Make You Mine This Time [Michaeng]

Chapter Eight: Safe Place

Chaeyoung's POV

I shut the garage door and walk back over to my bike that Mina is leaning on, shaking and staring into space.

"Let's go inside." I take her hand and gently pull her inside the house.

"Hey Chaeng, how'd it gooo.." Yoohyeon trails off when she's turns her head around and sees I'm not alone.

Mina's head shoots up at the unexpected voice, making me anxious because of what happened at the cafe earlier.

"Uh hey Yoo, this is Mina. Mina, this is Yoohyeon." I say nervously.

"Nice to meet you, Mina-sshi." Yoohyeon stands up and bows politely with a smile.

"You too." Mina says quietly, bowing slightly with a straight face.

"Well I'm gonna head to bed, goodnight." Yoohyeon makes a quick exit upstairs, probably sensing the tense atmosphere.

I pull Mina to the couch and sit, dropping my head in my hands.

"Okay I'm just gonna ask, is that your new girlfriend or something?" She asks, standing in front of the couch with her arms crossed.

My eyes bulge as I whip my head up to look at her.

"W-what? No. She's a good friend." I splutter.

She sighs and sits on the couch, leaving a good amount of space between us.

"Can I maybe explain the situation?" I speak up after a minute, getting a small nod in response from her.

Half an hour later..

"Wow.." Mina lets out, completely dumbfounded, after I explained the situation with Yoohyeon.

"Yeah." I lean my back against the couch, feeling the exhaustion of the past 48 hours creeping in, I had barely slept last night due to constantly checking to make sure Yoohyeon was okay, and thinking about the girl sitting beside me.

"I'm sorry for just assuming she was your girlfriend." She says guilty.

"It's fine." I give her a small smile.

"Do you want to talk about what's going on with you?" I ask cautiously after watching her get that same far away look in her eyes again.

Tears form in her eyes as soon as the question leaves my mouth. I scoot closer and wrap an arm around her and the tears start streaming down her face.

"I had tried to be the perfect daughter my entire life, tried to make them proud of me.. but it the harder I tried, it seemed like I just disappointed them more. When I got to high school, I figured what was the point in even trying? I decided I was going to live my life for me from then on, do things that make me happy. Then my family just broke.. and I don't think I can fix it. Every night I listen to the screaming and sound of things being thrown and doors slamming, I sit there while my father yells in my face about how worthless and how much of a disappointment I am.. I'm really starting to believe it.. I don't know how much more I can take.." She says in between sobs.

I pull her into my chest and wrap my arms around her tightly, tearing up at the sight of the person I love more than anything being in pain.

I wish I could just take it all away.

Her cries calm down after a few minutes and I unwrap my arms from around her to wipe her tears.

I cup her face in my hands, making her eyes meet mine.

"Listen to me. Don't listen to what your father said. You are not a disappointment, he is. He's the one who's too blind to see how absolutely amazing you are. And you're certainly not worthless. You're intelligent, creative, talented, passionate, hardworking, and so many other great things. You're incredible, Mina. And I'll tell you everyday until you believe it." I say seriously, keeping my eyes locked on hers.