Worthless

Chapter 9

TRIGGER WARNING: YOU CAN EXPECT THE TOPIC OF ASSAULT, DATE RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER.

Well paint me every damn shade of surprised. Yong Sun said internally. She expected that there was a great rift between the two to cause them to grow apart, but damn, she didn't expect it to be this worse.

"It was during high school. You know, we were bestfriends. We grew up together, when we were kids, we would sleep together in my treehouse and go to swimming pools together. We did everything together." Byul looked exasperated. "I trusted him with my life since we were almost family. One time, I told him that I liked this boy in my class, and that I was going to confess to him. The next day, the boy didn't come to class because he was apparently in an accident. Maybe after recovering, he transferred schools and I never saw him again." Byul rolled her eyes.

Yong Sun was listening intently to Byul. "I was devastated when the boy I liked transferred. So, I invited Eric to my treehouse, to hang out like we always do, this time with alcohol." Byul looked at Yong Sun's eyes cautiously. "We were also drinking together, so it wasn't a new experience to me, but apparently for Eric it was an opportunity." Byul sighed and clasped her hands together in anxiety.

"He must've put something in my drink while I got us snacks inside the house, because when I drank half of the soju shot, the world suddenly spun around me. This was weird because I was quite a good drinker." Byul's eyebrows furrowed. "It was a good thing that I didn't finish the shot because while I was recovering from the dizziness, Eric had his arms wrapped around me tightly and he was trying to do pervasive things to me. So, in my last bits of consciousness, I kicked him down the treehouse and screamed for help."

"The asshole scurried away even before my dad had time to go outside. I immediately told my father what had transpired. He was mad at me because I trusted the boy so much, but he was even mad at himself because he thought Eric was a good guy as well. Eric on the other hand only probably had balls to take advantage of weak women but can't face the consequences of his actions. Ever since that day, I never saw him again. He transferred schools, they moved away. I don't know if his parents ever knew of what happened." Byul finished the story.

Yong Sun seemed to have gone numb after she heard what Byul had to go through the hands of the same perpetrator. She can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been for her to go through the experience and from someone she had loved and trusted for a huge part of her life. Someone who she trusted to protect and care for her at times of distress.

Yong Sun had the urge to just hug Byul tightly, and she acted on the impulse. She felt Byul fall weak a bit at the hug but she had her arms wrapped around Yong Sun's waist. Yong Sun can't put her empathy to words, so she thought she can just convey the feeling through the hug.

"I guess it must have been a turning point for me, unnie." Byul said in between the hug.

"Of what? You liking girls?" Yong Sun asked.

Byul shook her head while snuggling her neck. "Liking girls doesn't have anything to do with that, unnie. That's unfair." Byul informed her. "Me being wary of people. I became distant with other people. I never trusted any of my friends since then, not even my girl friends. I became cautious of who I talk to and who I initiate skinship with."