Time stopped when a heart-felt confession that wasn’t laced with pink hearts and cheesy words was spoken. Every passing second was a torture to Jaerin and for the first time in her life, she felt this way. She continued watching Lay whom eventually tore his gaze away and coughed awkwardly. Putting his spoon down, he chuckled. The kind of laughter which shredded her heart into smaller and smaller bits until there was seemingly nothing left.

“For a moment, I almost believed you.” He remarked.

“You don’t believe I like you?” she questioned. 

This time, he laughed even harder. Tears threatened to fall but Jaerin did a good job in holding them back. Grabbing her bag, she stood up, towering over him.

“I thought you would have believed me.” She choked out.

Lay watched her leave and he wanted to follow her. Then, he received a message from Jaerin.

To: Lay

You almost fell for it.

His face fell at her message. He knew it. It was all a lie.

Jaerin walked on the streets aimlessly as Lay’s words came haunting her.

“For a moment, I almost believed you.”

At the end of the day, Park Jaerin was nothing but a mere liar. To him, her words were simply lies, to trick him, to make a fool out of him. Now, she had officially made a fool out of herself. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh at how pathetic she is for gathering all her trust to believe in someone. To believe in someone who was no different from the others.

Jaerin starved herself for hours, sitting in the room and staring into space. Her tears have dried up and crying felt so foreign. She thought she would never cry again since then. Clutching onto her phone tightly, she called Kris. The ringing sound went on and on but she still did not get through.

“Bastard.” She cussed.

He did not pick up her call. Throwing her phone against the wall, Jaerin watched it land in agony. She did not bother checking whether the screen has cracked or not. Kicking the phone which was lying in her way, she went to her closet. Picking out the most revealing body hugging black dress, she changed into it. Completing her look with a pair of grey Gucci leopard print heels, she left home.

Crossing her legs on the high stool, Jaerin sipped on her long island ice tea. She could feel her stomach churning because she drank on an empty stomach. However, she ignored it. Glass after glass, Jaerin downed them effortlessly. She wanted to be drunk and it seemed that she was on her way there.

“What sorrows do you have, pretty lady?” A young man sat across her.

“I don’t need anyone.” She blurted out with a smirk.

“Are you sure? But I think you’ll enjoy my companionship.” He whispered in her ears.

“Oh really?” she asked.

“Yes.” He confirmed.

“Then join me.” She gave him the permission.

The man snapped his fingers and ordered more drinks. For the rest of the night, they played guessing games and Jaerin was losing badly. He was using her semi-drunk state to his advantage. The bartender winked as he added more alcohol into the drinks. Jaerin drank more and more until she felt really giddy. Shaking her head, she reached out for the next glass. However, she was stopped by a forceful hand. He pulled her close to him and smirked.

“I think we are done here, darling.” He whispered into her ear.

As the two exited, she leaned against his body for support and the man took the opportunity to slide his hand down her exposed waist. In her drunken state, Jaerin slapped him in his face and pushed him away.

“Ge-Get lost.” She demanded.

Jaerin was struggling to stand still.

She was shocked when he pushed her against the wall. Jaerin could feel his disgusting lips brushing against her roughly. She was not enjoying the moment at all. She tried to push him away but his entire body was pressing down on her. His hands were touching elsewhere and it was sickening. He stuck his tongue through her reddened lips and without warning, Jaerin bit down on it mercilessly. The man retracted his tongue and jerked a few steps back due to the severe pain inflicted. His tongue was bleeding.

“You !” He growled and slapped her.

He did not hit her just once. The man slapped her repeatedly until her lips were chapped. Jaerin’s hair covered her face in the process and she wanted to retaliate so much. However, she couldn’t find the strength to stand up. She felt her vision blur as darkness settle in. Flailing about uselessly, she hoped for someone to come quickly.

If not, she would be screwed.

-

Jaerin sat up in bed with tears running down her cheeks as she recalled the happenings from last night. To her surprise, she found herself sitting in her bedroom’s bed. Looking down at the messy bush of hair, she couldn’t help but smile. Jaerin winced a little because of the wound on her lip. Her slender finger traced his brows in an attempt to disturb his sleep. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up.

“You are awake.”

“Seems like you saved me.”

“What were you even thinking, getting yourself so drunk last night? The Park Jaerin I know would not let herself be this drunk and let some unknown stranger do such things to her!”

“…”

“You should have called me.”

“I did.”

Kris felt guilt struck him at her words. He had deliberately ignored her call last night. He wanted to make her jealous and boast to her that he was with Hanuel when he came to her house. However, when he reached her house, no one answered the door. Desperate, he used her duplicate key to find a smashed phone on the floor and unclosed mascara lying on the dressing table. Kris then stepped forward and wrapped his strong arms around her frail body.

“I am sorry.”

 He almost came too late.

Author's Note:
Hey guys.
This is a relatively short update but I hope you guys would like it.
Please comment if possible because it'll make me happy. <3
Thank you for reading 'The Girl who Cried Wolf'.