Secretly Yours, (Enhypen Jay X Female OC)

Ch. 18: The Long Night

It was chaotic in Sawol's house that night. I knew, because I could hear almost everything as I sat in my room, leaning against the wall beside the balcony doors. Sawol's dad was mad, but I'm sure he was much angrier than Sawol had expected him to be after seeing her grades. He only got even angrier because she tried to run away.

That was when I realized why I hated him.

He wasn't even being reasonable, is what I thought. His daughter just tried to run away... Isn't he gonna ask why? Isn't he gonna ask if she's okay? Isn't he gonna ask how she feels, what she thinks, or why she's suddenly being like this?

I jerked once again when I heard something slam from their house, and I hung my head lower as I started to hear Sawol's cries more clearer.

It wasn't getting better. Not at all. And there was really nothing I could do about it.

That sucked. But I felt much guiltier for ther fact that Sawol was being scolded heavily now because I brought her back home...

"This is my fault... isn't it?"

It lasted until 10:00, hearing all the commotion. Sawol's dad was yelling and getting mad and getting worse the more he spoke, but at one point, everything suddenly fell silent, and my head perked up as I realized that.

"What... just happened?"

I willed myself to actually stand up and look towards Sawol's house, as if I could see anything from outside. But just as I did, I heard another slam, and I jumped before I quickly realized that it came from the room just across mine... Sawol's room, to be exact.

I ran out to my balcony as quickly as I could.

"Sawol!" I whispered harshly, hoping she could somehow hear it despite the fact that her window was closed. I couldn't hear much after calling her name. The wind was blowing, rustling the leaves and a few crickets were chirping somewhere near... and then I heard sobbing. "Sawol... Sawol!" I called again, leaning over the banister only for my hand to slip, making me lose my balance for a moment as I yelped and quickly gripped the edge of the banister again.

And then the sobbing stopped.

"S-Sawol..." I called again, but I let her name hang in the air for a bit, suddenly realizing that she probably wanted to be alone for the moment. "J-Just... Just call my name if you ever need anything, yeah? I'll be staying up 'til midnight to do some assignments so..."

My words trailed off, and I waited for a moment again to see if she wanted to say anything.

The night, however, seemed to have become exceptionally quiet today, which I deemed ironic. Especially considering everything that had happened so far.

I heard Sawol sniffle after a while, and I perked up, expecting to hear her say something. When she didn't, I slowly backed away from the banister, somewhat having my answer.

I left my balcony doors open that night, neither did I barely sleep. I kept my promise and stayed up until midnight... maybe even until it was almost one in the morning, even though I didn't really have any assignments to do...

I just decided to write her a letter while waiting instead. It's what we've always done to make each other feel better, after all.

I hoped it still worked.

.

.

.

"So... where exactly did you come from and why are you only coming back to Daegu now? Isn't it the middle of the school year right now? And it's a Tuesday?" I ask Dohyon as I suddenly realize those things. It was weird, after all, and it is kinda strange that I only noticed now.

Dohyon almost immediately responds with a sassy tone. "Can't you tell when a kid's playing hooky?"

Wait a minute, this kid...

"Wait, so you ran away?!" I ask with wide eyes when it hits me, and then several other questions follow in quick succession. "You went to Seoul? On your own? And your parents don't know?! Hey, isn't that gonna get you in trouble??"

"Hey, what makes you think I don't know that?!" Dohyon sounds rather irritated when he cuts into my questions. At least, that's what it sounded like, but when I look at him, my eyes widen upon seeing his deep frown on a red face.

My face falls, before I look away awkwardly. "Well... I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah, right. My dad's obviously gonna kill me when he finds out I didn't go to school today."

... Huh. How familiar...

"And your mom?" I ask quietly as I turn back to the kid.

He stays silent, but when he speaks, it really is the words I expected to come out of him. "She'll try to protect me... but she's gonna do a horrible job at it all over again."

What a coincidence...

It sounds exactly like Sawol.