dahyun
"so what happened in the forest?" ray asked as he handed me a cup of tea. rose was seated next to me on the bed, she also had a cup of tea in her hands.
"well..we were following the footpath, hoping to find that holiday house that jimin's parents owned. but then we got lost on the way. it was scary since it was getting dark. but we kept going and eventually found it," rose explained, taking a sip from her tea.
she kept going, "then when we found the house, there was nothing but an old dollhouse inside. it was pretty weird. then all of a sudden, there was this huge flash of lightning. it struck right in front of us! i thought we were going to die. then..i just ran out because i got so scared."
ray nodded as he listened carefully. "then what happened?"
rose looked at me briefly before saying, "after i ran away, dahyun came after me. after she did find me, she lost kai on the way."
i blankly stared at the ground. all the frightening memories from last night kept repeating in my head. it all came crashing down on me, everything happened so fast. i didn't know what to do.
ray looked at me, noticing how my hands were trembling. he wore a grimace, looking concerned towards my way. he sighed, "gosh, i'm sorry. i should have come with you guys."
rose shook her head, she said softly, "no, it's not your fault."
i suddenly interjected their conversation, "i have pieces from the dollhouse. maybe we could run it by the police."
ray looked at me and considered it, "yeah, that's a good idea. i'll call them and let them know." he stood up and left the room. rose continued sipping her, thinking to herself quietly. she looked calm and composed about the whole situation.
i, on the other hand, was a different story.
my hands wouldn't stop shaking. i felt an unexplainable fear lodged deep into my stomach, making me feel instantly sick. my vision started becoming hazy, the corners of my eyes were starting to darken.
i lost my grip on the cup. it fell onto the floor, smashing into millions of pieces. the leftover tea spilt everywhere on the floor. rose flinched at the sudden sound, she looked directly at me.
"dahyun? are you okay?" she asked, getting up from her seat. she stepped over the mess and stopped in front of me, looking at my face.
i was a huge mess. you could see sweat forming on my forehead, my body shaking and my eyes widening with fear. rose placed her hands on my shoulders, "dahyun? come on, let's get you outside. maybe you need some air." she helped me up and guided me to the balcony. she slid open the glass doors and helped me outside.
the cold air suddenly rushed past me. i felt my heart relaxing to the breeze, letting out a beat slower while being in smooth tempo. my breaths came out calmer, too, causing a smile to arose on rose's face. "there you go."
our eyes met and i smiled, "thank you."
"girls? i just called the police. they're looking into it now," ray said, standing by the door. he smiled and said, "i know you guys must be pretty stressed right now. so i was thinking, there's a market near the bridge that happens every week. it sells anything you want, food, toys, clothes..it's really fun. i thought..maybe you guys want to join me? a friend might come to join us."
rose looked at me and smiled, she said, "we would love to come. that sounds so much fun. maybe it will make us feel better about the whole kai situation?"
"great! make sure to be ready by seven!"
later that night
"dahyun! we're leaving!" rose yelled from the door while trying to fix her hair. ray fixed his hat, making sure it wasn't slanted. it was seven thirty and we were just leaving. i was still applying my makeup (kindly sponsored by rose) until rose called my name again.
"coming!" i yelled, trying to apply the last bit of mascara. this took me extra long since my hands wouldn't stop shaking. the whole day, i haven't been functioning properly, i was so wobbly and dizzy. hopefully, this market will help calm me down.
when i was done, i followed the other two out the door. we walked together down the quiet streets. there were bright lights seen by the people who crowded around the area.
"wow, this is beautiful!" rose beamed, hurriedly walking towards it. ray smiled and said, "right? you have to try the sweet pork buns, they are sublime!" they walked together to the first stall, excitedly paying for their order. i followed behind slowly, failing to make my feet work faster.
my heart wasn't into it. i was still traumatised about kai. deep inside, i knew it was my fault. he's probably still stranded inside the forest, cold and hungry. i tried to shake the thought away, the police are on it...they'll find kai.
"dahyun! here, we got you one," rose said, walking up to me before handing me a bun. ray called out, "there are dumplings over here!" rose's eyes lit up with joy, she literally ran towards the stall. i cracked a smile, somehow her enthusiasm for food made me feel slightly better.
this market place was popular, it was bustling with every kind of people. everywhere around me, there were people. as i was walking, a sudden weird sensation sprouted in my stomach. it was like someone was following me.
i turned my head, there was no one.
"dahyun, here! we got you some," rose said, walking up to me again but this time, holding a tray of steaming dumplings. i looked at her and smiled, "thanks." she noticed my hesitancy and asked, "you okay?"
"uh," i quickly turned my head around again to check but no one was there. "no, everything's fine," i said fast. rose smiled, "okay, let's go then. there's a lot of stalls here."
i nodded, following behind the other two. they seemed to be having a great time, i smiled, trying to enjoy the moment with them.
"across the bridge, they sell candy floss," ray smiled, walking with rose along the bridge. i was behind, stepping across the bridge.
but then, everything stopped.
i turned my head. there i was... standing on the bridge with water flowing on either side.
water.
'you'll be fine.'
i hissed at the sound. 'not that voice again.'
my hands grabbed onto my head, trying to tell myself, 'stop...stop talking to me.'
'dahyun, it's okay.'
'stop!' i mentally cursed, squeezing my eyes shut. a sudden wave of dizziness rushed over me again and i lost my balance. i moved towards the edge of the bridge, feeling my feet fumble in random directions. i held onto the railings as my head leant over, looking directly down at the rapid flow of the water.
i'm going to fall in again.
'dahyun! stop!' the voice yelled inside me.
my eyes closed as i felt my body being drawn towards the water. just when i was about to fall over the edge, a pair of arms grabbed and hauled my body up.
i slowly opened my eyes as my back was pressed against someone's chest. my heart accelerated quickly, not knowing what or who this was.
"idiot, always falling over and expecting someone to save you," a voice said behind me, causing an uncontrollable chill to travel up my spine.
i know that voice.
i turned my head to look at the figure.
"j-jimin?"
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yayyy, they reunited!
ty for reading! x
alunaticdi
