62
Miss. Trouble
She sat opposite of Lay, who were lying on the couch, staring up on the ceiling. Kris had retreated up to his own bedroom, saying something like he needed to call someone. “You should get that treated.” her cheeks flushed when he glanced over, but the previous playful gaze of his were completely gone and instead replaced by sorrow. “Like it matters. I’m probably going to be beaten up again, the second I step into my house.” Leerang blinked at the older male, shocked by his words. “Are you saying someone you knew did that?” she motioned at the bruises on his face, some of them were still bleeding and droplets of blood trickled down his cheeks and chin. Lay remained quiet though, as he’d promised Kris to not tell her anything. It was kind of funny in a way, how he showed up there and all, especially since he disliked the older male with a passion. Not only did they share the same dad, but also the love for the same girl.
Heaving a sigh Leerang stood up and went to grab the first aid kit, one Kris’ mother had used when she’d hurt herself. The girl came to a halt when reaching the staircase, and she contemplated whether to head up and talk to Kris. She decided against it since though, as he’d told the two he didn’t wanted to be disturbed. Yet another sigh slipped from her slightly parted lips, “I wonder who he’s talking to.” for it to be his mother seemed highly unlikely. But then again, they were pretty close and Leerang wouldn’t exactly be surprised at how much the older woman knew. Plus, did any of that matter at the moment? To try and figure out what’d happened to Lay was somewhat more important, and she couldn’t help but to remember Kris’ words from earlier. How Lay’s injury wasn’t the only problem.
Kris were still occupied upstairs as she walked back into the livingroom and where Lay was splayed out on the couch. Swallowing hard she settled the kit on the table, “you’ll have to sit up.” the male glanced up and Leerang avoided his stare as she proceeded to push a chair over, one she placed right in front of him. But being so close caused her heart to race and cheeks to flush. It scared her in a sense. Even more as the feelings she’d once had were still not completely buried. Lay though, kept his gaze set on the younger girl all the whilst she reached for the aid kit, “I’m sorry.” his apologize struck her like lightning and she blinked up at him, wondering whether she’d imagined things or not because Leerang couldn’t understand why he would say sorry all of a sudden, “don’t you think it’s a bit late for that?” it wasn’t as simple as that, and she felt those familiar tears build up when remembering everything he’d done, “I’m not easy.” to play with people’s feelings were bound to end badly even from the start. “I know.” Lay begun to slowly realize how much he must’ve hurt her, how much he’d hurt himself whilst acting as such. If only he had been more sincere and truthful from the start. Complete silence followed, something that sparked a new kind of uneasiness within the said girl. Leerang had somewhat always felt like she needed to watch everything she said and did around him, and the reason to that was one she didn’t know herself.
It took a few moments before she composed herself enough to speak, “keep still now.” the sentence would’ve been more fitted for her, seeing how her hand shook when trying to clean the injuries from blood and dirt. Leerang tried her best though, and was careful to not hurt him even more. But the task became more and more difficult and her eyebrows furrowed since Lay kept on staring, “you don’t have to stare.” the reply from his side was immediate, “but you’re beautiful.” her gaze flickered up to meet his and she felt her whole body turn rigid at the intensity of Lay’s stare. He’d always been blunt, but this was new. “Don’t.” she moved back and was right about to stand when his hand reached out and cupped her chin. The skincontact had her heart reacted on it’s own and adrenaline rushed through her veins as a result. Leerang was completely flabbergasted by the turn of events, not only because of Lay’s actions, but also due to his whole demeanor. Like he’d come to realize the mistakes he had made.
The sound of Kris’ mother voice caused them to break apart and Leerang practically rushed out to greet the older woman, who looked surprised upon her sudden arrival. “Oh, I thought you’d left.” Leerang shook her head, “not yet.” all thoughts about school were long forgotten the moment a bleeding Lay entered the house, which reminded her of Kris. The male was still upstairs in his bedroom. Not knowing how the explain what’d taken place whilst the woman was gone Leerang spoke up, “Kris need to talk to you. He’s in his room.” it would be for be the best to keep Kris’ mother away from the living room and Lay, especially as the girl had no idea what kind of reaction they would get. For all Leerang knew Kris’ mother could despise the boy even more than what Kris himself did.
Leerang followed with up the stairs, only to watch as Kris came stomping out of room, looking really furious and angry. He came to an abrupt stop however, when noticing the two females, “mom?” his blood froze and he gave Leerang a hasty glance, as if asking whether his mother knew about Lay. “Yes? Leerang said you wanted to talk to me.” so much had changed in such a short amount of time, but Kris couldn’t lie to his mother, not about this ordeal. He would have to explain the situation and that Lay was currently lying on their couch. “Mom, I have to tell you something.” Leerang took it as a cue to leave. But instead of completely heading down the staircase though, did she press herself up against the wall a couple of steps down, thus making it possible to hear every word they said. The girl felt bad for doing as such, considering how it wasn’t particularly nice to listen in on other people’s conversation. Still, it would probably be the only way to find out about what’d happened to Lay.
Kris ran a hand through his head whilst trying to compose the words in his head. A task that was rather hard seeing how he’d received so much information in just a couple of hours. Plus, Kris had no clue to what his mother thought of Lay. The other male hadn’t exactly done anything towards her, besides being the son of the man she once had an affair with. “Mom, you need to hear me out right now.” immediately did the woman interrupt, “did you end up in trouble?” he remained silent for a few seconds, because he was still involved even though he weren’t the one who’d started it. Kris’ frowned, “kind of... I don’t really know.” Lay’s description of what’d happened had been all over the place and he were yet to grasp the whole situation. Therefore did it take a little longer to form his sentences, “actually, this is about my dad.” he dreaded to say the last word because never had the old man acknowledged him, it was as if he didn’t even exist to his father. “What about him?” Kris fell silent at the tone of his mother’s voice, she sounded upset and maybe a bit surprised, which was more than understandable. The subject hadn’t been brought to question very often though, as both of them despised talking about it. “Kris, did he do something to you?” he shook his head, “no, but Lay suffered quite a few punches to his face.”
Leerang stifled a gasp from her place, she could barely believe his own father had done such a thing. The revelation however, sparked another question, and the girl wondered what Lay had caused in order to suffer consequences like that? Having heard enough she made her way down the last couple of steps, thus making sure they wouldn’t know she’d listen in on their conversation.
Panic arouse within when she noticed that Lay wasn’t in the livingroom, something the girl found incredibly weird. And for him to have left seemed impossible, knowing how badly injured he was. Her cell phone rang though, before she was given the time to figure out where he could be. It was Jungah. “Hello.” Leerang moved about to look for Lay whilst proceeding with the phone call, “Leerang where are you? I thought you said you’d be in school?” the girl made a face, “sorry, something urgent came up and I’m trying to fix it right now.” she wandered over and took a quick glance into the café, but there were no Lay there either. “WHAT?” Are you in trouble? Do you need help?” Jungah’s outburst caused a smile to grow and she let out a low laugh, “thank you for the concern. But I think I can handle this.” or so she hoped, because there were still a lot of things she needed answers to and to be honest, Leerang was terrified of what she might discover. “You sure?” Jungah questioned with a slight undertone of worry. “Yeah.” not knowing what else to say she lied. It was easiest that way, since she didn’t know how much she could tell Jungah. Not even Kris’ friends, with the exception of Luhan, knew everything. “Okay then. I’ll see you later.” Leerang heaved a sigh after her friend bid goodbye and the call ended, she disliked having to lie. But it was the best for the time being. At least until some things got sorted out.
A loud cough distracted the girl from her thoughts and she glanced up just in time to watch Lay stagger out of the bathroom, clutching onto his side as if in pain. Leerang was by his side in a matter of seconds, “what are you doing? You should be resting, not walking around.” carefully did she wrap an arm around his waist, thus making sure to not put pressure on further injuries he might have. “I’m not going to be treated like some dying person.” Lay groaned as the younger girl squeezed her hand against an old bruise, an action that caused Leerang to frown, “see. You should’ve paid the hospital a visit.” never. He wouldn’t go there at any time, as it would stir up a media circus his father didn’t want to know of. Lay treated all his wounds on his own instead. It was easier that way, because no questions were asked and he wouldn’t have to bother with others curiosity.
Kris and his mother came downstairs not long after she’d managed to get Lay back in the couch, and Leerang could easily see how the older woman looked bothered. She didn’t know the exact reason though, since she barely knew what Kris’ mother thought of Lay and his father. “Are you going to speak up or what?” Kris murmured, slightly irritated. He wanted to know the behind story of why their father would beat one of his own sons. “Kris honey. Treat your brother with respect.” Leerang gaped and she was pretty sure both Kris and Lay were equally taken aback by the woman’s words. She wasn’t so certain any of the two saw the other one as their brother. Not with the past they shared. “Like hell I will.” furious Kris stalked out of there and headed outside, the front door slamming shut behind him. “I’m sorry. He’s a bit immature at times. But he’ll come around.” Kris’ mother smiled, but Lay wouldn’t count on it, and he didn’t blame him, not after all the he’d put his half-brother through, “y -yeah.”
There were a brief moment of silence and Leerang contemplated whether to go check on Kris or stay put in the living room. A decision she didn’t have to make since the male reappeared again, still looking really angry. “Can we cut to the chase now?” there was no way he would treat Lay with any sort of respect, ever. And it made no difference whether his mother said so or not. “Fine.” Lay breathed in deep, his chest heaved and he had to fight back the groan threatening to spill when the bruises around his chest and abandonment pulsated in pain. “I misplaced some papers, which then ended up being found by someone at my father’s office.” Leerang blinked, wondering if it was just a joke. It made absolutely no sense that anyone would beat another person up over some misplaced papers, nonetheless one’s own son. “And this was the huge problem you were talking about? I don’t see how a paper would cause such a big fuss.” really. One damn piece of paper. Kris wanted to laugh. “It wasn’t just any paper.” Lay snapped, only to clench his jaw when more pain erupted, “because it was from your mother, and on it did it say she was pregnant with you. Plus, she’d signed it with her own name and the date.” realization hit Leerang like a speeding train, “is that why he’s trying to sell off the café? So he won’t be associated with Kris’ mother’s name?” Lay nodded before continuing, “he’s trying to get it sold as soon as possible since he’s afraid the news will find out about his affair with another woman whilst being married.” yeah, that would definitely be a career destroyer. But not only for him. But for Kris’ mother, too. Not to mention Kris, he would be put through hardships all over again.
Leerang shuddered at the possibilities of so many people’s lives being ruined.
Heaving a sigh Leerang stood up and went to grab the first aid kit, one Kris’ mother had used when she’d hurt herself. The girl came to a halt when reaching the staircase, and she contemplated whether to head up and talk to Kris. She decided against it since though, as he’d told the two he didn’t wanted to be disturbed. Yet another sigh slipped from her slightly parted lips, “I wonder who he’s talking to.” for it to be his mother seemed highly unlikely. But then again, they were pretty close and Leerang wouldn’t exactly be surprised at how much the older woman knew. Plus, did any of that matter at the moment? To try and figure out what’d happened to Lay was somewhat more important, and she couldn’t help but to remember Kris’ words from earlier. How Lay’s injury wasn’t the only problem.
Kris were still occupied upstairs as she walked back into the livingroom and where Lay was splayed out on the couch. Swallowing hard she settled the kit on the table, “you’ll have to sit up.” the male glanced up and Leerang avoided his stare as she proceeded to push a chair over, one she placed right in front of him. But being so close caused her heart to race and cheeks to flush. It scared her in a sense. Even more as the feelings she’d once had were still not completely buried. Lay though, kept his gaze set on the younger girl all the whilst she reached for the aid kit, “I’m sorry.” his apologize struck her like lightning and she blinked up at him, wondering whether she’d imagined things or not because Leerang couldn’t understand why he would say sorry all of a sudden, “don’t you think it’s a bit late for that?” it wasn’t as simple as that, and she felt those familiar tears build up when remembering everything he’d done, “I’m not easy.” to play with people’s feelings were bound to end badly even from the start. “I know.” Lay begun to slowly realize how much he must’ve hurt her, how much he’d hurt himself whilst acting as such. If only he had been more sincere and truthful from the start. Complete silence followed, something that sparked a new kind of uneasiness within the said girl. Leerang had somewhat always felt like she needed to watch everything she said and did around him, and the reason to that was one she didn’t know herself.
It took a few moments before she composed herself enough to speak, “keep still now.” the sentence would’ve been more fitted for her, seeing how her hand shook when trying to clean the injuries from blood and dirt. Leerang tried her best though, and was careful to not hurt him even more. But the task became more and more difficult and her eyebrows furrowed since Lay kept on staring, “you don’t have to stare.” the reply from his side was immediate, “but you’re beautiful.” her gaze flickered up to meet his and she felt her whole body turn rigid at the intensity of Lay’s stare. He’d always been blunt, but this was new. “Don’t.” she moved back and was right about to stand when his hand reached out and cupped her chin. The skincontact had her heart reacted on it’s own and adrenaline rushed through her veins as a result. Leerang was completely flabbergasted by the turn of events, not only because of Lay’s actions, but also due to his whole demeanor. Like he’d come to realize the mistakes he had made.
The sound of Kris’ mother voice caused them to break apart and Leerang practically rushed out to greet the older woman, who looked surprised upon her sudden arrival. “Oh, I thought you’d left.” Leerang shook her head, “not yet.” all thoughts about school were long forgotten the moment a bleeding Lay entered the house, which reminded her of Kris. The male was still upstairs in his bedroom. Not knowing how the explain what’d taken place whilst the woman was gone Leerang spoke up, “Kris need to talk to you. He’s in his room.” it would be for be the best to keep Kris’ mother away from the living room and Lay, especially as the girl had no idea what kind of reaction they would get. For all Leerang knew Kris’ mother could despise the boy even more than what Kris himself did.
Leerang followed with up the stairs, only to watch as Kris came stomping out of room, looking really furious and angry. He came to an abrupt stop however, when noticing the two females, “mom?” his blood froze and he gave Leerang a hasty glance, as if asking whether his mother knew about Lay. “Yes? Leerang said you wanted to talk to me.” so much had changed in such a short amount of time, but Kris couldn’t lie to his mother, not about this ordeal. He would have to explain the situation and that Lay was currently lying on their couch. “Mom, I have to tell you something.” Leerang took it as a cue to leave. But instead of completely heading down the staircase though, did she press herself up against the wall a couple of steps down, thus making it possible to hear every word they said. The girl felt bad for doing as such, considering how it wasn’t particularly nice to listen in on other people’s conversation. Still, it would probably be the only way to find out about what’d happened to Lay.
Kris ran a hand through his head whilst trying to compose the words in his head. A task that was rather hard seeing how he’d received so much information in just a couple of hours. Plus, Kris had no clue to what his mother thought of Lay. The other male hadn’t exactly done anything towards her, besides being the son of the man she once had an affair with. “Mom, you need to hear me out right now.” immediately did the woman interrupt, “did you end up in trouble?” he remained silent for a few seconds, because he was still involved even though he weren’t the one who’d started it. Kris’ frowned, “kind of... I don’t really know.” Lay’s description of what’d happened had been all over the place and he were yet to grasp the whole situation. Therefore did it take a little longer to form his sentences, “actually, this is about my dad.” he dreaded to say the last word because never had the old man acknowledged him, it was as if he didn’t even exist to his father. “What about him?” Kris fell silent at the tone of his mother’s voice, she sounded upset and maybe a bit surprised, which was more than understandable. The subject hadn’t been brought to question very often though, as both of them despised talking about it. “Kris, did he do something to you?” he shook his head, “no, but Lay suffered quite a few punches to his face.”
Leerang stifled a gasp from her place, she could barely believe his own father had done such a thing. The revelation however, sparked another question, and the girl wondered what Lay had caused in order to suffer consequences like that? Having heard enough she made her way down the last couple of steps, thus making sure they wouldn’t know she’d listen in on their conversation.
Panic arouse within when she noticed that Lay wasn’t in the livingroom, something the girl found incredibly weird. And for him to have left seemed impossible, knowing how badly injured he was. Her cell phone rang though, before she was given the time to figure out where he could be. It was Jungah. “Hello.” Leerang moved about to look for Lay whilst proceeding with the phone call, “Leerang where are you? I thought you said you’d be in school?” the girl made a face, “sorry, something urgent came up and I’m trying to fix it right now.” she wandered over and took a quick glance into the café, but there were no Lay there either. “WHAT?” Are you in trouble? Do you need help?” Jungah’s outburst caused a smile to grow and she let out a low laugh, “thank you for the concern. But I think I can handle this.” or so she hoped, because there were still a lot of things she needed answers to and to be honest, Leerang was terrified of what she might discover. “You sure?” Jungah questioned with a slight undertone of worry. “Yeah.” not knowing what else to say she lied. It was easiest that way, since she didn’t know how much she could tell Jungah. Not even Kris’ friends, with the exception of Luhan, knew everything. “Okay then. I’ll see you later.” Leerang heaved a sigh after her friend bid goodbye and the call ended, she disliked having to lie. But it was the best for the time being. At least until some things got sorted out.
A loud cough distracted the girl from her thoughts and she glanced up just in time to watch Lay stagger out of the bathroom, clutching onto his side as if in pain. Leerang was by his side in a matter of seconds, “what are you doing? You should be resting, not walking around.” carefully did she wrap an arm around his waist, thus making sure to not put pressure on further injuries he might have. “I’m not going to be treated like some dying person.” Lay groaned as the younger girl squeezed her hand against an old bruise, an action that caused Leerang to frown, “see. You should’ve paid the hospital a visit.” never. He wouldn’t go there at any time, as it would stir up a media circus his father didn’t want to know of. Lay treated all his wounds on his own instead. It was easier that way, because no questions were asked and he wouldn’t have to bother with others curiosity.
Kris and his mother came downstairs not long after she’d managed to get Lay back in the couch, and Leerang could easily see how the older woman looked bothered. She didn’t know the exact reason though, since she barely knew what Kris’ mother thought of Lay and his father. “Are you going to speak up or what?” Kris murmured, slightly irritated. He wanted to know the behind story of why their father would beat one of his own sons. “Kris honey. Treat your brother with respect.” Leerang gaped and she was pretty sure both Kris and Lay were equally taken aback by the woman’s words. She wasn’t so certain any of the two saw the other one as their brother. Not with the past they shared. “Like hell I will.” furious Kris stalked out of there and headed outside, the front door slamming shut behind him. “I’m sorry. He’s a bit immature at times. But he’ll come around.” Kris’ mother smiled, but Lay wouldn’t count on it, and he didn’t blame him, not after all the he’d put his half-brother through, “y -yeah.”
There were a brief moment of silence and Leerang contemplated whether to go check on Kris or stay put in the living room. A decision she didn’t have to make since the male reappeared again, still looking really angry. “Can we cut to the chase now?” there was no way he would treat Lay with any sort of respect, ever. And it made no difference whether his mother said so or not. “Fine.” Lay breathed in deep, his chest heaved and he had to fight back the groan threatening to spill when the bruises around his chest and abandonment pulsated in pain. “I misplaced some papers, which then ended up being found by someone at my father’s office.” Leerang blinked, wondering if it was just a joke. It made absolutely no sense that anyone would beat another person up over some misplaced papers, nonetheless one’s own son. “And this was the huge problem you were talking about? I don’t see how a paper would cause such a big fuss.” really. One damn piece of paper. Kris wanted to laugh. “It wasn’t just any paper.” Lay snapped, only to clench his jaw when more pain erupted, “because it was from your mother, and on it did it say she was pregnant with you. Plus, she’d signed it with her own name and the date.” realization hit Leerang like a speeding train, “is that why he’s trying to sell off the café? So he won’t be associated with Kris’ mother’s name?” Lay nodded before continuing, “he’s trying to get it sold as soon as possible since he’s afraid the news will find out about his affair with another woman whilst being married.” yeah, that would definitely be a career destroyer. But not only for him. But for Kris’ mother, too. Not to mention Kris, he would be put through hardships all over again.
Leerang shuddered at the possibilities of so many people’s lives being ruined.
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