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's time that you and me left town. Our parents don't want us, so why should we stay?"

I didn't answer. I was surprised actually. Though I hated my father, I had never once thought about leaving him. I was still holding onto that last inch of hope that things would change. I wonder if he would care that I would walk out of his life. He would probably rejoice.

Jongup finally glanced at me now, and he reached over to hold my hand. "Hana, let's run away. Just you and me."

"Jongup, where would we go? How will we survive on our own?"

Jongup chuckled and squeezed my hand. "Idiot, we've been on our own our entire lives." He smiled at me. "Let's go to Seoul. We can start a new life together. Also, nobody would recognize us there, so we would blend in perfectly."

I thought about it for a moment. There was no point for me to stay in an enviroment where I was unloved. My father had always wanted to get rid of me, and now I would grant his wish. I gave Jongup a smile and nodded. "Let's do it."

Jongup was overjoyed with my answer. I could tell that he had been thinking about this for a while. Jongup's fights with his parents just seemed to be getting worse, so he figured that it'd be better for the both of us if we simply just left. It would make our lives so much easier, so much less painful, but why did my heart feel so heavy?

------------------------------

A loud crash broke the silence. I immediately jerked awake, unsure of when I had actually fallen asleep. The first thing that I realized was that I was lying in my bed, and that Jongup was not beside me. He must've dropped me off and gone home. I sighed and glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. Jongup probably was still asleep.

I found my father mumbling incoherent terms as I entered the kitchen. A broken bottle was scattered on the floor beside him, and he was hunched over while holding something in his hands. He turned upon hearing my footsteps, and I saw how angry he was.

"What is this?!" He held the paper up in my face, and I saw that it was the monthly rent. "I owe a huge amount of debt! I thought I told you to take care of the bills!" He snarled. I merely shrugged and walked past him to grab a bowl.

"Hey, you're the adult around here. That's your job, not mine." I casually replied, reaching for my favorite cereal. My father took deep heavy breaths, and my response fueled his anger. He slammed his bottle down on the table, and in the next moment, a handful of my hair was in his hand. It took me completely by surprise, because my father rarely touched me.

"Don't you dare talk back to me, you worthless trash." I yelped in pain as he yanked my hair, and I tried to swat his hand away. It hurt, alot. How could a human being be so cruel to his only creation? It was unbelievable. My father threw me down onto the floor, and I gripped at my hair in pain.

"Worthless trash. You don't even deserve to be here. I should've sent you to the shelter, because dogs like you belong there. Spoiled, inobedient brat." His words stung deep, and I felt myself visibly cringe. He had never gotten this angry to practically abuse me and denounce me as being the lowest of the low. I clenched my teeth as I slowly stood up, staring straight into the eyes of this cold person.

My decision was made.

"Me, trash?" I scoffed, and I made sure that my glare was cold and hard. "If anything, you are lower than dogs, because you can't seem to accept the reality that your wife is dead. You are a coward who can't even speak more than two kind words to your own daughter. Instead, you leave me to always take care of this diseased rat hole while you seek your alcohol to escape reality." I said, slowly raising my voice. My father's face darkened, and he grabbed his bottle and threw it at me. I easily ducked my head, and it crashed into the wall behind me.

"These are my final words to you. You are a coward, and you always will be." And with that, I spun on my heels and dashed out of the house. I heard my father's yells, but I paid no attention to them. My chest tightened in both pain and excitement. That was the first time that I had ever talked back to my father. Though it hurt that he had actually hurt me, it also felt good to denounce him. He deserved it so much. But as I ran in the direction of the park, my heart felt heavy. I couldn't believe that my father spat those cold words at me. He really didn't love me at all, and that hurt so much. I felt that thin thread of hope just snap. 

I wiped away a stray tear that escaped my eyes as I took a seat on the swings. I pulled out my phone and decided to tell Jongup to come over, because I really needed him right now.

Me: Hey, can you come to the park right now?

It didn't take more than five seconds before I recieved a reply. Jongup had always been a fast typer.

Jongup: I'm already there.

I looked up and saw Jongup walking through the park entrance. He didn't look happy though. His face was scrunched up in anger, and I saw a little of blood trickling from the corner of his lips. He also seemed to walking in an awkward way, and I suddenly got worried. I immediately ran to him and jumped in his arms.

"What happened?" I pulled a cloth from my pocket and gently began to clean the blood. His left cheek was bright red and swelling up, and I really didn't need an answer to know what happened. It was already very obvious. Jongup winced as pain shot through his cheek, and he sighed and looked away.

"I got into a fight with my dad again. This time it was about you, and when I was defending you, he just suddenly punched me and pushed me down the stairs." My eyes widened in shock and I immediately began to lead him to a park bench. He hissed in pain as he slowly sat down, and he sighed and glanced at me.

"What happened to your arm?"

My brows furrowed in confusion, and when I glanced down at my arm, there was blood trailing down. I hadn't even known nor realized that I had hurt myself. It had probably happened when my father shoved me to the ground. Jongup didn't even need to wait for my answer, because he already knew. It was pretty obvious whenever I came here. This was a place that helped me relax whenever I just needed to get away from home.

Jongup's expression darkened, and he reached for the cloth that I had previously used and wiped my arm with it. After he was done, he grabbed my other arm and suddenly began to drag me out of the park. I blinked in confusion but I just let him drag me. "Where are we going?"

"Seoul."

He ended up dragging me back home, and I froze in my step. I really didn't want to go back inside, because I was afraid that my father would be waiting for me. He looked like he was going crazy when I shot those words at him, and I really didn't want to find out about what he'd do about it. Jongup kicked the door open angrily, and I saw my father jump in surprise. His eyes hardened when he saw me.

"You little-" My eyes widened in shock when Jongup suddenly grabbed my father by his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Humans like you make me sick." He snarled. "You don't deserve the love that your daughter tries to pour out to you. You sicken me." Jongup suddenly pointed towards me. "My best friend is coming with me. You will never see her again, and I'll be there to make sure that it never happens." I was hoping that his words would affect my father, but he only burst out laughing.

"Go ahead. Take her. I don't need her. Finally, someone is taking her away." My heart cracked in two pieces. That response earned a well-deserved punch from Jongup. It didn't affect me though. I was too hurt to even realize that my best friend hit my father. No, he wasn't my father. I never had a father. Jongup shoved the man to the ground, and he silently led my upstairs to my room. He helped me pack all of my belongings and took them outside. I didn't glance back at the man who used to be my father. What was the point? He only wanted to get rid of me.

We parted ways so that Jongup could gather his belongings, and I was impatiently waiting for him at the park again. I felt so lonely now, without him by my side. When I saw Jongup's car pull up, I quickly tossed my bags into his car and climbed in. Only when I shut the door did I let my tears flow free. It had been the first time that I cried for my father, and it would also be the last time. I was sobbing uncontrollably, letting out all of the feelings that I have held in for so long. It helped me feel alot better, like a huge weight was lifted off of me.

Jongup wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I sobbed into his chest, and I felt safe in his arms. Warm. Loved. He kissed the crown of my hair and whispered soothing words to me. In a few minutes, I felt alot better and I had calmed myself down. Jongup began to drive away, but his free hand never released mine. We didn't talk much during the ride, and soon I had ended up falling asleep. I only vaguely woke up when I felt my body being lifted. Jongup's hair was tickling my neck, and I barely realized that I was on his back. I was too sleepy to realize, and I only vaguely remember when he mentioned a hotel.

"Ah, is she your girlfriend? You two are adorable together!" I heard a kind lady speak up, and my ears perked up. Jongup chuckled and I felt him slightly shake his head. I could almost picture his goofy smile.

"No, she's my best friend." The lady let out a laugh, and then their coversation was a blur to me. Best friends. That's what we were, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I dozed off again but quickly woke up when I felt myself being lowered onto a bed. The bed dipped beside me as Jongup climbed in as well. It was normal for us to share a bed. Actually, we almost always slept at the other's house without our "parents" knowing about it.

I snuggled closer to Jongup and laid my head on his chest. I could hear his normal heartbeat beating against my ear. It felt soothing. Jongup began to my hair, and I felt my face light up. I loved it whenever he did that. It was a way to also help me relax. I ended up falling asleep first, and I could faintly feel something warm pressing against the crown of my head. It was warm and soft.

It was early morning when I woke up again, since Jongup had shifted in his sleep and almost his entire body was on top of mine. His face was dangerously close to mine, and I swallowed hard. I had only been stuck in this situation several other times, so I was never used to it. It felt...strange. I poked at his side and blew in his face.

"Yah, get off of me."

"No, you're comfortable." Oh, so he had been awake this entire time. I pouted my lips and rolled my eyes. Comfortable or not, he was crushing me. I jabbed my thumb into his side, and he yelped and jumped away. "Yah!" He grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at me. My eyes glittered and I threw a pillow at him. Soon, pillows and feathers were flying everywhere, and our laughter filled the room and possibly the halls of the hotel. Our morning had started out crazy, but we were sure that things were bound to get crazy later. (That was our nature. Acting crazy).

Soon we were on the road again, blasting music and dancing in our seats. Other cars passed us and some of then gawked at us like we were crazy, but we didn't mind. After all, we didn't earn the title "extremist couple" for nothing.

Jongup's phone rang, and an unfamiliar number came up. He raised a brow and told me to connect the phone.

"JONGUP!"

We winced in pain as a man's voice boomed through the speakers. Jongup froze in his seat as he recognized the voice, and he immediately reached over to end the call.

"Don't you dare end this call!" That made his fingers freeze. "Where the hell are you?! And where did all of my money go?! You thief! I should call the cops on you! I-"

"Shut up!" Jongup yelled. I reached for his hand. "I'm not coming back! You will never see me again, and I'll make sure that our paths never cross again." 

"You foolish boy! What makes you think that you can survive on your own? You are nothing but a spoiled, immature brat. I bet that Hana girl is the one who brainwashed you into this." Jongup's face darkened when his father mentioned my name. I nearly crashed into the car door as Jongup took a sharp turn to park the car to the side. He grabbed his phone and held it tightly in his hands.

"Don't you dare bring my best friend into this. You're the reason why I left. I can't stand to be living in that house where my father only cares for money more than his own son! And on top of that, you always blame me for your money issues and abuse me. You don't deserve to be a father. You don't even deserve to be human." With that, Jongup ended the call and slammed the phone down on his lap. I was speechless.

My best friend sighed heavily and leaned his head against the steering wheel. I reached over and wrapped my arms around him, and the next thing I knew, I was suddenly sitting on his lap. Jongup buried his head into my chest and sighed. I blinked in shock. Sure, I have sat on his lap before, and it meant nothing to us, but it was different this time. I was practically straddling him. I've only ever done it once, when I was tickling him for shoving ice cream in my face. But that was long ago, and this position seemed a bit...

"Y-yah."

"Just... let me hold you for a while. I need my best friend right now." I exhaled, lightly patting my cheeks to get them to stop lighting on fire. I held Jongup against me like I was holding a child, and I lightly kissed his head. Jongup always got very upset whenever he fought with his father. He had once explained to me that the abuse was particularly worse when he was younger, before he had met me. I remember when he told me that his father had left him abandoned in a company for three hours before he came back. His father claimed that he had gone shopping for food. What a joke. Nevertheless, Jongup felt the same that I felt. Unloved. That's we treat each other like this. To give each other that warm feeling that we lacked throughout our entire lives. (That is, until we find that person who we will grow to love, but that's not the point.)

An hour had passed by just like that and we still hadn't moved from our position. I couldn't seem to calm myself down for some reason. My face felt incrediably hot and my heart was beating too fast for my liking. What, was I having a heart attack?

"Hana." Jongup's voice was muffled since his face was still buried into my chest. I swallowed hard and moved away so I could glance into his eyes. He was smiling though, bright as ever. It seemed like he was back to normal. He had that airhead expression on his face.

"Thanks for being my best friend. I couldn't ask for anything more."

I beamed at his answer and held him to me again. I was happy. I cared for someone, and they cared for me. Jongup was all that I needed to survive. If it hadn't been for him, I would've grown up living under the reigns of my father, never being able to live the life that I had dreamed. If Jongup hadn't come along, things would've probably been worse than they were now.

But fate had brought me the love that I needed, in the form of my best friend. That was all that I needed now, and I couldn't possibly ask for more.