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"Why were you out so late?" Chaeyoung and Suho were on their way to school. Last night Suho had come home much later than usual.
"Comic book store," he answered, straight-faced as always. Chaeyoung huffed at his short response.
"Figures. Bring me next time okay?" she asked, smiling widely at him. Suho nodded. The pair walked onto the school campus, earning a few stares here and there, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Suho turned the corner and there was Jugyeong. About to fall. Chaeyoung gasped and grabbed her wrist pulling her up straight.
"Jugyeong, are you okay?" she asked. The said girl smiled awkwardly, saying hi. The two girls watched Suho brush past them and towards the doorway before stopping. Chaeyoung heard Jugyeong mutter something under her breath but was too busy watching Suho stop in front of the doorway. Jugyeong turned around and spotted Soojin.
"Soojin!" exclaimed Jugyeong. Just as Soojin was about to come over, Suho walked over to a group of girls.
"Delete it," he said. A couple of female students were taking pictures of him. And he hated taking pictures.
"W-what?" the girl asked, hiding her phone.
"Delete it before I throw this." Suho grabbed the girl's phone holding it up.
"I'll delete it. I will so give it back," the girl promised. Suho handed her the phone and walked into class. Jugyeong and Chaeyoung slowly walked over to Soojin.
"What a scary guy," said Jugyeong. "If you get on his bad side, you're dead that day right?"
"Didn't they know that he hates getting his picture taken?" asked Chaeyoung, shaking her head at the other girls. "But his temper is really something else."
"Eh? Are you close with him too Chaeyoung?" asked Jugyeong.
"Yep. I've known him since we were kids. Just like Soojin," answered Chaeyoung.
"She even lives with him," added Soojin, looking into the classroom.
"Really?" asked Jugyeong, looking quite shocked. Chaeyoung nodded as if it was no big deal.
"He's just like an older brother," Chaeyoung told her, "A really annoying older brother."
"Let's go," said Soojin, walking into class.
☾
"Jugyeong," called Chaeyoung. She wanted to get to know Jugyeong better since she hadn't gotten to hang out with them last time because of her appointment. "Do you want to go shopping later?"
A few hours later, the two found themselves in the makeup section of a store.
"What about this tint?" asked Chaeyoung, holding it up to Jugyeong's face. Jugyeong opened her mouth to speak, but froze, looking at something behind Chaeyoung,
Chaeyoung turned around and saw a group of girls.
"Do you know them?" she asked. Jugyeong shook her head slowly before grabbing the girl's wrist and starting to jog away. Chaeyoung held onto her bag on her shoulder, knowing that she might have to take her pills soon.
Jugyeong pulled Chaeyoung into a small alleyway when they saw headlights flash. Chaeyoung pushed her and Jugyeong away and heard the motorcycle crash. She sat on the ground, feeling like her lungs were about to burst. She quickly pulled out the small bottle, taking two pills out and taking them. She held her chest as she looked up towards the guy with the bike.
"Are you okay?" asked Jugyeong, pulling Chaeyoung up to her feet. Chaeyoung slowly nodded, thinking about calling Suho soon. "Excuse me, are you okay?" Jugyeong walked over to the guy who laid by his bike. "What should we do?"
"Are you hurt?" Chaeyoung asked, still stabilizing her breathing. He pulled off his helmet, revealing Seojun.
"Han Seojun?" asked Chaeyoung, seeing his face. Seojun took a quick look at her before moving his gaze towards the other bikes that started to gather.
Seojun pushed his helmet into Chaeyoung's arms before running away. The girls watched as the other motorbikes continued chasing him. Jugyeong and Chaeyoung followed them cautiously and Jugyeong pressed the police alarm off as they watched the other guys runoff.
"Are they gone?" asked Jugyeong. The two unknowingly backed up towards the waiting boy.
"What's with you?" asked Seojun.
"Uh, about that..." trailed off Jugyeong, at a loss for words. "Oh there!" Seojun looked unamused as she randomly pointed in a direction.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Chaeyoung looked at Jugyeong giving her a signal to run. 1, 2, 3. The two took off running away from him. A smile made its way to Chaeyoung's face. The feeling of running felt nice after not being able to do it all her life. It was a rush of adrenaline that she needed in life.
"Wait, the helmet! Hey!" yelled Seojun, making Chaeyoung realize she still had his helmet in her arms.
Chaeyoung huffed as they finally came to a stop. She looked around, realizing that she and Jugyeong went opposite ways. She felt her chest tighten and her vision start getting spotty. She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" answered Suho.
"Please, come pick me up," said Chaeyoung, panting between words.
"Where are you? What happened?" he questioned, bombarding her with questions.
☾
"We should've gone to the hospital," said Suho, as they sat at their kitchen counter.
"No," replied Chaeyoung. She didn't want to go. Not again. "They would've just kept me there. Like last time." Suho sighed at her response.
"It's for your own good," said Suho.
"No. They say that but what have they done to fix me?" asked Chaeyoung, looking at Suho with teary eyes.
"Nothing! All they've done is put me on more pills, more medication, an-and keep me in that hospital room! I'm not getting better, I haven't been! All that's happened is me getting worse and worse. I'm gonna die eventually, so why keep me suffering?" Chaeyoung had tears streaming down her face by this point. "Why should I keep wasting my time-fighting?"
☾
Suho watched the sleeping girl, a somber look on his face. He hated seeing her in pain. Feeling like there was nothing to live for.
"I'm sorry Chaeyoung," he whispered. "I can't protect you from this world anymore."
