TW: Violence

--------------------------------
 

"Hwang Yeji." Junseo drawled from his pierced lips, jewelry dotted fingers cracking irritatingly. His goons stood next to him like soldiers waiting for a command to attack.

Yeji slammed her locker shut, trying to control her breathing. Blood pumped faster through her veins as her heart rate spiked in anger and fear.

"Ooo is Ms goody two shoes giving attitude?" He taunts in a sarcastic manner. His goons snicker beside him. 

"Leave me alone." Yeji mutters, slinging her bag over her shoulders. As much as she wanted to swipe the smirk off his face with a punch, she knew she couldn't take them. 

Turning on her heel, Yeji was suddenly yanked backwards by her bag, Junseo's goon being the culprit of that. She stumbles backwards onto the floor, landing painfully on her tailbone.

"Not so fast." He towered over her, then grabbed her up by the throat, lifting her up with a beefy hand.

Yeji's eyes widen in shock, instinctively grasping at his forearms that tightly held . She struggled to breathe, legs flailing beneath her. She begun to feel lightheaded and started to see black dots.

"Boys," Juneseo grinned maliciously at her. "A couple punches and we're out of here." He let go of Yeji and before she could react, a flying fist came to her abdomen.

She clutched her stomach at the initial impact, curling into a ball only for them to roughly kick her lower back. Yeji's arms flew to her face in attempt to save at least some part of herself. 

Her groans of pain went unnoticed in the empty hallways, as she took punch after punch without strength for any self-defense. Hiding her tear-streaked face was no easy task, her arms started to tremble and lay limply by her side. Junseo took that opportunity to send a punch to her jaw. There goes the attempt to save a part of herself.

Yeji laid defeated on the floor, accepting her fate. She curled into a ball, even if it hurt to do so, praying for them to walk away. 

Junseo forcefully grabbed her chin so that they made eye contact. Jokes on him, Yeji could only see him distortedly through teary eyes.

"Tell that brother of yours to stay in his lane." Junseo warned in a sinister manner. "Now out of my way." He threw Yeji against the lockers. 

They strutted off, laughing like villains found in a movie. Yeji cursed harshly under her breath even if no sound came out. She cursed that she wasn't strong, cursed that it was her brother's fault and cursed that she had this life to live, a spiral that only choked her tighter and tighter.

She reaches blindly for her bag, her brain only then registering the aftermath of the punches as the pain strikes her in an instant. Reddish spots dotted her arms like rashes, that bounded to be bruises within days. She whimpers, trying to get up by herself but miserably fails, sliding down to the ground helplessly.

"Oh my god!" Yeji hears a pitchy voice from her right. Her head whipped to the sound, only able to see a silhouette.

As she got closer, Yeji managed to make out her distinct features, recognising her as a classmate from chemistry.

"Are you okay?? What happened?!" She kneels in front of Yeji, eyes frantically examining her body before looking into her eyes for a response. Yeji's vision was still  blurry, but she could see that the girl was trying to help her drink water. She gladly gulped it down which eased her clogged throat.

"The infirmary's closed, can I help treat you at my house?" She offered kindly.

Yeji's prayers had been answered in a rather unexpected way, but she found no reason to complain. Unable to talk, she nods and winces with minimal movement.

Despite having a considerably smaller frame, Yeji was able to lean on her, slinging a long arm around her shoulders. The girl who she remembered as Jisu took her bag and wrapped a careful arm around her waist to support her further. 

Slowly but surely, they get to her car. Jisu assists her to the passenger seat, settling her in as gently as she could. She helped her with her seatbelt before getting to the driver's seat.

"Do you want some painkillers?" Jisu softly asks, ibuprofen in hand.

Yeji nods, taking one. She tells herself to patiently wait for it to kick in.

Heading on the road, Jisu checks on Yeji every couple seconds, knowing she could pass out at any moment. Yeji keeps her eyes ahead on the road, blinking her tears away as she concentrates on distracting herself from the pain. This wasn't her first time.

"You're Yeji right?" Jisu questioned at a red light.

Yeji nods, her lips daring to twitch into a smile even though her face felt practically numb. It was nice to know that someone knew her name. She was usually treated as an outcast at school.

"I'm Jisu, we're arriving real soon so hang in there." Jisu continues with an assuring grin.

Yeji couldn't help but feel assured upon seeing that, but she wondered if she could trust Jisu...? She's never seen someone as caring to a 'stranger's as Jisu was. And were her parents home? She'd hate to be much of a burden...

Pulling into a driveway, Yeji immediately takes notice of the bungalow, brain falling into a couple assumptions of Jisu. She pushed them aside and focused on being respectful instead.

Jisu carries half her body weight towards her house, opening the door with a code. She felt the girl tense up by the door, seeming hesitant to go in.

"I have no intention to harm you Yeji, I really want to help you." Jisu coaxes her, "And if you're worried about my parents...don't be. They're never here." She finishes bitterly.

Yeji took notice of that, but didn't say anything. She replies with a quiet 'okay' and they get safely inside, the taller girl immediately taking in the house's beautiful interior.

"Shall we go up to my room? I have the necessary stuff there." Jisu says after a moment, letting Yeji familiarise herself.

Yeji nods, and they head down a hallway to Jisu's room. Jisu set her to lean on her wall temporarily, taking a fluffy towel from her cupboard to spread it on her bed. She then went back to Yeji's side and eased her onto the bed.

"Here's some water," Jisu assisted her at first but Yeji takes it from her, able to hold it herself. "I'll first treat your cuts." She walked away again to take a first aid box.

Yeji cleared . "Th-thank y-you Jisu." She stutters in attempt to speak.

Jisu turns to face her, smiling brightly. "You're very welcome. I'm glad I can help out." She carefully drops disinfectant onto the cuts on her thighs, dabbing the excess fluid with a cotton puff.

Yeji distracts herself know from the slight stinging by observing Jisu's face of concentration, face adorably scrunched up. Unknowingly, her head tilts with Jisu's as she treated her.

"I'm sorry to say this but it's going to be extremely painful to shower." Jisu looks up at her, only to see lost kitty eyes already staring back at her. Her heart clenches in pain for her classmate.

"I know." Yeji replies knowingly, voice somewhat back. "Not my first time."

Jisu knew those last four words weighed more than she could ever imagine, so she silently goes back to treating her, securely pasting water-proof bandages on the cuts.

"Is anywhere else injured?" Jisu asks, eyes trailing to her arms. She was shocked to see lightly bluish-purple spots  appear on them. Yeji followed her eyes with a defeated sigh.

"They really didn't go easy on me this time." Yeji winces at the memory, knowing her abdomen and back would look a lot worse. "My arms feel better than it looks. It's my back and stomach that needs the most help." She returns her gaze onto Jisu in time to see the horror in her eyes. Her lips twist into an amused smile.

"I'm fine Jisu, I really am." Yeji tries to assure her, but that doesn't quite assures Jisu, who wanted to cry for the latter. "I honestly feel a million times better having you treat me."

Jisu could sense the shyness in her tone, but also raw emotion in it. She smiles up at her, touched to have someone finally recognise her efforts.

"Here I have an anti-flammatory cream," Jisu holds up a white tube. "meant for bruises. Maybe you can tell me where's affected most and I'll apply this?" Jisu's suggestion sounded more like a statement and Yeji almost wanted to salute her words.

"Yeah should I remove my shirt then?" Yeji brows were innocently knitted.

Jisu feel her blush creep up her neck, flustered by her blunt words. "I-if you don't mind."

"I don't." Yeji's voice is muffled by her shirt, groans escaping her lips as she pulled it over her head, Jisu helping her with her arms. "Argh." Yeji focused on breathing the pain away. She then realised it was probably the ibuprofen kicking in.

"Oh my god." Jisu didn't hold back in reaction, eyes widening as if she had just seen someone die.

Yeji stifles laughter. "Just apply the cream please."

She squeezes a suitable amount onto her fingertip and starts spreading it around the affected area, which was her lower abdomen. Jisu had to admit that she had fine abs.

"See something you like?" Yeji cocked her head the side questioningly, staring at Jisu who seemed to be intentionally taking her time.

Jisu blushed, mumbling under her breath. "No, sorry."

"I'm kidding. You just look cute." Yeji smoothly adds, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

Jisu didn't quite know how to react, only able to react inwardly to the latter's advances; her heart started to race and she was sure her face had gone tomato red.

"Thank you." She mumbles, composing herself. She glanced back up at Yeji who was oblivious to her flusteredness.

"Do you want to turn around or should I go behind you?" Jisu asks.

"Go behind me. Ain't no way my muscles letting me turn around." Yeji joked and Jisu shared her laughter.

"Holy crap." Jisu's eyes nearly popped out her sockets when seeing the damage done on her back.

"Jisu, don't scare me like that." Yeji jokes, but was scared that her spine was moved or something.

"What did they do to you..." Jisu unconsciously slips out, lightly tracing her fingers on her back.

Yeji feels goosebumps rise in her arms at her touch, in a pleasing manner. "They did lots of things." She says through gritted her teeth.

Jisu replies with a sad 'mhm', applying lots of cream to the reddend areas of her back, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She could, but didn't want to imagine.

"That's done." She screws the lid back on, crawling off the bed to clean up the stuff.

"Is my spine fine? Is anything out of place?" Yeji questioned in a childish manner but with a hint of seriousness.

Jisu frowns, "Your spine is good. I don't think any bone is broken, did you hear something crack?" She goes back to gently stretch Yeji's arms.

Yeji was afraid to feel an arm discolate, but there was nothing. A wave of relief wash over her as Jisu sends her another smile.

"I didn't. But it's always just a thought." Yeji hesitantly cracks her fingers. They crack without pain, just nitrogen bubbles popping.

"Do you think the cream would work for my tailbone? Or is ice better?" Yeji remembers landing on it, but the towel was so soft she barely felt any pressure on the funny bone. 

Jisu nods. "Ice would work too. Do you think you can handle ice on your stomach and back? I figured it'd be too cold for you so I used the cream instead." She cutely rambles while getting a thin pouch with a velcro strap. 

Yeji chuckles at her ramble. "I think ice for my tailbone is good. My back and stomach can handle it for now."

"Should I get you something to eat too?" Jisu questions before leaving the room.

"Uhh I'm not too hungry, but some fruit would be nice." Yeji didn't want to reject her kindness, but didn't want to take advantage of it either.

"Okay. I'll be back."

Yeji is left with her thoughts, struggling to comprehend why her brother was still messing with Junseo and his crew. She had spoken about to him many times before, none succesful as it seems. She would have take action herself before it gets worse. She didn't want to get beat up even more often than she already was. She was lucky to have Jisu help her in a rare chance, but so that was probability not to rely on.

She had the urge to lean against something, but didn't want to touch anything without Jisu's permission. So she grazed her eyes over Jisu's room.

It gave soft and cosy vibes, with pastel-coloured walls and furniture which contrasted each other but not strongly. A bunch of science-related posters hung on her well, seemingly clean and unwrinkled as if they were new. The only worn out things in her room were books that lined up in neat rows on her shelves, Yeji tilted her head to the side to read the titles. They all had something to do with medicine.

"I'm back." Yeji was snapped out of her thoughts, head whipping to Jisu who had just entered the room.

"Oh thanks." Yeji receives a tray of fruit from Jisu and pops a grape in .

"So this is a gel ice pack," Jisu holds up a blue plastic pouch, before inserting it into the pouch she was holding onto earlier. "You can sit on it without it bursting."

Yeji nods, following Jisu's instructions to adjust her position, so that she could comfortably rest. Coincidentally, she propped Yeji up to the headboard, so that she could relax her back.

"You would be a good doctor." It slipped out of Yeji's mouth kindly, but Jisu couldn't take it that way.

"Thanks." Jisu's voice was quiet as she spread a blanket over Yeji's legs to keep her warm. Her eyes became flat.

Yeji was worried that she had said something wrong, "Sorry I-" Jisu unexpectedly feeds her a piece of strawberry.

"Don't be sorry. It's just my parents wish is for me to be a doctor. I don't want that despite all the knowledge they've been forcing into me." Jisu gestures to the posters and books in the shelves that Yeji had just seen.

"Ah." Yeji swallows the sweet fruit. "What do you want to be then?"

"A singer." Jisu simply replies. "That's why I don't get too sad when they leave for a while. I close all the windows and karaoke in the living room." Yeji copies her smile hearing her enthusiasm.

"Funnily enough I quite enjoy singing too. We should go to the karaoke together." Yeji didn't know why she suddenly suggested but she did and there was no going back.

"Sounds like fun!" Jisu nods excitedly, smiling brighter then when she first saw her smile.

"It's getting dark. Will you go back home soon?" Jisu stes the empty tray on her table, telling Yeji that she would clean it up despite Yeji's insistent attempts to return it herself.

Yeji's face darkened. "There's no such thing as home for me, my parents will only make me run more errands for them." She shook her head fearfully. "I'll just sleep at a shelter tonight or something." Jisu was once again horrified at how casual Yeji was speaking of her experiences.

"A shelter? Oh god, you can stay here you know?" Jisu hurriedly replies before she realised what she was saying. 

Yeji's eyes widened in surprise. "That's too much, I don't want to overstay my welcome."

But even when Jisu did realise, she didn't change her mind either. "I really don't mind, like I said my parents are gone for a while and...I would really like your company." She shyly confesses in the end.

That puts a warm smile on Yeji's face. No one ever told her that before. She was always given the responsibility of a slave to her parents, and a puppet of her brother's antics. She's never had anyone normal by her side. 

"Okay well, when you look at me so cutely like that I can't say no." Yeji expresses honesty, not getting over how adorable Jisu was up close.

Jisu blushes at her answer, but leans in to kiss Yeji's cheek. The taller girl looks at her in confusion.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Jisu's hands fly to in realisation. "I didn't even realise that I kissed your-"

"It's more than alright Jisu," Yeji laughs at her flustered expression. "If I would've known you wanted to kiss me I would've let you do it earlier." Yeji winks at her.

"Oh my god." Jisu repeated in embarrassment, face flushing red. Yeji bursts out laughing at her reaction, reaching out to pat Jisu's head.

"I guess I also feel thankful to have you here Yeji. Despite the inconvenient circumstances, I'm glad I won't be staying alone." Jisu reasoned, her eyes sparkling like that one 'precious' emoji.

Yeji grinned, sharing that thought. "I'm glad I could help you out just as you've helped me." She then looked at Jisu seriously. "Could you kiss me again? It made my jaw feel better."

Jisu's cheeks remained pink as she giggled, but did as told. "Did your jaw get hit on as well?"

"No." Yeji replied quickly, eyes averting to nowhere as Jisu stares at her suspiciously.

"Yeji..." She warns.

"Okay fine I got a punch." Yeji rubs the sore spot, just below where Jisu had kissed her. She had really soft lips.

"Yeji!" Jisu ran to get the cream again. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

"It was numb!" Yeji defended herself. "And like I said your kiss made it feel better." She was blunt with her feelings, a habit of hers when she was comfortable with someone.

Her words made Jisu blush for the third time, but she returned her focus on applying the cream to the area. 

"So before I properly clean up," Jisu sits on her knees next to Yeji. "Is there anywhere else that needs my love and attention?" She exaggerates with hand gestures.

"Yes." Yeji nods, smirking lightly.

"Where?" Jisu replies, making nothing out of the smirk.

"My heart."

"Yeji!"