(endure it)

------

There's a black mark
On her soul...

------

My body blew up like a thunderbolt as I sat there panting.

I threw a frightened and panicked gaze towards my chest where I thought, he had stabbed me. I ratted my hands brushing that area back and forth. I was bewildered.

It was a nightmare. A nightmare where I almost got stabbed to death by my own father. The traumatic dream had triggered my body's fight-or-flight reflex.

I sat there on the soft surface, panting heavily and gasping for air to fill my lungs.

Once my breathing was regular, I ran my gaze across the room. I was in an unfamiliar room, white faded walls, a single bed and a study table were the only items in the room.

It was an old, somewhat clean environment. It was much better than the place I lived. I remembered that this house belonged to the girl I met the day before. She had a foreign name but I couldn't remember her name.

Checking the time, I realised I had to go for my job. Not bothering to change the outfit I was wearing, I took at the key and went out. As I was struggling with the lock I heard a voice behind me.

"Running away again?"

"Oh gosh--"

I recognised the girl as the same one from yesterday night, the possible owner of the house. One thing was odd about her appearance, I remembered her eyes to be green from yesterday night but now they are brown.

Chameleon eyes?

"Oh no! Definitely not! I was just going for my part-time job. I already took the day off school, I can't miss this one too. I'm grateful for whatever you've done and I won't be rude enough to leave without informing you."

I said, trying not to pry in others life.

"Oh and I also wish to speak to you after I return."

I informed her to which she nodded. I heard her mumble something which wasn't clear in my ears so I left, uninterested in her words.

"It's playtime...."

Lynn mumbled, staring at the retreating figure of Jungkook walking and disappearing in the woods,

"Time to spend some time with my guest."

Kim Eunha was bound to the chair, her body immobile. Her breaths were heavy, her mouth bleeding and her nose crooked towards the side. Her clothes were covered in dry blood and dirt. She was on the verge of leaving the earth.

Upon hearing the door click, she flinched.

"How are you doing, Eunha?"

She tried moving herself but all the efforts were in vain. She didn't have the courage left to look into the eyes of her captive, she knew she'd regret that.

"Hm? No answer? Well we can fix that."

Saying this Lynn stepped onto the open wound on her things, causing a deafening scream to erupt from her mouth.

"AAAHHH! STOP STOP PLEASE STOP!" she begged.

"See? Now we're talking." Lynn removed her leg.

Eunha barely had energy left to waste in her speech. With each breath she felt a sharp pain in her chest. The tiny ray of hope she had for escaping also vanished in front of her eyes.

"Y'know, the cops took 3 whole days to start the investigation. I thought they'd work faster. But maybe even they don't wanna help a bitch like you."

Lynn spoke while circling her, keeping her gaze fixed at her guest. The word cop did some magic as the light in Eunha's eyes sparkled.

"Oh but don't worry. They have got no clue that you're with me. I'm very good at removing evidences you know."

She kept speaking.

"Even I wouldn't have bothered to keep you here if you didn't do something so stupid the other day."

Flashback

Lynn was on her way back home. The cafe she worked at was nearing her sight as she mumbled the song playing in her earphones. As soon as she reached the cafe, something wet and bitter was sprayed on her.

Surprised and angry that her dress was spoiled, she looked around while trying to find the source of the coffee. It was a girl she knew she saw on the campus but never bothered to learn about her.

The girl was holding the cup and had a triumphant smile on her face, confusing Lynn.

"Why did you throw it?" She asked.

The other girl gave a look of amusement and said.

"Oh did I? I must have mistaken you for trash, the trash that steals others' boyfriends."

She stated with venom in her voice.

"Boyfriend? Is that why you did this?"

"And now she's gonna fake. A fucking slut like you should know its place and that's exactly what I'm doing. Listen up bitch, keep your hands off my man."

Lynn's coworker, Park Jimin sensed the tension outside his cafe and ran to resolve it. He opened the front door of the cafe and asked,

"What's wrong?"

His eyes automatically went to Lynn who was now dripping from the liquid. Before he could ask her if she's fine the other girl answered,

"Oh you know, showing people where they belong."

She threw her empty cup and stomped away. Lynn watched her retreating figure, her eyes held anger but she knew better than anyone how to control it.

"Hey Lynn, are you alright? Do you need a new pair of tops? I've got some."

The angel-like worried coworker asked her.

"Yes, please. I can't walk around wearing this right?" She laughed.

End of flashback

"That was your only mistake. Do you have any idea how humiliated I felt? There were people on the road, watching me."

She grabbed her chin and forced her to look. Every muscle in Eunha's body made her feel a sickening pain as she moved them.

"I wouldn't have noticed you anyways and you could've lived a happy life. But now that you forced me to notice you, it's time for you to pay the consequences."

Lynn whispered in the poor girl's ears and backed away from her. She could hear the soft, shivering mumbles apologising to her. She scoffed.

"I don't wanna drag this any longer. The cops are on my tail and I gotta come clean before they start doubting me."

"...no...no....pl-please....no..."

"....that means, you die today."

. . .

The restaurant was, as usual, packed with customers. I ran from table to table trying to collect their orders while serving them. The restaurant I worked at had quite a good sale but the amount of staff were comparatively less. As a result, the few staffs had to work at their 100%.

"May I have your order?" I tried my best to smile, hiding the fact that I was mentally tired.

Taking their orders, I ran again.

"Hey waiter over here!"

A very loud and demanding voice reached my ears and I knew this customer was upset. Being a waiter, I had to do my job so I rushed to them, my chest panting up and down from running around.

"How may I help you?" I managed to get a firm voice out of my mouth.

They were a group of four men, all of them glaring at me as if I asked for their kidneys. One of them, who originally called me said,

"Yo where's your manager? What's up with this bullshit?"

He held a thread like structure which I recognised as hair strand. It must belong to a female chef, I thought.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Let me give you another one."

I gave them a 90° bow and proceeded to take the dish out of their table when I felt a stinging pain in my arm. The customer just hit me.

'The hell?' I thought.

"Yah! Did I tell you to take that? I told you to go and get the manager! If you're here to serve, do it. Know your damn place and don't make me repeat, you dog!"

Each word of hate settled down deep inside me. I saw, from the corner of my eyes, his friends chuckle and the other customers watching. I picked my nails as my head hung low, consuming my emotions yet another time.

"The manager isn't here yet."

I answered in a low voice.

"Huh? What was that?" He asked me, trying to see my face and read my expression. I didn't say anything.

"Damn look at the audacity. How old are you to disrespect an elder like this? I'm asking you, WHERE IS THE MANAGER?"

He stood up from his seat to scream right in my ears. One of his friends tried to hold him back and mouthed something for me to understand.

"Don't mind. He just got fired from his job today so he's very upset."

Yeah, why should I ever mind the fact the people around me don't treat me like a human? That they always treat me like a stress relief source? Yeah, I wouldn't mind, not at all.

I thought. The sarcastic thought resulted me to chuckle, to everyone's surprise.

They only notice me when they need someone to blame on.

I failed to notice the many stares of the others, watching from behind but I knew for sure that everyone was watching. The man in front of me only got pissed at my reaction.

"I FUCKING ASKED YOU SOMETHING!!"

At this point, he was literally screaming. He grabbed the food bowl as my eyes followed him. In a split second, the hot bowl of soft tofu stew landed on my face.

The sauce was dripping from my hair as it fell down on my uniform. The hot water burning the right side of my face while my ears picked the sound of the bowl falling from my head and shattering into pieces.

Opening my eyes, I watched the customer stomp out of the store, one of them following him and the other two sat there, laughing.

My ears didn't pick the words of any living soul nearby. I couldn't hear the two friend's laughing, I couldn't hear my coworker's speaking things, I couldn't hear the other customer's gossips.

I could only see. See and capture the faces of people around me, some concerned, some entertained. The burning feeling was no more felt by me. I looked at my coworkers, they didn't know what to do.

I could say from their looks that they were worried. Worried for me.

But none of them, no customer, no coworkers, came forward to help.

I could hear my colleagues mentally sighing,

"Thank God, it wasn't me."

---------------

(Credits to the original artist.....)

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