The two boys sat in a corner of the store in a state of daze, uncomfortably sharing the only chair they had. Their loose pullovers hung over their scarred bodies sloppily and work tags slung off their neck. Conscious to hide their cuts and bruises so that they would not get into trouble with their manager for looking inappropriate, their sleeves were rolled down to the wrists. Fiddling with the tags mindlessly, comfortable silence flowed between the two as the night remained relatively quiet. For as long as there was not a single customer that walked into the store, neither boys said a word. But their perplexed expressions accompanied with occasional sighs that escaped hinted that they were vexed.

“Do you think she will be fine on her own? I mean, you did say that her father was the one who did all those to her. And he probably was the one who hired those hyungs to look for her,” Jimin finally said after a while, as they watched passers-by scurry along outside the store they were in to avoid the cold night. TaeHyung shrugged, but let out a huge sigh he kept in for so long.

“I don’t know. Let’s just leave it as it is first and we’ll ask her about it in school tomorrow.” He answered uncertainly but sneaked a quick text to HaYeon to check if she was doing fine. Jimin nodded, feeling equally helpless with the thought that HaYeon could have been in danger during the time that she is away at her own home.

Just as the clock struck 10pm, the boys immediately shot up in their seats excitedly and began clearing up just as their manager entered the store to hand them their monthly pay. Accepting it gratefully, the boys stuffed the money in their bags and locked up.

With an undeniable grin on his face, TaeHyung went off after Jimin, who seemed equally thrilled that they had received money they could be proud of.

“Let’s buy some food back!” Jimin suggested as he threw out a list of foods each boy enjoyed, and TaeHyung immediately agreed. As they did so, both boys threw HaYeon’s issue to the back of their minds and dashed off like children after a school day.

HaYeon replied the message she received within seconds, taking conscious effort to add an emoticon so that he would not worry that much. Stuffing the phone into the pocket of her hoodie, she walked across the living room towards the kitchen, her house slippers making relaxed shuffles as it dragged against the floor.

Humming to herself lightly, she gave Mrs Jung a quick hug as the older lady fixed some dinner for her. “Eomma~” she cooed cutely as she rested her head in the crook of Mrs Jung’s neck, taking in the faint smell of the older lady she missed so much while she was gone. As much as she hated the idea of being ‘home’, she loved the fact that she could see Mrs Jung more now that she was back. “What are you cooking?” She asked as she separated herself from the older lady so that she could carry on doing what she was doing. Mrs Jung just gave her a quick answer but hurried her to sit down at the table so that she could serve her the food. Giving in, HaYeon sat down quickly as she clapped her hands together when Mrs Jung presented her with a simple meal of bibimbap, topped with fresh vegetable and meat.

“You haven’t been eating well, right? Look at how much weight you have lost this whole time you weren’t home,” Mrs Jung nagged as she gently caressed HaYeon’s head while she ate. HaYeon just laughed and defended that the boys fed her well to the point she felt guilty. Mrs Jung just smiled in return, unable to hide her happiness to have HaYeon back by her side.

Just then, the sound of keys rattling came from outside, followed by a creak from the door soon after. Her father marched in, along with two men behind him, as he headed straight for his daughter. The men exuberated an intimidating, and almost scary, vibe as they stood behind her father respectfully. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes as her father explained that they will be escorting her to and fro school from now on, she just got up and with the little acknowledgment she gave him, was ready to go up to her room. "You're always doing whatever you want anyways, commanding people here and there," she muttered under her breath as she outright despised her father for being in an unrespectable job.

"I'm doing this for you," he bluntly offended but in a calm tone, "I heard that you have been hanging around a group of boys while you were gone, gangster-looking ones at that. Why? Did you do that so that you can get pregnant again? Was once not enough?"

HaYeon clenched her fist as she resisted the urge to scream at him. She sn