'God will forgive you.'- that's what they told them. 'God doesn't exist.'- that's what Seulgi believed. But nobody cared what Seulgi believed in. She was the sinner- so she had to obey. That were the principles her school followed.
The Lakeland Girl...
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15 days before
Irene's POV:
She had stretched out her legs, leaning against a metallic pipe. A medium-sized candle laid on her lap, waiting to catch fire. The floor was cold and uncomfortable.
She had been waiting in their usual cubbyhole for almost ten minutes now and there was still no sight of her expected visitor. Usually, Irene was the one who came late.
She took the candle and rolled it over her thigh, feeling the wax touching her soft skin. Irene just hoped Seulgi would take a match with her. If not, they would be left in darkness. She wouldn't mind, but Seulgi got a little nervous when somebody took her eyesight.
The excitement grew from minute to minute, leaving the feeling of hundreds of butterflies in her stomach. Sometimes she felt like she got a long-distance relationship with Seulgi. The worst part was that she saw her every day, these cold and careless features that didn't resemble the real Seulgi.
Finally, after two weeks, she could feel her again. She could hear her real voice, her softness and gentle touches, see her deep eyes and smell her unique scent. Irene would never admit it, but she had missed the girl.
She just hoped Seulgi wouldn't come up with bad news.
Between their last meeting, many things had happened. The fact that she had vomited onto the compost heap was just one out of many things Seulgi had to explain. Irene wanted to be involved in her thoughts. She knew about the outlines of the plan. But couldn't tell anything about the details.
Besides, the feeling of concern and frustration built up in her stomach. What would happen if they fail? What would happen if she wasn't strong enough to follow the plan? On the one hand, she would do everything for Seulgi.
But Seulgi could be selfish and cold-hearted toward others. Irene couldn't handle it to disappoint others. Or even worse: To disappoint herself.
A soft knocking appeared, causing Irene to flinch. She hesitated, thinking about plausible reasons why she sat in an abandoned, dark cubbyhole. She just hoped that it wasn't one of the authorities.
A silent 'yes' escaped her mouth as she had gotten up. The door opened; a small ray of light entered the room. "Irene?", Seulgi's voice appeared.
Irene waited until Seulgi had closed the door, then she fell into Seulgi's arms. Two hands pressed her closer, her head resting on Seulgi's shoulder. She inhaled the sweet scent of her and kissed her neck.
She felt how Seulgi stroke her hair while whispering something Irene couldn't understand. How she had missed it.
They both stayed like that, Seulgi had wrapped her arms protectively around Irene, both standing in the middle of the room without moving. After a minute, Seulgi cupped Irene's face.
