(sorry for unpublishing that was a mistake oops)

no bcus if wheein looked at me like that [in the gif] i would cry thank you

she has THE WHOLE GALAXY IN HER EYES and yes its hyejin in front of her 🥺🥺🥺

you guys what's with me and always making the mother character a villain type in my stories ;;

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If anything,
it is more simple to the eye
to lose control of yourself;
it is simple to let those feelings takeover,
yet it's so hard to put yourself
back together.
And yet if we fall apart at the same time,
who would be there to pick us up?

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Calm down, Ahn Hyejin, calm down. Hyejin continuously recites in her mind as she aimlessly saunters in circles in her bedroom, making numerous rounds from one end to the other. Don't lose your shit, not right now, please.

Hyejin finally gives up her rounds of walking by placing herself at the edge of her own bed. Her parents would home at any second, and she didn't know what to expect from seeing them. She didn't know what the hell her mother was doing in Japan with her father, didn't know what that woman talked about with him, but Hyejin knew it was probably about her, right? What else could it be about? There had to be a valid reason for her mother to just blatantly leave her back in her own home to fend for herself.

She knew how much her own mother seemed to despise her, despite Hyejin trying to redeem herself for all of the past mistakes that she did. Her mother just didn't seem to believe in any version of Ahn Hyejin, her own child𑁋it was almost in a way as if the woman had tried to shape Hyejin into her own perception. Maybe this is why Hyejin constantly feels pressured every time her mother would be right next to her; if she didn't meet whatever her mother had expected from her, it wouldn't end well.

Her father, on the other hand, seemed close but distant to her. Hyejin could barely remember the last conversation she had with her father, mostly because they exchange goodbyes when the man would leave for work as he would be frequently busy to answer any calls she might send his way. She knew her father worked hard to be where he is now𑁋changing and helping the lives of other people for years ever since she was a child. There had never been a time where Hyejin got properly close with her father, but she knew she missed him quite a lot.

Hyejin lays back on her bed, letting the coolness of the sheets takeover her for a moment. She releases an impeccable sigh as she begins to recall the events that all happened while she had been left alone. It makes her smile from thinking of it𑁋thinking of the one girl she had found to cherish the company of, thinking of one girl that made her be able to feel. She feels disappointed that she couldn't be able to accompany Wheein for the night, yet she could only think about the words that lingered around when she had left.

"N-No, I... I-I'm not... I'm not going to run away from you."

That's what Wheein had told her𑁋the single sentence that the girl had said throughout Hyejin's short presence in her home. It was when Hyejin had told her to not chase after her if she would ever break, because she didn't want to hurt Wheein. She didn't want Wheein to see how anger can possess her, and make her lose control of herself.

What if she scares Wheein away?

She hears it almost immediately: the engine of the car strolling into the driveway of the house. It makes her stiffen in place, almost completely frozen as she knew that it was her parents. She doesn't budge from her spot on the bed, but her eyes remain fixated towards her bedroom door as if anticipating for something to burst inside any moment.

Hyejin scoots back into the comfort of her bed, slipping into the sheets and burying herself in deeply. Maybe she could pretend to be asleep as she was too tired to be able to process whatever her parents wanted to say to her. Attempting to force her eyes shut, it didn't take long for her to burst out of her sheets from frustration with her mind continuing to wander, and knowing that her parents were below her feet.

A irritated groan leaves her mouth as she grabs the pillow beneath her head and covers the entirety of her face in it, wanting nothing then to just scream out her worries into it. Her nails dig into the material of the pillow, almost to the point of piercing through. She usually didn't act like this𑁋almost like she was throwing a temper tantrum𑁋but she couldn't think straight.

And then there she suddenly hears a couple of knocks on her door, startling her and rendering her unable to move. The knocks were sudden yet soft, and Hyejin didn't know what to do.

So she just calls out nervously, "Who is it?"

"It's your father, Hyejin. We just got back home. Can I come in?" The man's voice seemed relenting, harsh, an unexpected tone of voice that would come from her father.

Hyejin quickly scrambles to perch at the edge of her bed, replying, "Y-Yeah, you can come in."

The door opens not even a moment later, and Hyejin watches as her father emerges from behind the door. Her eyes observe him closely𑁋it was easily noticeable to see that he was tired, having just arrived back from months being overseas. His hair seemed to have grown out a bit, dark circles under his exhausted eyes, and body almost seemingly worn. Hyejin's features soften slightly as her father faces her.

"Hey, kiddo," he says, voice hoarse and deep. "I thought you would be asleep by now."

"I was waiting for you to come home," Hyejin replies, a warm smile at her lips. "I missed you a lot, appa."

Her father just gives a smile back in return, sitting down next to Hyejin on the bed. There's a period of silence that strolls in for a couple of moments; it always felt unusual and slightly awkward as it was such a rare occurrence when Hyejin would be able to talk with him.

"How's school been treating you? Are you doing okay?" her father asks, interrupting the silence.

Hyejin couldn't tell if it was a frown or smile at her lips; her mind seemed to be somewhere elsewhere, thoughts switching back forth between the one thing she could really think about when the topic of school would be brought up: Wheein.

She just shrugs in response, "School's been okay, I guess. It's the same old same old, really."

"But you haven't𑁋"

"𑁋no, I haven't gotten in trouble, if that's what you wanted to ask."

She hears a sigh from her father, unable able to distinguish it as a sigh of relief or something else. It sent her an itchy feeling down her spine.

"I want to forget about all those past mistakes I did, I'm trying not to do it again𑁋to not repeat history," Hyejin explains. "but everywhere I go, it all comes back𑁋their words, I mean. But this time, I don't really want to repeat history."

There's another brief round of silence between her and her father. Maybe the man was trying to process her words.

"I'm sure you've been quite lonely being here in the house alone, eh?"

Hyejin chuckles somewhat sarcastically, hoping that her father didn't pick that up. What does she respond to that?

That I have a girlfriend?

She stiffens.

Did I... just call Wheein my girlfriend?

Thinking about that eases her; it makes her heart swell with calmness.

"You don't need to worry, appa. I've been working on myself a lot while you and... eomma were gone. I genuinely... feel a bit better for being alone here," Hyejin runs a nervous hand through her hair. She tries to think of a way to change the topic, "How's Japan been?"

The mention of Japan lights her father up with an ecstatic grin, small eyes creasing with a smile too, "It's beautiful there, especially around this time of year. I'm sure you'd like going there one day, wouldn't you? Maybe I could take you there while I work."

Hyejin feels herself relaxing. "It'd be nice for a change," That's when something pops in her head, and she glances towards the door to see if she could sense her mother hiding behind the wall. She turns back to her father with a frown, "What was eomma doing with you in Japan? What was the reason she left in the first place?"

Her father becomes quiet, and the awkward and frustrating atmosphere only comes back in to haunt Hyejin.

"Appa, please tell me," she begs, shoulder slumping in defeat. "It's about me, isn't it?"

After a long minute, the man releases a tired sigh, "I received a promotion at work."

Hyejin blinks a couple of times, "R-Really? That's amazing, appa! I'm really proud of you." She knew how hard her father worked for his job, but for some reason the words that left her mouth were said in an almost-saddened way. Her father seemed to have a lot on his plate now, and probably didn't have long before being required to leave.

A small smile forms on her father's face, but it wasn't the type of smile that had been filled with happiness. No, it certainly was the opposite of that.

"I'm... they're forcing me to move there..." He looks up at her with saddened eyes. "...for one year."

"What?" Hyejin questions, brows lifting in complete surprise. "For a year... that means you're leaving for a year? Away from here? For a year?" She still couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Her father was always gone for at most two or three months, but a year?

"I know it's hard to process, honey𑁋"

"I already hardly see you, how can they just force you to stay away from your own family for a year?" She can feel her lips tighten with anger and frustration.

"That's why your mother came to visit me." her father deadpans.

Hyejin lifts a questioning brow. She tries hard to figure out what her father meant, but she couldn't put a single finger to it.

"I don't understand." she says to the utmost calm she can be, yet she can feel her fingers and toes twitching.

Her father just gazes at her expression, trying to read over her face despite both of them being exceptionally tired and worn out. He releases a breath, reaching over to grab onto the girl's hands, squeezing lightly as if to reassure. But it wasn't working, Hyejin can feel it𑁋it wasn't working to calm her down than the way she had been used to receive it from.

"Your mother and I are wanting for you to finish the rest of your schooling in Japan," he says cautiously and slowly. "That way, you can be closer with us, and you'll be able to finish school away from here. We've moved many times here in Korea already, so just like you had said, for a change?"

Hyejin's jaw could only drop to the floor as she takes her hands away from her father's grasp. She didn't even know what she could be able to process at this point, or what to think, or what to even say. How can she that? Leave everything here behind? Leave any chance of achieving something?

Leave Wheein behind for a year? Or more?

"What?" is all she can say.

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A loud, harsh shattering of what seemed like glass makes Wheein shift in her bed, the girl found cradled deeply within the sheets for warmth. Yet the sound obviously wakes her up, though conscious still in entirely sleep mode, and makes her anxiety spike up. Wheein looks around her room for a moment, seeing nothing but complete darkness as it seemed to be sometime in the middle of the quiet night. She stills for a moment to hear if any other noise would occur, but nothing else happens after that.

Did... did someone break into the house?

Wheein slowly emerges from the covers, sitting upright to scoot to the edge of the bed and lowering down until her bare feet touches the coldness of the floor. She flinches from the touch, reaching over to turn on the dim lamp to bring some light into her small bedroom. And when she stands up, some dizziness hits her, making her groan.

Her eyes gaze around the room once again, stopping and landing on the pictures that hung on her wall, a few of her old artwork pieces, and the faintest image of a family picture she could barely see. It eases her anxiety slightly, until her eyes land on herself in the mirror that also hung on the wall. She doesn't see herself entirely, but it makes the something inside of her drop to the bottom.

Sighing, she steadily walks towards the door, shaky breaths leaving her mouth as she begins to open it. The dead silence of the house makes her shiver, and she felt as if each step she had walked had been either ice or lava, no in between. Her own heart had begun to race quickly from her nervousness from wherever the sound came from as she continued down the hallway of her home. It almost seemed as if she was in some type of horror movie; even the atmosphere of her own home felt incredibly nerve-wracking and uncomfortable to be in.

"H-Hello?" she calls out quietly, her own soft voice surprising herself. "Is-Is someone there?"

Waking up during the night had been normal for Wheein, but stepping into the night definitely wasn't.

After what felt like an hour, Wheein finds herself stopping in front of her grandmother's bedroom. An odd feeling her stomach made her have the urge to open the door to check inside to see, yet another pull at her guts also made her continue further into the depths of the home. But she couldn't continue on without checking on her grandmother, and the thought of it only worries her even more.

Wheein runs an anxious hand through her tangled strands as she nears the door of her grandmother's bedroom. The light from the bedroom shown underneath the door, making Wheein frown with suspicion. She vividly remembers turning the light off before leaving her grandmother to go to bed.

So... how did it turn back on?

Her mind had already drifted towards those overthinking thoughts, and the only thing she could hear at this point was the manipulative voice of her head whispering into her ears. Wheein blinks frantically, shaking her furiously head in denial as she bites her lip in complete worry. And as she wraps a hand around the doorknob, twisting ever so tortuously slow, she feels a push in her system that finally makes her open the door wide.

And her eyes widen to the sight that she sees in front of her face, the utter shock coursing through her body and making her collapse dead onto her knees. The tears were already falling down her face, reality coming to a stop all in just a single second, and her limbs trembling with the most anxiety she has experienced yet.

"H-Halmeoni...?"

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please why was the conversation between hyejin and father so awkward to write idk how i feel lmao

whats with me and always making my characters having a way to leave the country 🤡 pls i dont like it either im rlly sorry guys dont hate me pls