Wonho's POV

I try to get some rest on my own, but I don't succeed. After spending all of today with SeolHyun, it's hard to get her out of my head. My parents were supportive and all, they even consider her as their own. There's still something really bugging me a lot. The house next door had looked so empty, devoid of life, but ever since SeolHyun came back from the bathroom she seemed troubled. Then I remembered the bathroom looks out on her previous house. It must've been really hard for her to be confronted with such a thing again. Especially since she hasn't been here in God knows how many years. She probably never even intended to come back here in the first place and I made her. 

The thing is that she needs to move on from this. Knowing her she probably just stuffed this thing away in the back of her mind. Never to think of again. She needs to deal with it, to get it all out. That's the only way she'll be able to move forward. The only way both of us can start over. 

I need to see her. She's probably scared again, being all alone. She needed me last night and I have to admit that I kind of liked it. I always used to be her savior and it's been so long since I've had this proud feeling of being the one to protect her. I also know this can't last. She's an independent woman and she wants to stand on her own to feet. That's just the way she is. But for now, I can still be her hero for the remainder of this trip. 

Her door is open. What the hell? Are there fans here? Bugging her? I immediately know something is really off. She would've yelled if there were just fans. What if...? I can't help but think of them. Would they risk coming here and messing with her again? I burst inside to find her beast of a mother, banging on the bathroom door. She's shouting how SeolHyun is a coward, worth nothing. That she should just go ahead and herself out to the general public again. No one will ever love her. And that's where she's wrong. 

I pull the woman off the bathroom door and cast her on the bed. She looks at me, furiously and then seems to remember who I am. 

"You're the reason why she ran away, you know?" she says with the sickest grin on her face. She's even more ugly now, after all these years. She must've been pretty at one point, but there is nothing left. Her soul is black and has made her face twisted with anger. "She desperately wanted to find you, since she was so in love with you. Did you have her yet?" 

"You need to shut up. You have no right being here, let alone talk to her!" I try not to yell, but lose my temper anyway. "Did you know how much she's suffered? Because of you?" 

"I know. And in my opinion it still isn't enough", she smiles at me and it makes me sick to my stomach. This woman needs to be checked in to a mental hospital.

"Get out. You're no mother at all. You don't even deserve to live. SeolHyun is better off without you", I tell her and she gets up. She stands in front of me, trying to intimidate me, but she can't. I will never be intimidated by someone like her. "Get out while I'm being friendly." I'm seething by now. 

"I'll be back. She can never escape me. Or him." She then looks at the door. "Bye, sweetie. I'll be back for you!" 

She walks away and shuts the door behind her. I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding until now. Wow, that woman has some guts coming here. Then I walk over to the bathroom door. I knock slightly. "She's gone. You're safe", I whisper against the door. The lock slides back and I open up. She's in the bathtub, bawling her eyes out. Her make up is all over her face, her hands are in her hair, pulling it at the roots. Something to keep her from thinking something else I suppose. She looks bewildered, like a deer in headlights as I approach her. I've never seen anything like it, it breaks my heart in a thousand pieces. She looks broken, more broken than before. And that's when I realise how deep rooted this really is. I was never there when the beatings happened, but I always assumed it was just her stepdad. Apparently it seems like her mother was fueling the guy. Making sure he hit her hard enough. She's not afraid of her stepdad, she's afraid of the woman who made her receive the beatings. The one who started it all, the one who calls herself mother. 

"Seollie?" I silently try. My hand is on her shoulder, but it seems like she doesn't even notice me, she's in her own little world. The one that was probably created after she couldn't run to me for help. I pull her up, but she doesn't give way. She stays put in the bathtub, where she's safe from all her demons. I can't exactly blame her, after the things she's been through. It took her a lot of courage to tell me all about it, but I never ever envisioned anything like this. She was in a bad place when she came to Seoul, and this was that place. "Seollie?" I try again, this time she tilts her head to look at me. Her eyes are hollow and just stare into mine without any kind of recognition. It's the scariest thing I've ever seen. She's in shock. I need to get her to the hospital, now. 

I dial a number I know all too well and immediately get my uncle. He works at the emergencies in the hospital nearby. "Hoseok?" he answers the phone with my real name. I don't even register it since I want to just help SeolHyun. 

"Uncle, could you come over? And bring your medical kit? It's SeolHyun, you know her from before... Yeah the one you stitched up a few times... She's in shock", we have a short conversation and I tell him where we are. He's not working so he can come over right away. SeolHyun still hasn't moved from her spot in the bathtub and she keeps on looking straight ahead, at he wall. It creeps me out, but I won't leave her alone, not when she needs me most of all. I promised her I'd be here for her. And that's exactly what I'm doing. I won't leave her alone. Not now, not ever. 

SeolHyun's POV

"Missed me?" she spits out as she comes into my room. I'm paralyzed by her. I never ever though of seeing her again and here she is, in front of me. The woman who scares me most in all of this world. Her grin is still the same, the same one she had when she made him beat me. The one she had when she saw me bleed and cry. And I did a lot of that back in the day. Both. 

"Not going to say anything to your dear mother?" She asks me, but my tongue is tied. I can't speak or move at all. She inches closer to me and I can smell the alcohol on her breath again. She always drinks right before she makes him beat me. And suddenly I'm back in that house, afraid of making her mad. Everything around me feels so foreign yet familiar. She makes me feel like that scared little girl again, the one who didn't have any friends and was always covered in bruises. I don't want to be this scared, but I can't help it. 

She comes too close, I run. I always run. I will never stop running from her until I face my fears, but not today. I lock myself in the bathroom and hide away in the bathtub. Somewhere far away I can hear her shouting horrible things at me. Like she's always done. But I block it out. I've mastered that art ever since Wonho went away. I can't hear her when I hide away in my little place. It's the only place where I'm truly happy. The empty feeling fills me, I can't hear or feel a thing, which is the best thing ever. I'm numb and that means she can't hurt me, at all. She can't touch me like this, I'm better than her. 

In the distance I can hear his voice. It always triggers something inside of, it makes me want to feel things again. But when I open up to that, it'll bring in the bad things too. The things I can't handle right now. Block it out. Don't let him tempt me. 

"She's gone. You're safe." Those words tempt me all over again. I give in and unlock the door, only to crawl back into the bathtub. My safe haven. The one place where she can't touch me, even if she is gone. 

I hear him come inside and gasp. I must look awful, but I don't care. It's better so he'll leave me alone. Maybe he will leave because I'm this ugly. Maybe she's right and I really am worth nothing. I can't let it get to me. No. 

His hand is on my shoulder, he's calling out his little nickname for me. Do not react. Every fiber in my being screams it. If I react, I'll care. Instead I look up at him with hollow eyes. I can't even see him that well, he's somewhere in the place of light while I'm in my blissful darkness. He seems to be studying me, to make sure I'm okay. I'm okay. I will be, she can't touch me. 

After a while another voice joins him. It sounds familiar, but not enough to make me look up. I keep on staring at the wall in front of me, determined to memorize every single tile in it. The way it cracks and the way it has stains. The way their patterns are. It's a far better thing to do than worry about myself. Or her. 

"SeolHyun? Can you hear me?" The other male voice says, but I don't react again. "I think she's in severe shock." He tells him. I'm not even surprised. I don't even think anything of it. What if I am? Better to be in shock than half beaten to death. Better to be here than there. 

"What can we do about that?" He asks the other guy. Why am I even paying attention to their conversation? 

"I can give her something to calm down", the other guy tells him. Whatever, they can do what they want. As long as I don't have to return there, it's all fine by me. They both pick me up from the bathtub and carry me to someplace soft. The white ceiling above gives me something new to focus on. There are new patterns and cracks to look at. I should be thanking them. I start studying them. Someone is putting their hands on me, but it's fine, as long as they don't hurt me. There's a sharp feeling in my arm and I can feel cold liquid being injected into my system. That's when everything really goes black.