𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞

⊱𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒⊰

Nari

I crouched down, leaning against the kitchen island as guilt and the urge to help fill me up. Her sobs had quietened, but I could still hear the occasional sniffle or whimper. Chaesoo said she was on her way but it felt like it had been days since I called her. 

There was a sudden knock at the door and I could hear the sound of the password being inputted into the keypad. Finally, I thought, letting out a soft sigh. I stood up and Chaesoo walked in looking baffled and panicked, she looked around frantically, noticing me standing in the kitchen. 

"What the hell is going on with her?" She whispered, running a hand through her long, cool blonde hair, her dark brown roots starting to peek through.

"I don't know," I mumble. "She was like this when I got home." I uttered. 

Chaesoo nodded, placing her bag on the countertop, and walking over to where Eun-Jae was. I followed after her, still keeping my distance. As Chaesoo crouched down, comforting her I heard Eun-Jae mumble something to Chaesoo in a hoarse and quiet voice, her words slightly incoherent.

"Nari?" Chaesoo called out.

"Yes?" I answered coming up behind her. Looking at Eun-Jae broke my heart: her head was hung low, her curly hair in a messy bun that had begun to unravel. She sat slumped against the glass window that led to the balcony, her head tilted to the side resting on the corner part of the wall. I didn't even have to look at her face to tell that she was exhausted. Her body which she carried gracefully with so much elegance was now shattered, dejected, scared. I wanted to take it all back, the past couple of months, everything. I wanted her to restart without me causing problems in her life.

"Nari!" Chaesoo called out again, throwing off my train of thought. 

"Yeah?" I mumbled.

"Can you go get a first aid kit?" Chaesoo asked, looking back at me a worried look plastered on her face.

I immediately went to get the kit out of the bathroom not even asking why she needed it. When I walked back over to them and gave the kit to Chesoo I quickly realized the problem. Across Eun-Jae's mid and lower thighs were deep red scratch marks. She was so panicked that she scratched at herself; so much to the point that a few were bleeding. God, I felt so horrible. If only I had stayed in, I could have prevented her from going this far.

Chaesoo cleaned Eun-Jae's thighs and she sat there, looking empty, staring blankly at the sheets of paper and magazines in front of her. Her eyes were beyond vacant, almost clouded with confusion and exhaustion. Compared to her large, brown doe eyes that were normally filled with curiosity or frustration, this was scarily different and unfamiliar. It was like something had taken over her, a storm had polluted her mind taking all her thoughts and feelings. This felt nearly a hundred times worse than the situation with the knife. This time, she was completely and utterly empty.

Chaesoo and I managed to usher Eun-Jae into bed and she fell asleep almost instantaneously. I felt so bad for her, she was an absolute mess. Chaesoo stayed in the bedroom to keep an eye on Eun-Jae and I left, walking out into the living room, wondering what could've caused her to act out so badly. I looked around the living room, finally taking in and processing the mess around me. I knew Eun-Jae wouldn't wake up anytime soon so the least I could do was clean up for her.

Ignoring the shooting pain that went up my leg roughly fifteen minutes into cleaning, I quickly realized that the majority of the sheets of paper on the floor were sketches. I picked a couple up noticing that they were all either scribbled out, scrunched up, or ripped to shreds. Was this what caused everything? The stress of work? Or maybe she was feeling overwhelmed? But surely stress couldn't cause this big of a reaction?