CHAPTER 6: CUTS AND BAND-AIDS

After another night of insomnia and rolling around the bed, I woke up feeling extremely bad. I felt very dizzy and as soon as I placed my feet on the ground and got up from the bed, I had to sit back down because I saw stars. I had to hold my head in my hands for a moment before the stars disappeared from my eyes. I shook my head and frowned a little bit. Everything really wasn’t alright. I let out a sigh as I finally got up. I’d need to meet with Dr Choi.

I started my morning as every other morning. I walked straight to the window, opening the curtains I had asked Seungcheol to buy me since the bright sunlight bothered me from sleeping – I didn’t want to lose the last four hours I could sleep in a night. I looked out of the window for a second before yawning and walking out of the room while stretching. Normally, after this I would have eaten breakfast and then washed up, dressed myself and then started working. This morning, anyhow, I was surprised to run to Dr Choi right as I exited my room.

“Good morning, Dami”, the man greeted me with a smile that withered away quickly. “Are you alright?”

I scratched my neck and flashed the man a tiny smile. “Good morning. I’m actually feeling a little bit dizzy.”

“I think I’m going to examine you”, the man stated, a slight wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

I nodded and followed the man to the study he had in the house. He mainly went to the hospital to work, but sometimes did some office work from home, and also had the basic medical equipment in his home office. It was a room outsiders were not allowed to enter without his permission, so this was only the second time I stepped into the office.

It looked a lot like his office at the hospital – I had only been in that room once, the day I had woken up in this world. The room was spacious and easily fit a massive desk, a sofa and a couple of armchairs. The doctor sat me down on the sofa and prepared his equipment on the table in front of the sofa. I tried to relax as he checked the basic things – pulse, blood pressure, eyes, this time he even looked into my ears. His expression darkened as he examined more and I couldn’t help but to feel a bit worried.

“You haven’t really been sleeping well, right?” Dr Choi asked and raised his eyebrows.

I looked down. “That’s right.”

“It’s starting to take a toll on your health slowly”, the man stated.

“Yes… and it’s so exhausting”, I sighed. “It’s so weird. There hasn’t been a night without dreams in years, but now I can’t even sleep.”

The doctor frowned and walked to his desk, taking something out of one of the drawers. He walked back to me with a bottle of small pills in his hand. With a sigh he showed it to me and I raised my eyebrows.

“These are sleeping pills”, he explained. “I’m giving them to you, but make sure to use them with caution. You can’t take too many.”

I nodded. “Of course I won’t. Thank you.”

After the man had given the bottle to me and allowed me to leave, I quickly went to place them in the drawer of my room’s cabinet. Then I returned to my usual morning routine.

The day started quite peacefully. I sorted out different tea leaves, organized some cabinets and helped in the kitchen. My days were often pretty boring, to be honest, since my main task was to help Dr Choi and Seungcheol, and they usually left the house around 8am. Hence, I usually just walked around looking like I actually did something, and tried to join the maids in their work. Usually this ended in failure, however, since the maids didn’t want to work with me.

Seungcheol had said he craved for beef and radish soup before leaving to school, so I had actually planned it since the morning to prepare some soup for him as a surprise. I knew he’d come home around 3pm, so I started cooking well in advance, preparing all the ingredients. I couldn’t help but to feel a little bit uncomfortable as I shared the kitchen with the maids, whose presence made me feel a little bit uneasy after the trick with the stool. My ankle was alright but I still didn’t want to get hurt because of the girls anymore. So, I tried my best to unnoticeably glance over my shoulder every other minute to make sure I wasn’t being eyed on.

As the clock was nearing 3pm, I heard the sound of the door code being pressed into the lock. Seungcheol was coming home early today. I chuckled silently and walked back to the stove, where the soup was getting ready to eat. I sniffed at the delicious smell and took off the apron as I walked to the kitchen’s door to greet Seungcheol.

“Hello”, I said as the boy appeared from downstairs.

“Hi, Dami”, he replied and sniffed the air. “Are you cooking?”

I smiled. “You wanted to eat some soup earlier so I prepared some.”

“Such a good housekeeper we have”, he chuckled and patted me on my shoulder. “Good enough for me to give you a reward.”

I looked up at the boy’s eyes, surprised. I could feel the maids behind me eyeing at us curiously, as well, but I tried to ignore them as well as I could.

“Dad is going to hold a ball at the hospital”, Seungcheol stated and shrugged his shoulders. “Would you like to come with me?”

I blinked. A ball? “I… I guess I would.”

“Great”, the boy chuckled and flashed his trademark smile at me. “Prepare the soup, I’ll change my clothes.”

I smiled back at him and nodded as he headed out of the kitchen, leaving me in the middle of the maids who were, once again, in the middle of glancing at each other with judging expressions. I could hear a whisper or two, but tried my best to ignore them and walked back to the stove, ready to take it and pour it into a bowl. It was the little things that made me happy while living with the Choi family. Seeing Seungcheol’s happy smile just because I cooked for him made my insides feel all warm. He was like a brother to me – I had never had a brother but he was just like I always thought older brothers were. Chicly distant yet kind and caring. He was the only reason my days were bright and happy in this time, even in the middle of all the hardships and exhaustion.

Just as I grabbed the pot’s handles, ready to serve the food, I heard one of the maids asking me. I glanced behind me, and at that unlucky second, someone pushed me from the other direction. The next seconds seemed to last for years, like everything stopped. I partially lost my senses. Senses of touch and hearing were gone, as well as my ability to move or think. It was like a silent film played in slow motion. Then I could feel boiling hot water splashing against me and burning my skin, and the stone pot dropping to the floor with a loud bang, and breaking into hundreds of little pieces.

The next thing I could do was to scream from the bottom of my lungs. It hurt so much. The burning hot soup dripping down all over my body. I backed up against the counter and unconditionally squeezed my hands into tight balls of fists, not even realizing there was a knife pressing against the skin of my palm. I collapsed to the floor, in the pond of steaming soup, radish and meat. And the blood that was dripping from my hand. I was shaking, letting out sounds that could have emerged into an another scream, but didn’t. I heard laughter from around me but couldn’t react, I was in such shock. For a while I listened to the mockery, but then it was gone and I was left alone in the kitchen.

Right then Dr Choi rushed to the room. He had probably heard my scream. Probably? No, obviously. He stared at me with wide eyes before walking up to me. “Dami. What is this?”

“I… I…”, I tried to open my mouth and tell him, but just slurry, subdued noises came out. I was too shocked to speak.

“This won’t do”, the man stated. “The insomnia is affecting your work too much. I can’t keep you as a housekeeper if you even pour soup on yourself. Join the other maids. Work as a one for the time being.”

The doctor’s voice sounded cold. He was probably just disappointed and upset about my behaviour. I wanted to get up and explain that it wasn’t my fault. I wanted to expose the maids and tell him that they never left me alone. But all I could do was shake from the pain and the shock and stare at the man as he turned around to leave the kitchen. I tried to crawl towards him and grab his leg but fell to my stomach onto the floor. It helped the hot soap splash around and burn me even more, and I let out another, this time muffled, scream. Hiccupping, I slowly got up from the floor and walked out of the room like a zombie. I locked myself up into the bathroom and undressed myself, standing under an ice cold shower for minutes. It cooled my hot skin down and eased with the burning. But it also stung like crazy. The bleeding from my hand eventually stopped and I shut off the water. I wrapped myself into a towel and sat on the edge of the bathtub, dressing up the wound on my hand. I was ugly and it hurt, and it just made me even angrier. I didn’t want to be a weak person. I usually wasn’t. I always found a way for everything. Yet I couldn’t explain the situation to Dr Choi. Well, at least the maids got what they wanted. I was now a maid just like them.

“Dami!” I heard Seungcheol’s voice from afar. “I’m ready for – oh.”

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cool wall. The boy was probably just staring at the mess on kitchen’s floor, not knowing what had happened. I didn’t want to meet him now. I didn’t want to meet anyone. I wanted to be alone and calm down in peace. I let out a sigh and waited for a while. When I was sure Seungcheol wasn’t in the kitchen anymore, I quickly sneaked to my room to change my clothes. I dressed up in the most comfortable casual clothes I could find – the clothes I had worn the day I woke up in this damned world. The same jeans and the same turtleneck sweater. Then I put a coat on and left the house. I wasn’t sure where I’d go, but I wanted some time for myself now.

Eventually I found myself roaming around the neighbourhood. I guess the people living in the richer areas would say this was the old, traditional part of Seoul with the buildings that were built sometime between 20^th and 21^st century. And I loved this neighbourhood. People in here seemed to be stuck in my time, which I also loved. People dressed like they had dressed in my time, and they seemed to be more familiar and friendly towards each other unlike the people in the heart of the city. I felt like I returned home every time I took a walk around. But now I hoped to return home, to my own world, more than I had hoped until now.

I got so occupied by my thoughts I didn’t even realize my feet had brought me to the door of that old bookstore again. I let out a bittersweet chuckle and walked in, bowing at the storekeeper and remembering the reading corner at the end of the store. I really wished nobody would be there. It would be the perfect place to sit in and be sad.

For my fortune, there were no other people in the whole store. I picked a book from the shelf, as a courtesy, and sat down into the comfortable armchair. I opened the book, but didn’t even get to read the first page as I felt my tears coming. I had held them back for a long time, and now they finally broke free, not obeying my will anymore. One tear at a time, they fell down until they were flowing down, reminding a waterfall. I tried my best to not make any noises, and covered my face with my hands.

“Excuse me. That’s my spot.”

A familiar, almost comforting voice paused my sobbing and I froze to my place for a moment. The deep, low voice that I loved to hear. This time it wasn’t cold as it had been every time I talked to him in this world. It was softer, like it usually was. I slowly lifted my head and looked up at the boy whose eyes widened as he recognized me. He was there again, dressed in the familiar 21^st century clothes, raven black hair styled in a messy way, holding a takeaway coffee in his hand. For a second he looked slightly annoyed, but then he noticed my tears and seemed to get confused, his expression softening a little bit.

“Umm”, he started and scratched his neck, looking around, clearly wondering what he should do. “Are you alright?”

I wanted to reply to him but my words came out as an another sob and I had to cover my face with my hands again. This seemed to confuse Wonwoo even more, he took a step towards me and placed his coffee on the table in front of me. “Here. Uh, you can sit there.”

His actions and behaviour were actually pretty amusing. He was so awkward. His ice had been melted by a couple of tears. Just a couple of seconds earlier he had been demanding his spot back, now he had even given me his coffee and now just stood there, looking lost. His presence, anyhow, had a calming effect. It was weird. Even if we didn’t have the relationship we had in my dreams, even if I had sworn to forget the boy, just the fact he was there could calm me down.

“Uh… what happened to you?” the boy asked as I finally stopped hiccupping.

I glanced at him. “My household is a big mess. I got demoted today.”

“Are you a servant?” the boy asked, his sharp eyes squinting a little bit.

I nodded. Yes. That was what I was, at the simplest. I was just a maid, a mere servant of a rich family. I sighed and took a sip of the coffee Wonwoo had given me. A tiny, little smile lingered on my lips as I tasted the sweet caramel mocha. It might have been a bit surprising. But I was already aware of his taste. He liked his coffee very sweet.

“Wonwoo”, I whispered the boy’s name and he turned his head to look at me. “I’m sure it’s you. Everything is the same. Even if you don’t recognize me, I want to know you more.”

The boy snorted. “There is not much about me to know.”

Not much? The thought wandered through my mind and I came to think all of the lovely facts I knew about this boy. There was so much to know. He was such an interesting person. How could he say that? I strongly disagreed with him. The happy memories rushed through me and I felt my eyes getting teary again. I let out a sigh, trying to hold them back – I didn’t want to look pathetic. But a couple of teardrops managed to escape to my cheeks.

“Stop crying”, Wonwoo said and handed me a handkerchief. “Here. Keep it.”

I stared at the boy for a second before taking what I was offered and wiped my tears. It was really amazing how differently he was acting towards me just because he had seen me cry. He couldn’t hide his kind nature easily.

“I hope you sort out your things”, the boy stated as he turned around to make his leave. I stood up with the power of a lightning. He glanced at me but didn’t yell at me or tell me to stop following him as I walked out of the bookstore behind him. I tilted my head as I observed his steps. Was the ice really this easily melted? Whether it was or not, it was nice to be able to walk with him. It was the first time I walked with him outside my dreams.

I got so immersed in my thoughts I almost reached out my hand and touched his shoulder, as suddenly I heard a loud bang and the sound of glass breaking. I raised my hands to my ears and froze to my place. A gunshot. It was definitely the sound of a gunshot. I looked around me in panic, only seeing the bookstore’s window as thousands of fragments on the ground. My eyes widened. Suddenly I heard an another gunshot and someone grabbed my wrist. I glanced at Wonwoo who was doing his best at pulling me away from the street.

After I was dragged down the street and pulled to the safe of a dark alley, the boy let go of my wrist and let out a frustrated groan.

“, why me?” he huffed by himself, walking back and forth. “Why did I have to run to you and save you?”

I frowned at him. “What is going on?”

“I don’t know”, he sighed and stopped to look at me. “You owe me one now. And I think you should leave.”

If I owed him something, it would mean meeting him again. The thought was tempting, but I couldn’t bring myself to think about it now. There was a shooting happening on next street. I heard yet another gunshot and winced at the sound.

“Hey, Jeon Wonwoo!”

A male voice yelling Wonwoo’s name paused my thoughts and I turned around to locate the source of the voice. There were two boys running towards us. At first I got startled, tense and ready to run. Then I realized I knew these faces from somewhere. The other boy was clearly of mixed background. He had dark brown, slightly wavy hair and I could swear there was a hunch of green colour in his eyes. The other boy was tall, sleek and slightly tanned. I squinted my eyes. Vernon and… Mingyu? I had seen these two in pictures Wonwoo had showed me in my dreams. I felt a headache hammering at the back of my head. Even Wonwoo’s friends were true and this world. Something was weird, something was wrong.

“Are you alright?” Mingyu asked right as they reached us.

“I heard they’re after you, hyung”, Vernon stated, completely ignoring my presence.

“Me?” Wonwoo asked, tilting his head. His sharp eyes had become narrow lines. He turned to glance at me. “You should really go now. Return home.”

And with those words being said, the three boys started running, rushing out of the alley, out of my sight. I was left alone, confused and even scared. I blinked and leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath before heading back to the Choi family’s house. Wonwoo’s words were echoing in my head. Return home. I really wish I could.

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Hello! I was feeling creative today so you got two chapters. Thank you for subscribing, thank you for the three upvotes I've got haha

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