When he could see just how much more makeup she had on as compared to normal he knew it had happened again. She could lie all she wanted and say that he didn’t mean to, but to hell with those lies. It had happened way too many times to be considered an accident, not that hitting a girl or anyone you were dating for that matter could be an accident at all, and he hated the boy who did this. Her boyfriend was older then them both, her by a couple of years. A man by age but a boy by actions. No man would ever do this repeatedly to someone they claimed to love.

She was fishing around in her purse for her wallet when he reached over to touch the skin right underneath her eye. She flinched away from the touch, but didn’t make any other indications that it hurt. “Sookie…”

"Don’t say anything else about it Kibum."

"You can’t keep letting him do this." He reached for her hand, but she pulled it from his grasp. "You always go right back to him even after he harms you. Why?" 

She looked up at him, “It doesn’t hurt. It was an accident okay?” 

She then stormed off, and Kibum wanted to strangle him even more.  

———

The next time he noticed more makeup she forgot to hide the bruise on her wrist. She was sleeping over his house, her parents were gone for the weekend, and the moment she didn’t clean the makeup off her face he knew it had happened again. She quickly fell asleep, curled up next to him, and her small wrist was just softly laying against his arm in which she was using as a pillow. She rolled over, nuzzling her cheek into her best friends chest.

He gulped and gently moved a strand of long dark hair away from her face. “Oh Sookie…” Why didn’t she see she was so worth so much more than this? Why didn’t she see she deserved flowers and sweet kisses just because, and not this abuse? Why didn’t she see just how much she meant to him? “I’ll save you from him. I promise you.” He kissed her cheek before settling in the covers.

——

It wasn’t him that finally saved her. Not directly. When Kibum would take her out and buy her frozen yogurt, and compliment her on how pretty she was it made her feel pretty. Not like He made her feel when he called her fat, and pinched her sides hard as they kissed. When Kibum took her out dress shopping because he knew she looked amazing in them, he was all smiles and compliments. Not like Him who liked to say they were too tight for her to wear.

She started to see she was worth something more than just a rag doll. She was a person, and wasn’t defined by what he told her. So the next time he raised a hand against her she was through. She had enough with his abuse. She was tired of having to put on so much makeup to hide it, and then sticking up for him when her best friend noticed. She was tired of being called fat and forcing herself not to eat for a week to lose weight. She was tired of him.

"It’s over." She hissed. His eyes were full of anger as he gripped her wrist hard, pulling her off the ground and against him, but she used her free one to bring her hand across his cheek. "Get off of me."

It wasn’t Kibum physically saving her from him, but he gave her the confidence to do it herself. He had always been there for her when she needed him, and even when she didn’t even think she did, because he just knew. He knew her better than anyone else. He always knew she was strong enough to save herself, even if he didn’t realize it himself until she was standing on his doorstep with a bloody lip and cut on her cheek.

So as he gently wiped the blood off her smooth skin, she whispered, “Thank you.”

He just wrapped his arms around her and mumbled into her hair. “No thank you.”