(Warning: Foul Language)

 

Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead, the metallic taste of blood lingered on my tongue as I finished the last one of them. ‘Don’t with me, dips. Or you’ll never see the ing daylight again if you mess with me one more ing time.’ I warned the boys who attacked me in the alley.

I really didn’t want to go through that dark, narrow alley but I was in a hurry so I took a shortcut back home. Then, I ended up going back home even later than usual, resulting in me being scolded by my elder brothers. All three of them—Jin, Rei and Hyun.

‘Yah, yah, yah! Where do you think you’re going, sis?!’ Hyun, my eldest brother grabbed me by the shoulder and I immediately winced in pain, thrashing and asking him to let me go. ‘Hyun… She’s bleeding and in pain, let me treat her wounds first before you continue your lecture okay?’ Rei s his arms around my waist and led me towards the bathroom before I pass out.

‘Tsk, tsk, tsk… (F/N)-ah… Are you really okay? You’ve been coming home lately with injuries and frankly, I’m very worried about your condition. Your lecturer called and he told me that you’ve been skipping classes, do you want to tell me about it?’ Rei asked as he bandaged my wounds.

This is the reason why I favour Rei aside from Hyun and Jin, he’s sensitive towards my feelings and he knows that I’m in pain even when I choose not to show it. I love Hyun and Jin but they’re both really irritating at times and they can be really blunt and insensitive.

‘Why do you even wanna know?’ I snapped at him, still pissed off about the situation earlier. ‘Because I’m your brother and I deserve to know what’s happening so that I can help you.’ He replied softly and looked at me in the eyes, trying to coax the answer out of me and it worked effectively. Rei knew forcing wasn’t the answer and he knew that a long time ago, to be honest, I don’t even know how he can stand to be around me.

‘It was because of what they said…’ I mumbled. ‘Huh?’ Rei didn’t hear me and I got impatient so I burst everything out. ‘They provoked me first, okay?! I hate it when they say bad things about you, Jin and Hyun! As much as I’d like to punch them both in the face but I can’t stand it when they insult you guys so that’s why I’ve been coming home bloody almost every single day because I was teaching them a lesson!’ I stomped towards my room, not caring if Jin and Hyun were about to rain more on me.

‘Just leave her be, Hyun. She’s had a rough day, please understand her.’ I heard Rei defending me when I heard Hyun’s heavy footsteps outside my door. ‘But still, I want to know why she yelled at you. She’s always had a soft spot for you among the three of us.’

‘Maybe if you had been more lenient and sensitive to her emotions, you’d know what kind of situation she was going through. The reason she yelled was because she was hurt, physically and mentally. Ever since mum and dad passed, she was provoked all the time and that triggered her dark side. And you thought she needed to see a psychiatrist because she was having serious mood swings.’ I heard Rei scoff and walk off.

I laid down on my bed, listening to Jaguar by What So Not and tuning everything else out. I’m tired and I didn’t even bother to go and take shower because my whole body ached and so is my heart. Words were replayed in my mind, remembering how they insulted Rei for being so girly because of the way he dressed and how they made of fun of me who had no parents.

Their words stung me and brought forth tears, I didn’t show it to anyone of course, I’d always prefer to cry in solitude because for me, it was really unnecessary to burden other people with my emotions so I chose to bottle it up.

Insulting Rei already boiled my blood but insulting my parents was strictly off-limits, say it one more ing time and I’ll screw them over. I beat them up with my bare hands, even though they could offer no more resistance, I kept on punching them because they pointed a blade at my pride.

I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep after such an exhausting day, I was lucky tomorrow’s weekend or I wouldn’t have been able to go to classes because of my injuries. I could barely stand without Jin’s help and the room felt like it was spinning.

I didn’t have the energy to do anything, I just wanted to stay in bed all day and do nothing but rest. Hyun’s working and Rei was out to meet a few of his friends to discuss about his assignments, so only Jin and I were left at home.

Jin and I are twins but despite that, we had personalities that differed greatly just like the sky and the earth itself. He excelled in academics while I excelled in the area of sports, both of us even loved things that were of the opposite nature of each other for example, I love it when it’s winter but he loves summer, I love black but he loves white.

We were practically North Pole and South Pole.

Even though he doesn’t speak much to me but I know he cares, he even brought me a tray of food that he prepared all by himself. Jin’s actually a great cook but he doesn’t want to admit it. I felt replenished after eating the meal he prepared and rested again.

The next day, I felt refreshed and I could move a lot so I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air after being cooped up inside my room for one whole day. On the way back, I noticed a guy in black had been tailing me.

He had soul-piercing eyes that were lined with eyeliner and a piercing on his left ear, he seemed to be watching my every move. I kept calm and picked up my pace to a quick walk, trying to throw him off my trail but he kept following me all the way back home like a loyal hound.

Irritated, I whirled around to see him smirking at me and staring at me with those mysterious eyes. ‘Excuse me, who are you and why do you keep following me?’ I asked him, he just stared at me without answering my question and then left me standing in front of the door just like that.

What a weird person… I thought to myself. This guy followed me all the way back even though that he knew I was aware of him following me, I hope I won’t bump into him again because my fists will be doing the talking the next time.

The next day, it was the same. He followed me again. ‘Oi, who the hell are you?’ I asked him directly. ‘Someone who likes you.’ He replied with a smirk. I sighed, patience is not my forte. ‘Look, you better get the hell out of my sight before I send you to a hospital.’ I cracked my knuckles.

‘Who did this to you?’ He asked as he held up my arms, they were decorated with blooming bruises, cuts, scabs and scars. ‘Why the hell would you wanna know? It’s not like it’s got anything to do with you anyway.’ I yanked back and walked away only to bump into a group of guys.

They had tattoos and some of them were wearing leather jackets, they’re gangsters and I assumed that they were acquainted with one of the punks I beat up the day before. ‘Are you (F/N) (L/N)?’ The buff man asked. ‘What’s it to you? I don’t care who the you are so get lost.’ I walked the other way.

‘You …’ The man snarled and tried to grab my shoulder but the impact never came. The guy stopped his hand from reaching me and was twisting at such a painful angle that it resulted in him yelling out curses, asking him to stop.

‘Stop right there. Even if she’s a , this is mine so get your ing filthy hands off of her before I snap those pretty little fingers of yours off and shove them back up your . off.’ He gave a warning glare and scared them off.

‘Tch. Cowards.’ He scoffed at their running figures in the distance. ‘Did they do this to you?’ He turned towards me and asked. I didn’t say anything because I was stunned, the words were processed in my mind but they got stuck in my throat.

‘Answer me, woman. Did they do this to you?’ He held up my arm again carefully like he did last time. I could only nod. I don’t even know this person but he pulled me into a hug so tight as if I was some kind of long lost lover, his arms constricting around my small frame like anacondas.

‘I don’t even know your name but why are you hugging me?’ I asked him. He pulled away just a little and stared at me, sighing. ‘It’s Shin Segi, remember my name, woman. You might not know me but I knew you a long time ago, you’ve changed a lot. I was the one who called out to you.’ He placed a kiss on my forehead and left me just like that.

I went back home in a state of confusion. Shin Segi… Shin Segi… That name echoed in my mind along the way back. I laid down on my bed, I’ve never felt so troubled before and usually they were solved by me releasing my tension on a punching bag.

 

‘…I was the one who called out to you…’

 

His sentence replayed in my head. Since when did he called out to me? I don’t even remember meeting this guy before and yet, he called me his woman. My brothers must’ve noticed the turmoil within me as I pushed a forkful of spaghetti in my plate. ‘Yah, what’s gotten into you? Is your depression acting up again?’ Hyun asked, pointing his fork at me.

‘It’s nothing…’ I mumbled. ‘(F/N)-ah… If there’s anything we can help you with, please tell us.’ Rei coaxed. I was confused and it felt like I was missing a piece of my memory so I decided to ask them. ‘Umm… Do you guys remember a guy by the name of Shin Segi…?’ I looked at them.

They shifted uncomfortably in their seats, looking at each other. ‘He used to be our classmate.’ Jin finally spoke after a long silence. ‘We used to play together, the three of us. Way before mum and dad passed.’ He continued.

‘You fell into depression when they were gone, we took you to a therapist and she said we had to move away to a better place in order to cure you, to somewhere calm and peaceful so we did.’ Hyun sighed as he explained.

I was really surprised when I heard that, I didn’t remember the time when we moved. Shin Segi and my past were thrown at the back of my mind, all but forgotten when I left. Hyun’s explanation made my memories surge forth and caused me to have a really immense headache, everything came back to me like a slideshow on a fast forward mode.

 

(A/N : Listen to Reason by Shin Yongjae from 4MEN from this part on. Yes, I know it's from Secret Garden but it just feels right. XD)

 

When the pain cleared, I got up and found strength again. The strength to embrace him and my painful past. I ran out the door and towards a nearby playground, not caring if my brothers yelled after me. As if I’ve known it all along, there he was right there.

Standing under the tree, smiling at me when I came running. ‘You… You jerk… What took you so long?!’ I panted, tears running down my cheeks and in the cold winter air as it burned my throat.

‘I’m sorry, you must’ve waited a really long time for me.’ Segi patted my head, I remember that he used to this for me too when we were still kids whenever I was upset. Segi was still the same little punk who got into tons of trouble, always the handsome villain in movies but he was kind to me.

I sobbed, burrowing myself in his chest and inhaling his scent. I missed him a lot. I looked at our intertwined hands and I was shocked to see the bracelet that I made for him on his wrist, he seemed to notice and caressed my face.

‘Yeah, I still have it.’ ‘B-But… You threw it away…! I saw you do it!’ I stuttered. ‘I didn’t actually throw it, silly. It was in my pocket and the look on your face was priceless.’ Segi laughed. I gave him a strong punch right at his stomach, making him fall down but he was still laughing.

‘Idiot.’ I muttered. ‘Yeah, I’m your idiot.’ He brushed the dust off his shirt. ‘Do you have any idea how many times I went finding that bracelet, you ?!’ I hit him again. ‘Seriously?! … I’m so sorry…’ Segi hugged me again.

‘You should be. You made me run all over the place!’ ‘Okay, okay… You sure can pack a punch for a woman. Gotta give it to you, it was kinda painful.’ He admitted as he rubbed at the spot where I punched him earlier.

‘I could pack more than just a straight punch and next time it won’t be your stomach that’s in pain, you hear me?’ I ruffle his hair, knowing that it would agitate him because his hair is his pride. ‘Yah! Don’t mess my hair up! Do you have any idea how much time I used to style it to perfection?!’ I laughed at his reaction.

‘Perfection my , I knew you’d get agitated that’s why I did it. Payback, .’ I laughed even harder but it came to a stop when he scooped me up into his arms. ‘Yeah? Your is mine now, woman. Let’s see how much punch you can still pack when I’m done with you.’ He smirked and leaned in for a kiss.

My brothers came to my rescue in time and they probably heard what Segi said as their eyes went wide, seeing him about to kiss me. Rei and Jin rushed forward and took me from him, Hyun started yelling at him and I was about to die of laughter and thankful that my brothers came.

‘Yah, Shin Segi! You damned brat, what the hell were you trying to do to my sister?! If I hadn’t come sooner, you would’ve done inappropriate things to her!’ Hyun glared hard at him to the point that it was really scarier than when he glared at me. Segi was unintimidated and shrugged it off with a question in a nonchalant tone.

 

‘Is it wrong for me to make your sister my woman?’

 

And that was when Hyun exploded as we watched and dying of laughter.

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A/N : Hope you guys enjoyed the story, I don't know if I'll write a one-shot featuring Cha Dohyun or not in the future but I'll definitely put a link here if I did write it. Have a nice day! :)

 

For my dear friend--Eblene, Happy Birthday and may our friendship last forever.