Haerin hears someone rapping on the door.

Wondering whom it is, she calls out.  “Who is it? Wait a minute,”

As she tugs on the door, it swings open with a loud crack and comes off of its hinges, falling loudly to the floor by her feet.  The shock of seeing herself break a door can’t be compared to the shock of facing the people who had been rapping on the door.

It was her parents.

“Haerin,” Her mother says her name

And they were covered in blood.

Haerin flinches when her father reaches out to her.  “Haerin, why did you leave hyung’s house?”

Her mother follows after him, too, stumbling into the room.  “Haerin, you were supposed to be a good girl,”

“Why are you staying here in a guy’s house?”

“And what about Yunjae? How could you have let him gotten hurt?”

“You’re his sister; you were supposed to protect him,”

“We thought we could rely on you,”

“I- I-“ Haerin backs up against the wall, utterly petrified at the sight of her parents.   Hysteria builds up in as she looks down at her hands and sees it dripping wet with bright, red blood.  When she tilts her chin to look at her parents again, she’s suddenly out on the streets, watching their bodies fly through the air as the car hits them.

And in the throng of people gathering around her dead parents, she sees her uncle, striding surely towards her with a crazed look upon his face.

Haerin sits up with a loud ring in her ears.  She may or may not have screamed in her sleep, because Yunjae was propping his body on his elbow on the bed beside her, looking at her with a concerned expression. 

‘You okay?’ He asks.

Haerin pushes her hair away from her face, surprised to find herself sweating.  What kind of nightmare was that? Having left the house wasn’t such an easy matter to let go, after all, she thinks.  Not even with Kyungsoo’s help, or the fact that Yunjae is safe with her.  “F-fine, I’m fine, it’s fine,” Haerin swallows the lump in , resting her head back onto the pillow.  “Go back to sleep, Yunjae,”

When she notices the way his breathing rhythm calms down, Haerin peels the covers off of her body and turns to the closet to change, washing her face and tying her hair up before leaving her room.

“If you need anything, anytime of the night, just knock on my door.  I’m right across from you,” She remembers Kyungsoo saying.

The clock shows 2:19 AM and heck, as much as she needed someone else’s consolation and company, she didn’t have the heart to wake him up for the second time since yesterday.

“Kyungsoo-yah,” Haerin whispers as she steps towards his door with her hands behind her back, shuffling her feet.  “I know I kind of promised you to try to tell you anything that bothers me, but, um, this isn’t the time, I think.  I’m sorry, good night,”

As if it would make her feel any better, Haerin looks at the door, silently hoping that Kyungsoo is awake and that he’ll step out with his arms outstretched, ready to welcome her into his arms.

But you don’t always get what you want.

“Wake up, idiot,” Haerin holds back from kicking the door and gives up shortly after her sudden outburst.  “Just kidding, sleep well,” She walks down the stairs and outside into the backyard, where the swimming pool glows and the sound of trickling water fills her ears.

She sits down on the bridge and lets her legs dangle over the edge, the water coming up to her ankles.  Haerin lies down with her hands clasped over her stomach, looking up into the sky and ignoring the cold that had started to seep into her skin.  The last time she counted her money and Yunjae’s, it was just enough to rent a new place.  A teeny, tiny, small one.  She has to think about her school fees, Yunjae’s school fees, how they were going to eat, and how they’re going to practically live on their own.  Anxiety churned in her gut at the thought.  It’s going to be really, really hard and tough to live alone.  While on the contrary, it would be really, really easy to just simply go back to her uncle’s and do things like they always did.  “And live again in that hell hole?” Haerin scoffs to herself.  “No way,”

“Haerin?”

Haerin turns her head to the direction of the house and sits up with a start, bowing her head politely at the person who just came out.  “Ah, hello, Mrs. Do, I’m-“

“I know, I read the notepad,” She lifts up one hand with a mug to stop her.  “Chocolate?”

“Yes, please, thank you very much,” Haerin scoots over a little bit when Kyungsoo’s mother settles down beside her, sipping her own mug of chocolate.  “I should burn that notepad, really,”

The psychologist chuckles at Haerin’s quiet remark, looking down at the way their feet are dipped into the swimming pool.  After a quiet moment of simply sitting down beside her, she turns to look at her and all of a sudden reaches out to caress her hair.  “You did well, Haerin-ah, you really did,” She smiles.  “I’m proud of you,”

Haerin didn’t know, to that very second Kyungsoo’s mother touched her head that she was looking for what he was giving her.  Recognition, approval, and acknowledgement.  Her head had been so occupied by the fact that she leads a hard, complicated life; her subconscious mind had looked for something so simple.  She finds the urge to let out a smile, which trembles as it shows.  “Thank you,” She shuts her eyes, savoring the comfort of someone else’s mother.  As expected of a psychologist. 

Mrs. Do puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her close, rubbing her arm gently.  “If I were to say that we were to let you live here as long as you like-“

“No,” Haerin shakes her head, finding herself unable to pull away from Mrs. Do’s warm, fuzzy sweater although she was rejecting what the older woman had said. 

“I know, I wasn’t finished,” Mrs. Do laughs, the hum of her laughter travelling through Haerin’s eardrums.

“You just said what Kyungsoo said,”

“I’m his mother, after all,” She shrugs.  “Anyways, yes, we assumed that you wouldn’t want to stay here for long, despite whatever we say to you, so what do you say we help you look for a new place, hm?”

double update!

generous authornim is generous

ANYWAYS

man so much fluff is coming ur way

but even the sun sets eventually

r u scared r u nervous huh r u r u

bcs u shud b.

ok.