Outhouse

As Sooyeong brushed her teeth in preparation to start off the new day, her dreams from last night suddenly bashed her mind one at a time. They were so vivid yet she couldn't pin down every detail of them.

Nayeon and Ahro threw Cadbury whispers at her as Taehyung and her sat together in a lecture hall.

Taehyung was teaching her how to skateboard for some odd reason but she ended up back hugging him.

Three Taehyung's even appeared in one of the dreams although she couldn't recall why.

But when the last dream shrouded her mind, she choked on her tooth brush.

She kissed him.

She leaned over the sink and coughed out the toothpaste, 'I need to stop thinking about that.'

She quickly rinsed up, showered and got dressed in a pair of cute blue jeans and a black t-shirt. After fluffing out her short hair, she made her way downstairs for breakfast.

As usual things were awkward, tense and dysfunctional but Sooyeong did her level best to ignore the hateful things being said about what they would usually do on the first day of the Spring Festival. She kept a positive mind instead because today was going to be a special day for her, today was the day when she would take Taehyung to her special place.

"Sooyeongie~," Seokjin leaned next to her. "Don't worry about those fire breathers, you've got great things happening today and so do I."

"Namjoon-nim?"

"Not really, I got off the phone with him earlier. He got a bad case of diarrhoea-"

"Why are you telling me that?" she whisper yelled.

"So you don't eat the lunch I make today." He nonchalantly stated.

"What?"

"Just trust me," he flashed her a bottle of medication.

"Seokjin Oppa! No!" she whispered and tried to grab the bottle but to no avail.

"Namjoon helped in this brilliant idea and I'm going through with it because she doesn't ever shut up. Plus she won't trouble you if she's stuck in the-"

"Stob it, a large dose could be lethal."

"It's fine alright, I know my measurements."

"What are you two babbling about? It's getting annoying."

Suhjin's stern voice cut their conversation and they shuffled nervously then turned around.

"U-Uh Hyungsik ssi? Do you need something?"

"Yes," she sent a glare. "I need you two to shut up so I can eat and talk to my daughter in peace."

"O-Oh," Seokjin started. "But if you eat and talk at the same time you're gonna choke and die-"

Sooyeong cut Seokjin off by hitting his thigh otherwise they both would end up dying today.

"Excuse me?" she set down her fork.

Sooyeong panicked as she eyed both Ahro and Suhjin. She noticed that they were getting ticked off.

"I'm sorry did you not hear me over your conceitedness? I said you're going to choke and die. And we," Seokjin pointed at himself and Sooyeong. "would appreciate some respect and equality in this household."

"Respect and equality?" she got up as Sooyeong held tightly onto Seokjin's arm. "You're just a Chef. You have no respect or equality. As for that thing next to you, she's a useless fixture that unfortunately came with this house. She of all people deserves nothing."

"That's where you're wrong," Seokjin kept firm. "I know Min ssi would never do something like this to his daughter especially for some hag like you."

"Oppa," Sooyeong tugged on his arm, afraid things would get worse and they seem to be going down that road because Ahro got up in a fit of rage.

"No," he glanced at her then at Suhjin. "I'm tired of the shit you're putting Sooyeong through. She's already going through a hard time and you're just making things worse. She can't even sleep one night in her bedroom because of your possessiveness. Just give back what's rightfully hers."

"Same old bullshit just a different day." Ahro walked up to Seokjin. "Don't you dare back talk to my mother. She holds your future in her hands."

"Ahro, he's elder to you-"

"Shut up," Ahro shot her gaze at Sooyeong and she stiffened because it was a similar look from that day. "I'm sick of you and your victim acts. At some point it needs to stop."

She looked at Ahro, completely afraid but Seokjin stepped in front of the two.

"At some point you and your mother need to stop this nonsense and face reality."

The arguing continued but it was blurred out as Sooyeong began to feel sick to her stomach because whatever was happening to her wasn't just some act. It was her reality set into motion by nature, Ahro and her friends. She hadn't asked for all of this. All she wanted was a normal life and an average high school experience but none of that seemed to be happening.

Her chest felt tight and she just wanted to get out of there. She was tired of confrontation and its emotional toll so she quickly stepped out from behind Seokjin. Her legs carried her passed the island of the kitchen but her escape was hindered.

Suhjin latched onto her arm and yanked her, "Where are you off too? Can't you see the family meeting you've always wanted to have is currently going on?"

That look in Suhjin's eyes scared her even more, "P-Please let me go. I don't want to do this..."

"You've always wanted to have a discussion about your father's Will, we're having it now. Don't you want to be apart of it?" Suhjin roughly released Sooyeong who shortly after hit the ground with a yelp.

"Sooyeong!" Seokjin yelled, concerned.

From the ground, her eyes stayed fixed on Suhjin who slowly approached her but she only slipped back, afraid because flashbacks from that day with Ahro and Nayeon began to flood her mind. Her tears began to flow involuntarily and excessively.

"Maybe if I show you a little discipline, then only you and that Chef will learn to not meddle in concerns that have nothing to do with you." Suhjin's right leg raised and Sooyeong's breathing got even more uneasy.

"Stop it!" Seokjin burst which frightened Sooyeong. "I'm sorry! I won't ask about it anymore! Just don't hurt her!"

Suhjin's foot met the ground and she faced Seokjin with a satisfied smirk, "Good because I didn't want to dirty my shoes anyway."

Sooyeong shuffled to get off the floor and she quickly slipped through the sliding door. As she ran across the lawn, she felt the tears just cascade down her cheeks. Things have just gotten a lot worse for her and she didn't know how she would spring back from this one.

She hit the door in defeat, and struggled to get it open until finally it creaked. She stepped inside.

"Yah! Sooyeongie, you're here! I brought you all different snacks and foods..." Taehyung, who had somehow made it into her Outhouse unnoticed, chirped, but his voice soon softened when he saw her slide to the floor. "Soo? What's wrong?"

He quickly ran up to her. The fact that she wasn't even phased by his first time visit worried him even more. He crouched down with his packets and noticed that her eyes were filled with tears.

"Sooyeong, what happened?" he cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears. Although he has seen her crying a couple of times, he still and will never become accustomed to it. It pained him in every way possible.

"Tae? Y-You?" her voice was shakey and she noticed how worried he looked.

"Did you get hurt somewhere? Was it Ahro or The Dragon Lady?"

She removed his hands from her face, "I think you should go... if you get caught here we'd both get into tro-"

"I'm not leaving you in this state." He declared, seriously. "Tell me what's wrong and let me help make it right."

There was a long silence and through it, all she did was stare at her knees as he stared down at her.

"Please," he spoke. "I can't see you hurting anymore."

She finally looked at him, "I think I finally understand that conversation we had a few days ago... about a rough patch that's intangible and is much bigger than you and I... the answer to that question is nothing is going to help."

Her words soaked in then he spoke, "You had a fight about your dad's Will?"

She nodded and she felt more tears let on.

"Soo," he smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears. He noticed how tiny and cute they were. "Your solution to that problem was prayer, wishes or time... "

She bit her lip while staring at him in uncertainty.

"We've done all of that... well I'm not so sure about time but I'm not prepared to let you suffer for a long time to come..." she was confused at his words. "So... I think the other answer we failed to consider was action."

"Action?" she repeated and he smiled widely with a nod.

"We're gonna go inside that beautiful house which belongs to you, storm The Dragon Lady's room and look for your dad's original Will. It must be hidden somewhere out of sight." He laid out his masterful plan before trying to help her up but instead she stayed put and grabbed one of his packets.

"All of this is going to get wasted. Sit down and eat with me." She opened up a box of Pocky sticks and nibbled on one while reading the package label.

"Are you literally just going to ignore what I just said?" his voice held disbelief and he crouched to look directly at her. "This is unlike you..."

"You think Seokjin Oppa and I haven't already done that? There's nothing, Taehyung, and there's nothing we can do. The Police won't help either. They literally did nothing for that child, *Jeong In, sometime back."

"What happened to *Jeong In was horrific, but she was a little kid, she couldn't help herself but us, we're at an age where we need to help ourselves." He shook her, making her Pocky stick fall loose from her lips.

"But I've searched the entire house Taehyung..."

He got up, "What about this place? There must be something that could help?"

"I tried but I'm afraid of things falling over me. Jungkook is the only one who goes through it but he hasn't found anything as yet."

He stretched out his palms for her, "Take my hands now and I'll help you through it. I won't let you get hurt, I promise."

She took his hand and he pulled her up, "I think you're watching too many k-drama's..."

"I'm Kang Boksoo remember?"

"Please don't twist your ankle in here, like he did." She laughed.

He laughed as well and soon enough the two found themselves going through the storage room, looking for any sort of document that could possibly provide some kind of clue that could help Sooyeong.

As they searched, a couple of times either one of them almost toppled over but they supported each other (as they always did), laughed it off and continued. They went through boxes of papers, most of which proved to be miscellaneous.

"Ow,"

Sooyeong looked up at the sound his deep voice.

"A staple? Tae, I told you be careful."

"Paper cut," he mumbled with his index finger in between his lips, to stop the bleeding.

Sooyeong bit her lower lip at his action and moved closer to him, "Let me see."

He showed her his finger, "It doesn't hurt that bad and I thought you didn't like the colour red..."

"I'm getting over it remember and it looks quite deep, let me get a band aid for you."

She got up and manoeuvred through the pile and made for her desk but all the while his eyes were stuck on her. She always took care of other people but hardly ever herself so that was were he wanted to fill in that gap. He also thought about how lucky all of her future patients would be once she graduated from university and found a job.

She stretched over her bed but he looked away with a slight blush. He tried to get his mind to focus again and when he did he found himself staring at a large rectangular object covered up with a black cloth.

"Yah, Sooyeong. What's that?"

She turned around to find him coming towards her but she was confused.

"Hm?"

"That." He pointed at the concealed object and her eyes followed.

That concealed object was in fact her family portrait which she had covered up the day Suhjin was asking about it.

"Oh," she stood next to him then put a band aid over his cut. "It's my family portrait, I took it down from father's study the other day."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure,"

His hands gently made its way to remove the cloth. Once it was in his hold he tugged slightly on it and let it drop to the floor. His eyes scanned the portrait of three and he found himself smiling at how happy they looked.

"You look just like your mother," he said. "I can see where you get your height from."

She pinched his side, "Don't start, being short has its advantages."

"Like what?"

She was pensive for just a second, "Hugging people taller than you."

He raised his eyebrow.

"It's one of the best feelings ever." She admitted, and honestly it was so very true because it made her feel guarded.

"If that's the case..." he grinned and stretched his arms, not wanting to miss an opportunity.

"Yah, no!" She blushed and held down his arms with her own but he only whined.

"Soooooo ah~"

In their struggle, Taehyung accidentally hit the portrait and they both immediately gasped. They released each other and held onto it so it didn't fall over.

However, much to their surprise something else had fallen off from behind the portrait. They glanced at each other before looking back down at the white folder which had no writing over it whatsoever.

"What's that?" Taehyung asked. "Did it fall from the portrait?"

"I think so -"

Alas, their curiosity vanished when a sudden creak at the door cut Sooyeong off and they turned to look.

"Taehyung, you need to hide-"

"No, I'm staying here with you."

"Tae, please."

Despite her protests, he stayed put and they watched the door creak wide open only to reveal one of the devil's spawns.

A U T H O R ' S N O T E

I actually had those dreams which Sooyeong had oop.

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*For those of you wondering who Jeong In is, the short abstract below which was extracted from Wikipedia explains so.

"Jeong In was a 16-month-old baby girl from Seoul, South Korea who was abused and tortured by her adoptive parents for 271 days (8 months) and ultimately died on October 13, 2020 due to severe abdominal injuries."

This was pretty serious news at the time of me writing this chapter and since Sooyeong didn't get much help from the police like Jeong In, I thought I'd add it. I hope it's not offensive to anyone.

Author, Lu 💜