can't break out.
Baby, Maybe..
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Morning came. The bright radiant rays of sunlight flashed through the cracks of the blinds, landing on Kyungmi's sleeping face. Her eyes tightened to block out the intensity of the light and she unconsciously pulled the covers over her head. She paused and shot up to a sitting position. Her hands roamed around the bed, feeling the sheets. She looked around the unfamiliar environment. This isn't my room..
She threw the covers off and shuffled towards the door, gently twisting the knob open. With a small click, the door opened. Kyungmi peeked through the crack before pulling the door wider and tiptoing out. This is definitely not my house either.. She walked at a snail's pace as she glanced at the pictures that were put up in the hall. There was a picture of a young man holding an infant in his arms; another of a woman feeding a messy, food-stained toddler; another of both the man and woman holding hands with a child who was slightly older-looking than in the other two photos; and finally one with the two adults and two children. The man was holding hands with his eldest son while the woman was holding another infant in her arms. The smiles on their faces pierced through Kyungmi's heart. Not only was there sincere happiness in the family photos, but this was the happiness she stopped receiving after her mother remarried. She brought her hands up to her face and nibbled on the long sleeves, forgetting to realize she was wearing someone else's clothing. She tried to prevent the waterworks from sparking but with a gradual blink, her eyes brimmed with tears, letting one fall loose down her bruised cheek. Umma..
"Noona?"
The cracked silence made her jolt and she whipped around with alarmed eyes. She came face-to-face with a young boy, approximately five-years-old by guess. He started walking towards her but with each step he took forward, she took many step backwards. Despite the fact that he was only a toddler, apprehension struck her and she found herself running back to her room and locking the door. The little boy tilted his head, puzzled by why she had suddenly ran away from him.
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"Umma, what's wrong with noona?", the young boy curiously interrogated his mother as she was standing by the stove, cooking breakfast. The woman glanced back at him and smiled softly. "It's best not to play with noona right now, JaeHwa."
He blinked curiously and pouted. "But why, umma? What's wrong with her?"
"Don't worry about it, son", Jaejoong informed. He trailed through the kitchen while fixing his tie and wandered up to his wife. "Morning, beautiful." He kissed her cheek and grinned. "Good morning to you too, yeobo."
"Aren't you guys a little too old for PDA?"
Heads turned towards the doorway. Taeyeon exhaled a sigh and rolled her eyes. "If we can't do it in public, home is the only option, Myungsoo-ah."
Myungsoo grumbled as he took a seat next to his brother.
"Good morning, hyung!", JaeHwa piped as he held out an orange slice to the elder. Myungsoo stared hard at it, smiling as he took it. "Thanks, kiddo." He ruffled the boy's hair and popped the orange into his mouth.
Taeyeon switched the stove off and placed the empty pan into the sink. She brought the breakfast plates out to the table. When everyone settled down, Myungsoo curiously stared at the extra plate. "Umma, are you just really hungry or what?"
"Ah, ani! Do you think you can go upstairs and get..." Taeyeon's voice trailed off. Jaejoong looked at her with a concerned expression. "What's the matter, jagi?", he asked. Her brows furrowed. "We never got her name..."
Myungsoo gave them a look. "You mean, you rescued a random girl you don't know and never got her name?"
Jaejoong shot him a glare. "She was unconscious all night."
"You sure she wasn't dead?"
"I saw her this morning, hyung!", Jaehwa tugged the hem of his brother's shirt. Myungsoo looked down at the little boy and sighed. Jaehwa usually pulls at his brother's clothes when he senses an argument about to spurt up. The elder never learned to keep his comments to himself, especially when he knows his mother loathes children speaking back to her.
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I don't know if I want to go home or not... but I don't wanna be here...
Kyungmi was curled up on the bed, hugging her knees. She wanted to go home where she could see the familiar faces of her loving mother and ghastly stepfather. She didn't want to be in a stranger's home, even though she could still feel the pain of her stepfather's beatings.
The door opened, startling the girl. She whimpered, hiding herself under the covers. The edge of the blanket was slightly lifted up. "Excuse me, Miss?" Kyungmi slowly turned her head. Seeing a boy's face made her tip over and fall off the other side of the bed. Myungsoo's eyes widened and he quickly rushed over to her. When he touched her arm, she flinched and slapped his hand away. Glancing up at him, his disheartened eyes softened when he looked into her frightened orbs. The dark patch on her face exuded sympathy from him and her delicate skin was adorned with scars. He tried to lean down again but she snapped her head forward and clamped her teeth, threatening to bite him. Exhaling a sigh, he pulled his hand away and straightened up. "Breakfast is ready. You should come down."
Kyungmi watched him walk out the room. She looked down at the floor. Memories of her mother making her breakfast was pushing the tears out again. Her father would tangle his fingers through her hair, messing it up every morning as she chowed down on her mother's pancakes. Despite being extremely hungry, she didn't want to go downstairs. No doubt, it would be awkward. Sitting on the floor, hoping her hunger would go away, wasn't settling her stomach.
She hesitantly stood up and gradually stepped out her room, trailing downstairs. Tiptoing towards the doorway, she popped her head in to take a peek. The food actually looked really good but it made her stomach slightly queasy.
"Hey, Kyungmi", her stepfather sang.
Kyungmi appeared in the kitchen, gripping the sleeves of her sweater as she approached the man. "N-Neh?"
"I made you breakfast." He pointed at the food on the table and turned back to the stove. With his back turned, a smirk appeared on his face. She smiled and sat down, digging into her food.
Hours later, Kyungmi would repeatedly run out of class to the bathroom to throw up. She barely made it through half the day when her teacher had to call her mother to take her home.
"Miss?"
Kyungmi snapped out of her thoughts and blinked. Several pairs of eyes targeted at her, making her swallow her lump of anxiety. Myungsoo patted the empty seat next to him. She thought for a long second, staring at the food. If she didn't eat it, she would hurt the feelings of whoever cooked it. She quietly sighed and shuffled over towards the table, carefully sitting down.
She kept her head down as she ate. They were staring her down and exchanging glances with each other. A hand gently touched her shoulder, making her flinch. She jumped back in her seat and looked up at whoever touched her. Jaejoong became concerned. "Sweetie, is there something wrong?"
She attempted to fake a smile and shook her head.
"What's your name?"
Kyungmi looked at Taeyeon, who popped the question. The girl simply stared at the woman. Not a single word came out .
"Can you not talk, noona?", Jaehwa raised his hand and frowned.
Kyungmi continued looking down as she continued eating. Why am I so afraid now?
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