"Good Morning Chen." You cheerily greeted as he began his morning coffee hunt.

"Early again?"

"Its not a bad thing is it?" You questioned worridly.

"No, its just unusual having someone greet me every morning." He smiled groggily.

"Oh." You quickly replied.

"Its not that I don't like it just been a long time without it." He attempted explaining.

"Okay" You smiled while handing him a cup of coffee.

"What's this?"

"I wanted to thank you for everything these past few months so I made you some before coming in." You smiled when he took the cup cautiously.

"Wow, this is perfect." He sing songed drinking it much more rapidly.

"Thank you" he smiled while you giggled.

"What's the giggle for?"

"You've got some cream here." You pointed to your lower lip.

"Here?"

"Yeah." You blushed a bit focusing on his lips. "So uh.. should I open?"

"No." He chuckled going into the kitchen area.

"Do we have any oranges?"

"No I don't think so."

"Hmmmm."

"We'll open in like an hour so just relax and kick back for a bit." chen smiled smoothing his hair down heading back upstairs.

-

"I wonder why it's so empty, I mean the shop is never this empty." You pouted cleaning the same table again.

"So do you wanna play a game?"

"What game?"

"Seven questions."

"We each get three and then play kawi bawi bo to decide who gets the last one."

"Alright. Want to go first."

"First the rules, nothing is off limits and don't take offense to anything?"

"Deal, you first." You giggled.

"Do you think I'm y." Chen asked with a smirk.

"Uh, well... I wasn't expecting that." You sighed. "yeah." You blushed as he fist pumped. "Do you think I'm a horrible person for not choosing a husband?"

"No, I think your doing the right thing by waiting." He smiled. "How far have you been with a man?"

"Um wow getting really personal there." You huffed. "I've only gotten to light touching. I never let Changjo get further. How about you? How far have you been with a woman."

"Uh, I've never been with a woman ever." He scratched his nape. "If you could go back in time and change anything what would it be?"

"I would have ignored my fathers orders. Mostly because then I would have been free sooner." You sighed dejectedly. "What would you change if you could go back in time."

"I wouldn't have left my family when I did, I would have waited another few months." He pouted looking at his hands.

"So now we kawi bawi bo for the last question?"

"Yeah." He smiled as you lost to him. "What did your father do to you?" He asked in a whisper.

"You have to promise never to mention it to anyone." You whispered while darting your eyes around the empty coffe shop.

"I promise. I won't tell anyone, and as insurance I'll tell you my big secret as well." He smiled encouragingly gripping your hand lightly.

"He emotionally and physically assaulted me for twelve years." You rubbed your arms nervously. "Some times he starved me and others he just locked me away." You sobbed a bit. "i lived with it thinking I was doing things wrong, but he was really punishing me for the things my mother did." You wiped the tears forming in your eyes. "Zelo and Changjo were the only people I knew because I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone else. I tried a few times to make friends but they never stuck around because I couldn't trust them, because they wanted to know about the bruises and aches and pains. They we're even more curious when I would come back from the principals office with red palm marks across my face. Everyone had to have known but no one did anything and I just let it happen." You cried onto Chen's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, no one should be treated like that. No one." Chen whispered pulling you into a tight hug as you gripped his shirt tightly.

"What did you do to her!" Changjo hissed ripping you from Chen's grasp.

"Why are you here, you've been gone for so long. Why would you come back!" You shouted running up to Chen's house and locking yourself inside.

-

-omni pov-

"Why are you here." Chen hissed as he walked to the storage room to change.

"I came to get her back, I was stupid for marrying Elie." Changjo angrily replied clenching his teeth.

"You don't deserve her." Chen whispered as he came out in a normal shirt his work shirt in his hand.

"Excuse me." Changjo hissed grabbing Chen's shoulder.

"You. Don't. Deserve. Her." Chen put emphasis on each word as he began closing up the shop.

"You don't know anything about our relationship..." He hissed before Chen cut him off.

"but I do, you can learn a lot about a girl by just listening and watching." Chen hissed. "Do you even know her favorite flower? Or what it is she likes eating most, because I do." He said pointing to himself. "Do you love every quirky thing about her? Even the off key singing she does when she's really excited." He hissed walking towards Changjo. "I don't think you really know her anymore, I doubt that you know how to learn who she has become and not who she was. I think you should leave, I'm going to have to coax her out of my house again, because you wouldn't in a million years be able to do something so important."

"What do you mean again." Changjo hissed.

"You missed her father's visit a week ago." He hissed pushing Changjo beyond the threshold of the door before slamming and locking the door. "Don't come back." Chen hissed loudly from beyond the blinds.

-

"Is he gone yet." You sighed coming out from your hiding place in the storage room.

"Yes, he is." Chen approached you. "Come here." He opened his arms wide as you rushed to him with new tears b your eyes.

"I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, like I said before and will say again I will only protect the person I love and if you chose not to love me back then I will stay by your side until I trust the person your heart picks."

You could feel his tears landing on your head as he pulled you closer you had a weird feeling in your stomach again that made you think you really we're falling for Chen but with all the emotional stress you've been through you'd didn't want to do anything until you were fully sure. Your fathers words kept replaying in your head causing more tears to fall and you couldn't stop them.

~You are a burden Juniel, you always will be. You are your mother's daughter and will end up just like her, dead and alone.~