Recovery

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Regretful Goodbye

Y/n fiddled with his pencil while he blindly listened to his professor's lecturing. The empty seat next to him kept him from paying attention, for it was another sign of many that something was wrong.

Today too?

He stared at his phone, swiping down inside his chat with Gaeul. No matter how many times he swiped, the incoming message he looked for never appeared. He read over the string of messages he sent her over the days.

Can she at least let me know she's okay...?

As the day went by, Y/n kept an eye out for his second maid. A slight air of awkwardness divided Y/n and Chaewon, putting more emphasis on his missing friend. The pair watched Daeun and Kwangsun approach their lunch table. The former limped while the latter watched with a sense of guilt.

"What happened to her?" Chaewon asked.

"She hurt her ankle," Kwangsun frowned. "While we were walking down the stairs, I accidentally pushed her with my knee. Luckily we weren't that far from the bottom, but she still fell."

Chaewon gasped, "Are you okay?"

Daeun gave a dull nod. She appeared exhausted, but still fidgeted with her injured leg. In the midst of Y/n's episode of zoning out, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Without hesitating, he spun around. The excitement on his face drained as he set his eyes on Minjeong.

"Ouch."

"Sorry." Y/n rubbed his forehead, "Gaeul's been missing for a few days, and none of us know where she went."

"Gaeul...?" Minjeong trailed. "I just saw her not long ago. She was heading to her dorm."

Y/n's eyes widened, "Where?!"

Minjeong pulled up the school map on her phone, "Here. She looked really troubled. Did you do something?"

Y/n engrained the path in his mind before taking off. He sprinted as far as he could before reducing himself to a jog. At the building's entrance, he spotted a familiar figure walking through the doors.

Inside, Y/n found the maid through the closing elevator doors. Their eyes connected, causing the latter's to widen. He charged up the stairs, bursting through the door as Gaeul exited the elevator. Both parties rushed down the hall—Y/n winded, and Gaeul at a comically slow pace.

Gaeul fumbled her key into her door, scrambling in before closing the door. But, before she could close it completely, Y/n stuck his hand between the door and its frame. A shooting pain pulsed from his fingers, but a sense of relief hit him as the student gasped and opened her door.

"What are you doing here?!" Gaeul questioned.

"You've been ignoring us..." Y/n huffed. "Why?"

She turned her head. Distress plagued her face, causing Y/n to step inside her dorm. He closed the door before quickly pulling her into a hug.

"You can tell me what happened. I'm always here for you."

Gaeul struggled free, pushing Y/n away. As he stumbled away, an anxious bud sprouted in Y/n's stomach.

What? Did I do something wrong? Was it while I was drunk...?!

"I can't say, nor do I want to. So please leave."

Her cold tone struck Y/n like a gong, reverberating off the walls of his worries.

"Did something happen while you were out?" Y/n stepped forward, "It's just the two of us here. You can tell me. I'll do anything I can-"

"I said leave!!" Gaeul interrupted. Her voice cracked, and her hands balled into fists. Despite the signs, she didn't appear angry. "Before I call the cops..."

Y/n pulled his maid into another hug, this time making sure she wouldn't break free. He endured her pushes and kicks, tightening his embrace until she stopped.

"As your master, tell me what happened. That's an order."

Gaeul's shoulders dropped. She leaned against Y/n's chest with a heavy sigh. "I don't want to say."

"I won't leave until you do," Y/n replied.

A long pause strung between the two. Y/n waited and waited for what felt like forever, while it only felt like seconds to Gaeul.

"I raped you."

"What-?"

"I said I raped you!!" she interrupted, pulling her head from his hoodie. "I can't stand what I did, so I'm distancing myself from you—forever."

The maid's voice continued to crack until she broke down. She sobbed into Y/n's arms, flinching as he wrapped his hand behind her head.

"You don't have to," Y/n breathed. He couldn't deny that he felt a little uneasy by the confession, but by no means did he want to lose her.

Gaeul's wails grew louder the more Y/n comforted her. Despite that, Y/n scrounged for ways to cheer her up. He swayed them in their spot, caressed the back of her head, and patted her back.

"Hey," Y/n paused. "To be honest, that's kind of hot."

Gaeul's breath hitched. She chuckled softly as she beat at Y/n's chest.

"You're an idiot."

"And this idiot doesn't want you to leave," Y/n chortled. "Who cares if you stole, literally, my virginity? You're important here."

"I didn't," Gaeul mumbled into Y/n's hoodie. "I just gave you head."

"What the hell?!" Y/n furrowed his eyebrows, "Then why all the fuss?"

Gaeul sighed. She stepped away, connecting her guilty gaze with Y/n's. "Because I'm not happy with myself. I want to start anew—move colleges, so I can become a better person."

"You don't have to-"

"I want to." Gaeul clenched her shirt, "It's the only way it'll feel real."

She scoffed to her self, shaking her head, "It sucks 'cause I liked this job."

Y/n scanned Gaeul's dorm. The dull prison-like conditions, small space, and slight must in the room clicked her situation in his head.

"How about we compromise? You can leave, but I'll get you a job working for my dad or something. Then, you can have your source of income and have a proper new life."

Gaeul waved her hands frantically, "I can't accept that-"

"It'll be a simple job sorting spreadsheets or something. That's all," Y/n continued. "It'll be my thank you, as well as my parting gift to you."

He placed his hand on her shoulder with a wide grin, "I won't let you leave this job until you accept."

Gaeul let off a heavy sigh. She nodded before shooing Y/n away. "Okay. Now let me be alone."

Y/n turned away, reaching out for the doorknob. "There'll be a going-away party at my house this weekend. I expect you to be there."

"Are you stupid?!" Chaewon scolded. "Why the hell would you stick your fingers between a door frame??"

She pressed an ice pack against Y/n's fingers, causing her master to hiss. He squirmed on his couch, pulling away, prompting Chaewon to press harder. With her free hand, she flicked his forehead repeatedly.

"I think what you did there was really cool," Minjeong remarked.

Chaewon turned to the younger student, furrowing her eyebrows, "Who let you in here?"

"I did," she smiled.

Minjeong sat herself on one of the single arm chairs, "Giving her such an easy job and paying for the costs of moving... You're so magnanimous."

"Thanks..." Y/n groaned through his radish torture.

"Does that mean there's an open spot now...?" she fished. "Could I have it?"

Y/n pulled his hand away, causing Chaewon to pin him to the couch. She straddled atop his ribs, grasping the injured hand with one hand and pressing the ice pack against its fingers with her other hand.

"Sure..." Y/n grimaced.