mercury

18;

She stared at herself in the mirror, fearful of the creature that looked back at her.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat as she lifted a hand to touch the glass. It cracked under her fingertips, and she winced as a shard broke through her skin and forced a teardrop of blood to run down her hand. Staring at her broken reflection, she pulled back her arm while the blood traveled down from where she had touched the glass.

She watched with wide eyes as a figure moved into the mirror's reflection, and before she could turn around to face him, fingers wrapped around her neck and forced her against the broken mirror, the shards digging into her face.

She could tell he was speaking to her, but her head felt like it was underwater as his sentences blurred into an uncomprehensive mess. The glass continued to press deeper into her face, and the blood mixed with her tears as they fell down her face.

Then he turned her around.

Eyes wide, her breath caught in her voice as he strengthened his hold on her neck, and she tearfully looked up at him, silently begging him to end her pain. His cruel smile haunted her, ingraining itself into the back of her mind as her vison began to fade.

Raising a hesitant hand out to him, she weakly gripped onto the arm gripping her neck, unresponsive to the sparks that moved through her arm at the contact. Her eyes struggled to make its way back up to her perpetrator's face, and she let out one last shaky breath.

"Jimin."

➳➳➳

She shot up, the covers falling off as she fought to catch her breath. Her forehead was slicked with sweat and she had to take a moment to stop her shaking.

Glancing around, she recognized the bedroom she had been taken to last night, abandoned by the man she knew to be her soulmate.

Jimin. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she tried to wrap her mind around the mystery the man was. She remembered what Irene had told her, but her mind couldn't help grazing over the memory of his talk with the other man who kept her captive. How could someone shut off emotions so easily?

Shaking her head clear of the thoughts, she pushed herself out of bed and made her way over to the bathroom connected to the bedroom. Her hand hovered over the doorknob as she recalled her nightmare of the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and forced her legs to carry her inside.

Carefully avoiding her reflection in the large spread mirror, she reached the sink and splashed cool water on her face, wiping away the sweat that came from her intense dream. She feared to look up and see the hollowed out cheeks and dark under-eye circles. She swiftly moved around the bathroom, quickly getting herself ready to look presentable.

After finishing up in the bathroom, she exited and pulled out a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants that Irene had brought her last night. She was eager to cover up her beaten, bruised body from any prying eyes. After seeing them in the shower last night, she absolutely resented them and vowed to stay covered until the bruises faded and the scars became unnoticeable.

She had just finished pulling the sweatshirt over her head when there was knock on the main entrance. She turned her head and watched Irene slip into the room, a warm smile on her face.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. How'd you sleep?" Irene asked as she settled herself on Seulgi's unmade bed.

Seulgi shrugged in reply, combing her fingers through her hair to get the tangles out.

"Did Jimin come in after I left last night?"

She shook her head and glanced out the window, not wanting Irene to see the resentful look on her face. She was still confused and frustrated with this man, Jimin, who was supposed to her soulmate, yet treated her as if she was anything but.