never | h.rj

15.

"See you tomorrow," Mina said to one of her teachers through a forced smile. After exiting the classroom, she hunched over, wrapping her arms around her stomach. It wasn't an excruciating pain but it was sharp and it caught her off guard. Yet the feeling was all too familiar.

She stayed still for a while, allowing the pain to subside before reaching into her purse for her phone.

She was glad no one else was there to see her like that. She hated the sympathetic looks people give when they see others in pain because it's always just a look with no real intention to help. They take pity on others just so they don't seem like bad people.

"Ugh, today is the day," Mina sighed, looking at her period tracker. She was partially mad at herself for not realizing it sooner, something embarrassing could have happened.

The girl rushed to the restroom to prepare herself and thanked herself for buying supplies as soon as she ran out last time.

She made it just in time because as soon as she stood up she could already feel it. Mina took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly before shaking her head and laughing.

"This is just my luck," she muttered.

The thought of going straight home and retreating to her bedroom after stopping by the store to grab her favorite snacks crossed her mind but unfortunately, it was Tuesday.

Mina pressed her head against her steering wheel and mentally reminded herself that it shouldn't take long if they got straight to work. With that, she drove away from the empty parking lot.

Once they got to work, Mina tried her hardest to ignore the painful feeling of her uterus walls shedding.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," she announced quite loudly, earning a nod from her partner who had his headphones in. Renjun watched as she grabbed her purse from the back of her chair before leaving the room.

Setting her purse on the white counter, the girl frantically searched through her bag looking for a small bottle. She found the bottle but it was empty. Mina could feel her cramps worsening.

"Ugh, I forgot to grab more painkillers," she groaned, remembering what made her forget. The day she restocked on supplies was also the day she ran into Renjun at the store.

~

It had been a while since Mina left for the bathroom. Renjun checked the time on his watch, confirming that it didn't just feel like a long time.

He figured it was normal for girls to take a while in the restroom so he left it alone and continued his work until he heard a whimper come from the restroom. He paused his music, taking one earphone out to listen closer.

After minutes of silence, Renjun placed the earphone back into his ear and got back to work, not giving it a second thought. Not until he heard another sound come from the restroom but this time it was much louder.

The boy finally decided to get up and check on Mina. As he neared the door, he could hear faint whimpers and sniffles. Then he heard Mina let out a loud whine.

Without thinking twice, he opened the door frantically. He saw the girl bent over with one arm propped on the counter, supporting her body, and the other wrapped tightly around her stomach. Sweat was coating her forehead and tears were dripping from her chin.

The boy stood there, frozen in the doorway staring at the girl. The sight had triggered terrible memories to flood his mind, but once Mina noticed him standing there she immediately slammed the door in his face and locked it.