Zelo didn't move. He just stood there while I stared back at him. “My mother is dead. Today is the day of her death.” My own words kept echoing inside my head and I felt their weight pushing me down so much that my legs were about to collapse. But I kept standing there, swallowing once while scanning Zelo's face. “My mother...died”, I whispered silently and more to myself than to him.

Still, he nodded. Didn't even say a word at first. Nothing like: “Oh, I'm sorry to hear that” or “The pain will pass”. He knew he wasn't and he knew that it wouldn't either, I could see that. He just nodded and walked up to one of the glass boxes to check what was inside. Still, his eyes didn't leave mine, asking me to explain it all to him. “Tell me”, he mumbled as he glanced at the jewelry for a split second while swallowing.

I couldn't continue for a while. I smiled, trying to conceal the panic as I recalled the day of her death. It was as clear as it had been back then. The sound of metal screeching and glass breaking. I got goosebumps just by thinking about it. “Dad didn't want to keep all this, but I... I begged him to leave it to me and did this here...” I pointed at the glass boxes in the room. “They are my treasures...I come up here whenever I don't know what to do anymore...It's as if she was still there, you know?”

He probably doesn't. Why should he understand you?

“It's the same with the orphanage to me. I think I get the point”, he replied, letting his fingers the cold glass surface of the box he was standing at. “But go on.”

Breathe in, breathe out. It was so easy, yet one of the most difficult things to do. “When she...died...10 years ago, I was there. It was no sickness but a murder. Indirectly...” I tried really hard to tell him, but it was difficult to show how hard it had hit me back then...and even now.

“Come here, Soora, I want you to say hello to Seokjin, he's the son of dad's business partner. He's only a little bit older than you!” I clutched at her hand while nodding shyly.

I didn't want to meet new people. Wasn't it enough to have Jongup, Mom, Dad and Himchan at home? I didn't need anyone else to be happy, so why should I say hello? “Mom, I'm bored”, I mumbled instead, seeing a surprised expression on her face.

We were at a party someone I didn't know had organized. There were only adults and maaaany of them were somehow related to Dad and had brought their servants along. What could a little girl of 8 years do while attending such a party? There wasn't even Jongup with me... Still, I never complained when there was such an event. I knew that it was important to Dad. It was rare that I told Mom that I was bored and that's why she was kind of taken off-guard. “Honey, we can't leave now. Dad still has to talk to Mr. Lee. Why don't you go and play with Seokjin? I'm sure he'd love to.”

The boy she had introduced to me before nodded and bowed a little with a sheepish smile. “I know of a secret place here in the garden. Should I show you?”

Okay, he got me with that, I admit it. He had that attitude Jongup had too. Kind of dorky and very cute. I was 8, alright? “O-Okay...But...Mom, when you leave, I'll come along, right?”

“Sure, I won't leave you behind, Soora”, she laughed as she ruffled up my hair and Seokjin and I walked out of the big house.

It was bigger than my own one and I was really impressed. However, the garden was even bigger. I still remember all the smells and all the colors that were confusing my senses and I felt as if I was in a fairy tale. Seokjin took my hand and started running, which was difficult for me since I wore quite uncomfortable shoes and I tripped half-way, but he managed to catch me somehow and we kept running.

I was panting by the time we got to one end of the garden and Seokjin turned around with a bright smile. “I hate Dad's parties, they are so boring!”, he exclaimed with a pout and I nodded in agreement before he waved me closer and pointed at a small gap between the bushes. “If we crawl through that gap, we end up at a place where purple flowers hang down from the trees. I like it very much, come on!”

“I had so much fun at that time. Nothing seemed to be able to make me sad”, I whispered with a weak smile, gaze fixed on the ground. Even though nothing bad had happened in my story so far, I could feel the tears almost waiting for their usage.

Zelo was leaning against the wall, listening attentively. I didn't know I could be this thankful for someone listening. “Do I smell a couple?”, he asked in amusement, causing me to blush for a second.

“I was 8, okay?!”

He grinned, glancing at the photos to his right. “You resemble her a lot, it seems.”

“I know”, I mumbled before going on with my story. “And I'm proud of that.”

However,

we were having lots of fun just by imagining what it would be like in a world without parents and full of magic. It was like Neverland and the place Seokjin had described really was as beautiful as he had said. I found out that he was three years older than me, but he loved Disney movies and especially the color pink. I laughed at him at first, but then again, it was kind of cute. He told me to call him Jin-oppa after some time and I was very happy I had made a friend. I noticed how fun it could be with more than just four people in my life.

But then, I heard Mom shout my name and I had to leave the little paradise I had been in for some time. Seokjin came along and I found her sitting on a bench nearby, looking kind of exhausted. “Mom, what's wrong?”, I asked in worry and she smiled at me. A weak smile.

“I'm just a little dizzy. The drink didn't taste that well and now I feel tired. I'm going to leave before Dad, do you want to come along?” She glanced at Seokjin who was standing right beside me. “Or do you want to keep playing with Seokjin?”

I exchanged a short glance with Jin and he signalized me to help my mother. “Let's play again soon, okay? We could watch Disney movies. I'm going to miss you!” He smiled brightly and I nodded.

“Alright, I'll be back soon.”

“Promise?”

I nodded once more and linked my pinky-finger with his. “Sure. I promise.” We grinned at each other before I turned towards Mom again, whose smile had reached her eyes after seeing us. “Where's Jongmin?”, I asked with a frown as I couldn't see him anywhere.

Mom stood up and blinked a few times. “He went home, he deserved his day off, don't you think? I'm going to drive today.”

I smiled once more. Mom was such a kind person, she was never seeing anything in a negative way and I wanted to be just like her one day. One day...

I waved at Jin once more before taking her hand and walking to our car with her. Mom almost tripped on the way, but she shook her head to come to her senses and acted as if nothing was wrong. “Mom, shouldn't we call a taxi if you're not feeling well?”

She shook her head. “No, I'm fine, thank you, honey. I'm just tired, you know?”

I snuffled once and Zelo frowned at me. “She wasn't fine”, he mumbled with a neutral voice. “Right?”

I nodded, wiping away the first tear to stop crying for now. “I believed her. I was so sure of her words. But she never wanted anyone to worry. Himchan would have seen through it right away, I'm sure, but he wasn't there, he was with a friend at that time... I didn't see it coming at all, but then...then...” Breathe in, breathe out. Stay calm. Tell the story, you can do it, Soora.

So I did.

We had passed the first crossroad and I was immersed in the music coming from the radio, when suddenly, the car swerved to the right and back to the left again. I raised my head in panic, seeing that Mom's head had dropped on the steering wheel, her hands sliding off it to the sides of her body.

“Mom?!”, I shouted, but she didn't reply. She had fainted and we were driving past another crossroad, the red light shining brightly and all I remember then is-...is...

I sobbed all of a sudden, the tears spilling out of my eyes and I couldn't keep standing up any longer. I fell down on my knees, crying with my whole body shaking as the sounds kept echoing in my head. “Tires screeching. Metal against metal. I screamed, hoping Mom would wake up, but how could she?! She wasn't dead at that time, but after the crash, she was. The police, a giant crowd, the man from the other car beside me while asking me to stay awake until they had rescued me. There was a black frame around my field of vision and suddenly, it grew until I was unconscious, just like my mother had been seconds before.”

Steps were slowly getting closer until I saw the tips of Zelo's feet before he hunkered down in front of me, a hand under my chin to have a look at my face. I had to look horrible, probably with my eyes smeared with the bit of eyeliner I had put on today. Still, he didn't look grossed out or anything close to that. There was pity.

Nothing but pity and worry.

A short moment passed, before he decided to lock me in his arms. A caring action that made me feel as if he actually cared. I dug my hands into his shirt while he just sat there, my back in a comforting way. “What was the cause for her unconsciousness?”, he asked after some time and I rested my head on his chest. All the problems we had caused each other, all the disinterest we had showed towards each other for the past days was gone for that moment.

Zelo was a friend who tried to understand me, even though he possibly couldn't. At least for now. I was encouraged by the warmth his body was giving off and took a deep breath. “A guy who had disguised himself as a servant, one of those who wanted to hurt my father, had put something in her drink. Like a poison, but it shouldn't have killed if it hadn't been for that car accident. A stupid drink and my Mom's stubbornness have taken her away from me. But in the end, I'm the one at fault. I...I could have changed something, if only I had-”

“Don't blame yourself for something you didn't do”, Zelo mumbled while pushing me away a little to look at me in severity. “I know losing someone this important automatically lets you look for your own fault, but you should rather focus on living on. Your Mom may have...gone away, but...you know, it's the happy memories that are more important than blaming oneself.”

I wiped my running nose with the sleeve of my pullover. “As if you knew what it was like, there's nothing worse than knowing you could have changed something.”

“Hey, I know exactly what I'm talking about, don't put it off that lightly, please. Just promise me not to cry like this again. Seeing you makes me think of myself and I don't like it.”

And without me even knowing why, I had to grin for a split second. No matter what I told him, he would make me cheer up somehow, it was strange. Didn't I dislike him at the beginning? “Why? Noticing how ugly you are when thinking of yourself?”, I teased with another wave of sobs shaking my body, but it was the last one, I could feel it. I calmed down, because Zelo was somehow distracting me. “Do you want to tell me about your problems now that I cried my heart out in front of you?”

I meant it ironically, didn't expect an answer and he hissed, but the sternness in his eyes didn't fade. “It's just that one person crying at a time is enough. My story is for another day, when you're more cheerful. But if you insist on hearing it, I'll tell you one day.” I glanced up at him in surprise as he stood up, shaking the dust off of his pants. Really?

I felt cold now that he wasn't sitting on the floor in front of me anymore and I shivered, standing up too. I swallowed, sobbing one last time as I let my gaze wander over the glass boxes. “This is all that is remaining. I feel like this is where she lives on”, I explained with a crooked smirk, noticing how stupid I sounded. “Pathetic.”

Zelo wandered around the room, examining the jewels behind the glass. “It's not pathetic. Don't call something that makes you feel at ease pathetic. Your life won't get better that way.” Acting all wise all of a sudden, I noticed with a hint of amusement sparkling in my eyes. “But say, where is that...Jin now? You didn't tell me what happened with him. He was perfect boyfriend-material, don't you think?”

I raised an eyebrow, secretly thankful for the change of topic. “I have to admit he was...and he still is, but he has a girlfriend. He's studying in America at the moment and we aren't really that close... It's just some long distance friendship, like a pen pal, nothing more. Why, are you curious?”

Zelo shrugged and walked past me while ruffling up my hair until he reached the stairs that led to the first floor. “Just wanting to know everything about the rich guys I can rob as soon as there's a chance”, he mumbled with a glance at me to see my reaction,

“Yah!”, I shouted after him, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “You're not serious, right?!”

Zelo laughed out loud – a kind of melodic sound. “Of course not, rich girl. But I admit, all those connections could be helpful to me concerning my problems.”

I let my arms dangle at the sides now. “And what are those problems?”, I asked curiously, but Zelo just lay a finger on his lips.

“A part of my story. And something for another day. Now go wash your face, you look terrible.”

That said, he let me stand on the attic alone. But for one of the first times, I was smiling in that room. It was kind of hysterically though. “Terrible, he says? That stick-figure is going to be killed today!”, I mumbled, but on the inside, I knew I was happy that he didn't keep digging after I had told him all I wanted to tell. No more questions about the court or anything like that, only about unimportant things like Jin-oppa.

Someone had listened. And apparently, that someone had understood what I meant. Not even Jongup had managed to make that impression.

I was happy.

First crisis finished, yay! xD

Guest appearance: Kim Seokjin (aka Jin from BTS) ~~ <3

Hope you like it ^^"

This is somehow what I imagined the crying part to be like, I had to draw something until I could finally write it  xD