9

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Gyujin was turbulent.

He couldn't get a blink of sleep after that day. He couldn't find stillness, no matter how hard he tried to make himself believe she was alright. Because deep down he knew exactly she was not.

How could Yeorin offer her own safety for him. Why would she hand herself over to Seongjun for him?

He couldn't think straight. He was pacing emotionally, even if his body stayed still, he couldn't erase the horrified look in her beautiful eyes. His heart stayed restless knowing she stayed behind with that sadist just to save him.

He blames himself.

Why did he have to be so weak? He should have stopped being so pathetic long time ago and make both his and Yeorin's suffering end. He wanted all that to end.

He just wanted a normal high school life with friends and a girlfriend, but Seongjun already destroyed his dreams.

And now, when he was about to be beaten for the hundreds of times this week, a girl, whom he barely knew, better yet never spoke to, quite literally threw herself on top of him to save him. Not only that, she got hurt in many ways he could only imagine just so he wouldn't get a black eye.

God, he felt awful.

So, throat thing he did when he woke up was to get ready as fast as possible for school and run all the way to school.

He didn't stop running, not when he felt his legs ache, not when he felt his lungs burn, not when he barely got enough air, he couldn't stop. He didn't deserve to stop.

When he finally reached school, he felt like fainting but the simple thought of Yeorin made him keep going. He burst through the classroom door and stopped abruptly when he caught a glimpse of her.

His breath was caught in his throat when he laid his eyes on her, searching for any kind of emotion in her clouded eyes.

She looked hollow, tired and mentally destroyed. The once shiny eyes were replaced by dull, lifeless ones, her dark, waist length hair was cut short, reaching her just below shoulder. But what caught his eyes the most was her neck.

On her neck, there it was, a gigantic purple and yellow bruise, a perfect copy of a hand, which had been wrapped around her like a choker with a big amount of force to leave a bruise like that. It looked unreal, like in an exorcising movie.

The lump in his throat made him choke out a broken sound, gathering the attention of his classmates, along with Yeorin.

She felt numb. Genuinely numb after Seongjun violated her soul again. She was beginning to believe it's better if she gets use to it now, instead of suffering more in the future.

So, she tried to ignore the pain, the soreness her body felt the day after. But it was impossible to accept that this was her only choice to live her teenage life.

But, when she made eye contact with Gyujin, his devastated expression made her break then and there. Tears of shame, humiliation and frustration started pouring from her eyes unstoppably.

Gyujin quickly caught on her behaviour, he was quick on his feet, pulling her from the crowded classroom, all the way up to the roof, where he knew no one was at the moment.

Yeorin was shaking like a fragile leaf in a windy day, barely managing to stay up on her legs as her knees buckled.

When they reached the rooftop, Gyujin didn't waste any second, he engulfed her into a tight embrace, pushing her face into his chest, desperately wanting to make her feel the comfort he was offering.

Yeorin didn't even care to make a deal because of the closeness, she just wanted to be comforted, she wanted to be held like she how dreamed about many times.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm s-so sorry." He whispered in her ear.

Raw. Honest. Shaking.

"You got hurt b-because of me." He breathed out, hugging her tighter while she wept into his blazer.

"Y-You were trying to keep me safe." He said devastatingly, voice cracking in the middle.

Yeorin cried harder hearing his word, she could feel how distraught he felt.

"I was s-supposed to protect you, I made you a p-promise." He tucked his nose into the side of her head. "I b-broke that promise......p-please forgive me."

Yeorin sobs got heavy and raw as she listened to his words. She small hands clutched around his shirt, had no intention of letting him go any time soon.

She gently shook her head, trying to keep her cries under control.

"D-Don't say sorry..... Just stay." She whispered.

Gyujin's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. The quiet girl of his class, the person he never heard speaking just talked.

Even better, she spoke to him willingly. He didn't need to force the words out of her, she spoke because she felt he was worthy of listening to her.

Her voice was soft, raw and hoarse from crying all night, yet it made the boy's stomach do backflips.

"I can stay..... for as long as you need me to. I can be here until it hurts less, until you won't have to carry it alone. I'll be here." He whispered, his grip on her never loosened once.

"I-I just want the p-pain to stop." She admitted brokenly, shattering the boy's heart with how vulnerable she sounded and looked.

He pulled away a bit and looked at her. Really looked at her.

She looked exhausted, dark circles under her red, swollen eyes, light redness covering her flushed cheeks along with the wet path of fallen tears. Her hair now shoulder length hair was handing freely, moving a bit as the wind flew by them.

"It will. I won't ever let something like that happen to you anymore. Not while I'm still breathing." He firmly said, his hands now placed on her shoulders reassuringly.

Yeorin looked up at him with glossy eyes, oblivious to the dark meaning behind his words. She sniffled before tucking her head against his chest, reaching for more of him.

"I'll make him pay." He muttered, bringing the frail girl into a gentler, more affectionate hug.

"I d-don't wanna be h-here." She hiccupped out.

"You can come to mine. Mom's working till late at night." He said, not loosing his grip once while she nodded.

She felt so safe and protected wrapped in his arms. Her smaller frame fitter so perfectly with his, like two puzzle pieces clicked together.