MiSaMo: Operation Kim

Chapter 19

"What happened? Did you start yelling or something?" Momo asked, as they were running to their dorm.

"Yeah, we were having an argument." Chaeyoung could hear Momo cursing under her breath. The latter suddenly hung up, and nobody knew what to do with Mina while they were waiting. Multiple had tried to get close to her, but she was pushing everyone away.

She was sitting, pressed up against the wall, hugging Pengi and sobbing loudly. She was trembling so much and it really made the girls wonder what Mina had been put through in the past.

🌿- Flashback -🌿

An eight year-old Mina was hiding under her dining table. She had brought her knees up to her chest and her tiny hands were clasped over her ears. The little girl flinched every time she heard more glass shattering, or something else being thrown around. She was choking back her sobs in fear of getting caught.

Mina's parents fought each other daily. It was like an addiction. They wouldn't only argue, but they would actually get physical. It was also regular for them to hurt poor Mina as well, and she knew that they wouldn't go easy on her if they found out she was in the same room as the fight.

The young girl's body was still aching from her last beating, and as she tried to divert her attention to anything else, the lingering stench of alcohol and various drugs made it impossible. Mina moved one of her hands to the floor, accidentally digging a stray shard of glass into her palm, and as was natural, she cried out in pain.

Her parents stopped fighting, and turned in her direction.

"Mina? What are you doing down here?" Her mother asked, marching towards her. She grabbed her daughter by the hair and dragged her away from her hiding spot. "And why the fuck are you crying? Stop crying."

"I'm sorr-"

A slap.

"If you were really sorry you'd stop crying!" Her mother shouted, readying her hand to slap her again.

"I'm sorry!" Mina sobbed, but she was unable to hold back her tears. 

Another slap.

That's when her father said the sentence no parent should even think of telling their child.

He spoke the forbidden words no parent should ever utter.

"I'll give you something to cry about, you little shit."

His words were as sharp as the gleaming edge of the glass shard in his hand.

🌿- End of Flashback -🌿

The rest of that night was a blur for Mina. All she could remember were the screams, the warm blood trickling down her face and, of course, that scar. That dreadful scar that haunted her in and out of her nightmares.

There was a tiny part of her trying to calm down, but all her thoughts were muddled. There was endless yelling in her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to overpower it by shouting or crying, it didn't do anything.

"Mitang." A soft voice spoke to her. It was a little ironic that Mina was literally screaming and she couldn't even hear herself, but Momo's softly spoken word was the only thing that made it through.

"Mitang, you need to breathe." Another sweet voice said, just as she felt herself being pulled into a hug. The physical contact startled her, and as more memories flashed through her mind, Mina's first instinct was to fight back.

"NO, NO, NO!" She yelled desperately. She kept kicking and punching the air, but the girls didn't let go. "PLEASE!"

Mina was begging now, but Sana and Momo had seen this before and knew better than to pull away. Mina started to get tired as a wave of exhaustion hit her. Her fists loosened as her punching became aimless flailing. 

Nayeon was witnessing everything unfold from a fair distance, and although she was grateful she wasn't Mina in that situation, it was still scary to watch. She couldn't shake off the feeling that it was all her fault.

After a few failed attempts at punches, Mina buried her face deeply into Momo's chest as Sana whispered soothing words. Mina's gut-wrenching sobs were making everyone want to cry, but they couldn't. They couldn't make it worse.

"I- I'm scared..." Mina stammered. She was taking frantic gasps for air, but she couldn't breathe properly. Her lungs were burning.

"We know, Mitang." Momo answered in a calming voice.

"It's too loud..." Mina felt like yelling again. "It won't stop!"

"We know it's loud, Mitang. We know it's scary..." This time it was Sana who spoke. Really, none of them knew exactly how loud the voices in Mina's mind were. But at the moment, all the terrified girl needed was empathy and comfort. They held their best friend tighter when she let out a scream of frustration.

"You're safe now, I promise." Momo whispered, and she was relieved when - despite her continuous sobbing - Mina nodded.

"Deep breaths Mitang..." Sana soothed, and she felt Mina get more panicked. "I know it's hard, but please try your best. We cannot have you passing out."

Eventually, with the help of Sana and Momo, Mina began to regulate her breathing. They stayed there in silence - aside from Mina's occasional cries - and she slowly stopped shaking as well. The others were staring at Sana and Momo like they'd just performed magic. Obviously, they hadn't understood a word of what they'd said, but it definitely worked.

Mina pulled away from her friends, wiping her tears, before remembering the others were there. She stood up suddenly.

"Don't you fucking tell anyone else that this happened." Mina demanded, before walking to grab her coat. Momo hurried to her side, but Sana didn't follow as she figured that she didn't want to overwhelm Mina.

"Where are you going?" Momo asked, clearly worried. 

"I know I haven't had a panic attack like this in a long time but surely you haven't forgotten that I like going on walks after." Mina explained, her tone a little sarcastic.

"I'm just worried. It's cold and raining outside!" Momo began listing the issues. "And I think a thunderstorm might be brewing!"

"One, I have my coat. Two, I am bringing an umbrella. And three, I like thunder. Bonus points if there's lightning." She could see Momo still wasn't feeling any better about this so she smiled reassuringly. "You've watched too many dramas. I'll be fine."

Momo hugged her one last time before letting her leave.

"Stay safe, Mitang!" Sana rushed over to her, forgetting her mindset about overwhelming her, and gave her a back hug. Mina chuckled.

"I will, Satang. I promise."