the forbidden embrace

20

nicha invited soyeon and the others over. for the past two days, miyeon had been trying to act fine but nicha could see all the pain she was going through. she could feel her twitching and hear her sobs in the middle of the night, and other than comforting her with cuddles and words of encouragement, nicha didn't really know what to do.

even yuqi, who could barely read the room knew that miyeon was still pained by whatever happened. it wasn't too hard to guess, since miyeon had been flinching everytime someone contacted her.

nicha watched as shuhua tried to humor miyeon. in the past, it would be miyeon trying to get shuhua's attention, always trying to show her affection through hugs and kisses, and hoping shuhua would reciprocate. now, when shuhua tried to talk to miyeon, it was as if miyeon would shut her out. nicha knew it wasn't on purpose, miyeon wasn't such a person, but the things she had been through was probably too hard for her to process.

shuhua tried again, timidly trying to give miyeon a hug, but when miyeon noticed shuhua approaching, she unconsciously flinched really hard, and began apologizing profusely.

nicha watched, heartbroken. where did her old happy girlfriend go?

"min..." nicha turned around, spotting the shorter girl behind her, as she tried her best to put on a smile. soyeon shook her head, bringing nicha into a warm hug.

"it must've tough on you min... we're all here for you. tell us if you need anything okay?" nicha nodded against soyeon's hug, grateful for her friends, that was made because of her ball of sunshine.

as usual, even though it was supposed to be a movie night with dinner, and soojin made miyeon's favorite ramen, miyeon barely ate, just taking a few bites of the noodle before saying she was full.

when the girls started watching a movie, miyeon moved from the couch where they usually sat to a lone bean bag at the side, hugging onto yuqi's qiqi.

the five other girls looked at each other, until soojin decided to step up and approach miyeon, telling the other girls to watch the movie so it wouldn't make things awkward.

miyeon flashed a smile at soojin, but soojin immediately recognised it to be a fake one.

"ya, cho miyeon. you pabo. we're good friends already, you don't always have to be strong for us... we know you're in pain, and we're here for you. please stop shutting us out. we're as sad as you are..." slowly, soojin inched closer to miyeon, who's lips were quivering slightly.

"do you want to rest on my shoulder like you used to do? i won't push you away anymore unnie." soojin said sincerely, pushing her shoulder out slightly.

nodding slowly, miyeon gulped as she leant against soojin's shoulder. she initially flinched slightly, but when she smelt the familiar vanilla smell, and felt the warmth of soojin's, she let herself close her eyes and relax in soojin's warmth.

"jisoo? i thought you were jealous of her!" yuqi whisper screamed, after soojin miyeon and soyeon had entered the room getting ready for bed. they had decided to split the rooming tonight as the koreans and the foreigners since nicha needed advice and miyeon needed space.

"yeah, but miyeon needs her... and i'm thinking of the kid from the orphanage too. they make miyeon so happy..." nicha continued, fiddling through her phone for their contacts, as shuhua came slumping on the bed too.

"i'm kinda sad... i used to be her favorite and now she doesn't even look me in the eye..." shuhua whined, as yuqi said something like "you'll be my favorite" and jumping onto her as they play fought each other.

nicha grinned at their silliness, looking down to jisoo's contact, as she inhaled deeply, sending the message.

the next day, the girls left after breakfast, and while miyeon seemed happier, she wasn't back yet. they played a few rounds of mario kart 8, as nicha kept looking at her phone nervously.

time passed quickly and jisoo was set to come in half an hour. the girls had already left since nicha told them that she had everything under control and she herself wanted to help nicha.

miyeon was dozing off on the couch, hugging tightly to the qiqi yuqi left for her, as nicha smiled at the sleepy girl.

just then, her phone rang, as she quickly jumped away from the couch, hoping she didn't wake miyeon. to her surprise, or maybe not, it was cassandra.

"boss, we found jackson's hiding location. and as for your dad, he's apparently happy about it. would you want me to share with you about the details?" nicha gritted her teeth, if she could, she would punch her father through the phone, torture jackson before finishing him off.

"no thanks cassandra. but i do want jackson's location. i will get him myself. and also, i want you to drop everything. i'm resigning. spread the news. but before that, make sure to tell bambam about it."

cassandra let out a gasp, but she didn't question it too much, agreeing as she hung up.

there was only 15 minutes before their arrival, as nicha braced herself for what was about to happen next... she prayed that miyeon would still come back to her, come back to her arms after all this.