Withered (Michaeng) ✔️

Chapter 15: Reality 🥀

"Urrgh" Chaeyoung groan while letting out an exasperated sigh. He automatically massages his temple from extreme headache while his mouth tastes evil. Slowly he brings himself to sit properly, feeling thirsty. He rubs his nape, eyes shut when he can't move a single muscle; he stays sitting on the edge of the bed, debating whether or not he should get up. Hoping the hangover will clear.

He tries to calm the fire that burns his stomach and the pain on his back that aching in a way that starts around his knees up to his forehead. His brains have been removed and replaced with cotton balls and needles which why it hurts to try and think of What happened last night?

He feels awfully weird, body aches and unable to move from his position. He decides to stay still, until the pain is gone and he can collect himself, accompany by silence. He opens his eyes, streaks of sunlight penetrate the window hissed at his back, fulfilling the room.

Everything is blurry, for a second he never knows who or where he is. Don't know how he got in that bed, or how he got in those clothes. Then, everything becomes clear. He's in his room, the thing above him is the ceiling and he is sitting on his own bed. And? He got no shirt on, no pants, fully exposed. His clothing and some stranger clothes scattering on the floor or more like a ripped blouse and woman jeans and? Lingerie?

Still in confusion, he tries to process, thinking of what happened or why there are woman clothes in his room, and why is he naked. Not until he notices a presence behind him, on the other bedside. A feeling of a person or agency, without being heard or seen. He turns around instantly shocked running through his frame, his face stuck in an incredulous expression. Chaeyoung glance over a girl lying, hands tied on the headboard, countless marks on her body, dry blood, dry tears, bruises, and cuts.

Can't bear what he sees, he quickly turns his face so his back facing the girl. A dream? He shakes his head in disbelief as he sits ridged as a board. His brain desperately scrambling to make sense of it all then it hits him that maybe, maybe he still in dreamland. He hit his head, slap his cheeks in an attempt to escape whatever situation he is in right now.

But nothing changes. Unable to comprehend what had just occurred between him and the girl. He tries to calm himself and take a deep heavy breathe. He wants to stand but for the moment, his legs have given way to gravity, shaky, weak.

Nonetheless, he pushes himself to stand still, wear his jeans, walk towards the closet and take a blanket. His brain has stopped working like some sort of emergency shut down. There's zero thinking going on in his head. His movement halt when he kicked over a dark blue crystal marble causing it to roll and hit the wall. For a second, he thoughts of the marble, where is it comes from? but he shakes the random thinking and allows his body to move by its own and do what he feels right at the moment; to cover the girl's body then remove the duct tape rope that tied her ankle.

He has no idea whether to wake the girl or not, he doesn't know what to do next, trying to imagine countless of scenario that might happen when the girl wakes up. Is she alright? Will he root in jail? Will this girl accept his apology? What will his brothers say? How will they react? Will his father beat him to death? And more importantly, what will Mina say to him? Will she thinks he's a monster? Disgusting and hideous.

He falls on his knees and finally sits, leaning against the wall while his head drop. He can do nothing, or specifically, he doesn't know what to do. All of different feelings come at him at the same time, guiltiness, sadness, shame, frustrated and scared of himself. He still trying to accept what he has done or hit his head again and again trying to recall even a single scene from last night but, he failed. He knows that he is drunk last night and probably did the most unforgivable sin to an innocent young girl.