𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 - 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐬

(EIGHTEEN)

"Jiwoo, what happened to you?!"

Hyunjin had walked into the bathroom and found Jiwoo on the floor with the first aid kit, trying to fix herself up a bit. "First of all, stop screaming, it's 5:30 in the morning. Second of all, you never call me Jiwoo, so don't do that. It's weird," Jiwoo slurred.

Hyunjin sat down next to her sister. "You just got home. Try to rest a bit. I've been calling you since you left, but it keeps going straight to voicemail." She cleaned the wounds on Jiwoo's face with an alcohol wipe. Jiwoo bit her lip and hissed in pain, but held as still as possible. "Who did this to you?"

Jiwoo wouldn't meet Hyunjin's gaze.

"Is it the guy who showed up at our house at 2? You told me everything was safe! You—"

"I didn't want you to come outside," Jiwoo finally said, "I knew if you thought there was a problem, you'd try to help, and you'd get hurt. Can't we just drop it? I didn't die, and I beat his ass. Case closed."

Hyunjin hesitated. "Fine, case closed. After I take you to a doctor. I think you need stitches on your hip."

"I'll drive," Jiwoo announced.

"The hell you will." Hyunjin snatched the keys and hopped into the driver's seat, and then they were on their way to see a doctor.

Jiwoo fell asleep with her head on Hyunjin's shoulder in the waiting room.

"Kim Jiwoo?" A nurse looked around as she called the name. Jiwoo and Hyunjin stood up and walked toward the nurse. "Oh no, baby," she muttered, "This can't be good."

Jiwoo sat on the uncomfortable paper-lined chair as the nurse took her vitals.

"So, what brings you in today, honey?" The nurse asked. She seemed sweet, motherly. But she also seemed frightened. After all, Jiwoo did look like a crime scene photo.

Hyunjin was the one who answered. "She got into a fight last night, and I think she might need stitches."

"Let's see where you think she needs stitches, then," the nurse said. Jiwoo pulled up the hem of her skirt to show the gashes on her hip and thigh. She had covered it with a towel and used duct tape to keep it on, hoping the pressure would stop the bleeding. "Oh, babygirl, that looks so painful. And it hasn't stopped bleeding since when?"

"About 3:00," Chuu answered.

"It's..." the nurse checked her watch. "8:30 right now. Sweetheart, you definitely need stitches. Why didn't you go to the emergency room?"

Hyunjin scoffed. "She tried to fix it herself. The duct tape and the towel soaked with blood shows you about how well that went." The nurse nodded solemnly and pressed a button on the wall to call a doctor in.