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Nair sat on the toilet seat breathing in and out, deeply and slowly. She was trying to do everything in her power to remain calm and grounded.
Her foster parents couldn't afford therapy so all she had were some sessions with the health nurse whenever her panic attacks prevented her from attending lessons.
Slow, deep breaths until her heartbeat feels steady.
Once her vision wasn't shaking anymore, Nair stood up and washed her hands with cold water to try and gather herself. She knew splashing her face would be better but, if she ruined her makeup, Hoseok would hate her for it.
She was exhausted.
As soon as Nair walked out of the toilet she felt the air be knocked out of her chest and she couldn't gather any.
Her throat was being squeezed. Her instinct was to try and dig her nails into the hands on her neck but that only made the grip tighter.
She could not breathe.
"You fucking slut," Hoseok whispered as tears filled Nair's vision. "I just told you last we- you fucking ret-"
She started to see dots fill her vision as Hoseok's anger grew. She thought she deserved this. If she was to die, it would only be right for Hoseok to kill her.
No one loved her more than he did, in her mind.
But something in her mind, in the very back of her mind, told her that this wasn't love.
"Hoseok, what the fuck are you doing?"
Like a deer caught in headlights, Hoseok let go causing Nair to cough violently. She crouched touching her throat and slightly thanking whomever was watching her that she- she made it.
There were many times when Nair was afraid of Hoseok but, this time, it was different. Nair truly felt like Hoseok was going to kill her.
She was terrified of him.
Jaehyun's eyes moved from Hoseok to the girl coughing and shaking. He had walked into Hoseok choking her in the middle of the hallway.
For someone like Jaehyun who had seen a lot, in his professional opinion, it wouldn't be too long before he killed her.
To do such a thing in such an open space, he was too far gone.
Jaehyun wasn't shocked often but right now, he was taken aback.
"We were just talking," he joked to a stone faced Jaehyun, "I like her perfume as well."
"Jitae is asking for you."
Clearly a lie.
But he wasn't trying to disguise that he wanted the man to leave.
"Ah, I'm just waiting for Na-"
"Didn't you hear me? Jitae is asking for you."
His tone was calm but it dared Hoseok to defy him.
Hoseok gave the girl one last look before walking past Jaehyun. He didn't look back once to even fake that he cared about the girl's wellbeing.
Jaehyun crouched next to a trembling Nair as she regained her breath. His hand rubbing her back up and down as he tried calmly coaching the girl.
"I need to get back to Hoseok," she sniffled quietly trying to gather herself. She stood to her full height but Jaehyun held her arm preventing her from going.
"He's going to kill you eventually."
The statement delivered with neither a tone of concern or indifference but rather a tone of fact.
"His parents are rich," Jaehyun continued, "so nothing will happen to him as long as you die here. Go back to your pare-"
"I-I don't have anyone else," Nair muttered wiping her eyes. "I only have H-Hoseok. I have no one to go back to."
It wasn't like Jaehyun to concern himself with a random woman just because she was pretty. Jaehyun had seen his fair share of pretty women and they were definitely less complicated and complex than this.
It wasn't like him at all.
But the sight of her trembling and scared... he couldn't ignore her.
"You're better off going back to nothing than staying with him."
"I just made him angry this time by talking to you," she tried reasoning. Jaehyun looked at the girl talk a mile an hour trying to rationalise everything.
Two things were clear to Jaehyun: one, clearly Nair was struggling mentally and two, Hoseok had fucked her up worse.
"So because you talked to me, it's okay for him to hit you," Jaehyun interrupted the rambling gently angling the girl's head so she'd look at him. "That's not okay sweetheart. You know deep down, it isn't okay."
Nair stopped for a moment feeling her eyes water again. Maybe it was the gentle tone or the way he gently wiped her face but she was just so exhausted.
She was tired.
"He loves me," she mumbled shaking her head. "He's only doing this because I'm doing wrong things. He corrects me because he loves me."
"So he's done it befor-"
"Because he just- I'm wrong and he just- I-"
"If it's love, why are you so scared?"
Nair was just exhausted. And scared. Absolutely terrified.
"If I told you to walk away from him right now would you listen to me?"
Nair bit her lip too scared to talk. She was scared that her heart and head were not aligned for the first time and she'd end up saying the wrong thing. So she opted for shaking her heard.
"Listen to me, whether on accident or on purpose he's going to go too far again. In that moment, I want you to call me. I'll help you."
Nair didn't really know what it meant but in that moment it felt like she had been having an out of body experience for a while. She didn't even feel herself handing her phone to the man.
