DOUBLE UPDATE. Go back 1 space. Also, please read the author's note at the end of this chapter! Thank you! 

“Choi Eunhui!”

I bolted up and almost ended up in the floor from the abrupt awakening. It was a few moments before I realized I was not in my bed and was instead balanced precariously on my armchair.

“You have fifteen minutes to get ready and catch your bus!” my mother continued to screech from not too far outside my bedroom.

Standing and stretching my extremely aching back, I opened my mouth to yell back at her when I caught a pair of eyes staring at me in complete terror. I almost went tumbling over my chair to take cover when a loud bang came from the other side of my door.

“Eunhui! I’m serious!” my mom screamed. “I can’t drive you if you miss the bus, I have to go the store before—”

Sprinting across the room, I opened the door barely two inches. “I’m awake,” I said calmly, trying to hide the fact that I was breathing a bit too quickly from the scare I’d had just before. Mom narrowed her eyes at me, tilting her head and peering through the small crack that my eyeball peeked out of. I nodded and shut it.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” I said, locking the door just in case. A few moments later, her footsteps disappeared down the hall. Breathing a sigh of relief, I slowly turned to face the main problem of the morning that sat on the edge of my bed.

Oh Sehun squinted up at me, swollen and bruised face scrunched up in distaste with his brown hair in disarray. Clearly one of us had not fully woken up. And it was then that I noticed that he had still been bleeding when he fell asleep the night before and that neither of us had even thought to treat his busted lip and the scratch above his eyebrow. Now there was a spot of dry blood on his lower lip and a spot on the towel lying on the bed.

I stood up straight.

“You heard the crazy lady: we have fifteen minutes,” I snapped, turning to snatch my uniform off the top of my dresser. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what else I was supposed to say after waking up to Oh Sehun on my bed with my clueless mom right on the other side of the door.

Pulling my skirt on over my leggings, I turned around to see him still sitting there staring at me, still clutching the blankets in his arms. He looked out of it but not in the same sense as the night before. When he had shown up on my doorstep, he had been lost in some emotionally guarded mental state, but now he just looked like he was about to conk out again while I was rushing to pull my skirt up.

“Yah,” I whisper-yelled, knowing Jaeeun was probably still in her room and able to hear if I spoke too loud. “Look alive.”

His eyes focused as he blinked and then he shook his head as I turned to my dresser.

“I can’t go to school,” he said lowly, voice still very thick with sleep.

I paused my rushed movements of digging through my underwear drawer to face him. Entirely fine with him not attending school, I shrugged.

“Well you can’t stay here,” I said, slamming the drawer shut and facing him again. “We’re going to have to figure out a way to get you out of here without my mom or sister spotting you,” I added, going to grab my school bag off the floor and throwing my books inside, almost accidentally putting a book on 1940’s jazz dancers in. I tossed it aside and zipped my bag.

Holding my bag in one hand, I sighed huffily when I turned around and saw he was still in the same spot, having not moved an inch and looking possibly more asleep than he had thirty seconds before.

“Sehun, please get up. I need to get to the bus stop,” I whined, waving my hand around to catch his attention. “And you need to wipe that blood off your face.”

Yawning in quite an unsophisticated way, Sehun’s eyes followed my movement and he smacked his lips, eyeing the item in my hand. A beat later, I noticed and hid the blue bra behind my back with a glare.

“Sehun,” I ground out.

Reaching up to rub his eye only to quickly retract his hand with a flinch, he settled for rubbing the back of his neck which I imagined was sore from the way he slept before speaking.

“I had nowhere to go last night. Do you think I have anywhere to go now?” he asked, not even looking at me.

“You can’t just lurk around here while my mom and sister are still home,” I told him, going to find a brush for my hair. He watched me without saying a word. “If my mom finds you, she’ll probably go after you with that meat hammer like I did and my sister would probably throw a platform at you and run screaming,” I added, yanking the brush through my hair. “Not to mention, you need food and water.” Throwing the brush aside, I looked at the clock and huffed.

“I’m not a dog,” he mumbled, still staring at the same spot in my floor.

According to my radar, he had looked like a lost wet dog the night before but I didn’t say that out loud. Instead, I opened my door and peered out just as Jaeeun came waltzing out of her room.

“You’re going to be late,” she noted.

I rolled my eyes and shut the door again, turning to face Sehun, who still hadn’t moved. Glaring as strongly as I could, I waited for him to do anything besides blink, but he remained staring at the floor.

“You know, I deserve an explanation and all you’re doing is demanding more,” I said, crossing my arms. He still didn’t move, but I saw him blink more times than needed. “Where’s your phone?” I asked suddenly, sending up another prayer like the one I had the night before.

He looked up and I gave him an impatient look. Turning his eyes back to the floor, he pointed to the white Samsung Galaxy Note 3 lying on the pile of books where he had been sitting before. It was on silent but it was clearly ringing as the screen flashed brightly. Acting as if I hadn’t just seen the whole series of bruises that decorated his arm and that I wasn’t the least bit troubled by them, I walked over and snatched it up, ending the incoming call from Jongin. By the looks of it, he didn’t want to answer anyway. Going into the contacts app, I typed in my number and then tossed the phone at him. He flinched away and then picked it up off the bed, eyeing the screen.

“Stay in this room,” I demanded, pointing at him. “If you get caught . . .” I passed up the threat and rested my hand on my doorknob. “My sister is about to leave and my mom will probably be gone within the next hour. Text me if anything happens.” Just before I opened the door, I turned back. “And do not touch my things.”

He blinked at me. I glared, pointing my finger at him.

“Fine. But don’t tell anyone that you’ve seen me,” he said, giving me a worried glance which was soon directed at the bra still dangling from my hand.

I thought about slapping him upside the head with it but thought better and only locked and slammed the door on my way downstairs, disregarding the fact that he asked me to keep my mouth shut even though it wasn’t like I was going to really be bragging about him being in my house. Taking a moment to stop in the utility room and take my leggings off and change into my shirt, I then tumbled through the foyer and hurried to put my shoes on.

“Eunhui.” My mom came out of the kitchen.

“I’m going,” I groaned, tying my left shoe.

“Why are there men’s shoes?” she asked, ignoring my groan.

I froze, looking up to see her eyeing the still damp Nikes that Sehun had conveniently placed next to the door.

“They’re Dad’s, right?” I asked, trying to play it off as I pulled on my other shoe.

She hummed for a moment. “No, I don’t remember buying him those,” she said.

I snatched them up and pulled my bag strap over my shoulder.

“I saw them outside last night and thought they were. Oops,” I said, throwing the door open. “Bye, love you.” Sighing with relief, I closed the door and turned to run when I almost tripped over something. Looking down, my eyes widened as I saw the meat hammer that I had thrown at Sehun. With a swift kick, I sent it flying into the bushes surrounding the porch, and on my way out of the gate, I tos