My head hits a sign and gets me to violently stop. "Fuck..." I hold my painful forehead and bite my lips, believing this will help to relieve some of the ache. I do not even look around to check if someone saw me, lucky me, the streets of my neighborhood are, most of the time, very calm and empty, so I keep going and write my text.

[ karma just hit me so hard rn:') >

< what happened? Is that why you didn't answer? ]

[ yes, I'm walking back home rn but because of you who doesn't stop texting me, I wasn't looking in front of me and bumped into a sign. It hurts so fucking much I think I have a bruise on my forehead >

< LMAOO hope it hurts ]

[ you're so fucking mean! I was literally feeling bad for you because of your piercing and you're laughing at me! You're a little bitch:'< >

< I feel bad too, stop whining ]

[ doesn't seem like it >

< I send you a virtual kiss, it's alright u3u ]

[ thank you:3 I hate to say it but no tongue for now tho >

< you said you were in pain stop being a dumbass lmaoo ]

[ :> >

I smile but leave the conversation for a moment, I enter my house and take my headphones off, drop my bag down on the floor, and take my shoes off.

"Hello, my baby," I squat down to give a hug and kiss to my puppy, and my dad, who left work a bit earlier today, steps out of his office. "Hey," he warmly greets me, and I return the kindness. "Hey, how are you doing?" I put Choco down, and he sticks his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "Good, and you? How did it go at work?"

"Good too. It was a busy day, but it went well," I head towards the kitchen and open the freezer, and I get a bag of ice out of it. "What are you doing?" he asks me as soon as I put it over the hurtful spot of my forehead. "I hit my head into a sign while walking because I was only paying attention to my phone..." I tell the truth, and he sighs. "How many times have I told you to look in front of you when you walk?"

"Not enough, I guess," I chuckle, and he smiles but shakes his head. "I'll remind you of it every morning then."

"No need to, I got my lesson this time," I peek down at the floor, feeling Choco ask for my attention by touching my calf with two paws. I smile and bend over to grab him with one hand and not leave him all alone.

•••

9:10 pm.

[ do you wanna play? >

I take a spoon of homemade ice cream and wait for y/n to answer me, hoping for her to tell me yes so that I do not have to go back to my game without her.

< yes but with no mic ]

[ come on, I won't make fun of you >

< you will'-' ]

[ okay, maybe but nervously because I can't help >

< then no:) ]

[ I'm still inviting you so we can play >

< I'm coming. How is your head doing now ]

[ I took a pill because I got a headache afterwards, but now I'm good. I just have a bruise but I can hide it with my bangs >

< good then ]

[ and you? Your tongue is still very swollen? >

< it's a bit better than earlier but barely ]

[ did you suck some popsicles to help >

< I did. I sucked three of them already ]

[ good girl:> >

< stfu lmao ]

[ I didn't even say anything wrong:c >

< whatever. I'm here so let's play ]

[ yes mommy >

I put my phone down to launch a game, and I check what she answered.

< -_- ]

I chuckle but focus on the game.

— Two days later —

Saturday, July 2nd, 2022.

12:40 pm.

'YOUR P.O.V'

"You're doing good," Hyunjin cheers me up, and I keep trying to do the trick he showed me, even though I am scared to fall and hurt myself again. "Be careful when you put your feet back on the board—"

"Hello," Joonha surprises us, and I instantly raise my head up at the sound of his voice. "Hey," Hyunjin smiles at him, and I leave my skateboard to greet him as well. "Hey, you're early today."

"Yeah, my dad had to leave the house, so we ate lunch earlier," he explains why, and my eyes drop to his neck. He is wearing a choker. An oversized black t-shirt, and a pair of cargo pants. He always looks so good.

"Is Seunggil not gonna come today?" Hyunjin asks him, and he shakes his head. "No, he told me he has some stuff to do today because his sister got them both to be scolded."

"Oh, that's why," he understands. "Yeah, he was mad as hell," he chuckles but sets his eyes on me. He glances down at my lips, and a smile brightens his features. "Does it hurt?"

"Not that much anymore," I answer him, knowing what he is talking about. "Can—" he gets interrupted by Hyunjin's phone, and my best friend walks away to pick up the call, leaving Joonha and me alone.

He drops his blue eyes on me again. "Can I see it?" he brings it up again, showing a lot of interest in my piercing. I stick my tongue out to expose it, and he glances down at it. He leans over and cups my face, gently. "That looks really good. It's not swollen anymore, is it?" he pulls away and licks his lips.

"I don't think it is, or I got used to it, but I can speak properly, so that's all that matters," I express some relief since I went through hell these previous days. He laughs at me, so I kick him in the calf but step closer to him. "Does it still hurt? Uh?" I look for the bruise on his forehead, brushing some strands of his blond hair away. A corner of his lips curves up, and he grabs my wrist. "Touch it, and I spank you right in front of everyone. Alright?"

I smile, not believing him at all but turning a deaf ear to it. We both stare at each other, his hand not letting go of me, I nibble on my inner cheek but hold one finger up and touch his bruise.

He does not react or do as said, and I take my hand away. "You changed your mind?" I try his patience, and he smirks but steps away without even doing anything at all.

Feeling disappointed, I turn around to take hold of my skateboard and follow him. "Where is Choco?" I catch up with his speed, and he drops his board on the ground to get on it. "Home, and you won't see him."

"Why?" I do not accept this answer since he told me he would be here with him today. "Because you misbehaved."

"Misbehaved?" I raise my eyebrows, low-key, silently loving when he talks to me that way. "Yeah," he darts his eyes towards me. "If you wanna see him, you come to my house for dinner."

"Wait," I leave him for a second and walk towards Hyunjin, who is not on the phone anymore. "Hey, if I go to Joonha's house, can I tell my brother you allowed me?"

"Y/n," he sighs and combs his hair back. "Who's gonna be blamed if something wrong happens to you? And who's gonna feel bad about it?" he speaks as if Joonha would do something bad to me. "We spent enough time with him to know he's not a bad person. Are you kidding me?"

"He only lives with his dad, y/n. You know your Inhyuk is not gonna agree. He'll be mad as fuck if I tell him I let you go to his house," he makes it pretty evident that he only does this for my brother. "Alright. I'll tell him you didn't know about it," I give up and do not drag him into this, I go back to Joonha, but he rushes towards me and stops me. "Don't. There's no need to do that. If you wanna go to his house, I come with you. I don't want you to lie."

"I wanted to go all alone. Why if we want to spend time in his room to play? You're not gonna stay with his dad," I do not agree with this option, willing to be there, with Joonha only. He heaves a sigh, seeming bothered. "I'm gonna call your brother and talk about it," he moves away, giving me some hope, so I head back towards the one, who is now skating and enjoying himself.

He quickly notices me and slows down. "What did you do?"

"I asked him if I can go to your house," I cross my arms, peeking down at his choker again. "And? What did he say?"

I shake my head without saying anything, annoyed and pretty upset about this feeling of being trapped because of my overprotective brother and dad who do not understand how it feels like to live that way.

"And what if I come to your house instead?" he suggests doing as if he minded this issue as well. "He's not going to leave you outside if you come home with me, but he won't stop questioning you and glaring at you."

"I don't care," he shrugs. "I'll talk to them and make sure they stop freaking out about me."

"Oh, you're so optimistic. Even if I had been dating you for five months, he would still be suspicious about you. That's how much he doesn't trust men," I sneer at his confidence. "It's excessive at this point. Has something happened for him to hate every man that gets near you?"

"I don't know. Not from what I know," I do not seem to recall any words that he told which could explain his insane paranoia. "I don't know him, but I do know that when a man behaves like that, this is caused by something that happened in the past. Like a trauma, kinda," he describes, making me suddenly fear something I have already thought about.

I wonder if this is the case, but even if it is, I think that neither my brother nor dad will tell me the truth.

"I called him," Hyunjin comes back, the shortness of this call worrying me. He stops himself right next to me but does not exude any good emotions. "He agrees to it only if I come with you."

"I'll go to her house, it's fine," Joonha already ends this, and he plays with his skateboard, moving nonstop. "Are you sure? Her brother's not gonna like it."

"Why? I'm just spending time with a friend," he does not see it from Inhuyk's point of view, not realizing how his mind works. "But he's not gonna see it that way. First, he won't like the fact that you're trying hard to be with her with no other friends around, that you're trying to get closer, and that you're doing this after only a few weeks. There's nothing wrong about this, but Inhyuk doesn't see it the same way at all."

He smiles, with bitterness, and a sharp exhalation slips out of his mouth. "Alright. I'll stay home and wait."

"Wait?" Hyunjin sticks his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. I'll wait until he's more chill about me. I understand him, so I'm gonna wait," he goes away to skate towards a ramp, looking upset.

I hope he is not going to leave me like most of my friends did for this one reason.

•••

2:40 pm.

I sit down next to Joonha, who is already eating a snack and texting someone, and Hyunjin glances at us but does not join, for some reason. I grab my bag to look for something to eat and drink, feeling hungry and thirsty after practicing with no break.

"I got you the cakes you like if you want," Joonha points at his bag, but I shake my head. "No, thanks," I take a chocolate bar that became my favorite a few days ago, and I remove the wrapping but take a sip of flavored water. "Do you have a favorite snack?" he asks me, not typing on his phone anymore. "This," I show him what I am holding in my hand, and he leans closer to read the brand. "Crunky," he pronounces it, his masculine cologne spreading up my nose. "They sell that at the Lotte World, don't they?"

"They do," I confirm, and he pulls away. "I'll come with some of them then. Like this, I know you'll always have your favorite to eat."

"I rarely forget my snack, so no need to do it," I do not make him do this when this means that he would spend money on me. "You sometimes did, so I'll still come with some."

"I said no," I turn my head towards him, and we make eye contact right away. "I said yes."

I smile but bite into my chocolate bar, not knowing how to respond to this stubborn guy. "I said no, so you shut up."

He raises his eyebrows at me, not submitting at all. "Repeat that."

"I said no, so shut—" I witness my chocolate bar get snatched away from my hand. "Now, you're gonna show me some respect, little girl, or I lick this whole thing," he threatens to do, believing this will hold me back from eating the rest. I chuckle at him. "You think it's gonna stop me from wanting it?"

He smiles but holds the bar away from me, and his eyes glance down at my lips. "Say sorry."

"Never," I rebuff him, but he wraps his left arm around my neck and closes the gap between our bodies. "Say sorry, right now."

"No," I nervously giggle as his stare is affecting the way I feel and behave. He sets his focus on my snack, and he pushes it back into the wrapping to put it down next to him, where I cannot reach for it, and he quickly grabs my wrists to trap me, and then, he uses his left hand to hold them still and take my chocolate bar back in his hold. He forces the bottom against his thigh to get the bar out, and he looks back at me, my body feeling hot against his. I check what he is doing but see him take a bite of my snack. "Hey!" I kick his leg, feeling upset.

"What? I told you to say sorry, so do it before this whole thing ends in my stomach," he chews on it, feeling no empathy at all while eating what is mine right before my sad eyes. "And don't give me that puppy look," he never takes his eyes off of me, fixedly gazing deep into my soul.

His blue eyes make me feel like I am diving, falling into his soul, in a sort of trap. They are so captivating, but at the same time, intimidating, which makes it very difficult to maintain eye contact.

"Why would I say sorry?" I do not give in to his demand. "Because first of all, you intently hurt me by pressing on my bruise, then, you rudely tell me to shut up. So, you apologize."

"I'm sorry," I smile and peek down at his lip ring, those that are close to mine. "I couldn't hear you," he takes another small bite, so I complain. "Come on! I said it! Stop eating my snack!"

He runs his tongue over it and laughs, so I push forth with my entire body and take the chocolate bar with my teeth. I bend my head back and make sure the whole thing ends in my mouth. "Go to hell," I look up into his eyes. "Choke on it so that I can laugh."

"You'd laugh at me while I'm dying in front of you?" I do my best to eat what is in my mouth, realizing how big it was of a bite. "Yeah. You deserve it," he frees me and moves away, but I do not glance away from him.

However, my phone grasps my attention, so I read the text my brother sent me.

< when are you coming home? ]

[ around 4 pm, idk, why? >

< can you pass by the coffee shop and get me a Latte please? ]

[ how much do it get for this? >

< stop being a beggar ]

[ then stop being lazy and use your legs to get your coffee:) >

< I'll give you five dollars damn brat ]

[ not enough >

< not enough? Their coffee is already expensive enough! ]

[ alright, stop crying, I'll get it for 5$ >

< thanks'-' ]

I put my phone down to take a look at what Joonha is doing, but he stands up. He drinks some water and leaves the bottle next to me, and he steps away, so I halt him. "Where are you going?"

"I gotta pee. Why? Do you wanna come with me?" he slides his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants, and without meaning it, I nod, but he sneers and stands where he is. "Then come. I'm waiting."

"Nevermind," I chicken out and lean back on the bench, getting him to poke fun at me. "I knew it," he leaves, and I get up to join Hyunjin.

•••

3:40 pm.

I step into my house, my unsteady and fast breathing rasping my lungs and throat, I snivel and take my shoes off to leave the entry room and move towards the kitchen and living room, but as soon as my dad, who is sitting on the sofa, catches sight of me, he frowns and stares at me.

I do not say anything but open the fridge to hide behind the door of it and wipe my tears away, and I take hold of a bottle of flavored water to clear my throat.

"What's wrong?" my dad comes near, but I ignore the matter and put the bottle back where it was to close the fridge. "Nothing," I walk away, but my brother goes down the stairs and joins. "Y/n, you tell me what's going on. Why are you crying?" he does not let this go, and once I try to walk up the stairs, Inhyuk catches my arm and pulls me towards him, and he glances down at my hair and clothes. "What happened?"

"Nothing! I don't want to talk about it, leave me alone!" I burst into tears and escape from them. I run to my bedroom and slam the door behind me, drop my body on my bed, and hide my face in my hands to cry.

As expected from my brother, he walks into my room. "Tell me what the fuck is going on before I go insane and call Hyunjin."

My chest aching from all the sobbing that has been going on for the last twenty minutes, I cannot find a way to calm down. Inhyuk does not say anything, standing close to me and waiting for me to let it out, I keep my eyes down to the ground and try to control my breathing.