𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲 || 𝐤𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠.

21

"no, eomma!" dahee jolts awake, shocking the two boys who were sitting beside her bed, both initially on their phones which they immediately placed aside. the girl sits up with the help of her boyfriend, breathing heavily as she tries to calm herself down.

seonghwa uncaps a bottle of water and offers it to dahee, who gratefully takes it, drinking a little before passing the bottle back to the older. "are you okay?" hongjoong questions, a worried look evident on his face. dahee slowly nods, though she herself seemed unsure. "are you really?"

"i'm fine, guys. just had a bad dream, that's all." she reassures them. "what was it about?" hongjoong asks mindlessly. seonghwa glares at his best friend, reaching over to the other side of dahee's hospital bed to smack him on the arm. "what?!" the younger exclaims, rubbing his arm that seonghwa had smacked a little too hard.

the younger then gasped in realisation, remembering that literally just a minute ago, the girl screamed for her mother in her sleep, which obviously meant that her dream was about that. he then scratches his head sheepishly, resting a hand on top of dahee's. "you— you don't have to answer that."

dahee chuckles at this, grateful that the two are understanding. but it's been years since the incident and having enrolled to a completely different high school from where most of her middle school friends did, she had no one that knew about the accident. the car accident itself was big news in the city but moving to her current high school, people didn't recognise her as the girl who survived a car crash with her mother passing away tragically. it was time to let the two important people in her life know about her past. after all, they were the ones who risked themselves to save her.

"it's fine. you guys....deserve to know this, after everything i've kept from you."

-

"wait so, that huge car accident that happened years ago... it was you?" seonghwa asks in disbelief. dahee smiles sadly, nodding as she bit her lip to prevent the tears from falling. they ended up falling anyways since she had gotten emotional as she relived those memories once again.

"that's why my dad has been blaming me ever since. because if i hadn't asked her to drive me to the library that day, none of that would've happened. he was never physical until after my sister had to move away for a high paying job. he had been fired from his workplace and she became our sole breadwinner."

"dahee, i'm so sorry." seonghwa pulls her in for a hug, softly stroking her hair as hongjoong sits silently, trying to gather his words. she had been through so much more than he did but he just assumed she lived a perfect life. he couldn't see past her flawless public facade that masked pain and grief. to say that he was regretful was an understatement. he watched as the girl sobbed into his best friend's chest, his heart breaking at the sight.

he didn't deserve to be her boyfriend. he didn't, when all he did was assume the worst of her. he didn't, when his own best friend noticed something was wrong about her, yet he didn't. he didn't, when she had been nothing but his pillar of strength, yet he couldn't even be that for her.

"as time passed, i started believing him. if i never did ask her to do that, she'd probably still be here. we— we would probably still be the perfect family we once were. because of me, we lost her. because of me, my dad lost his mind. because of me, my sister had to move away from home just to support us. my dad was right, hwa. it was my fault." she sobs out and seonghwa continues to softly stroke her hair while she stays in his embrace.

seonghwa glances up to his best friend, worried the younger wouldn't like this but the small smile and faint shake of his head tells him that it's fine so he continues to comfort her. he then holds her by her shoulders to make her look up at him. "dahee, it was never your fault. please don't blame yourself. it was unreasonable for him to blame you for it, please don't let his words get to you. you have us, now. take all the time you need to heal. both literally and figuratively." he winks at the last sentence, trying to lighten up the mood, which thankfully he did because dahee giggled.

he then sees hongjoong still silently sitting in his seat before standing up, making the two look at him in confusion. "i'm going to get us some snacks. i'll be back." he abruptly turns to leave, after sneakily glancing over at his best friend with a 'you-better-fix-this' look on his face.

dahee mumbles a quiet okay before looking down at her fingers, playing with it as she feels hongjoong's gaze on her. she wasn't mad at him, she could never be, but she was a little hurt by his words days ago. his exact words kept playing in her mind like a broken record. stop bullshitting and acting like you know my pain, because i sure as hell bet you don't with that perfect ass life of yours.

she snaps out of it when the boy reaches for her hand, prompting her to stop fiddling with her blanket. "dahee, will you look at me, please?" she slowly looks up at him, still not talking.

"baby, i.." he stops, not knowing how to put his thoughts into words. the guilt was eating him alive at this point as he looks into her teary eyes, unblinking. "i'm... so sorry for everything. for never seeing past your pained eyes, for judging you by what you chose to show us." he pauses again, taking a deep breath before grabbing her other hand so that he's now holding both her hands.

"i'm so sorry for being stupid. for thinking that i'm the only one that was in pain, when you were falling apart right in front of me. i'm sorry for being the worst boyfriend ever—"

"you are not the worst boyfriend, joong." she cuts him off before he shushes her. "i'm so sorry for not having helped earlier. i'm so sorry i couldn't protect you. i'm sorry i couldn't stop these bruises from painting your beautiful, beautiful skin. and i'm so sorry for the hurtful words the other day. how could i have said that without even knowing your situation at all? i'm so sorry for not considering that you, too, could have been in pain. i– i only thought of myself. i was selfish. and i'm so, so sorry for everything. i– i don't deserve you at all." he looks down in shame, loosening his grip on her hands. but she didn't let his hands drop down, instead holding onto it tighter.

he looks back up to see her smiling at him. "don't say that, joong. you didn't know anything at all—"

"that's the thing! if i had been a good boyfriend, i would've noticed! even hwa noticed! how could i have not?" he exclaims, frustrated and disappointed in himself. "listen to me, joong." she places both her hands on his face, making him look her in the eyes. "you're not, okay? i chose not to tell you, or show any signs. you had your own problems, of course you couldn't have noticed. yes, i was hurt by your words but you didn't know anything so i don't blame you. not at all, joong." she caresses his face, smiling softly at him.

joong places his hand over hers that was on his face, sighing. "can you forgive me, baby? for my hurtful words and for, well, everything i guess." dahee chuckles lightly. "of course, joong. how could i not?"

"you don't have to worry about anything anymore, princess. hwa and i will always be here for you," he pulls her into a loving embrace. "i'm always gonna be here for you, love."