It had felt like an eternity, yet she knew somewhere at the back of her mind that only two weeks have passed since that dreadful, awful day.

The aching. The hurt. The deep clenching throbbing pain. It only ended when she fell asleep. Yet, even then, her dreams were more often than not nightmares. Suji found refuge in the dark blank crevices of her mind, where she floated and was free. She didn't think. She didn't feel. She didn't remember. She was nothing. She only wished that that was how it would always be.

Too bad that life always followed half a wink behind her.

Suji lay on her bed as she had always done her whole life; staring up at a ceiling completely alien to her despite having lived in this house for nearly a month.

Alien. What a foreign word. One could not begin to imagine the trouble this one word had brought down on her. And they had all thought it a superstition. They couldn't be more wrong.

There was a knock on the door. A light timid rapping followed a long pregnant pause, as though the visitor knew that Suji was lying in bed, able to hear the softest of sounds. It was probably her mother. Or Henry. Either way, she didn't care to see them. They were probably just as confused as she was herself, wondering why she, who was always so energetic and forthright in her actions suddenly withdrew into herself. She didn't lift a finger.

The keys rattled in the lock anyway, the earlier knock only a formality.

"Suji ya. Are you home?" Kim Yoobin charged in with the loud rustling of plastic, "I brought you some food so you should come and eat." She peeked into the main bedroom, sighing at the sight of her daughter splayed out on the mattress, gaze vacant and disinterested, "Are you going to lie there all day? You've been so miserable these past few weeks, I don't even know what to do anymore."

Suji felt a cool hand on her forehead and her mother's concerned face focused into her line of sight, blocking out the ceiling. She hated that feeling. The knowledge that she was making somebody worry. Why couldn't they just leave her alone. She wasn't worth all this attention; not after committing a crime as heinous as hers'.

Suji was trash. She could see it in their eyes. Henry's. Her mother's. Her father's. Even Jongin had gone, leaving her to wake up alone with no message or clue as to where he had disappeared to. They couldn't stand being with her. It must have been such a chore to continue feigning their support for her. They needn't have done so. They should have simply followed Suho's lead.

Her mother seemed exasperated with her behaviour, almost desperate to leave Suji so as to escape her disease like aura. The emptiness and loss. It was probably only her maternal obligation stopping her from dropping her daughter. She should look at Suho, see how he was thriving in Suji's absence.

Weed; An undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it was not wanted.

"Where's your brother? I haven't seen him for such a long time since he's always out when I visit." Her mother frowned, "He is still living with you, isn't he?"

Kim Yoorae. Always unknowingly blunt with her words. She truly hated her mother for it.

Suji her side, facing her back to her mother. She knew that she was being rude. That she should be grateful for all the efforts spent trying to drag her back up from the hole she had sunk into. She didn't care. There was silence, followed by soft footsteps away. The front door shut with a bang a little harder than necessary. She had probably hurt her feelings.

Good. Her mother was now one step closer to freedom.

The hardest thing in the world was to smile when one was empty. It took all of Suji's energy to seem normal. To greet Minhyun and kiss him as though nothing between them had changed. It was not his fault. He had only just entered his company, having had no prior knowledge of what went on behind the glass doors of Shin Corporation. He wasn't the one who killed Kris. He wasn't the one who abandoned Sehun and Kyungsoo. That had all been Suji.

In the end, she gave up; allowing Eunhyuk to throw things her way without a blink and giving no indication of interest when Hyorin began to chatter beside her. Perhaps she was being too blunt. Perhaps that was why Eunhyuk eventually ceased his teasing, quietly sitting for the rest of the lesson. Why Hyorin fell silent, shooting her scared glances every so often. Maybe it showed on her face. Did she have traitor written on her forehead? Betrayer? Murderer?

Suji moved on autopilot; copying down notes, watching Teacher Park's lesson without listening, answering his questions in a dull monotone, void of life itself. It didn't matter. Nobody cared anyway.

Why would they when she herself didn't?

"Really, Suji! I've tried to be understanding but this is just too much!" Minhyun accosted her as she quickly scrambled out of her classroom as soon as the bell rang and hurriedly made her way down the southern hallway, having tried to avoid running into him during lunchtimes as she had done for the past two weeks.

It hadn't worked today. He seemed to have realised an inkling of her feelings, having not said a word about her disappearances during the mornings when she was not late for school. However, sneaking past him could only last for so long before he cottoned on to her whereabouts.

Minhyun was no fool and he utilised his power and influence when need be.

"What's wrong?" He cradled her face in his hands gently as he forced Suji to look into his eyes. The eyes she knew so well, "I can't help you if you never say a word to me."

Help? Could he really help her? She doubted it. Either