Learza

Chapter 7: Prelude

Chaewon stirred from her peaceful slumber when she felt the cold air creeping up her skin. She opened her eyes to see the blinding rays of the sun filtering through her curtains and the vacant space beside her making her feel empty.

Her emotionless gaze landed on her phone. She immediately reached for the device and unlocked it, dialing the pink-haired girl's number to thank her for spending another night with her and even going as far as to sneak past their extremely tight security just to do so. She waited patiently as the ringing kept echoing from the speakers until her call was connected to the voicemail.

She quirked her eyebrows.

It was highly unusual for Minjoo to not answer her call especially when she makes sure to pick up before the fifth ring so the older girl pondered. Perhaps something happened... or maybe Minjoo was just tired, that she's probably catching more sleep in their place... she sighed.

Chaewon decided to send her a message.

[Thank you for spending the night with me again.]

A sweet smile crept across her face as she remembered their kiss before she fell asleep.

Setting her phone down on the crumpled duvet that's covering her, she blankly stared at her painted ceiling. She couldn't deny the negative feeling that was slowly engulfing her being after waking up without Minjoo. The younger girl practically left no trace of her presence in the bedroom except her scent — the lingering smell of vanilla on the pillow she used that wafted towards Chaewon's sensitive nose. It filled her senses. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, giving her a peace of mind as the sound of rain slowly drummed on the balcony's floor further relaxing her nerves. With a calm head, those happy memories she spent were overwritten by the things she's been bothered about for the past few days. Chaewon found herself lost in deep thoughts, ignoring the cold seeping through her skin.

The dark room was suffocating her, the pungent smell of moss and concrete mixed with the smell of iron. It was barely lit by the light showering down through the small holes of the seamed roof but thankfully, her eyes had fully adjusted to the almost pitch black place. It was summer and the heat made everything smell worse than it should. To make it even more terrible, her sense of smell and hearing are dominant. Yet the girl remained standing, unbothered by the extremely disgusting scent of the place which could make people hurl in repulsion. Her small, scrawny hands were soaked in dark crimson liquid as they involuntarily trembled from an unknown emotion... perhaps it was fear. The girl could hear some people groaning in pain in front of her but she paid them no mind as she brought the sharp metallic object close to her face where one of the rays of sunlight were peeking from the outside. Her eyes traced the entirety of the thing she was holding when she caught a glimpse of herself, an expression of horror reflected but before she knew it, the ends of her lips curved upwards as her expression turned into a creepy smile of excitement.

She no longer shook in terror.

Instead...

...she felt euphoric.

"Chaewon?" The redhead gasped for air. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath the entire time, immersed in her daydream.

"Yes, Mom?" She lifted her body to sit up on her bed.

Her door creaked open to reveal a beautiful woman with a bright smile. A part of Chaewon felt sick for a reason the girl doesn't even know. Why would she feel like that towards her precious parent who gave birth to her?

She brushed it off.

"Come join us down, darling. We're going to have breakfast. Mom, cooked for everyone!"