F4: Sunflowers ‖ 𝓵.𝓱

45.

"I miss you," Dahyun heard on the other side of the line Haechan's voice almost in a whisper.

Even if he wanted to shout his lungs out, he knew it wasn't prudent on his part. At the moment he was sitting in one corner of the private bathroom of his room, running the water out of the shower in order not to be heard. Yes, he seemed like a paranoid madman, nevertheless, he himself didn't know the limits of his mother when she wanted to accomplish something. Better safe than sorry.

"I miss you, too," Dahyun said, lying on her bed in the middle of the darkness of her room. "Are you eating well?"

"Yeah."

Lies. 

Of course, she didn't know that, but Haechan had been neglecting his body big time. Not eating properly, not sleeping properly. It was like his mind was protesting against his mother's decision  using his own body.

"What about you?" he hurriedly changed the topic in order not to lie to his girlfriend more. "Is everything okay at home, bae?"

"Uhm," she hummed in a positive tone. 

Not entirely true either. 

To be fair she was doing better than him, but it was all down to the big efforts that Jiyu and her friends were doing. You see, making the Zhong Chenle and Park Ryung accept a no was a very difficult task, so at the end of the day, Dahyun had no other option than take care of herself. She was forced to but at least it was working.

Plus the small scratch on her neck still stinks a little bit. 

"Hand me the necklace, sweetheart, you know this is the right thing to do."

Dahyun observed the extended hand of the woman in front of her. To be honest, there was a part inside of her that wanted to submit and just give up. At the end of the day, who was she next to the greatest Lee Solhee?

Nevertheless, she knew that she wasn't the only person involved in this matter.

Haechan.

A wave of memories invaded her mind. The number of episodes she had been able to see his emotional side, and how difficult had been for him to express what he truly feels. All the tears she had been able to witness and how she knew there was more of the story she didn't know but was still hurting him.

If she gave up the necklace, she would also be giving up on him.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Lee muttered in disbelief. She was sure her entire monologue was convincing enough for the girl to give up.

"I'm not giving this to you. It doesn't belong to you," Dahyun said firmly, not just referring to the piece of jewelry. 

Solhee scoffed at the sudden impulse of bravery the girl in front of her had. "Do you even know who you are talking to? Listen, kid, I have no time to waste-"

"You should leave then."

No, not even Dahyun herself was expecting those words to come out of her mouth but somehow they did. The fact that a dead silence followed her words didn't help either. Dahyun was expecting a comeback or at least a sarcastic expression, but instead, she got a blank one.

After some seconds, Solhee shot the girl a smirk. Seeing her taking some steps forward, Dahyun made her best not to take two steps back. She wanted to be seen as a strong person, even when she was scared as hell. 

No words came out of her mouth. The only sound that filled the room was that of a delicate metal chain breaking. Dahyun let out a small cry of pain, feeling a burning sting on the side of her neck.