TRIGGER WARNING: Allusions to ual violence in this chapter.

Jin only went back to her room after she wrote her diary entry about the date. She had decided to write it in the lobby, before going back into her room and talking to Sena about it. She hadn’t wanted the entry to be affected by what Sena was going to say. Jin was certaint that Sena was not going to be happy about the date, given that she appeared to hate Vernon.

When Jin entered their room, Sena was there, sitting at her desk and doing some work. Sena froze when she glanced at Jin. Sena looked tense all of the sudden as she looked towards her. Sena was not really staring at Jin though; Jin followed Sena’s eyes and noted that they were fixated on the dress.

“I’m sorry I took it without asking,” Jin told Sena, thinking maybe that was what was eliciting such a reaction from her.

Sena averted her eyes, and looked at the floor, “were you with Vernon?” she asked. There was an unfamiliar heaviness in Sena’s voice; something was seriously wrong with her.

“Yes. I just had my first date ever,” Jin told Sena, “and I liked it.”

“It looks very pretty on you,” Sena told Jin, but her eyes were on the floor.

“Thanks,” Jin told her. The conversation was getting quite awkward. There was this uncomfortable tension that was lingering between the two of them.

Jin could also tell that Sena was holding something back.

“I want to tell you something,” Sena told Jin hesitantly, still looking at the floor, “but before I do, please take it off.”

“The dress?”

"Yeah."

Jin didn’t understand why Sena seemed so eager the dress to be taken off. Was she angry about it? Jin felt guilty; she was in the wrong for taking the dress without permission.

When Jin changed into her pajamas, she handed the dress back to Sena, apologizing again for taking it without asking. Sena’s hands almost trembled when she took the dress. She put it to the side and shook her head, “don’t apologize. I’m not angry.”

“Then what’s wrong?” Jin asked. There was definitely something wrong with Sena at the moment. Something about her was just so off. She looked shaken, traumatized almost.

“Remember when I told you about the guy that…” Sena swallowed, but Jin immediately understood that Sena was referring to the one that violated her.

“I remember…”

“I was wearing that dress the first time it happened,” Sena revealed quickly, “and so seeing it on you just made me imagine things… I’m sorry for acting weird about it.” Sena closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The fact that Jin had worn the dress in which Sena was violated was shocking in and of itself, but there was something else that Sena had said that was even more so: the first time it happened.

“Sena… did it happen a second time?” Jin asked, the words of that question dropping out of slowly and painfully as she considered that implication.

Sena nodded.

Jin froze.

“I want to tell you something else, but you have to promise to God that you won’t tell anyone at all. Not Seokmin or Wonwoo, and most definitely not Vernon. No one at all, understand?”

Jin nodded, not knowing what to expect, and still shocked.

“Swear to God?”

“I swear,” Jin said, unable to hide the anxiety in her voice.

“The only reason I want to tell you is because I want you to be careful. I want you to have all the facts, and here’s one fact: Vernon’s best friend is the one that did it to me. Seungcheol.”

Jin’s jaw dropped.

Sena swallowed again and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. Both Jin and Sena were silent for a moment.

“Report him,” Jin stuttered after a processing it.

“ e said if I tell anyone, he’ll do it again, and I wouldn’t be able take it anymore.”

“I’ll do it for you…”

“You promised to God you wouldn’t tell anyone,” Sena reminded her.

“Sena, you have to tell someone,” Jin said desperately.

“Jin, I’m so scared,” Sena revealed, tears starting to form in her eyes, “I can’t. I’ll kill myself if he does it again.”

Sena began to cry harder, Jin hesitantly put her arms around her friend. She didn’t know what to do or say or even think. She couldn’t pretend to understand how Sena was feeling.

“So knowing this,” Sena said through her tears, “please reconsider this thing with Vernon…”

“I don’t want to talk about Vernon right now,” Jin said, shaking away the thought of him. He wasn’t the subject of this conversation, and Jin didn’t want him to be. This was about Sena.

Sena wrapped her arms around Jin’s waist and cried on her shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Jin asked Sena.

“It happened the day after you decided not to talk to me,” Sena said.

“I’m so sorry,” Jin said, realizing how horrible it was that she wasn’t there for Sena the past week. Jin had always felt that she was the one that had it bad, and she did not even consider the things that Sena was going through. Jin had always thought she was the one that was lonely; but Sena was , and then ignored by her best friend. “I’m so sorry,” Jin repeated to Sena, her voice cracking when she felt the tears threatening to fall.

“Oh habibti, don’t cry. It’s not your fault at all. Even if you had wanted talk to me, I probably wouldn’t have said anything to you anyways. I would have been so afraid of Seungcheol finding out. I know you talk to Vernon, and I know that Vernon relays everything to him. I am just so scared of him…”

“Does he have anything to do with you breaking up with Seokmin?” Jin asked as she tried to piece Sena’s mysterious behavior together.

Sena nodded. “I don’t know how that evil person found out I was dating Seokmin, but he did. And he came to me, and did it, and then said that if I don’t break up, he would do it a third time…” Sena began to cry as she recalled the memory.

Jin put all of the pieces together and found that she knew exactly how Seungcheol found out. Through Vernon. Jin recalled that Vernon had said that Seungcheol had helped carry her to Vernon’s room that night. Vernon had probably explained what he had seen with Sena and Seokmin to Seungcheol. In turn, Seungcheol found Sena and hurt her in one of the worst possible ways...

The fact Jin was partly responsible for the traumatic thing that happened to Sena made her feel so extremely terrible.

“I’m so sorry,” Jin said to Sena. She bit her lower lip and let tears stroll from her eyes.

“None of this is your fault, habibti,” Sena said, “it’s okay. He won’t do it again, and that’s all that matters to me.”

“Sena, report him!” Jin implored as she wiped her tears.

“If I do, and he finds out and does it again, I’ll kill myself, Jin. And you don’t understand how this works. If I report him, they have to investigate, and sometimes they don’t even believe you. In the time it takes for them to investigate, he’ll come find me and punish me for it. You don’t understand how hard it is,” Sena said, wiping her eyes. “Please, just don’t tell anyone. Please.”

“I won’t,” Jin told her, “but…” Jin swallowed her words. She felt like something needed to be done. This couldn’t just be left as it is. Seungcheol couldn’t just be left unpunished and Sena should have to follow everything that he was making her do. “But it’s not fair…”

“It’s okay,” Sena told Jin, “I don’t think I could have stayed with Seokmin anyways after the second time. And don’t worry about me. Seungcheol hasn’t spoken to me since that time, and I’m getting better. I can handle it. I’m strong, remember?” Sena smiled, but Jin saw the pain behind that smile all too clearly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Diary,

Things are not always the way they seem.

I talked to Sena today. Usually, when I talk to Sena, I always end up using my diary to complain about her and to talk about how jealous I am or how much I resent her. It’s only today that I realized how inconsiderate my complaints about her ever were. How stupid was I to be jealous of her? I have it so much better than she does.

I realized also how petty my pain was in comparison to hers. Heartbreak? Loneliness? Confusion? All of those stupid boy problems that I have been complaining about lately… so trivial.

Sena was . Twice. Threatened by her . Forced to break up with Seokmin. She couldn’t even speak to him because she was afraid of her seeing them and doing it again.

She was also ignored by her best friend (me).

The pain she had been going through is so much more profound and terrible than anything I have probably ever experienced.

I just feel so guilty for everything I have done. I was partly responsible for it, wasn’t I? If it were not for me, if I had not caught Seokmin and Sena that night, then her would have never found out and it would not have happened. I wish I never saw them together that night.

Seungcheol is the violator. Vernon’s friend. He didn’t seem like such an evil person in the few times that I saw him. Really, nothing is the way it seems. Who knew that someone as seemingly harmless as Seungcheol was capable of driving someone like Sena from her characteristic bliss into the unhappy and lonely person she is now.

I feel like I have failed all of God’s tests. I have been so preoccupied with myself, that I have completely neglected my best friend who has been suffering so much. Thank you, God, for the lesson, for I have learnt it well. People experience things far more serious than what I often complain about.

Sena made me promise to God not to tell anyone, but how can I not? How can I let such an evil person get away with doing something like this? I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m going to do something. Forgive me God, but I am going to break that promise I made in your name.

A/N: I ALWAYS DO THIS TO OUR BENEVOLENT SEUNGCHEOL IN MY FICS IDK WHY. He seriously always ends up being the -addicted in my stories ^^”

And yeah, this is a serious, intense chapter after all the fluff of the previous chapter. I can’t let fluff stay fluff for too long can I?

I hope that Sena’s behavior now makes sense though. I was actually surprised no one made the connection between Seungcheol and Sena before but that’s good because it meant I surprised you~