Broken Cause [Book 1]

Chapter 1 (Part 9)

Chaeyoung woke up feeling like a wreck. All her muscles ached, her head hurt, the stitched wound stung, her ankle was throbbing and she had forgotten about her broken arm until she did her daily morning stretch after waking up.

She yelped when the sling restrained her movement, almost hitting herself on the face with her cast. There was a knock on the door shortly after.

"Chaeyoung? Are you okay?" She heard Lisa's voice.

"I'm..." Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "I'm fine!" She shouted.

"Okay then." She lay in bed for a few more minutes before she carefully sat up, grabbed the crutch that was leaning against the nightstand and pushed herself up with a grunt. She then realized something as she looked around. Where am I? She frowned. Come to think of it... who was that?!

It took her another second to remember where she was. Oh. Lisa. The realization triggered the memory of what had happened to her apartment. She felt her stomach flip. I don't have anything anymore. Not even a t-shirt. She sat back down on the bed, losing strength in her leg. My home! Mom and Dad's photo albums! My shoes! My computer! Her eyes widened as it hit her one by one. My passport! My books! My papers! She started to cry. I don't have anything left! How am I supposed to pay for anything or go to work? The thought of work made her sob harder. Life seemed so complicated and messed up right now. She didn't know what to do or what would happen to her. And I almost died. Worse, I almost let Seungwan unnie die.

Another knock came from the door. "Chaeyoung? Are you okay?"

Chaeyoung couldn't answer. She covered her face with her hand to stifle her sobbing.

"Um... Are you crying? Can I come in?"

She shook her head but didn't answer. The doorknob slowly turned. Lisa pushed the door open and took a peek. She saw Chaeyoung sitting on the bed, crying. She sighed and went inside the room.

Lisa took a seat next to Chaeyoung without saying a word. She put an arm around Chaeyoung and gently pulled her in for a hug. Chaeyoung ended up crying on Lisa's shoulder. Lisa patiently waited until Chaeyoung had calmed down before she slowly stood up to get her some tissues.

"I'm sorry," Chaeyoung said shyly - keeping her head down. She took the tissues from Lisa to wipe her eyes and nose.

"It's fine. I know it must be hard on you to lose everything." Lisa sat down at the foot of the bed, keeping her distance on purpose.

Chaeyoung sniffed. "At least I'm still alive." She tried to smile but couldn't. She looked down again.

"Take your time but if you're hungry, there's cereal and I can make you an omelette. There's not much to eat here, sorry," Lisa apologetically said.

Chaeyoung still didn't dare look at Lisa. She was embarrassed.

Lisa set the box of tissues next to Chaeyoung then stood up. She took out some clothes from the closet. "I'm going to take a shower first. It'll be quick so please wait for me? Don't hop to the kitchen. Just rest."

Chaeyoung nodded - still keeping her eyes on the mattress. Lisa left the bedroom to take a quick shower. She came out dressed in her office attire of shirt and pants. She was still drying her short brown hair with a towel when she walked back inside the bedroom. "Do you want to shower first or eat breakfast first?"

Chaeyoung looked up and saw Lisa cutely grimacing by herself, moving her hands quickly to rub her hair dry. Chaeyoung unconsciously smiled. She found it cute.

"So?" Lisa asked again. She went to the dresser to comb her hair and to finish getting ready. "Shower first or breakfast first?"

"Shower," Chaeyoung answered.