Hate You With Love || MAFIA AU

Chapter 16:: Remember?

Author's POV: 

You anxiously opened the door with a trembling heart. You hit your feet with your hammer, again— as always.

A sense of relief rushed in your body seeing Jo standing there. His bald head was shining more than usual.
"Hey, good in there?" He asked. You just nodded. He peeked inside, looking over at Azure, waving at her who meowed back.
"She's okay too, right?"
"Yeah.." 

It felt awkward. He sensed it. 
"Hey.. um, last night was good! Everyone is still complimenting a new couple's dance. They thought it was nice."
"New couple?" You asked, confused. He nodded and said, "Y-Yeah! Like- you and... sir?" 

Silence. You just stared at him blankly before saying, "Fake new couple." He gulped and looked here and there. He was dumb, you knew it. But he seemed to be here to do something mature like— taking care of you or maybe Azure... but the logical thing to believe would be you, at the moment.
"We didn't mind about last night... it's alright, don't worry." You didn't reply, just nodded.
"Those aren't as sad as they sound... I'm not that sentimental. You know, drunk talks?" You laughed it off as he smiled awkwardly. You nodded and looked behind him, not quite sure why you were looking forward to something else... or maybe someone else.

"Mr Kim is not here. He went somewhere in Chicago in the morning."
"Who is asking for him?"
"I thought you were looking for him."
"I'm not..? I hate him. Why would I even-" You scoffed, rolling your eyes. Your head was already in a bad state and this eye roll pained there even more.
"Oh then, never mind. He'll come back tomorrow morning, just so you know. You can rest in your room today."
"Alright... I guess." You said and nodded, looking down. 

"Don't worry. We're not as bad as you think. Maybe... we can't be friends considering the mess we all are in but... you can, you know, maybe not hate us? You don't need to like us... but it'd be better than hating us. It's just for you since you'll have to stick around for 2 months and 15 days now." He said. You nodded as he left. 

Immediately closing the door, you heaved out a deep sigh.
"What was that?!" You heard Azure meow as if in 'Bullshit'. 

You sat down on the sofa, looking at Azure. 
"Hey... he's weird." You said. She meowed and played with her paws. He came to your room and said some weird stuff, then asked you not to hate them for your comfort and left? Honestly, he wasn't even mean or anything, he sounded considerate. 
You weren't displeased or hateful about the interaction just now. As much as you disliked these people, at least he knew when to be nice. 

You looked at Azure and mumbled, "Did you also hear my sob story?" You saw her nod and looked down saying, "I don't like that pity... I don't. Not when they're a big cause of my miserable state. Kidnapping is no joke... how can that be normalized? It's a living crime, man. Even though I'm living well, I'm kidnapped. I hate it here, honestly." You sighed. 
She meowed for a while which seemed like advice. It gave you a vibe that she was saying, 'Jo is right. You are kidnapped but you can act like you're not, at least until you get to leave. They aren't torturing you in any way, just making you do some annoying work. Maybe, a little adjustment and you can feel better. I'm here for you, you know? My owners aren't that bad.' 

You smiled a little and patted her head as she continued checking her paws.
"You're really... mature. I don't know why I hear you speak at times, maybe I'm that lonely." You chuckled and looked down. She meowed and put her paws on your hand as you chuckled, playing with her. 

You were lonely here, so lonely. And it was partially because you always hated everyone around you. Maybe, if you tried not to hate them so much or at least pretended to not hate them, it'd be better? Who knew? If you continue feeling this lonely, at some point, you'd break. Just 12 days of loneliness made you dump your grief drunkenly on people you didn't even trust. And right now, you were there, playing with Azure. She made you happier, she felt like a friend. But you didn't always understand her nor did she always understand you. And you needed a human, a real human beside you. Someone who'd understand.