she was broken inside, so she built her own walls, to be strong.

 

--

 

When Tzuyu was just eleven years old, her parents died in a plane crash. 

 

She stayed in an orphanage for roughly four months, before a lovely couple decided to adopt her. Good things definitely do not last. Just a few days after being adopted, her adoptive mother passed away from a heart attack, causing her adoptive father to blame her for being his bane. Her adoptive father eventually became a drunkard from the pain due to the loss of his wife and abused Tzuyu physically by using his belt to whip her body (which caused her to have scars almost everywhere which could be covered by her uniform), and occasionally forcing soap down . He verbally abused and cursed her daily, definitely not what a kid of her age has to go through.

 

As the government required all children, from aged 7, to receive education, Tzuyu went to school but she was always getting laughed at because of her old uniform and her white — now yellow from being worn for at least four years — shoes full of holes, and for always being quiet and alone.

Needless to say, Tzuyu broke.

 

How could a girl at such a young age not break under such tremendous torture? She eventually secluded herself from everyone, and built invisible walls to protect herself. 

 

She never spoke more than a few words,, not that she needed to. 

 

--

 

That is, until Son Chaeyoung came along.

 

Chaeyoung is short. She is small. She is petite. However, she has such a big personality and such a big smile, a smile which could make cold and broken Tzuyu open up, even just a little bit.

 

She is fearless. 

 

She stood up for Tzuyu when she saw her getting bullied, overlooking her own small physique.

And that, is how they met. 

 

--

 

When Tzuyu was eighteen, she was getting bullied by the usual bully in class, Jay. He threw her already-in-bad-condition bag around, taunting her to react and fight back. 

 

But she couldn't. 

 

She wouldn't. 

 

She knew that it would only get her into trouble, something she couldn't afford because of her already existing problems. He usually gets tired of bullying her after a while, and will throw the worn-out bag at her face, which would usually cause her to stumble backwards due to the amount of force he put into throwing the bag at her. 

 

However, he decided that it was the day to take it a step further.

 

He advanced towards Tzuyu, closing in with a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. As she saw him closing up on her, Tzuyu could only stare blankly into space and wait for whatever that was in store for her. After all, she'd already experienced the worst at home. Just as Jay lifted up his hand, ready to deliver a blow to Tzuyu's face,,

 

”Stop. Or you will regret."

 

The intruding student ran to the middle of Tzuyu and Jay, seemingly trying to protect the taller girl with her small body. Tzuyu noted that the girl was smaller and shorter than her by quite a bit, then deciding to name her “Smol”. Jay snarled, “Screw off, girl. You are messing with the wrong person,” before pushing Smol out of the way and got closer to Tzuyu, who then closed her eyes, awaiting the impact.

 

What happened next made everyone in the class shocked. Smol ran forward, grabbed Jay's arms and flipped him over, taekwondo-style, making him fall to the floor with a loud thud, the girl didn’t even hesitate as she proceeded to land a hard kick on his thighs, dangerously close to his "treasured" part. 

 

That definitely made an impact as Jay stayed on the floor, with fear in his eyes. Smol crouched down, grabbed his collar, stared right into his eyes,

 

"Apologise."

 

"S-Sorry uhh.. what's your name?"

 

She then grabbed his collar tighter, 

"Not to me, to her. And promise me you don't ever go near her anymore."

 

"...Sorry Tzuyu-ssi, I-I won't bother you again."

 

And Jay quickly got up and left. 

Smol walked to Tzuyu, who was still staring blankly somewhere, and introduced herself.

 

"Hi Tzuyu-ssi, I'm Son Chaeyoung." Chaeyoung grinned.

 

And that's when Tzuyu felt her walls, which were built to hide her fragile, vulnerable and broken self, cracking. 

 

---

 

Needless to say, they quickly became close as Chaeyoung didn’t bother to hang out with anyone else, always enjoying the silence in Tzuyu’s company, while Tzuyu only dared to stay with Chaeyoung.

 

At the beginning, Tzuyu still tried to keep her wall up in front Chaeyoung because she just wasn't used to someone caring for her and being her friend. 

 

However, Chaeyoung persisted. 

 

Whenever she talked to Tzuyu, and gave her hugs and care which nobody ever gave her since her real parents passed away, a little part of Tzuyu's wall crumbled. And Tzuyu was scared of her own feelings being exposed.

 

A part of Tzuyu, though, started developing feelings for the only friend she had, who always tried to make her smile with her lame jokes and tickles.

 

Chaeyoung knew that there was something, or someone, that broke Tzuyu and made her the emotionless and almost empty person she was. And she wanted, so badly, to help her and to put joy and light into those beautiful eyes.

 

--

 

One day, Chaeyoung invited Tzuyu over to her house for a sleepover for the first time. Things were actually going well as they watched a movie together and played video games, both of which Tzuyu hasn't done in a very long time. It was like a break from reality for Tzuyu and for sure, Tzuyu was happier with Chaeyoung.

 

Not exactly happy as something was holding her back, but happier. 

 

However, Chaeyoung accidentally walked in on Tzuyu changing in her room. 

 

Chaeyoung was shocked. She was horrified.

 

She took a moment to process the sight in front of her, the amount of scars Tzuyu had on her back, on her stomach, and on her thighs, then she gasped. Tears slowly filling her eyes as she thought of how she wasn't there when Tzuyu suffered.

 

"C-Chaeyoung-ah, im sorry, I-Im going to go." 

 

Tzuyu was very embarrassed of herself, of her scars, of how she looked to her one and only friend who did not deserve to be frightened by those scars of hers. 

 

She quickly put on her clothes and started to head towards the door, eyes tearing up, but she made sure not to let Chaeyoung see her cry, she didn’t want her small friend to feel any worse. Tzuyu thought of herself as strong, and that's what she wanted to believe. Just before her hand touched the door knob, she felt a pair of warm arms circling around her waist from the back, bringing her into a warm embrace.

 

“Tzuyu, d-don't go. Tell me what happened.. Who hurt you.. And what the hell made you like this.." Chaeyoung whispered into the taller girl's back as she thought that if she spoke any louder, Tzuyu might really break. 

 

Tzuyu just kept quiet and looked down, not letting her walls break. 

 

Chaeyoung turned Tzuyu around, and brought both of her hands up to Tzuyu's cheeks, thumb slowly caressing the skin, making Tzuyu look at her in her own teary eyes, and she saw how Tzuyu's eyes were filled with fear and even worse, embarrassment.

 

"Tzuyu-ah.. please Tzu, Im here for you.. Stop hiding yourself behind those walls.."

 

Tzuyu finally lets a drop of tear roll down her face. 

 

She said she's here for me. 

Someone actually cares for me. 

 

Chaeyoung immediately pulled her into a tight and warm hug and ran her fingers through the taller girl’s hair,

 

"Cry, it's okay."

 

And all of Tzuyu's walls broke down as she started sobbing and crying for the first time since she was eleven, in Chaeyoung's arms, 

 

where she felt safe.

 

--

 

Tzuyu eventually got very exhausted and light-headed from her own crying and let the shorter girl bring her to her bed. 

 

Chaeyoung helped her lie down and tucked her warmly into the bed. As she started to leave the room, Tzuyu stopped her,

 

“Chaeng.. Stay with me, please.. I'm.. I'm.."

 

Chaeyoung didn't wait for Tzuyu to finish her sentence as she nudged Tzuyu to the other side of the bed, lifted the blankets and fitted her own tiny body into the covers. She then wrapped her arms around the taller girl, pulled her closer, and buried her face into the crook of the taller girl's neck,

 

"I've got you." The shorter girl mumbled.

 

Tzuyu smiled a little. Just a little. And courageously placed a kiss to Chaeyoung's forehead, something a small part of her has been wanting to do for a long time.

 

"Thank you, Chaengie.." She whispered.

 

Chaeyoung looked up and gave her a smile, and reached her hand up to caress Tzuyu's cheeks before resuming her position with her face deep into the crook of Tzuyu's neck, slowly taking in the taller girl's warmth. And it was the first night in which Tzuyu was able to sleep well, with her chin resting on shorter girl's head.

 

-

 

 

For once, she felt safe.

For once, she felt protected.

 

For once, Tzuyu was not broken.