Chapter 9
Unexpected Joy
"SunMi, where are you going?" My dad stopped me before I could make it to the door. My mom picked up my phone and handed it to me, looking at me, also looking at me expecting an answer. It was har for me to talk, since I was very close to tears.
"Rina... .." was all I could get out, since I was close to hyperventilating now. They looked at me, confused. I was wasting so much time. I snatched my phone from my mothers hands, and pushed past my dad, and sprinted out the door and into the lonely street. My lungs were burning, and my legs on the verge of collapsing, but I kept running. I needed to see Rina, ask her what had happened. See if she was alright.
It seemed like ages before I had arrived to the door of their appartment. I bursted in to find Rina on the floor, along with Junho. Both of them crying. Rina's uniform was torn and tattered, the seams falling apart and the buttons of her shirt torn. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were puffy from crying, and her legs full of scratches and bruises. She still looked pale and shaken, she hadn't even taken notice that I entered. Junho was the one to notice. When he saw me standing at the door, he quickly wiped his eyes and stood up. I bowed slowly.
"Sorry it took so long." I whispered, out of breath. Junho shook his head, still not speaking. I took it as a sign to walk to Rina.
"uh, hey" I whispered, not knowing what to say. She looked up at me slowly. She smiled weakly. I hugged her gently. "You don't have to pretend to be okay, Rina." She started crying again, on my shoulder this time.
She cried for so long. It must've been at least an hour. My shirt was soaked, and a few tears had slipped out of me, but I didn't care. I just wanted to know what had happened, and if she was okay .
"A-are y-you ready to tell us w-what happened?" Junho stuttered. Rina hesitated.
"Can we call James first?" Her voice sounded strange after all the crying. I nodded and tried dialing. It went straight to a message.
"He's not picking up." I sighed and hung up.
"Oh." She whispered.
"It's okay if you're not ready." Junho tried patting her back, but she flinched. He looked at her with and extremely hurt expression.
"I'm sorry oppa." she murmered. "But I am ready. It would seem strange if I didn't, I guess." She managed a small laugh.
"Well, I wondered why you didn't go to school today, Cris, so I went to look for you after school. I gave up when the sun started to set, but then oppa called me and asked me to check if they had the SNSD concert tickets in stock yet. I went to the arena, but they said sales didn't start until Saturday.
"I was really miserable then. I hadn't seen SunMi all day so I was worried, then I had to dissappoint oppa. I sighed and walked away from the ticket booth. It was already dark then. No one was around. I didn't think much of this, since nothing bad really happens around here, so I ignored the silence and jept walking. I thought I heard footsteps at times, but again, I took it as my own imagination and kept walking.
"The only time I got really nervous was when I started walking by the alley districts. You know the ones right? After the little chains of stores? It was pitch black there. I sort of quickened my pace so I didn't have to spend too much time around those. I had my phone in my hand just in case. The footsteps I heard were so loud now, and so they couldn't be ignored.
"I called James, just in case something happened. He was practicing at the club nearby, so he could come help me if I needed it. He picked up and I shyly said that I just felt like talking to him, just incase something bad were to happen. I felt a little safer knowing James was on the other end, so I started walking a little slower. That was a really bad mistake.
"Someone pulled me from inside the alleyway. My hand was clasped around my phone, so I was still on the line with James. I screamed, so he could know I was in danger. They hit me after that, telling me that if I was quiet, it would be painless. I wanted James to find me, to find help so I kept shouting things, they hadn't noticed my phone didn't turn off. I said things like 'Alleyway' and the street names, to tip him off. I got slapped and scratched everytime I did. Even worse when I struggled. They finally put a rag in my mouth to stiffle my screams and cries for help.
"After that, I remember being thrown around. About five guys were kneeling to my level, two grabbed my arms, and two grabbed my legs. One smirked as this happened. They took off my blazer and tore the buttons off my shirt to get it open. "
Her story was stopped by Junho slamming his fist on the counter in rage.
"After they... abused me all they wanted, they drove away as fast as possible. I slowly got up and ran home as fast as possible."
I was silent in anger, sorrow, hurt, remorse, everything. I was about to get up slowly to get water to calm myself down, but Rina grabbed my arm.
"SunMi, I forgot to mention something." she whispered. I looked at her, confused.
"What?" I asked slowly.
"There was a girl. She was standing and watching. And laughing. Taking pictures." Only one person would be sick enough to do that. My rage grew ten times as much as it already was. I was about to go find her and kill her, but I remembered one thing.
"Ya.. did you guys ever call James to tell him not to come anymore?" I said, horror obvious in my eyes.
Rina was silent.
Junho's mouth slowly opened.
"I.. I have to find him." I said, a tear falling from my eye. I sprinted out the door, again, waiting to see if another one of the people I loved got hurt.
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That night had to be the biggest shock for me. How someone could hurt someone so much, over a petty argument was beyond me. But no doubt, I was outraged.
I wonder what happened to her, that beast. Is anyone putting her in her place, as I sit here?
I finished pulling the wings of the crane and put it with the others.
17 cranes left, Jiho. Only 17. You can wait a little bit more, right?
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