pretty flower | 강새벽

031

"Mama?" I asked, knocking on each door of my house, looking for my mother. "Where are you?"

The house was quiet, quieter than it had ever been before. The silence was uncomfortable and left the house with an eery chill.

"Papa?" I call out, trying to find anyone. There was no answer, which caused worry to rise inside me. Someone was always home, so why was there no one here?

The front door opens with a bang, causing me to jump. "Hello?" I ask, hiding behind the chair I was standing near. 

"Princess?"  It was my father. I stood up slowly, my head down to the ground as he walked towards me with a smirk. 

"Papa? What are you doing?" I ask him as he steps closer to me, grabbing onto my waist. He pushes his finger into my face, his face evil as he shushes me. 

"Don't worry princess, papa will take good care of you," he says, picking me up as he carries me to his room.

"I'm sorry," I mutter under my breath, walking next to Sae as she drags me back towards Gi-Hun.

"What did I tell you?" she responds, squeezing my hand gently as she continues pulling me along. 

"Not to apologize." 

"Exactly. So don't do it." 

I bite the inside of my cheek again, lowering my head to the ground as we walked. We made it back to where Sang-Woo and Gi-Hun were, who stopped talking at our presence.

"You can continue," Sae says, sitting down and placing me on her lap, my back leaning against her chest. I stare at the two men in front of me as they go back to talking cautiously. 

 Sae begins to play with my hair, braiding it gently between kisses she gave to my neck. I stare at the ground in front of me in silence, my mind flooding with a million different things.

"Are you okay?" I hear Gi-Hun ask me but I just nod my head in response. 

"Did you see it?" I mutter after a while, an awkward silence forming as I spoke. 

"No," Sang-Woo responded, my eyes snapping shut. 

I stay silent once again, my fists clenching slightly. "Did you see her die?" I ask Sae, who had finished braiding my hair, tying it together with a knot created from my hair. 

"I didn't see, but I heard it. She was right behind me." Sae answers, placing her forehead on my shoulder as she wraps her arms around my small waist. 

"Did you hear him die?" I look up at Sang-Woo, who was trying to avoid eye contact. 

He shakes his head no. "I heard the gunshot from afar." 

"So he died... alone?"

"Yes."

My nails dug into the palm of my hands as I tried to contain my anger. "Why did he die?" 

"He... He lost the game." 

"Did he? Or are you using that as a ploy so you don't seem like a bad person?" I growl, glaring at him as he fiddles with his pants. 

Sang-Woo remains silent. 

"Answer me you fucktard!" I yell, swing my arm towards him, slapping him across the face. 

Sang-Woo glares back as my hand retracts from his face "Maybe I am. It doesn't make a difference, he's dead." 

I stare at my hand as it tingles from the impact. "I'm sorry," I mutter, causing everyone to look at me weirdly. "I'm sorry," I repeat, tears forming in my eyes. "I'm sorry," I repeat once more, my hand shaking as I stare at it further. 

Sang-Woo stands up, walking away as he mutters something under his breath. 

"I'm sorry," I mutter again and Sae hugs me tighter, kissing my neck again. 

"Stop saying sorry," she whispers. 

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A shorter chapter again, but this one is important to move on for future chapters. 

Word Count: 621