𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕐𝕠𝕦//_[𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧]

14: ᴍᴇ ᴅᴜᴇʟᴇ

Please vote and comment. I felt like updating.
Warning: Uncomfortable Themes and Gaslighting

The rest of the time with Seungmin and Changbin was actually....pleasant. 

At night when everyone was asleep, Althea would go with Changbin to their gym for him to workout. He usually bench pressed 100lbs in twenty reps while she spot him--Althea will admit upfront that his arms are no joke--and used the treadmill for ten minutes before they snuck back to her room. 

Althea tried to workout with him sometimes so that she wasn't just sitting idle and he'd advise her about her posture. As best as his minimal English would allow. He corrected her posture and helped her bench press 20lbs. Her arms were sore afterwards. 

The first night it happened he was so happy that he hugged her tight into his sweaty chest and Althea felt gross. Of course he quickly apologized but she couldn't be mad at him. Working out seems to really be his passion and she can only imagine the feeling of being able to do it again after being stuck here for over a month. He was just overjoyed. 

As for Seungmin, she gave him a book of Bahamian anthology and folktales from her father's library that he found interesting. He was particularly curious about the story on the Chickcharney in Andros.

"A creature with bird-like features but has the face of a man. Some stories say if you see it three times will cause you to turn into one," Althea explained cheekily. "The story originated in Andros and it's typically believed to hide out in pine forests. It's an old fairy tale though."

"That's....interesting?" 

He seemed confused but he was entertained nonetheless. 

There were a few fables about two men called "Ber Bouki and Ber Rabbi" that peaked his interest as well. One fable told of the pair finding a cow in the fields and planning to buy it from a farmer to use. They agreed to collect fresh milk for their families and once the cow was of no use, they'd slaughter it for meat. 

The story went on to tell how Ber Rabbi had done all the chores the farmer asked of them to buy the cow while Ber Bouki would constantly make up excuses as to why he couldn't work. From spilling water to faking a stomach ache. Leaving Ber Rabbi to do everything to earn the cow. Eventually they did once Ber Rabbi finished the chores but Ber Rabbi once again ended up doing all the work to care for the cow while Ber Bouki was nowhere to be seen. 

However when the time came for the milk to be collected, Ber Bouki somehow convinced Ber Rabbi with a number of excuses why he needed most of the milk for his family. Leaving Ber Rabbi and his own with very little. 

Ber Rabbi, frustrated with the unfairness of their dynamic, told Ber Bouki to slaughter the cow to cut his ties with him. When the cow was slaughtered and they were packaging the meat, a woman came up to them and begged for a piece for her sick child. Ber Rabbi, taking pity, gave her some. However it didn't stop there for another woman with an even sadder tale begged for meat and Ber Rabbi gave her some too. 

More women came after and Ber Rabbi eventually caught on that it was actually Ber Bouki's wife in disguise. Ber Bouki constantly faked complaints at the women coming up while Ber Rabbi handed over the meat silently thinking up a plan.

By the end of the day, only a small piece of meat was left over and Ber Rabbi decided to cook that up to eat for them to share. But when Ber Rabbi tested the meat to see if it was done, he fell to the ground in a fit while clutching his throat. 

Ber Bouki, terrified of what would happened, ran all the way home to tell his wife to get rid of the meat because it was poisoned. Ber Bouki and his family left the meat behind and ran off. Once they were gone, Ber Rabbi stood up perfectly fine and took all the meat that they left to feed his family.