Corrosion || BTS Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) ✓

Corrosion Episode 16

Karen's eyes fluttered open. "Karen, are you okay?" J-Hope asked, holding her hands in his. Karen, feeling dizzy, pulled her hands from his, and placed them on her head. She could tell she was in her room, but the light seemed so bright. Her head hurt, as she laid her head back down on the pillow, covering her eyes with her hands, so the light wouldn't be as bright. "Ah, that's right. I'm sorry I got mad," J-Hope apologized, thinking she was still mad at him, even though she was more confused than angry, at the moment. "Karen, please forgive me," He pleaded. Karen, half listening, half drifting back to sleep, was silent.

J-Hope, not getting any response from her, pursed his lips together. His hand reached up to her neck. His forehead creased with pain, as his fingertips traced the red, purplish marks around her neck. "Please don't be mad at me, I'm sorry," he murmured, but Karen had already fallen asleep. He sighed, kneeling by her bedside, chin on the mattress, "Why am I such a disappointment to everyone?"

After Karen had woken up, she found a glass of water, and warm Italian Wedding soup by her bedside. Finishing her meal, she brought it downstairs to wash the dishes, only to find a quiet and sad J-Hope take her dishes to wash for her. "J-Hope?" Karen called. He stopped washing dishes and turned around to look at her. "I'm very confused. I don't know who to trust, and I feel like I don't know what's going on," she hesitated, "I don't even know if I can trust you," at which J-Hope lowered his eyes.

"I haven't been the most honest with you. However, I never once thought about getting revenge in place of letting those people out of the Underground Society. So please, if you're going to leave me, let's at least finish this job," He pleaded. Karen, still trying to maintain eye contact with his bent head, realized he didn't want to talk anymore, so she let him be. J-Hope's heart felt as if it was squeezing every last drop of blood to the ground as he watched her leave the room. He couldn't bring himself to tell her. Even though she had gone through so much, she'd hate him if she knew what he had done. At the same time, Karen's trust that had been built over the months began to crumble, and her heart starting to turn into an icy iceberg, once again.

Here she stood. She had made it to the championship, but it felt all wrong. She was supposed to play along, while J-Hope did his thing, but he wasn't by her side anymore. As the Gladiators were marched through the hall, Karen looked up into the audience to see J-Hope looking down at her with an expressionless face. "I broke once. I let someone in. That was stupid. It was as if my world couldn't get any worse. I don't understand why people have a yearning for love and affection when everyone is a liar, leeching off of each other. I won't ever listen to that luring feeling in my heart ever again! I'll stay closed off, like before, never to let anyone in again," her mind confirmed as she passed him.

As the opening ceremonies finished, the gladiators sat in the Waiting Room, watching the other fights, and waiting for their own match to be drawn. All these things would have had an effect on Karen, if she wasn't already preoccupied with her constant thoughts, fighting in her brain for leadership. It was around noon when Karen's battle name was drawn up. "The Lazy Warrior versus the Itzy Bitzy Spider!" The announcer shouted. The crowd howled with pleasure. Karen only sighed with displeasure. The arena was basically the old Gladiator arena, with sand and random weapons lying around. "In three, two, one!" The crowd chanted. The doors swung open. Karen broke into a sprint, sweeping up a wooden staff as she went. The Itzy Bitzy Spider was a fat man of five foot five inches tall. He grabbed a sword from the ground, charging at Karen. He stabbed her with his weapon, but she ducked and shoved her stick into his throat. As the man stumbled back, Karen's staff, still in between the man's arms, smacked both of his arms until he let go of the sword. She then twisted around whacking the stick against the man's head, cracking the staff. She felt her old self back again. The deadly anger for everyone who dared enjoy this type of spectacle. She picked up a shield, holding it close to her, as she watched the other man, stand up and grab a spear, charging at her.

As the man stabbed her, she deflected the pierce to her right, then pushed the spear down, so she stood on it. She used the shield and whacked his head again. She was about to follow in with a final punch, but she didn't notice him pick up a spiked flail as he sat up. As she ran up, he swung it at her. It circled her body and lodged in her back. She hissed in pain as he pulled it out, making her do a spin before falling down on to the sand below her. She rolled over again when the flail came at her again. She picked up a nearby dirk along with a fist full of dirt, throwing it in the air for distraction as she ran around to his back.

Since the man could not see, he swung quickly and brutally in front of him, hoping he'd ward Karen off until his vision cleared, but she jumped on his back, kicked his kneecap, bring him to his knees. Shen then pulled him by his hair, so his head was laying back on her thigh. Dropping the dirk she hadn't used, she punched his face twice before letting him fall to the ground, defeated. Even though she was slowly falling back into her old self, she did have to admit, she had become a much better fighter over the past months.

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It's almost finished! Are things beginning to make sense?