Junghye remembers waking up in a whitewashed walls room with a splash of grey or black with the furniture and miniature display items to give some kind of colour whilst still looking modern. She remembers looking at the IV, wondering how she ended up here, knowing that she wasn’t in the hospital with the desk that was pushed against the wall.

 

She remembers seeing Daniel having fallen asleep in the chair. She also remembers her wiggling her way off the bed then the room without a sound before leaving the clinic that she recognizes as a prestigious clinic that she could never afford. The weekend was the next day, which meant that she didn’t need to face Daniel until the following school day.

 

She buries herself within waking up early, different part-time jobs and her studies, forgetting that Friday night ever happened, spending the occasional meal with her parents in the midst of all three of them rushing to earn some kind of livelihood. As her final shift for her work comes to a close, she bows as she received her pay, earning some kind of encouragement at the same time.

 

She sits on the stairs at the back of the club, breathing out in tiredness, as the music grows louder. She looks over to see the queue into the club moving and she smiles slightly at the muttering of how amazing the club looks. The boss appears once again to compliment her and to thank her for her work. “If you need anything else, like a recommendation, come find me and I’ll do it for you. Thank you so much for helping out,” he says and she smiles back, dipping her head.

 

The boss had grown affectionate over the young girl over the span of one month working together to rebuild his club into suiting the scene more. Her designing skills were out of the world and he could see that in her every detail. “Also, if you need any help, come to this club. I’ll let the workers know you and that you can find me anytime,” the boss offers and she rises, bowing deeply to him. “Yah. Don’t have to be this thankful. You’re like a little sister with so much potential.”

 

She smiles and then bid goodbye before leaving. The boss watches her walk out of the alley before returning to the building. She maneuvers through the queue. “Hey peasant!” a voice calls out and she freezes momentarily before walking away.

 

A strong grip envelops her wrist, turning her around. She looks to see the desk mate’s smiling face. “You’re here to club too?” he asks in an excited tone.

 

She glares at him, shoving his grip away. “I’m underage,” she states in a cold tone and it makes him freeze momentarily. 

 

“Why are you here then?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I was working,” she replies before turning to go again.

 

This time the grip returns but around her neck and she was dragged into the club; pass the bouncer who simply nods at the male. She wrenches out of his grip and glares at him who simply grins, looking around the club. “Hey loosen up!” he yells over the loud music. “I’ll bring you home after this!”

 

She rolls her eyes and turns to walk away but he stops her with pleading eyes. She tosses his grip away by jerking her wrist away. She stalks towards the exit but a hand s her bum. She freezes and turns around to see an older male, grinning at her. “Hey beautiful,” he greets.

 

Sure he was good looking but she doesn’t care. She didn’t want to be here. He moves closer and she knees his crotch before running towards the owner’s office. Two bouncers stop her and she looks up distraughtly. “P-Please,” she stutters. “I know your boss. I’m Junghye.”

 

One of them eyes her warily but moves to the office to knock. He appears after a while. “Sorry. My boss knows no Junghye,” he replies in a gruff voice.

 

Her eyes widen and she begs but was escorted back to near the bar. She can see the older male with a group of guys looking around for her. She ducks, wondering what to do. The first thing she does is dash into the female toilet. She enters the cubicle and locks it, breathing heavily. She fears for her life.

 

But somehow she ends up outside the toilet, next to the bar, nervously glancing around to see if the males were still there before she made a run for the exit. “What can I do for you?” the bartender asks and she looks over, shaking her head politely, eyes glued to the exit.

 

She then breaks out into a run and maneuvers through the crowd, dodging bodies left and right. A strong grip stops her and she prays that it was Daniel but when she turns around it wasn’t. The older male snarls at her as his group surrounds them, away from the public eye. She tries to break free but it doesn’t work. “You’re underage aren’t you,” the older states, eyeing her frightened look with a smirk. “Makes things sweeter.”

 

What came next was something Junghye never expected to have happened to her. Strong grip holds onto her body as its hands forcefully strip her. She struggles, ripping her clothing. She screams which was drowned in the loud music and cheering of the already drunk customers. As his hands reach for her pants, she kicks even harder, screaming once again.

 

Sensing no one moving to help, tears leave her eyes. Her pants were pulled down and the male above her chuckles. She squeezes her eyes shut, feeling his fingers trace over her skin, pulling down her . She struggles even harder, earning a slap. “Stop struggling and this will be over real quick,” he groans, enjoying the view of her almost body.

 

She feels more tears emerge as she comforts herself in her mind. The hands creep over her stomach, making her arch away from the touch. She tries to curl herself into a ball, not wanting to be reminded who was touching her, trying to imagine it to be someone else. A groan of pain resounds and it didn’t come from her but above her.

 

A heavyweight falls to the ground next to her. She shakily opens her eyes to see the older male lying next to her, pressed down by a bouncer, cursing. A crowd was forming around but no one saw her through the multiple bodyguards. She looks at the ceiling through her never-ending tears before darkness envelops her. 

 

Junghye stirs, her eyesight blurry as it opens. She moves slightly to feel something warm around her. She sits up, realizing a jacket fell upon her lap. She looks down to see a baggy sweater and sweats on her. She feels confused and looks around to see the four walls of the owner’s office. The owner sits in his chair facial features harden. He notices her and looks away with a grim look before guilt takes over him. “I-I don’t know where to start,” he says. “I’m sorry, Junghye.”

 

The memory returns and her grip tighten on the sweater while she was playing with the edge of it. Her eyes stay staring at her lap, wishing to tell him that it was fine when she knew that it wasn’t. “Junghye,” his voice gentle and soft, the soft pounding of the loud music hanging around the silence that follows.

 

Junghye lifts up her head and looks over to the male. A soft and apologetic look was directed at her. “Oppa… is really sorry,” he whispers, loud enough for her to hear. “I-I just t-th-thought that y-you were my ex-girlfriend and the bouncer described y-you. I’m so sorry, Junghye.”

 

“Yonggyu Oppa, it’s okay,” she raises her voice to be heard in the office. “It was something unpredictable.”

 

He inhales a steady breath. “Why… Why were you even in here,” he asks and she lowers her head. “Junghye?”

 

She slowly stands up and goes to the window that overlooks the club. Her eyes wander around the crowd before it lands on peach pink hair. Yonggyu stands next to her, seeing what she was looking for. Her hand rises to point at the bright coloured hair. “Pink?” he asks, looking at her and she nods, staring at the pink haired. “How?”

 

She turns to look at him with a slight grim look. “He… dragged me in here,” she says.

 

“School friend?” he asks and she nods. “Isn’t he underage then?”

 

Junghye simply shakes her head. “Ah… I see… He retained,” Yonggyu guesses and she hesitantly nods. “Why are you hanging around him then?”

 

She looks at the older, biting her lower lip gently, “I don’t… He hangs around me.”

 

“He’s interested?” Yonggyu guesses and she shakes her head. “Then?”

 

She looks back to the pink haired that was downing shots. “Just… classmates,” she says, voice barely above a whisper. 

 

Seeing the indecipherable look on her face, Yonggyu doesn’t probe further. He stares down at the shorter female, thanking God that he was at the club today despite his busy schedule simply because of the change of interior designing and the fact that it was the reopening day. If not… he doesn’t even want to think of the consequences. He shuts his eyes momentarily, feeling tiredness overtake his body.

 

He moves to pick up the discarded jacket that was on the ground due to the younger’s previous movement. He stands behind her and drapes it on her shoulders, staring at her back figure. “Come on, Junghye,” he starts. “I’ll drive you home.”

 

She turns to look at him then nodded. Her hands rise to drape the jacket, even more, snuggling into it slightly. He sees her turn to look out the window once again before catching up with him. “Ready?” he asks and she nods.

 

~~~

 

Junghye’s eyes flutter open and shut. She had returned home at two in the morning, having passed out for a couple of hours at the club. By the time she got into bed, it was three in the morning. Don’t get her wrong but she was used to having to stay up late and waking up early the next day due to the need to earn a living but at the same time having to attend school. 

 

She has been through worse and it leaves her wondering as to why she wasn’t able to survive a weekend of extremely late nights and early mornings. “Choi Junghye!” the teacher yells and she almost jumps out of her chair. “What is wrong with you?”

 

She mutters apologizes, bowing and was saved by the bell. The teacher glares at her but walks out, reminding the class about homework. She heaves in relief before falling into her seat, head resting on the tabletop. A poke to her side jolts her. Her head is lifted to glare at whoever it was. “Where were you last night?” his words carefully chosen and softly spoken.

 

She scoffs softly before turning her head and lying down once again. “Yah. Don’t ignore me,” he whispers, poking her relentlessly.

 

She tsk-s in annoyance and rises once again to look at him with an annoyed look. She hears Hyunmin dragging his chair over to her table. “So, where were you last night? You disappeared,” the male asks again.

 

Hyunmin shoots a curious look between the both of them. He leans in, looking at Junghye who glances at him conveying her thoughts of explaining to him later. She looks back to the pink-haired, mouth opening to respond but she stops. At the thoughts of what happened last night, she stands up abruptly, the chair legs squeaking against the floor before walking away after throwing a glare his way.

 

Hyunmin almost stumbles and rushes to catch up with her. The busy hallways part for the two of them, whispers emerging. She runs to a secluded area of the school, far away from the building and then stops, breathing heavily. She ignores the sound of the footsteps catching up to her and the heavy intakes of breaths too. 

 

Soft footsteps head next to her, “You can cry if you want to.”

 

The gentleness in his voice makes her heart ache slightly. A guy that she barely knew for half a year cared about her as if they were childhood friends, even then, the many times where he simply stood in silence as his form of comfort without wanting to know whatever was happening. “Junghye?” his soft voice calls out and her head lifts to look at his concerned face. “A-are you really okay?”

 

She stares at him blankly then nods slowly. Despite the nod, they both knew it wasn’t genuine. She turns to stare back to the ground, her right foot slightly rubbing against the ground. He stays in silence as he stares at her before sighing softly, spending the next hour in silence.