Real Bruises - Lee Taemin

The girl who plays with fire.

I have too many broken bones to count, so many scars I look like a war scene and the motivation to cause the most trouble in the world. 

Since I was young I was always sent home from school for playing too rough or sent to the nurse for another bloody nose. It was the same way when I got to high school, fights and climbing the buildings. I was expelled once and then I graduated from the seconding school I went to; barely.

At 16 my mother stopped calling the cops after I went missing for a few days, she knew I'd come home eventually with more bruises and scars from the night before's adventure. When I turned 22 my mother and I celebrated my birthday in the emergency room as I had broken my leg for the second time.

It healed and life continued as planned until my deadbeat father began to send me letters and come around the house for me. That's when I began to never come home, and spend time in saunas. 

It was another day and roof hopping was my adrenaline sport, made my veins tingle like pop rocks. Taller buildings or heights never intimidated me, but that day I began to climb a very known building, SM Ent.

I started to climb the building next door, unlike SM it wasn't mostly glass and had grip-able surface. I always wore a pair of climbing gloves and some worn out combats. I pulled myself up, trying to avoid a few windows, finally getting on the top of the building. I took a breather and pulled out a small water bottle, I gulped down the entire thing and slid it back into my vest inside pocket. 

I looked down at the lower roof on the SM building and tried to calculate how to land, and within a few seconds, I tumbled towards the roof. The air flew passed me, and I felt my hands hit the surface and I rolled further onto the roof. Before I could look up I heard a gasp and I looked up, there was a boy standing with a phone to his ear.

I made eye contact with the shorter boy with blonde dyed hair as he hung up on his friend. I stood up and brushed off some dirt and smiled at him, I was shocked when a not so boyish voice spoke out.

"That was cool!" The boy in front of me was actually a girl, as she began to bombard me with questions. "Can you do that again?!"

"Uhm, no?" I didn't know how to answer.

"I guess that hurt a little, oh! You're bleeding, come with me!"

Before I could even stop the girl she pulled me by the arm into the very building I was climbing and into a bathroom. She ran out again allowing me to take a breath. I listened to a conversation outside of the bathroom.

"Amber are you okay, why do you have bandages?"  A man's voice asked.

"On of my friends tripped outside, and I am going to help!" I tilted my head at her friend accusation.

"Is she alright?"

"Yeah Henry, relax." 

I watched her enter the bathroom with the bandages and I couldn't help but smile as she wiped my blood up. It reminded me of the time my mother used to clean my wounds. She pulled up my pant leg to check the rest of my leg for injuries and she seemed to be surprised to see all the bruises on my leg.

"Yah, are you a stunt woman, you have more bruises than the whole group Girl's Generation!"

"I just like to jump." I mumbled as she placed a cold pack on my shoulder.

"Then jump rope, not buildings."

I giggled at her mom voice as she flicked my forehead. I was already comfortable with her. 

"Your name is Amber?" I asked.

"Yeah! I guess you heard me and Henry."

"You have such English names, are you foreign?"

"What about you, are you foreign?" She pointed her finger at me, it almost touching my nose.

"You could say that. I'm Korean and American." I shrugged getting up, heading to leave her in the washroom. "The name is Eunrika, Rika is best."

I exited the door and jogged back onto the lower roof, not noticing a new person had inhibited it. I climbed up on the edge and peeked down, I would be able to grab onto a ledge a few feet down. As I readied myself to leap a hand caught my shirt and it pulled me a little.

"Don't Jump!" I sighed and turned around, pulling myself away from the grasp.

I was caught off guard, the man in front of was handsome. His hair was a light brown and longish, and his face had a frightened look on it.  I pulled up my hand giving him a thumbs up, I took a step back and felt the ledge on my legs.

"You're cute. Let's see each other again." I turned around quickly and leaped down from the ledge.