Kai anxiously pounded on the door, hoping to get a glimpse of her once again. A lump formed in his throat as another pleading wail came from the other side. All he wanted to do was take her out. He didn’t expect her to breakdown, to actually feel so alone that she would slice her own skin. The blood in his veins ran cold as he thought of the red marks dotting her wrists.

"Open up So-hee," He begged in a raspy voice, willing the image to leave his mind.

Her response was muffled and he strained to hear her through her loud cries. his dry lips, he stepped back and charged. The door burst open and Kai finally caught sight of the distraught girl.

So-Hee was crumpled on the tile floor, tears continuously streaming down her blotchy cheeks. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were wrinkled, and her make up was smudged. Kai’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach once he looked into her broken eyes.

He blinked away the tears before scurrying over to her. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” He soothed, desperately trying to keep his voice steady and calm. She hiccuped and shook her head, another sob escaping . “Everything’s going to be alright.”

He felt her tense under his embrace before she pushed him away roughly. “No,” She yelled. “I can’t handle this anymore.”

"What?" Kai uttered as she stood up and started pacing the room. "What do you mean you can’t handle it anymore?" The question spurred a certain fear within him. He was scared of her answer.

"I mean I don’t want to live anymore! I can’t handle this absurd amount of hate everyday!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in distress. "A girl actually came up to me today and called me a famewhore- just because I was dating you. She said I didn’t deserve the success I have been blessed with. Do you know how embarrassing that is? I can’t even ing go out without being associated with you! Am I not talented enough? Am I not good enough to have my own fame?" Frustrated, she yanked at her hair and exhaled deeply.

Kai opened his mouth to speak, but she continued her rant. “When I’m with you, I get hate. When I’m not with you, I get hate. I can never ing win this game and frankly, I’m getting sick of it. Everything is blamed on me! Just because I’m older doesn’t make you all that innocent, you know? You broke my heart,” She whimpered, sinking to her knees at her final words.

The tears burning his eyelids finally streamed down his reddened face. The guilt consumed him. Its slithering hands wrapped around the young boy and made him regret every action made in the past several months. “I’m sorry,” He blurted out. The words fell from his pale lips in a tumultuous flood of emotions. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you this much. I’m an for cheating and lying to you. You don’t deserve that. You deserve someone who will call you beautiful everyday and sing you to sleep and tell cheesy jokes just to make you laugh. You need someone to dance with in the kitchen and vow to love you through the good times and the bad. I’m sorry I couldn’t be that for you. But that’s my fault. Don’t go blaming yourself for my selfish mistakes.” He walked to her slowly and gently took her arm. His fingers traced the lines gracing her skin. “You’re beautiful. You’re worthy of all the love and success in the world. And you deserve to live your life. I know it’s hard and people can be mean, but that doesn’t mean you should just give up. You have so much ahead of you, So-Hee. God, I wish you could just see how important you are. You have literally saved people’s lives, you’ve given them hope for a better future. Why can’t you just believe in yourself?”

Sniffling, she stared deeply into his hazel eyes and only found sincerity swimming within his irises. Her breathing was shallow as she lowered her gaze to her wrist, the red wounds making her gasp. 

"I didn’t- I didn’t realize what I was doing," She heaved, the realization of her actions finally sinking in. "I just- I didn’t mean for it to get this far. I just wanted to relieve the pain," She admitted in a raspy breath. "I’m sorry, Kai."

He grabbed her chin and forcefully pulled it up. “Don’t apologize,” He told her sternly. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You’re put under too much pressure and sometimes it gets to be too much. I get that, okay? But just promise me that you’ll never do it again. Don’t ever try to hurt yourself again,So-Hee, because you mean so much to people- especially me. You’re too precious to be taken from this world.”

Her depression lifted slightly at his words. Nodding once, she wrapped her arms around his torso with the intention of never letting go. “I promise.”