He's got the whole world in his hands | Jeongin

Chapter thirteen

A/N: Trigger warning for sexual assault. 

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"Do you think she's going to sleep the entire drive?" 

Minho glanced back at Minsi pressed against the side of the door. Curled into herself, her dark lashes touched the tops of her cheeks. Her chest moved up and down with steady breaths. Quiet snores filtered through her mouth and fell out into the open air. 

"I won't be surprised if she does. The poor girl is exhausted and her mom really knows how to fuck things up." 

"She seems really upset." 

"Wouldn't you be too if you went through what she did and then you were left alone with an unfamiliar man?" 

"Oh." Han's face softened. "I didn't even think about that. I know he's a priest, but part of her must have been worried about it." 

"She's great at pretending things are fine on the outside while she falls apart on the inside. We've known her for a few years now. It's why I want to take her back to our apartment for a few days. It'll be a place where she can just camp out and think about what she wants to do." 

Minho drove through the unfamiliar winding back road and continued following the GPS back to the apartment. He didn't have plans to take Minsi back to their apartment, but when she announced she was left alone with a priest, he couldn't help it. He cared about her far more than he'd ever admit. 

Han and Minho met Minsi the night she was assaulted. They didn't mean to stumble across her unconscious body, half-buried in the snow, but they did. Hickies painted her neck and the black skater skirt was on backwards. They thought it was just a drunk college student and nothing more. 

The two had been out taking a walk. With the end of finals and the lightly drifting snow, it was peaceful after midnight. Since the campus was mostly abandoned, they were sure they wouldn't run into anyone. 

After Minho taunted Han about something, he shoved him. Han shrieked, slipped back in the snow, and stood up determined to get revenge. He shoved Minho back and took off running through the snow. The cold stung his lungs and his nasal cavity. They were just two friends goofing around when he tripped over something head first. 

Minho rushed after him with a look of worry. When Han rolled over, he stopped when he found the unconscious girl. Packed into their winter coats, hats, and gloves, the two began to unbundle parts of themselves to try and warm her up. 

Minho's leather gloves were shoved onto her hands and Han's beanie tucked over her raven hair. Minho took off his coat, the sweater beneath it kept him warm, whereas Han jerked off his scarf and wrapped it around her neck. 

Minho was the one to scoop her up and the pair rushed her back to their dorm room. The mini heater that Minho had purchased came in a clutch that night. Since it was so cold, the dorm's heating system struggled to keep up with negative temperatures. 

"Is she dying?" Han asked Minho once they tucked her into his bed. The comforters from both of their beds had been stacked on top of her. The warmest and fluffiest blankets were wrapped underneath. 

"I hope not. I think she'll be okay, she just seems to be unconscious from alcohol. We'll keep an eye on her and if she gets worse, we'll call for an ambulance." 

When Minsi woke up, her head was pounding and everything hurt. Winter's chill penetrated her skin and tucked itself inside the marrow of her bones. From the inside out, she was freezing cold. It was her shivering and soft whimper that gave away her consciousness to the pair of half-asleep men down below. 

She freaked out at the sight of them. Her limbs flung out, a desperate attempt to scare them away, but they both raised their hands. Soft voices and eyes full of concern tried to reassure her that she was okay, but she didn't feel okay. Trapped in a stranger's bed with hazy memories from hours before, it was the metal bar of a mouse trap pushing on her larynx; a constant struggle to stay breathing regularly. 

The only thing that reassured her was the color of their eyes. The deep and rich brown wasn't like the piercing green she fell victim to the night before. It hit her that she was safe when the men offered her a warm cup of hot chocolate. 

That's when she burst into tears on the spot. The inking realization of what happened began to spread across her heart. It hit every blood vessel and expanded. Every cell of her brain vibrated and the burning sensation of vodka came up the back of her throat. 

It was a miracle that Han caught her face turning green. He grabbed the small trash can from the front of the bed and jerked it to her face. She vomited the vodka from the party. No matter how much she threw up, she couldn't expel the memories of being assaulted. 

The aggressive touching and squeezing of her body. She had been manhandled like a lamb before its slaughter. The bleating pleas that slipped into despondence didn't matter. The crocodile tears of the rabbit didn't sway the fox's hunger. 

Dirty. Defiled. Disgusted. A tainted ache that left her lungs hollow. No amount of oxygen seemed to be enough as the vodka came back up. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't get the words out. Stained with invisible hand prints from one man's lust and selfishness, all she could do was shake. 

Minho and Han's worries only grew. They wanted to comfort her, but they were terrified that they'd do something wrong. They were just two concerned strangers who wanted to help. Han was the first one to speak up after she finished. He asked if she needed a hug. In the room of two strangers, they were like angels, but they didn't show up until afterwards. 

The damage was already done. The innocence was lost and she had been poisoned. Her mother always said everything was part of God's plan. Was it part of his plan for her daughter to become a victim of sexual assault? Another statistic for the textbooks. Another woman used for pleasure and tossed to the side like a piece of trash. 

She didn't respond as she clutched the maroon blanket around her body tighter and burst into tears. The swell of the pounding hangover headache. The quick betrayal of a boy she thought she had a chance with. The acidic taste of stomach acid left over and coated between her teeth. 

When Han finally hugged her from the side, all she could do was collapse on his shoulder and sob at God's betrayal.