III: Home

The Spring sky above was overcast, grey and ominous, with the threatening prospect of rain. Yuri’s body increasingly trembled as she watched the old, four tier brick house come into view through the car window, a listless beacon against a dull sky. She cast a glance at Yoona who was driving, but the younger girl kept her eyes on the road, though Yuri noted that her eyes were watery and her lower lip was trembling. She cast her eyes down, staring at her jean-covered legs, and placed her hands on her bare arms, running them up and down in quick motions as a chill of fear ran through her body.

She and Yoona had spent the morning packing up some of her belongings after the brunette had placed a call to The White Leaves Foundation Centre and found that they could take Yuri that day. She had begged and pleaded with Yoona not to send her away, but the younger girl had made her mind up. It was the best thing for Yuri.

The two had barely spoken since they had begun their journey almost an hour ago. Both were too lost in their own thoughts, neither one wanting to speak in case they betrayed their emotions and started crying. They had rarely been separated like this and the whole situation was something that hurt both of them. But they had no choice.

Yoona steered the car onto a gravel path and slowed down as she drove up to the old fashioned house. Her eyes were still firmly set on the road before her.

Yuri lifted her head and stared at the ominous-looking building and was filled with a sense of unease. She didn’t want to be here. The house was made of bricks which had been painted a dull magnolia colour, Probably to make it look more appealing, Yuri thought to herself, while the windows were tall and curved at the top and from where she was, they appeared dark and empty, They’ve got bars on them too, she guessed, to stop people escaping, but she couldn’t tell. She turned her head and looked out of the side window. There was nothing appealing about the place; even the lawn was dull with its cut grass and no flowers. It looked like a deserted building rather than rehab. How was she supposed to get better here? What had possessed Yoona to send her to this place? She didn’t voice her thoughts. This was already hard enough and she didn’t want Yoona to think that she didn’t want to get better, because she did, more than anything.

Yoona parked the car outside of the large oak double doors and turned the engine off. She rested her hands at the top of the steering wheel and looked at the building standing tall in front of them and let out a breath.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Yuri asked, casting a quick glance at her.

Yoona nodded. “It looked much nicer in the picture,” she muttered more to herself than to her companion. “I’m sure it’s really nice once we get inside.”

Yuri frowned. The tone in Yoona’s voice was one of uncertainty and she was wondering if she was beginning to have doubts about sending her to this place. She definitely was, but she didn’t want Yoona to think that she was backing out. If Yoona wanted her to be here, then that was what she was going to do.

“Let’s take a look.” The brunette unstrapped her seatbelt and got out of the car. Yuri mimicked her motion and walked around to the boot, opening it and taking out her suitcase and backpack, filled with her belongings. She closed it and followed Yoona as she walked up the couple of steps to the doors and rang the doorbell. Yuri noticed that the windows of the doors were etched with white leaves.

The doors opened with a creak and a tired-looking old woman peered around. “Hello?”

“Hi, we’ve got an appointment,” Yoona replied, a smile of formality on her face.

Yuri’s eyes narrowed as she took in the woman who looked as old as the building. She could clearly see the cobweb wrinkles that covered her face. She was hunched over slightly, making her appear much smaller than Yuri assumed she was.

Feeling that she was about examined, the old woman turned her head towards Yuri, blinking behind the thick-lenses of her glasses that magnified her eyes. “An appointment?” She looked down seeing the suitcase at Yuri’s feet. “Ah.” She took a step back, allowing the two girls to enter. “Welcome to The White Leaves Foundation Centre.”

“Thank you,” Yoona replied, following the old woman as she hobbled towards a large curved desk that was against the far wall.

Yuri looked around her, turning in a circle as she took in the reception area. Everything appeared to be made of shiny mahogany wood. A large staircase veered off to the left of the room next to the desk and apart from the desk, a couple of frumpy flower-patterned arm chairs and a painting of a slim man with shiny black hair and a thin moustache, who was dressed in a pin-striped suit, that was behind the desk, the room was void of any furniture. No flowers or any home comforts. It looked as derelict on the inside as it did the outside. There was a putrid smell in the air and Yuri wrinkled her nose at it. This didn’t feel like or look like a rehab centre.

“Yuri!”

The sound of Yoona’s voice snapped the black-haired girl out of her thoughts and she rushed over to Yoona, who was standing at the desk, a look of impatience on her face, dragging her suitcase behind her. “Sorry,” she muttered and Yoona nodded and sighed before turning back to the woman.

“The White Leaves Foundation Centre prides itself on helping women of all ages overcome any problems and issues in their lives. We have an impeccable team of counsellors and therapists to help our patients come to terms with their problems as quickly as possible,” the woman said, and Yuri thought she sounded as she were talking straight from a catalogue. “In order to ensure the wellbeing of our patients, we insist that no phone calls or visits are made for the first couple of months and those thereafter must be made with at least two weeks’ notice in order for us to assess the patients’ mentality.”

“Two months?” Yoona muttered, casting a glance at the smaller girl.

“It is our policy,” the woman explained, with a kind smile that stretched her wrinkles across her face. She opened a drawer, removing some pieces of paper before placing them on top of the desk, pushing them towards Yoona, placing a black biro pen on top of them. “You need to fill these out.”

“Thank you.” Yoona took the paper and pen and Yuri watched as she scribbled down her personal details, along with a form about Yuri’s mentality, whether or not she could conform, if she was violent towards others or herself. Yuri’s heart sunk slightly as she saw her tick the box that asked whether or not she could harm herself, but she knew she was right. Once she was done, Yoona passed the papers back to the woman who filed them away before taking out another set and passing them to Yuri.

Yuri quickly wrote down her own personal details, giving information as to why she was entering rehab before filling out the exact same questionnaire as Yoona, ticking and crossing the same boxes. She pushed it back to the woman, who filed it away. She turned away from the desk and looked at the dark and eerie surroundings. She hoped that the rest of the place looked better than this.

The old woman gave a laugh. “It’s a lot better than it appears,” she said as if reading Yuri’s thoughts. “Our gamekeeper and handyman died recently and we haven’t been able to replace him yet. The girls are a bit reluctant to help out at the moment,” she added with another chortle.

“Uh huh,” she muttered in response, though she was filled with a deep sense of unease.

“I’m sure its fine,” Yoona replied, with a small smile.

“Thank you for saying so,” the woman replied, picking up the old-fashioned black telephone. She put a frail bent finger in one of the numbers and pulled it round before copying the motion with each number. After a couple of pauses, she spoke into it. “Miss Kwon is here.” She nodded in response to what the other person on the other end was saying and then put the phone down. “Mr Lee is on his way down.”

“Mr Lee?” Yuri inquired.

“Mr Lee is in charge here,” the woman replied, pointing behind her at the picture. “He is very talented and has worked wonders with many of the girls here. I’m sure he’ll do the same for you, Miss Kwon.”

Yuri looked up at the picture and folded her arms across her chest, frowning. The picture made the man appearing smug and smarmy. She didn’t like the look of him one little bit. She highly doubted that he would be able to help her.

Yoona noticed the look on her face and elbowed her in the side. “Be nice,” she muttered to her.

The black-haired girl held up her hands in mock-defence. “Hey!” she cried indignantly, “I’m always nice.” She gave the taller girl a broad smile, which didn’t match the worry that she felt.

Yoona smiled back in response and turned to face the stairs as the sound of descending footsteps could be heard. A man who looked identical to the one in the picture appeared. He walked straight and tall, looking ahead at the two expectant girls. A smile, which showed off his pearly white teeth, formed as he approached the two, his footsteps echoing against the floor.

“Miss Im, Miss Kwon,” the man began, bowing to the two girls, “welcome to The White Leaves Foundation Centre. I am Mr Lee.”

The two girls bowed back in response. “Thank you for helping us on such short notice,” Yoona said.

Mr Lee smiled. “My pleasure. It is my job to help women of all ages with any troubles in their lives. I’m not about to turn anyone who needs help away.” He bent down and picked up Yuri’s suitcase. “How about I show you two the premises?”

“That’s very kind of you,” Yoona replied with another small bow.

Yuri rolled her eyes. Mr Lee’s hospitality didn’t impress her, not one little bit. She didn’t like the looks of him or this place.

Mr Lee, noticing Yuri’s look, gave a small laugh. “Don’t worry Miss Kwon, I’m sure you’ll get to like it.”

I doubt it, she thought to herself, but didn’t utter the words out loud since Yoona was shooting her a chastising look.

“Come, come.” Mr Lee beckoned them to follow him and he led them up the stairs, pausing at the top, in front of a locked door. He swiped a card through the electronic lock and the door opened. “We have very tight security here,” he explained, waving to two guards through a glass window, as they waited to be buzzed through another locked door.

They walked past an office were a couple of nurses, dressed in white uniforms were writing on pieces of paper behind a wire-covered window and next to every locked door they walked through, they were let through by an armed security man. Yuri began to feel fear pound through her. It really wasn’t what she had been expecting. It was starting to feel more like a prison than rehab. She glanced over at Yoona, who was nervously biting her lower lip, but she kept her focus solely on the path before her. Yuri turned her head forwards and watched the back of Mr Lee’s head, at the slimy, gelled black hair. She frowned. There was something about him that she just didn’t like.

They passed another locked door and Mr Lee stopped walking and turned to address them. “This is where the girls live,” he explained, signalling towards the closed doors. “Each girl shares their room with another. It’s Miss Kwon’s roommate’s first day here today as well,” he added with a smile that didn’t reach his dark eyes.

The walls of the corridor were a dull green, matching the colour of the metallic bedroom doors. As they continued to walk, behind a couple of doors, maniacal giggling and wild screams could be heard. Despite it being Spring, the corridor felt unnaturally cold and Yuri wished that she had put on a jumper as she hugged her arms around her body for extra warmth. She shot Yoona another look, one that the brunette didn’t notice again, but she continued to bit her lower lip. They walked past the bedroom doors and walked up a flight of metallic stairs, walking in single file, coming up into a vast hall. Unlike the rest of the centre, the hall had a warm, homely feel to it with deep plum-coloured carpets beneath their feet with mismatched chairs and sofas. Each chair or sofa was situated near a wooden table, each of which were adorned with books and magazines and on the walls hung various paintings and pictures. If it weren’t for the security guards and nurses situated at each door, Yuri wouldn’t have thought that she was where she was.

“This is the gathering hall,” Mr Lee explained, putting Yuri’s suitcase on the floor. “Many of the girls prefer to spend most of their time in here, you can obviously see why.”

Both girls knew exactly what he meant. So far, this room was the nicest that they had seen. It was more of what they had been expecting.

Yuri looked round as she placed her backpack on top of her suitcase. There were over a dozen girls situated in the room, most were sat on their own, reading, while others were sat in twos or in groups, playing what appeared to be board games. None of them had noticed their arrival.

“Like I said, most of the girls spend their time here,” Mr Lee said. “We have a wide range of activities for them to engage themselves with. The girls are mainly free to whatever they wish, but we do have to insist that the girls attend individual counselling sessions every other day and attend group sessions once a week. The times and days are always the same. We also try to persuade the girls to help out with chores such as cooking and cleaning, it’s just something else to help keep them busy while they’re here.”

“Mmhm,” Yoona replied, listening with interest to what she was being told, while Yuri only half listened. She would find everything out eventually anyway.

The piercing shriek of a girl screaming echoed into the room, making Yuri and Yoona jump. The rest of the girls ignored the sound while Mr Lee let out a sigh.

“Sorry about this,” he said to them. “It appears one of our new patients is still having a difficult time adjusting.” He sighed heavily. “If you’ll excuse me, I must see to her.” He paused and looked around. “Ah, Miss Jung!” he called to one of the girls who was sat playing a game with two others.

The girl, with long blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail and was dressed in black sweatpants and a light green hooded top (though Yuri noticed that the ties for the hood had been removed), walked over to them, a slightly disgruntled look on her face. “I was winning,” she moaned.

“Now Miss Jung, what have we said about that?” Mr Lee chastised her.

“Sorry,” she apologised, her eyes flickering towards both Yoona and Yuri with interest.

“This is Miss Im and Miss Kwon,” Mr Lee said to the girl, as another scream could be heard. “Miss Kwon is going to be joining us and while I go and see to Miss Kim, I was hoping you could them some hospitality?”

The girl gave a small pout before smiling. “Of course.”

“Good.” He turned to Yuri and Yoona. “I shall leave you in the capable hands of Miss Jung and I will return shortly.” He turned and left them, exiting through a different door from which they had entered.

The girl turned to the newcomers and pointed a finger at them, swinging it between the two. “So, who’s who?”

“I’m Yuri, Kwon Yuri,” she introduced herself. “I’m the one who’s going to be staying here.”

The girl nodded. “So that’ll make you Miss Im, the deserter?”

“Excuse me?!” Yoona cried, aghast.

“It’s what we call the people who leave us here,” the girl explained. “The deserters. They leave us without a second thought.”

“Isn’t this a rehabilitation centre? Surely you were put here to help you get better?” Yoona replied, still upset by what the girl had called her.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. “If you can call it that. We all have problems; it’s just that not all of us want to get better. Hell, not all of us have problems. We’re just tossed in here like an unwanted toy.”

Both Yuri and Yoona frowned, not overly impressed with the girl’s words.

“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m Jessica Jung. Mr Lee calls everyone by their last name. I think it’s a whole distancing thing, so he doesn’t get too attached or something. Some people are like that. Not everyone. Some of the staff are nice. You’ll soon find that out. Mr Lee wanted me to show you around, so I’ll start.” She gestured to the room. “This is Home. Well, that’s what we call this room. The staff, they call it the gathering room. Sounds more professional, don’t you think?”

Both Yuri and Yoona nodded. Yuri was surprised at how much the girl, Jessica, talked and she could see why Mr Lee chose her to show them around: she knew the place very well. After telling Yuri to leave her bags in the room the girls called ‘Home’, saying that one of the nurses would take them to her room, Jessica showed them the kitchens, where the therapist and counselling sessions took place, where the bathrooms were (“Of course each bedroom has its own, but these are just spares,” she had said), the library which was filled with dusty smelling books, before leading them back along the corridor where the bedrooms were.

“Everyone shares,” she told them as they walked down the corridor. “My roommate is Eunjung. She’s nice but doesn’t like to stay put. You’ll get to meet her later. I’m sure your roommate will be nice too, once she calms down.” She stopped walking and turned to face the door. On it was a label: Jung & Ham. “This is my room.” She opened the door and walked inside.

“What do you mean ‘once my roommate has calmed down?” Yuri questioned.

Jessica turned to them, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear her earlier?”

“The girl that was screaming? That’s my roommate?”

Jessica nodded. “She’s new. Some people are like that,” she stated matter-of-factly before she turned back around and skipped further into the room. “Come take a look.”

Yoona, her eyes wide with worry, turned to Yuri. This was place was turning out to be completely different then what she had imagined and it filled her with dread.

Yuri eyes mimicked those of Yoona’s and she bit her lower lip. She didn’t want to disappoint Yoona by refusing to come here. It seemed a strange and somewhat creepy place, but if it was going to help her get better, then she didn’t see the harm in giving it a go.

Seeing that neither of the two girls had followed her, Jessica bounded back into view, grabbing both of them by their hands. “Come on.” She pulled them inside, allowing them to see her room.

It was a simple room with two beds situated against each of the walls which had a barred window situated in-between. Opposite each of the beds was a small chest of draws and Jessica and her roommate had adorned almost every inch of the magnolia walls with posters of singers, scenery and animals. The beds were just as simple, covered with a thin duvet and two flat pillows.

“Almost like home,” Yuri muttered to herself.

“It’s quite nice,” Yoona commented with a curt nod, though she had overheard Yuri’s words and knew how truthful they were.

Jessica leapt onto her bed, which was situated on the right side of the room, and tugged at the sleeves of her sweatshirt, trying to pull them as far down as he could. “So, what are you in for?” Her voice was suddenly serious and she kept her eyes diverted.

“Uh…” Yuri was unsure of how to respond and she tuned to Yoona for help, but before the other girl could reply, a voice behind them made them jump and Jessica quickly leapt to her feet, her hands behind her back.

“Ah, girls, I thought I’d find you here.” The sickly sweet voice of Mr Lee could be heard and they turned to face him. “I’m afraid it’s time for Miss Im to leave,” he said with a voice full of sympathy that didn’t match the dull look in his eyes.

“I’m not sure I want Yuri here,” Yoona replied, trying to keep her voice steady as Yuri looked on with wide, nervous eyes.

Mr Lee gave a short laugh. “My apologies, Miss Im, but the form you signed earlier was a contact, stating that you were to leave Miss Kwon in our care. You can’t back out of it.”

“What?”

“You really should read the small print.” A smug smile formed on his lips.

Yuri felt like her heart had dropped like a stone. Her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears. She was going to be separated from Yoona and for who knew how long. What was she supposed to do without her by her side? “Yoona…”

Yoona’s head snapped around, her dark hair flying across her face as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Yuri… I’m so sorry.”

Yuri shook her head. “Don’t be.”

“Remember, if I feel that Miss Kwon has made satisfactory improvement in the next three months, then there may be the possibility of seeing her,” Mr Lee reminded them and Jessica let out a scoffing noise. “I’ll deal with you late,” he snapped at her and she instantly turned away. He clapped his hands and two burly security guards appeared, one grabbing hold of Yuri, while the other held onto Yoona. “Please Miss Im out of the building,” he said gesturing to Yoona.

The security guard holding her gave a curt nod and tightened his grip on her arms, making her wince.

“Yuri!” she cried as she pulled away, her hand trying to reach for Yuri’s, but failing as she was hauled down the corridor and out of sight.

“Yoona!” Tears feel seamlessly from Yuri’s eyes. She couldn’t belive things had turned out like this. Where exactly was she?

“Take Miss Kwon to her room. I’ll be there shortly,” Mr Lee ordered and the security guard nodded, turning around and forcing her down the corridor, leaving Mr Lee with Jessica.

The guard dragged Yuri to almost the end of the corridor, past the rooms where girls screamed and giggled wildly. They stopped outside of a door with the names Kwon & Kim written on and he pushed her forcefully inside, making her stumble. The door was slammed closed behind, the sound of clashing metal ringing inside her ears and she instantly ran over to it, pounding against the cold metal with her fists, screaming for Yoona, screaming to be let out. Tears continued to stream down her face and all too soon she realised that no one was listening. No one was going to help her. She was all alone.

She stood back, away from the door and sunk onto one of the beds, sniffing heavily. She wrapped her arms around her body and curled into herself as she lay on the bed, the tears continuing to fall. The sound of rain thundered against the glass of the window and she shivered.

She was all alone.

Once again, thank you to everyone for taking the time to read/subscribe/comment. It is very much appreaciated.