chased

02

chased
" it's cold outside "

i woke up a while ago and it made me have a headache just by getting up everyday. but now that i look at it, the kitchen became quite empty looking at the cupboards that show no sign of food in it.

an idea was made in my mind, tapping my foot on the wooden tiled floor as i space out the expired food. throwing them in the trash, it made me have another idea. "i really am dumb. i should just buy more food." i said to myself, throwing the last expired food out of the now empty space on the shelf.

i grabbed my phone and my wallet then skipping to the nearest supermarket in Seoul.

when i reach the market, i see many people walking through each aisle of the store as they find their needs. i soon proceeded inside the store, relieved because it felt as if it was a bit warmer inside than the world outside.

i was about to get out of the aisle i am in now as i finished shopping for what i need. i looked down, counting how many things i got while still walking and knowing that my head was hung low, i couldn't see where i was going.

"tsk" i hear the person in front of me. their shoes reminded me of a business worker's shoes and it looked like any other person that worked here. after a while, finally, i look up and sight the person who i accidentally hit. it was a pretty tall guy, preferably the age of someone who would already drink its way out of misery, who i knocked into and my innocent self didn't even say a word.

his eyes, so familiar. his lips, i think i remember. his fingers, oh, have i touched before.

now that i got to my senses, i realize he was no longer standing in front of me anymore. trying to find where he went, i forget about him and eventually i look inside the basket i was holding, making sure that i have everything that i need before i head home but i see something else in the basket i was holding. a note.

i stared at it, trying to find whatever's on it. as i flip the paper to the back, i see the words written clearly inked in red.

"I FOUND YOU" is what the note said. no one knew, not even mia, that my biggest fear was when i start to lose someone who i love so dearly to my heart.

[ flashback ]

"daddy? daddy, where are you?" my eight year old self called but no answer. i searched and searched around the house for my dad but he wasn't there. then, as i make my way upstairs, i hear a mumble of words.

whispers were heard behind the thin walls of the bathroom. i rushed in there, only worried about my dad as he was the only one on my mind right now. he was the only person who made me happy, the only person who listened, the only person who stayed with me since birth. my number one. i never imagined him to leave just like that.

"daddy?" i called out for him, unlocking the bathroom door. the door wasn't even locked yet i struggled to get in. and i found him.

he held his hand to his neck, holding up his hand and moving it side to side in front of his neck as if he was signaling me to not go any further in the bathroom. but i couldn't leave him alone. especially when someone was in front of him while my own dad was in the bathtub, covered by the attacker that was holding a knife to his heart.

"get off of hi-" i tried to finish my sentence but the man with the knife cut me off. "STOP! i'm tired. WHERE IS SHE? i-i have no time, WHERE IS SHE!" the unfamiliar man looked back at me, losing all his muscle strength to even keep the knife in his hand.

"what do you mean?" i asked. "my wife." he spoke in between breaths. i was confused. who's his wife? "where is she?" he asked, tilting his head to the side while looking at me with a crooked smile. "s-sir i-i don't know of this 'she'."

"WHERE IS SHE?!" he yelled one more time before causing a ruckus on my dad. and then the most traumatic thing happened that i can't get out of my head until the day i die. the stranger killing my dad right in front of my eyes. my dad's killer looking like he just escaped a mental hospital, like he was crazy. maybe all because of this drug called love. wow, love.

witnessing was a strength of mine but losing is a fear. never in my life have i gasped so loudly.

"there you are." he smiles, leaving the knife to my dads chest, not holding the sharp object that was in his hands anymore. i fall to the ground feeling my knees become weak as i look at my pale, cold, unconscious father in the bathtub bathed in his own blood. quietly crying, i was left speechless.

he lowered down to my level, right across from my face was him. my dad's killer. he looked me in the eyes which made me look back at him in fear, my mouth still hung low because of what happened just now. the man pinched my cheeks with his long, crooked fingers and smiled then releasing the touch of my cheeks and leaving, leaving me there to take care of this mess, to take care of the things i haven't committed and i knew he was trying to take the blame on me.

[ end of flashback ]

i recreated the scene i imagined just now, falling down onto the floors of the store as i found myself crying and touching the cheeks of my beloved face and that was all in the meat section of the market. i froze in place, not knowing that one of the workers of the store came kneeling right in front of me.

"s-stop. stop!" my voice cracked as i cried a little more than before. "are you okay?" he stood me up and walked me out of the store to now be seated at the tables in front of the place.

*

"hey. i'm sorry for what happened." he said to me, eyes so pure and soft yet so dangerous to touch. those eyes, they look so familiar.

"no. i-i'm sorry for what i did in your store. i didn't mean to just break down like that."

"it's okay, i mean, anything could happen. by the way, my name is nico. maybe we can exchange numbers?" he asked politely, handing his phone to me. "sure." i jump in excitement, grabbing the phone from his hands and dialed my phone number then giving it back to him.

"thanks. i'll call you later on. ahem, what's you're name?"

"i'm juno."

"oh that's a beautiful name for a beautiful person like you." he winked.

"t-thank you." i smile, happy that i made a new friend.

"it's getting cold outside. here's my hoodie." he looked up, noticing the little drops of rain falling. he stood up, placing the hoodie on me. "oh, thank you but-" i thank him, surprised by what nice actions he made towards a person he just met. "no, it's my pleasure. thank you for coming!"

i never looked back, not one bit. i knew nico was kind of strange. nevertheless, i found out he also has crooked fingers. i quicken the pace, racing myself up to my house and rushed to my respective room, slowly lying down on my bed while still thinking about those fingers. those crooked fingers.

after i left, nico became no other but someone else. "i found you" he muttered under his breath, grinning at the girl he just met right in front of him.