⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

《 𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓵𝓾𝓼 》

Ae-Ri tip toed her way towards the stairs, she prayed to god that her mother won’t hear her steps as she carefully walked across her bedroom. She released a relieved sigh as she reached the stairs. Not wasting anytime, she quickly ran down, still making sure to make the most minimum noise she could produce.

Slipping the shoes was the last thing she needs to do before going to school. She didn’t even care to take breakfast. Honestly, she forgot when was the last time she had a proper meal. Skipping breakfast and dinner are her norms. Lunch would be her only meal of the day but then it wasn’t easy to do either.

She was just about to turn the knob, suddenly a glass bottle landed right next to her. She flinched to sound of the shattered object. “Yah!” Ae-Ri clenched her teeth as she heard her mother’s yell from upstairs.

She slowly turned, “Eomma…” her voice trembled along her body. This wasn’t the first time her mother threw things at her, there were countless occasion in the past since the day her father left. Ae-Ri swore she could tick off all the items in ‘things-you-shouldn’t-throw-to-people’ list. Her mother had thrown it all, bottles, chairs, tables, even knives.

“You son-of-a-! How dare you leave me behind! You ungrateful bastard!” The woman yelled at the top of her lungs. Her stumbling steps ended in middle of staircase, trying to walk straight seemed to be problem of hers. Ae-Ri never seen her mother sober anymore. She was always drunk, and she would sometimes bring men home.

Hearing her rants, Ae-Ri knew her mother wasn’t in the reality, she was still strapped in the nightmare that haunted, not just her but Ae-Ri as well. The middle age woman whined and cursed to the air about how her husband cheated on her and left her alone to raise a good for nothing daughter. Ae-Ri looked down to the pieces of glass on the floor, she smiled out of irony on how the broken pieces of the shards bear a resemblance of her heart. She gripped on the door knob and twisted it; making a run out of the place other people call home.

~~~

Ae-Ri plugged her ears with a pair of earphones, she drowned herself in the melody of the music. She skipped the song she was currently listening to a song titled When Night Falls by Eddy Kim. She didn’t have any particular reason why she liked this song but the lyrics hits her everytime. Even if she didn’t have anyone that she could lean on; the song makes her feel like she has one. Sometimes when she listened to it she thought of Jungkook and how she wanted him to hold her hand and take away from this hell on earth.

She stared at the lunch in front of her, she wanted to eat but it was about time.

“Hey there dummy. I see you listen to me this time huh?” she displayed a devilish smirk.

Ae-Ri sighed mentally, “Speak of the devil…” But her lips remained shut. Before she knew it, her head was wet from a sudden touch of liquid. Ae-Ri let the orange juice run down her hair down to her face and left her chin. She bit her lower lips in order to hold back embarrassment she was going through. She remained still as her soulless eyes. The whole cafeteria witnessed this scene almost every day; some of the eyes that was staring at her was pitying her; some giggled along the bully and there are some who just didn’t care.