Traces and Storms

xxix

trigger warning: near the end of the chapter, one of the main characters will mention a post about r*pe.

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Myungsoo didn't leave the house just yet. I said I would wash the dishes, and he insisted on helping me out. My parents headed upstairs, leaving the two of us alone in the kitchen. He wordlessly gathered the plates from the table and transferred them to the sink.

"I rinse, you wipe?" he offered.

I nodded.

He took a new pair of lavender rubber gloves beneath the sink, and proceeded to turn the faucet on. He washed the dishes and utensils thoroughly before soaping them. I, on the other hand, stood in front of the drying tray, cloth in hand.

My head swarmed with questions, but there was not a single word I could use to articulate them. I wanted to ask what Myungsoo had meant in the living room earlier. I wanted to ask how I should begin my conversation with my parents? What was it, even, that I wanted to know? It wasn't even clear to me.

"Bae Suji."

"What?"

"This happened before, right?"

I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Washing dishes together."

I looked up, trying to recall the memory, and I ended up smiling. "Yeah. It was in your house, though. You were even humming something back then."

"Do you remember that?"

"Not at first," I admitted. "But I later found out it was from Spirited Away."

"Do you like that film?"

I paused, and shook my head.

"Why?" he asked. "It's arguably the most well-known film whenever Miyazaki's involved."

"Just...watching it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Is there a particular reason?"

It was nothing but a casual conversation, but I could feel my heart racing against my chest. My hands slightly trembled, as vague flashes of a distant memory appeared in my mind. Everything was jumbled up, and I couldn't even see a clear picture, but it nevertheless terrified me.

"No Face," I choked out. "I'm really afraid of him."

"Ask your parents, then," Myungsoo quietly said. "Why you're so scared of No Face. Listen carefully, Bae Suji: this is the only clue I can give you."

I licked my lower lip, which already turned dry. "Are you..." I began. "Are you going to sleep here? Mom and Dad invited you over, right?"

He smirked. "Ah, should I? I kissed you in your own living room, after all. Though it wasn't on the lips."

I froze upon hearing that, and the confusion immediately turned into anger. "Don't remind me," I seethed. "It's really embarrassing."

"Not reminding you or trying to forget about it wouldn't erase the fact that it happened."

I could only sigh in response, much to Myungsoo's fascination.

"Is there a reason, then," I began. "Why I don't like No Face?"

"It sounds childish, right?" Myungsoo asked back in response.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm not obliged to tell you anything," he replied, mimicking my tone of voice from earlier. He handed me a plate. "That's the last one. What do you think should we do now?"