He was completely broken by the time he woke up. 

He didn't know what time of the day (or what day of the month) it was, but when the sunlight blared into the small, dark room, he knew that it was day.  The way the light tried to eat its way into the room, gobbling up the darkness told him that it was probably around noon, or whatever the brightest time of the day was. He was just about to get up until he felt something crack beneath the palm of his hand. Letting out a groan, he slowly raised his head, lifted his droopy eyes, and saw his hand bleeding from cutting the broken shards of the bottle.

Last night…Or two days ago—he couldn't remember—he had been drinking and smoking, feasting on his own thoughts as they drove him to an unbelievable state of pain. If he hadn't locked the doors, he was sure that he would've left the room and did something embarrassing and wild out in public. Maybe he would've met Chanyeol's friends and get knocked down early, so that he wouldn't have to go and be pummeled alone.

Although his mind went blank when he tried to think of his actions, he did remember dreaming. He had dreamt about being caged, with feathers falling on top of him. They were dull, soft feathers, but when they touched his hands, they turned to a remarkable color. Shades of white illuminated when they met his skin, glowing, but fading once the feathers dropped to the ground. 

However, that dream had quickly turned to a nightmare when the feathers had turned to money. Thick, fat rolls of cash fell from the sky, and he was no longer caged in. He was outside of the cage, watching the feathers fall in there while money fell out at where he was. Eventually, the cash had stopped to Jiyong's height, nearly drowning him. He felt nothing below his feet, and all he could do was swim in the dreadful scent. He had woken up when he saw familiar faces—faces from his past—standing in the distant, opening their arms, waiting for him with odd smiles that freaked him out. 

"Come back, Jiyong," they had chanted. It was then, when the chants got louder, Jiyong had woken up from his nightmare. Still, he didn't get up too suddenly. In fact, he was too dizzy from last night. The partial reason was that he had been dreaming his nightmares for quite some time that it wasn't surprising when they came back, but he decided to let that idea slide and go with the fact that his hangover didn't help him at all.

It's time to get up. Jiyong knew that. He kept repeating the phrase in his head, but his body wouldn't budge. Besides, there were so many glasses everywhere, he was sure that he would injure himself more if he moved. 

There was a knock on the door. Jiyong slowly turned his head, staring at the door with confusion. A visitor? It was certainly not the neighbors; they were all too embarrassed or shy to greet each other. It couldn't be the manager, since he was working.

Oh, it must be one of the workers from work, Jiyong thought. Groaning, he picked himself up, but collapsed when his vision turned blurry to black. He moaned in pain, resting his forehead against the bloody hand. Dang it. The door's not even opened so I have to get up.

"I knew it. He moved," a soft voice muttered outside.

"Why would he move? The manager said that he was absent for just a few days. It could be that he just went out or something," a deeper voice commented.

A few days? Jiyong cursed himself, knowing that he had probably been sleeping off the alcohol. No wonder why he was so thirsty and hungry!

"Should we go?" the soft voice asked quietly.

"Well, I have to stay here. My manager told me to ask the landlord of Jiyong moved. You two can go and run along, now," another female voice said.

Who's manager…? Oh, this must be Minah, Jiyong thought. Then that means…

"W-Wait! I'll stay a bit longer," Jieun's voice stuttered.

"Wha…T-Then I'm staying, too," Jiho declared. 

Jiyong pondered on his thoughts for a moment. Should he go out and greet the kids? Or should he wait it out, and continue resting here?

He flinched when he heard the door knob twist.

"Oh, the door's opened," he heard Jieun say.

They can't come in and see this, Jiyong thought. He cleared his throat, and with a scratchy voice, he said, "Coming, coming…"

The door knob stopped turning. It was this when he realized that the three wouldn't go and barge into his house. He cleared his dry throat again, and his chapped lips with his dry tongue.

"Can you guys drop by at the supermarket? It's at the curb to your right. Buy me some fruits. I'll pay back," Jiyong managed to say. While the kids would go grocery shopping, he planned to clean up and air out the room. He waited for a response. 

"We'll be back in ten minutes," Jiho told him. Jiyong heard footsteps disappearing, fading into a distant echo.

With that, he slowly rose from the ground, and looked at the messy room. Oh gosh. There's a lot to clean…

* * *

By the time the three got back, they were surprised to see how cluttered the room was. However, in Jiyong's opinion, the room was a lot better than how it started off in the morning. The glasses were swept and thrown away in a garbage bag, and he aired out the room by opening the window and using an air freshener. For him, the scent of burning cigarettes went undetected. Still, to the teens with a more acute sense, they could still smell smoke lingering in the air.

"We brought over some oranges," Jieun said, handing him the bag of oranges. "The receipt is inside."

Jiyong had almost forgot about his earlier request. He thanked Jieun, pulled out the receipt, then took out some cash and handed to her. He told the three to take a seat at the center, where he had set up a small table. As the three went ahead and stepped inside, he took the bag and headed for the kitchen, where he found a knife to cut the oranges.

"Anyway, the manager's been asking about you," Minah said. "He was worried if you were sick."

Jiyong faked a cough. "Well, I'm feeling better. Tell him that I'll be back to work in about two days."

"How'd you get so sick?" Jiho asked, looking around the room. "This place smells like smoke. It reeks of alcohol."

"I had a few friends who came over yesterday. They wanted to celebrate, but it didn't end up too well. They went home drunk and broke my stove," Jiyong lied. He banged his knee against the weak stove, pretending as if he was directing the source of the smell towards the oven. The others flinched at the loud soound, and continued to remain quiet.

"You have friends?" Jiho retorted.

"Not close ones," Jiyong muttered. "I act like they don't exist."

"Really? Who are they?" Jiho inquired, raising his eyebrows as he watched Jiyong bring a plate of oranges to them.

"People you don't know. People who don't matter to you," Jiyong replied hurriedly. He turned to Minah. "Anyway, when are you done with your hours? Haven't you stayed long enough?"

Minah rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I ask myself that all the time! Apparently I have a few more hours left. I should be done by the end of this week or next week, depending on my attendance."

"You should just hurry and finish. I haven't seen you with your friends lately, too. Have you been hanging around with them at school?" Jiyong asked her.

Minah choked on an orange, earning a few awkward glances. "Um, yeah! Of course. I've been totally hanging around with them."

"That's good news. Did you have fun during the school fair?" Jiyong asked, the words slipping out his mouth subconsciously.

Hearing this, Jiho threw him an odd look. "What school fair?"

Jiyong froze, realizing that he had just let an unnecessary information slip out. Oops.

"Nothing," Jieun said quickly.

"We didn't have a school fair. Where the heck did you hear that?" Jiho asked, still scowling.

"Oh…You didn't? Well, that's strange. I just heard a few rumors floating around. I assumed that it was true," Jiyong said, trying to cover up his mistake.

"Y-Yeah! I mean, I don't know about you, but I've heard that a few girls talking about a school fair. They were just talking about it. T-That was all. Really! It was!" Minah stuttered. She tried to help cover the situation, but the way she stammered caused Jiho to be suspicious. He stared at her for a moment, his cold brown eyes boring deep into hers. She looked away in silence, unable to handle his strong gaze. 

Jiho turned to Jieun, who pressed her lips and clenched her fist as she looked down to the ground, ashamed. He studied both girls' odd behavior, but he remained silent. He kept quiet for a whole minute until he suddenly recalled something. His orbs peered into Jiyong's, trying to dig out any truth just by looking. Unfortunately, Jiyong's face smile was enough to fool the rebel. Jiho lowered his defense, accepting the obvious lie.

"So was that why Jieun was crying at the fountain on the day you said you'd meet her?" Jiho asked softly. 

Jiyong and Jieun widened their eyes, surprised from hearing such a comment. Jieun desperately faced Jiho, her tiny hands squeezing Jiho's arm.

"Please don't," she whispered to him. Fear was the only word that Jiyong was able to think when he spotted Jieun's despairing situation. The older man knew that Jieun felt guilty, and that she had probably cried because she was afraid that he would get hurt.

Then why did you keep telling me to go, idiot? Jiyong wondered, looking down at his feet.

"Jieun's always crying. There's no need to fret about something like that," Minah said ruthlessly, gritting her teeth. "I saw her crying yesterday at school, too."

"That's because you guys went too far!" Jiho began. "I'd be terrified if people treated me like a ghost! Really, you guys did too much. It wasn't only yesterday, either! You've been keeping up with this for an entire week!" He gave her a menacing look. "Why don't you grow up?"

Minah whirled around, angrily facing him. "No, why don't you grow up? Everyone knows that you're a total jerk. You can't study properly, you have no real friends, and you just don't fit with the class! You're like a piece of scrap that shouldn't belong!"

"At least I know how to treat people like a human being! I can't study? That's because those damn teachers can't teach. Plus, how am I able to study in an environment like this? It's only right me to do to as I want to do!"

"Ugh! You're being really annoying right now. Why can't you just go along with the group once?"

"Why can't you do the right thing for once?"

"You're impossible to do deal with!"

"No, you're impossible to deal with! Stand up for yourself!"

"I am!"

"No, no you're not! Stop acting like a leech and do something on your own for once!" He pointed out the door. "Friends? You call those group of bastards friends? What? Everyone knows that you're just a toy to them. The only reason why they let you hang out with you is because you're so useless to the point where you act desperate for attention. You—"

"You don't understand anything! You have no rights to say something like that to me! Me? A leech? So be that. Yes, I am a leech! Then what are you? You're just an animal ready to be extinct."

"At least I'm unique!"

"Then at least I'm surviving!"

"G-Guys, you shouldn't fight when you're at someone's house!" Jieun said hurriedly, running between the two.

Minah gave her a hot glare, causing Jieun to flinch. She glowered at Jiho, who also fought back by frowning right at her. After a while, she let out a sarcastic chuckle. She rose from her seat, her shoulders weary and her knees buckling.

"I'm a leech, huh?" Minah muttered. She looked at Jieun with cold eyes that Jiyong never imagined to see. "I don't understand why you don't consider her as a leech." She turned to Jiyong. "Yeah, I'm not coming back here. I'm going back to work, and I'm going to finish up my hours as soon as possible. After that, I'm not going to see you." She bowed. " Goodbye."

Jiyong didn't bother to chase after her or to comfort her. From his perspective, it seemed as if she really needed some personally space. He nodded his head towards her, and looked at her until she was out of the room. 

A few minutes of silenced passed by. The room was filled with the sounds of chewing fruits and the clock ticking away. Jiyong liked the silence; it made him feel as if he was in a world where drama and noises never occurred. He helped himself to one piece of orange, chewing it until he realized the bitter texture of the oranges.

"Hey, this one's a bad orange," Jiyong said. 

"What? They all taste the same to me," Jiho mumbled. He glanced at the time, then got up from his seat. "I got to go. Cram school." He paused, then looked at Jieun. "Shouldn't you be going, too?"

Jieun pressed her lips again. "I…I wanted to stay a bit longer…"

Jiyong glanced at Jiho, taking note of the younger man's shocked expression. He saw Jiho try to sit back down, but when he glanced at the clock, he realized that he couldn't stay for a few more minutes. With a hesitant expression, Jiho slowly nodded his head.

"Ah, sure. Just get back home safe, I guess," Jiho murmured to her. He looked at Jiyong, then glared at him. "Don't do anything funny!"

Jiyong raised his eyebrows. "I'm not!"

"Tch. Sure," Jiho responded, rolling his eyes. He focused his attention back on Jieun. "I'm going now, okay?"

Jieun gave him a tired smile. "Yeah. Bye…"

"See you." With that, Jiho left and stepped outside. 

Jiyong froze as he saw Jieun sit across from him. She nervously took an orange, slowly biting into it. By now, Jiyong had cut all the oranges that she had bought him. He had some mixed feelings knowing that Jieun had planned to stay at his home a little longer. He thought that she would leave after she ate the rest of the oranges (there weren't very many), but he knew that at the rate which she was eating the food, it was going to be a while.

The two sat in silence, only eating or studying the environment. Jiyong waited patiently for Jieun to talk. The way she frantically glanced at him and brought her legs closer to her body told him that she wanted to say something, but it would take a while for her to gather up that courage. 

Do I start talking first?  Jiyong asked himself. Or should I let her talk and apologize to me first?

"I…" Jieun started, then stopped. She let out a sigh to herself, then awkwardly glanced up at Jiyong's emotionless features. "I… I know that I'm wrong here. I know that I'm the one who shouldn't have done that."

"Mhm," Jiyong replied.

She seemed surprised to hear such a short response because she looked up, eyes alert and wide. When she realized that Jiyong wasn't taking her seriously, she balled up her fingers into a fist.

"I… I'm really sorry! Really, I am! I should've told you that at some point, I was going to bring you to some part of the neighborhood where Chanyeol and his friends would beat you up. I should've told you, but I didn't. That was wrong of me," Jieun confessed. The words rolled off her tongue like a waterfall, spilling the truth out into the open world.

Jiyong sat still, then went to grab an orange. "Okay."

Jieun clenched her teeth. "I know you don't believe that I'm sorry, but I am! I am sorry from the bottom of my heart!"

"I understand that," Jiyong replied. He wasn't really sure where he was going with this. Just what did he want to hear from her? She was apologizing enough. Shouldn't he just let her off the hook?

But something stirred inside Jiyong's chest that caused him to push on his stubbornness. He was mad—more accurately ticked off—but he wasn't mad to the extent that he wouldn't accept her apology. There was just something he wanted from her…and he couldn't figure out what.

"I'm so sorry—"

"Jieun, I said that I understand. Just drop the topi—"

"No! You still didn't forgive me, yet. You might seat that this is all okay, but until I hear an apology, I can't stand this," Jieun explained, shifted her body uncomfortably.

Jiyong gave her a long stare. "I don't understand why you demand something from me, but you don't demand something from others."

Jieun gave him an alarmed look. "Wha—"

"You're able to apology, but you can't receive them from others. You're able to talk back, but you're not able to do that to others. You're doing what's right here, but you're doing everything wrong out there," Jiyong pointed out. He tilted his head a little to the right. "Why?"

Jieun didn't say a word. Instead, she had her eyes glued to Jiyong, her whole body stiff and nervous. She definitely didn't know the answer to his question. Was there even a proper answer for this? What should she say?

"I… I feel that I owe you a lot. I don't know, it doesn't feel like that's the answer, though. I just… I don't know, I feel like when I'm talking to you, I'm with an actual human being. Everyone out there… They're all monsters in my eyes, despite being human. From my perspective, you treat me with respect, and I'd like to return that respect to you." She paused for a minute. "It just feels like I'm taking part of society when I'm with you."

Jiyong's eyes grew big. There was a very odd, but familiar feeling crawling in his skin. He suddenly felt cold as if all the blood had drained away from his face. Turning pale, he studied Jieun's actions, praying that she wasn't heading towards the direction that he was thinking. The way she shyly looked away, her eyes moving around the room, and her fingers flexing and stretching made him absolutely terrified.

He quickly cleared his throat, catching Jieun's attention. I've got to change the subject.

"W-Well, you're forgiven. I forgive you a hundred percent," Jiyong told her. He got up when he realized that the tray was empty. "Anyway, I'm going to wash the dishes."

Jieun rose from her seat. "Let me help—"

"No!" he shouted, whirling around. Jieun froze, stunned from how he had raised his voice. She gave him a strange look, as if she was asking him if everything was alright.

His head throbbed in pain while he felt his heart pounding against his chest. He knew that he was still very pale, and it seemed as if he hadn't recovered from his hangover. Above all, he knew that whatever he said next would take him to a whole new detour in life. He bit his tongue, then turned away to put away the dirty tray into the sink.

"I-I mean… I shouldn't have yelled at you for that, but how could I let you wash the dishes? Besides, it's not much. I can take care of this," Jiyong told her.

Jieun slowly sat back down. "Ah… Y-Yes! Of course!"

The two became silent. The clocked ticked on, accompanied by the sound of running water from the sink. Jiyong quickly cleaned the dishes. As he had expected, it took him less than five minutes to finish cleaning. When he was done, he looked behind his shoulder and saw Jieun looking down, covering her eyes with her long hair. 

Now that I think about it, I haven't really apologized for yelling at her, Jiyong realized. Plus, I didn't get to see her face clearly. Did she get more bruises or scars? Probably, since I didn't go at the designated area. 

Guilt stabbed his chest, as he let the words slip out of his mouth. "Did Chanyeol do anything to you?"

Jieun looked up at him. To his satisfaction, there weren't any new bruises or scars. In fact, it looked like they were healing. Though when he looked closer, he realized that it could've been the makeup that he had bought her earlier that could've covered the sacred marks.

"C-Chanyeol? Why… Oh… No, he didn't," Jieun mumbled. Her hand moved towards her thigh. "He didn't do anything…"

Oh come on, he thought to himself, rolling his eyes mentally. That was totally a lie. 

"So he hit you there? On your leg?" Jiyong asked. 

Jieun flinched. "H-How did you—"

"You made it kind of obvious," Jiyong replied. "Can you walk?"

"Y-Yes."

"Did you go to the hospital to get it checked?"

"Never!"

Jiyong sighed. "Of course. Why did I bother asking?"

Jieun bit her bottom lip. "I know that you lack faith in me, but this is going to get better one day. They always say that the underdog gets the best prizes later." 

"Nothing gets better when you don't try to make it better, Jieun," Jiyong lectured her. "If you don't stand up now, it'll be harder to do that later."

She paused for a few seconds, then nodded her head. "I'll… I'll think about it."

He nodded back in response, then began walking towards her. He stopped when she saw her rise from her seat and dust off her skirt. She gave him a small smile.

"I should leave now. I've stayed too long," Jieun said. Jiyong only nodded again, and walked her out to the door.

When he opened the door for her, he felt a breeze of cold air rushing into the warm room. He sniffed, looking outside and watched last night's snow scattered all over the snow. A random truck passed by, and a few kids ran around the streets with a soccer ball. Her heard a bird chirp somewhere in the trees, and a dog happily bark somewhere around the neighborhood. He gently closed his eyes, and inhaled through his nose.

This was peace.

He brought his attention back to Jieun, who had just finished putting on her boots. She stepped outside the frost, but stopped to bow at Jiyong. She bid him a goodbye, and began walking away. Jiyong waved back and was about to close the door when he remembered that he didn't properly apologize. He opened the door wide, and poked his head outside the door and into the cold.

"Hey Jieun!" he yelled. Jieun, who was already at down at the base floor, looked up. "I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier!"

To his surprise, he saw a smile form on her lips. She giggled to herself, covering her lips with the back of her hand. She only bowed in response, nodding her head as if she had accepted her apology. He let out a sigh with a smile, but stopped when his keen eyes caught something.

He ran out into the snow, his upper body leaning over the second floor railings. Squinting his eyes, he studied her back carefully, noticing something peculiar from what he saw. Then, slowly, his eyes enlarged and he felt his heart stop from his new discover.

Jieun, still smiling, had her ears red. There was a little shade of red on her cheek, which only grew brighter when she smiled wider to herself. 

In his head, he prayed that her ears were red from the cold, and not from anything else he wanted to be involved in.