[✔] lightbulb » lee taeyong & na jaemin

ch. 3

ellipsism: a sadness that you'll never be able to know how history will turn out

» kwan ara's pov »

double checking that my bruises were properly covered, i went outside to my front yard for a breath of fresh air. i breathed in deeply, trying to enjoy the serendipity of some alone time. kicking off my sandals, i stepped onto the grass barefoot, making me laugh a little because of how it tickled.

lifting my face up to the sun, i basked in the warmth. ahhh. vitamin d and all that. a small smile appeared on my face as the sun warmed me up.

suddenly, somebody shouted my name, pulling me out of my invisible bubble. i jumped and looked to my right. was it taeyong? was he home? i let out a small sigh of relief when i saw that it wasn't, although i felt guilty for feeling this way.

"ara!" the boy called happily, waving at me. he had just left the front porch of his house and was walking outside. "how are you doing?" he asked, his infectious smile making me grin with him. he reminded me so much of a bunny, and i found it adorable.

"i'm doing great!" i didn't exactly lie. i was feeling great, but just the moment i saw him. "nothing much, really, though."

"it's nice that we're on break right now."

i nodded. "yeah, college was fun, like never."

na jaemin, my childhood best friend, smiled. we were basically glued at the hip and inseparable. buy one, get one free, and all that stuff.

his smile fell as he stared at my face.

"how's...he...treating you?" he asked, looking slightly concerned. we both knew who "he" was. jaemin walked towards me as i stiffened.

i shook my head. "jaemin..."

he raised an eyebrow. "so?" he was closer now, just a few feet away. i still made no movement to walk towards him. "tell me, how's your lovely relationship going?" he asked, again, with a slight hint of bitterness.

"we're fine!" i realized that a tint of anger had laced my words. "you don't have to worry about it!"

"oh, really?" jaemin frowned. "then why are you so worked up?"

"i'm not! there's nothing to worry about!" i snapped. my voice was a pitch higher than usual and cracked near the end. "we're absolutely fine!" i panicked and forced myself to take a deep breath.

stay calm...

jaemin stared worriedly at me, and i felt my heart being squeezed. he was right in front of me now, and his eyes crinkled with worry.

"we're fine..." i whispered softly. "absolutely fine. everything's fine." i swallowed hard. "please," i added, for whatever reason.

jaemin grabbed my hand. "ara, we need to talk, now."

——

» na jaemin's pov »

"he's abusing you? again?" i seethed angrily, trying to keep my temper under control. i had dragged her into my living room and forced her to talk. "i thought you told me it was only once! and over! why would you tolerate this?!"

ara shook her head. "n-no! he does it out of love!"

ara, are you trying to convince me or yourself? how stupid could you be?

i stayed quiet, and a silence enveloped the both of us were drowned by our personal thoughts. suddenly, i grabbed her waist. "ara..." i hugged her with every bit of love i had for her. she whimpered, and i loosened my grip on. surprising me, she hugged me even tighter than i had before, and her arms wrapped around my neck. she had a flowery smell and i tried hard not to be distracted.

i loved her.

if she had chosen me, everything would be okay.

but she was blinded by her love for taeyong and i couldn't do anything but watch as she was slowly being killed. inside and out. ignorance is bliss and all that. putting an arm on her shoulder, she flinched, and i pulled my arm back to see her thick makeup smeared, revealing an ugly, purple bruise. i pretended not to see anything.

"ara...we have to tell the police," i murmured into her hair.

she pulled her face out of the crook of my neck, her tear-stained face convincing me to do something, the right thing.

but she was, once again, blinded. "n-no!" she stuttered, quickly stepping away from me and out of my embrace. i couldn't understand her. my blood boiled.

"ara, do you not see what he's doing?"

"of course, i see!" she snapped. "i'm the one experiencing it, right?"

"and yet, you still stay blind! why are you doing this to yourself?" i pleaded with her.

"please..." her voice cracked. "i love him, i truly do."

all the anger i felt dissipated. how could i take taeyong away from her, no matter what he did? she loved him too much; that much was obvious. i had seen how he had made her feel. her eyes lit up whenever she saw him, even as he never returned the same look. had he even smiled at her before?

"i...ara..." i mumbled, weighted by the pressure of making the right decision.

she continued, her voice trembling. "he makes me happy. and i'm sure, somewhere in his heart, he loves me just as much as i love him."

she stepped out of my embrace, her hands visibly shaking.

"he just has his on and off days."