[✔] lightbulb » lee taeyong & na jaemin

ch. 1

ara: be beautiful; be good

» author's pov »

"the cutest couple is here!" somebody shouted while kwan ara walked down the streets with her boyfriend.

"get ready to third-wheel!" another person teased. ara just winked at them, then turned to her left to squeeze her boyfriend's cheek.

the guys, on the other hand, had ignored the two, making ara glad.

ara's boyfriend winked at her and mouthed an obvious "i love you," making the people around her sigh with envy.

people would kill for a relationship like ara's.

but did they really want it?

the couple had finally arrived home, and the moment that the door closed, he slapped her.

"i told you to wear the revealing clothing!" he yelled angrily, shoving ara onto the ground.

ara fell onto her knees, rubbing the cheek he had just slapped. "i-i'm sorry... i just didn't feel comfortable..."

his eyes fired up, and he glowered at ara. "comfortable? did i ask if you were comfortable?"

she looked up at him with pain. "i need to be comfortable-"

he cut her off. "did you... just talk back?" his voice dropped dangerously low, and he walked slowly towards her kneeling body. her knees were scraped from the fall, and one of them was bleeding, staining the floor.

"n-no... i love you," she pleaded, begging him not to hurt her. her eyes widened with a maddening sense of fear. "please! please, please, please!" her voice was shrill. yet, he came forward without a blink.

he grabbed her shoulders, making sure to bruise her. oh, yes, he did this often. she bit her lip to distract herself from the pain, making the thin skin bleed. that wasn't what she was worried about, though. inside, she was screaming from the pain everywhere else.

"if you love me, you will do as i say. all right?" he seethed. she looked down at the floor, making him angrier. with a rough motion up, he snapped her head up. he made sure to look right into ara's eyes, and she trembled under his gaze. she searched for the right words to say.

"i- i didn't want people to look at me, i'm sorry-" her body shook, sobs escaping her. she ignored the fiery pain coming from his abuse to her body.

and her heart.

but she loved him too much to leave him.

"please..." she pleaded to no avail. ignoring all her pleas, he kicked her stomach, making her collapse on the ground and curl up. she made sure to cover her face it's her hands. she wouldn't know how to explain a broken nose to everybody.

"they NEED to see your body, i'm showing you off," he yelled, kicking her stomach, her face, her chest. she was bleeding everywhere, and it felt like she were dying. she was dying. each breath was labored as her lungs began to fail her. a fire burned in her stomach, and it took all her mental strength to keep from crying out.

but did she even have mental strength, anymore? if she did, she would have left him, right? he had taken all her strength. she was weak. she was not strong. 

he pulled at her hair, and she felt her hair coming out in clumps. he threw them to the side and roughly forced her to stand. black dots filled her vision, and she threatened to tip over. she shook as the world blurred.

he threw a punch to her stomach, hissing for her to stay standing still. each punch made a black wave of pain wash over her, numbing her to the core.

TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH, her body screamed.

she tried to ignore the pain. to let him take his anger out on her now. but she couldn't handle the pain anymore and crumpled to the ground, clutching her stomach. once again, she curled up her body in a feeble attempt to protect herself.

silent tears escaped her eyes, but she didn't dare set him off by being any louder.

too late; her falling had made him angry.

"you dare disobey me? i told you to stand," he growled. ara could barely hear what he said, much less process it.

he stomped on her back and she heard a crack. she knew it was harmless, though. at least, the crack was. she'd heard that multiple times already, and no permanent effects were ever seen. he kneeled on the ground, and pulled his hand back to punch her face with all of his anger, his strength.

she held her breath as the punch came, and she almost fell unconscious as the punch made her head snap back. she tasted blood as it filled her mouth.

ara screamed in pain, and he finally stopped after noticing that he had ruined her pretty face, which he needed to show off.

"go clean up." he hissed before leaving and driving to somewhere unknown.

she laid on the ground. she would do whatever he said... later. she thought about the chores she had to do but couldn't handle thinking about them. her whole body felt cold, and she shivered despite it being summer. she was in too much pain to move, and she was on the brink of passing out.

her heart hurt the most.

"lee taeyong,

why do i have to love you?"