𝖠𝗅𝗅 𝖳𝗈𝗈 𝖶𝖾𝗅𝗅 | 𝖢𝗁𝗈𝗂 𝖡𝖾𝗈𝗆𝗀𝗒𝗎

𝗑𝗂𝗂. 𝖲𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖬𝖾 𝖳𝗈𝗇𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍

19th of July.

Y/N had awoken in the dead of the night. She blinked at the boring abyss overhead before rolling out of bed, feet dragging against the soft carpet. Beomgyu's unit was peacefully silent; only the bubbling fish tank and ticking wall clock served as her ambience. Y/N trodded down the hall alone. She stopped by Beomgyu's room. Pressing an ear into the mahogany, she listened to his gentle snores. Y/N brought a hand close to the wood, contemplating. She wanted to knock, but she also didn't want to disrupt his slumber.

"You know what, no." She sighed. "I'll eat by myself."

She strutted to the kitchen, humming. Passing by the aquarium, she stopped and sprinkled a pint of fish food to the guppies. The tiny swimmers rushed to the surface, mouths turning into circles as they swallowed the fine debris. Y/N smiled to herself.

"You guys get to have a midnight snack too," she cooed, tapping on the glass. "We're all hungry right now, aren't we?"

Y/N casually opened the fridge. Warm, yellow light flooded the area as she rummaged through the racks, shoving packs of frozen peas and vegetables aside in search for an unfinished bag of chips or ready-made sandwiches. She spotted a meat bun at the far back. Grinning, she snagged it along with a bottle of chocolate-flavored soy milk.

"What do you think?" She showed the snack to the guppies. "Looks good, doesn't it?"

Y/N anxiously started the microwave. She silently hoped that the loud beeps didn't wake Beomgyu as he came home exhausted from a long day at work. Y/N felt pitiful. She wanted to work too. But with her condition, she knew it would be too impossible to get a decent career.

"I wish I could help," she approached the fish tank. "Beomgyu's always out working. He deserves a break."

Her brows furrowed as she noticed a few fish float sideways. Alarmed, she counted the dead guppies and gasped. About a dozen of them had died, scattered above the dancing seaweeds. Some had survived, hiding under their mossy homes. Y/N glanced at the fish food she had sprinkled a while ago. Her heart sank as she picked it up. It wasn't a pack of pellets. It was a bag of powdered cleaner.

"Oh, no.." She dropped the item in shock. "..no, no, no.. I didn't.. I didn't mean to.. I'm so sorry.. Please, don't die.. It was an accident.."

Thud!

Y/N flinched as she heard a door close. Turning around, she saw Beomgyu pacing down the corridor, eyes drooping in tiredness. He spotted Y/N in an instant. The girl backed away in fear. A terrified whimper escaped from her lips as her legs hit the couch. Beomgyu stared at her, confused.

"Baby?" He sleepily cooed. "What's wrong? Why are you still up?"

"I.." Y/N pinched herself. "..Beomgyu.."

"Hmm?"

Beomgyu absently diverted his gaze to the aquarium. It took him a while to register the sight of his dead guppies floating on the surface and as soon as he realized what was happening, he froze. Y/N desperately clasped her hands together.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried. "I didn't mean to feed them the wrong thing! Believe me, I didn't want to kill them!"

But before Beomgyu could even say something, a sudden, loud beep made the two of them jump. Y/N rushed to the kitchen to see her meat bun on fire. Beomgyu immediately opened the microwave, pulled the blazing wrapper out, and ran the faucet. Y/N stood on her spot, face tinted with doom. A guilty frown stretched her lips as she shifted her gaze elsewhere. She clenched her fists as she shivered. Tears welled her angry eyes and she wasn't able to hold them back.