my friend finished coloring the artwork of Yoonah and Jaemin, so i wanted to showcase the crazy talent she has! :)

thank you BepNugget !!!!

Yoonah had thought that this school couldn't possibly get worse.

She was proven wrong tenfold.

The sound of plates shattering, the screams and the silver glint of that knife pointed towards her taunted her mind like a sick disease; but not more than the sight of Jaemin's bloody smile and tears of the past welling in his eyes.

When the moment was over, the screams subdued and Yoonah could finally breathe, Jaemin was already out the door.

She startles, eyes darting towards Jeno who lay on the table, collarbones dripping with blood. His white shirt is tainted with remnants of the betrayal that just occurred as he stares up at the ceiling. She almost wondered if he was dead because she's never seen him with an expression far from a detached one.

She was still sitting in her seat, where her life was just threatened. His hands reached the end of the table, and he was closer than he's ever been before.

As she stares doe-eyed towards him, his head suddenly twists to meet her gaze. A sharp intake of breath as his bloodied hands grasps her wrist. She stands abruptly, but Jeno's gaze is clouded with disgust and hate that it stops her right in her tracks, frozen like a bunny in front of their demise.

"You," he spits blood from his mouth. "This is all your fault."

A gasp escapes her lips. She quickly snatches her hand away from him and pushes past the horde of people, ignoring Sookie's calls, and escapes the chaos.

━

The hallways were empty when she reached them, mostly because everyone was still crowded in the cafeteria; more than likely jittering with buzz after that spectacle. Vultures, they are.

With her hands still shaking from fear and shock, she turns down each corner, searching for her black fox.

The school is empty, and her heart takes her to one of the few places she's felt at home in this forsaken hell. Her feet pad down the polished tiles, ignoring the subtle cracks from its age until she rounds the corner and pushes past those cherubic doors, and there he stands.

Back facing the entryway (not a smart move, Na Jaemin. You know better), head leaning up as he stares at the mural on the ceiling.

Yoonah remembers it well enough, having been enamored with its symbolism the first time she saw it.

Except, this time, the blood on the black fox's tail seems to have traveled further than just the tip and Yoonah wonders if she's finally lost her sanity in this damned school.

At the sound of the doors closing, Jaemin turns around and the girl winces. His cheeks and the whites of his eyes are bright red, and his mouth is covered in blood. Scratches litter his face, but they don't seem to be the main cause of his pain. Yoonah knows it runs much deeper than physical wounds.

His lips quiver into a small smile as he greets her eyes, fists unclenching at his side before he looks back up again.

"You know," he sighs. "I always fucking hated this painting."

Yoonah slowly ambles closer, as if approaching meek prey; ready to bolt.

"Jaemin..." Yoonah warns.

He looks up, eyes slightly widened as his cracked lips slowly break out into a smile of disbelief. He holds his hands up to his face and shakes his head. "Crazy fucking bastard. I can't believe I did it." Despite the obvious anger and somberness, his voice remains stable. It holds power, resentment, hatred, and yet he never yells. That is the power Na Jaemin holds; the calm before the storm. "I finally did it."

"That's the most I've ever heard you curse." She quirks her lips, always attempting to make the sky brighter than it truly is.

A low chuckle rumbles from his throat, and he winces as his lips crack, seeping in blood. "You think you know a guy." He mumbles, and the girl knows he won't elaborate on the double meaning, so she doesn't bother.

Instead, she finally approaches him and reaches for his arm hesitantly, hand hovering just over his forearm.

"Let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" She hums.

The ash-haired stares at her for a silent moment, eyes darting between her arm and her own eyes, seeming to contemplate the entire world. Which is reasonable, because Yoonah wasn't even involved in the fight (almost was), and even she can't think straight.

Finally, he places his arm in hers and allows her to drag him out of the theater. They duck below windows and doors, rushing through the hallways in order to not run into any prying eyes before making it to her door.

Jaemin suddenly pauses as she digs for her keys. A half smile adorns his lips, but not to be mistaken. The sadness still lingers in his eyes. "Give them to me. I'm not about to watch you struggle for the fifth time."

Yoonah gapes, but opts to just place the keys in his waiting palms rather than argue; anything if it means the boy will smile, especially after the events of today.

He unlocks the door with ease and walks into her room like it was his own place, but seeing as he's only been spending more and more time here, it wasn't too out of character. She flicks on the lights, encompassing them in soft yellow lighting. Her hand gravitates towards the others arm again as she drags him into the bathroom.

"Sit." She pats the counter before crouching to dig through her cabinets.

Jaemin swings himself up and tilts his head. "I'm getting an odd sense of deja vu."

The girl scoffs as she stands, a rather large first aid kid now in her hands. "You don't say."

"Since when did you get one of those?"

Yoonah smiles as she set it on the counter and began digging through its contents, pulling multiple gauzes, creams, and bandaids. "Well, seeing as both of us have a knack for getting beat up, I figured it would be beneficial to have one on the go."

Jaemin rolls his eyes, turning his head away and looking into his own reflection. "I did not get beat up."

The girl furrows her brows and grabs the boys chin gently. He flinches, pulling back. The silence and tension between them was deathly, and Yoonah desperately wanted to ask why Jaemin doesn't trust her yet. Why is she not good enough, even when her main competition has been taken out?

After a second moment, Jaemin sighs and lowers his head. "It's not you."

Yoonah's voice comes out barely as a whisper. "Then?"

His arms come protectively around his waist. "I'm just not comfortable with sudden touch sometimes."

Bottom lip caught between her teeth. "But I see you with Jeno. He—"

"I've known Jeno for a long time. I can trust him."

Her brown eyes narrow in on him, and she can't help the disappointed frown that settles over her lips. "You trust the man who just punched your face in yet you cannot trust me?" She asks, unable to hide the evident hurt in her voice.

Jaemin shakes his head, seeming to not have taken the weight of the girl's words seriously, too caught up in his own thought.

"Jaemin," she calls softly. When he looks up, the sight is sorrowful. Dark eye bags only get worse, deep and sunken, and the scratches and welts don't help. She misses that smile, and she hates the man who took it away. "What does this mean for us?"

"What about us?"

Yoonah shuffles. "I mean," a huff escapes her lips. "Don't you think it's time to lower those barriers of yours?"

A small scoff of disbelief. "And what of yours? Don't think I haven't noticed your deflecting habits."

"You know everything about me. My past, my parents, my friends, and yet I know nothing of you."

"Well, you just witnessed a large part of it."

Yoonah hesitates, mouth still open from the lingering question sitting on her tongue. She knows that the boy is like a fleeting fox, if she takes one wrong step, he will fleet. Yet, she can't find it in herself to resist any longer. She wants to be near him, in his presence, because she feels safe in it. And she would like the feeling to be reciprocated.

But perhaps that's far out of her reach. Perhaps Yoonah is more naïve than she thought.

"Does he always treat you that way?" She asks softly.

Jaemin looks back down, fiddling with his thumbs. He doesn't respond, simply swings his legs and escapes to another world; or, at least that's what it looks like.

The girl's heart nearly breaks at the silence, which is enough of an answer. "Why did you allow that to happen?"

"It doesn't matter. I ended it now, didn't I?"

Yoonah raises a brow. "I don't know. Did you? Or are you going to go back?"

"No." He sucks in a deep breath. "I'm done being his dog."

She nods her head, observing the boy in front of her, and slowly steps forward. She reaches for the bottle of rubbing alcohol and a few cotton pads before hesitating. "May I?"

Jaemin nods once but keeps his head down. His eyes are shadowed heavily as if he weren't here.

Where did you go, little fox?

"I'm going to touch your face now. Is that okay?"

Another silent nod.

Yoonah sighs and slowly tips his chin upwards with two fingers before dabbing the cotton pad against any scratches or welts. They're not deep, and certainly is not Jeno's best work. That's peculiar because the girl has never observed or heard of Yongsan's best student being merciful or weak. Quite the contrary, for he has always been known for his less-than-forgiving attitude and striking precision.

Perhaps ten years of friendship will make you falter, but not enough to change your ways.

A tragedy, really. Yoonah could understand the heartbreak Jaemin must be feeling. The loss of a loved one, whether alive or dead, is no small feat.

Once his wounds are cleaned, she reaches over for a tube of cream and a few bandaids, and reaches over to hold his face carefully once more but retracts quickly when Jaemin flinches again.

He hangs his head even lower as if shameful of his reaction.

She sighs softly, not from irritation, but because she's not quite sure if her heart can take any more of his pain.

"Jaemin—"

"Please," his voice is near a whimper. So horribly soft, terribly childish. "Please don't make me."

Yoonah gapes but slowly nods. Feeling at a loss, she places the ointment and bandages on the counter. "How about you clean yourself? You know how, right?"

He nods, silent once again.

The girl hesitates, taking a few steps away and eyeing the bathroom to assure the other has everything he needs. Taking one last look at the pitiful boy, she slowly backs away to the door and holds onto the frame. "I'll let you be."

She barely heard the faint 'thank you' before closing the door.

━

Yoonah spent the next hour or so lingering around like a stranger to her own world, anxiously waiting for the other to make an appearance. She was finally able to check her phone, though—which was filled with messages.

Sookie: where did u go??
Sookie: are u okay?
Sookie: istg if another man tries to lay a hand on you again i will fite

Yoonah chuckles at her friends chaotic aura, which is forever entertaining and formulates a quick response, assuring the girl that she is, in fact, just fine and that she just needed some space. Honestly, she's a little surprised that Sookie didn't come barging into her dorm earlier, but she blames that on the fact that the girl does have common sense and does believe that she and Jaemin are in a relationship, and definitely didn't want to accidentally walk into something...frisky.

Little does she know, there's nothing even remotely close to scandalous happening in this dorm.

She checks the next notifications on her phone.

cheetah girlies

Hyuckie: I'm so sorry?? I had NO idea that would happen

Chenle: Wow was that a show or what??

Hyuckie: Stfu lele

Yoonah shakes her head, a ghost of a smile adorning her lips until she's reminded once more of the task at hand. Her ears perk at the sound of the faucet running, which turns into the gentle sound of the shower turning on.

She furrows her brows. He doesn't even have an extra pair of clothes.

Subtly, she walks towards the bathroom door and knocks gently.

"Jaemin?"

No answer. She knocks again. Silence.

"Do you want me to bring you an extra pair of clothes from your dorm?"

Nothing.

"...Are you okay?" Her heart begins to pick up pace as she receives no answer once again. She knocks once more, tapping her fingertips against the door anxiously before huffing. "Jaemin? I'm coming in!"

Her hands twist that cold doorknob slowly and peeks in. The entire bathroom is overbearingly hot and humid, and a misty cloud of heat settles over the room. She scrunches her face as she slowly makes her way to the shower.

"Jaemin? Are you okay?" She asks once more. "Please answer me. I really don't want to see you naked and make this awkward." She squeaks as her hand rests over the shower curtain.

Left once again with no answer, she slides open the curtain and gasps. Jaemin rests on his knees in the center of the shower, fully clothed as he stares blankly at the drain, watching the water swirl downwards. The little bit of skin that is exposed is bright red, almost sweltering. His hair is drenched, covering most of his face.

"Jaemin!" Yoonah nearly shrieks and quickly turns off the faucet, halting the smoldering water. Just by being surrounded by the heat, the girl is already feeling out of breath and claustrophobic.

She can only imagine how the other must feel.

She kneels in front of him, hesitating before touching him. He has his arms wrapped around himself tightly and is muttering under his breath. Her eyes roam over his state, accessing him down to the bone before placing her hands over his shoulders and shaking roughly.

"Hey, earth to Jaemin? Anybody in there?"

She shakes harder, cheeks heating up as she sits in this tiny, heated shower with him.

He begins to shake his head. "I couldn't...I couldn't do it."

"Do what, Jaemin?"

"Th-hey ma-ade me..." He clenches his eyes shut, water droplets dripping from his hair as his lips quiver.

Her brows furrow in complete and utter confusion. "What? Who? Jaemin, listen to me!"

She shakes his shoulders once more and finally, he jolts. She quickly retracts her arms and allows him to come out of it. His eyes flutter as he trembles, fingers clenching around his soaked shirt.

Slowly, his eyes meet hers, a shadow of doubt surrounding them.

"Are you okay?" Yoonah whispers.

Jaemin purses his lips. "I-yeah. I'm fine."

"Why are you in the shower?"

"...to wash myself."

"With your clothes on?"

Jaemin looks around cautiously, seeming to take in his surroundings for the first time. He seems surprised that his clothes are on too. Which is odd, because shouldn't he have done that when he first got into the shower?

"I-I felt dirty, and I needed to get clean."

"Yeah..." she stares at him. "That's what washer and dryers are for."

He slowly shakes his head, looking just as confused. "No, I was dirty. But I can't take my clothes off."

"...Do you need help?"

"No," he retracts slightly, but seemed to lack the strength or awareness to fully move his body, so only his head jutted back. "I-I don't know...I just—needed to burn."

"What," Yoonah nearly gasps. She reaches her hands out to hold the other, but at his violent flinch, she recoils with a sigh. "Jaemin, can you please tell me—"

Suddenly, he looks up, and this has to be the most childlike and innocent Yoonah has ever seen the boy. But it isn't cute or charming like she imagined; it's filled with sorrow and regret and quite possibly one of the worst things she's ever seen. She didn't know it was possible for one pair of eyes to hold so much pain.

"Can you please get me new clothes?" He asks, and his voice is so weak.

Whoever this person is, is nothing like the Jaemin she was getting to know. Or at least, she thought. There seems to be many deep layers of the lone fox, and Yoonah isn't sure how far she needs to dig to get to the core. If she can ever find it.

Her eyes soften, fighting back tears of her own. Her throat is constricted and dry as she croaks. "Yeah. Where are your keys?"

"I-I don't remember."

"Okay," murmurs before slowly standing up. "I'll go find them, and I'll get your clothes. Just. Don't—go anywhere, okay?"

"Okay."

Yoonah sucks in a deep breath before turning around quickly and getting out of that damned bathroom as fast as possible. As soon as she reaches her room and feels the cool air rest on her skin, she exhales sharply and closes her eyes for a split second.

What the fuck. That's all she can think. What the fuck was that and why. Why?

She rubs her palms against her eyes roughly until she sees spots before blinking them away rapidly. Spotting the keys on the kitchen counter, she grabs them and hastily steps into the hallway. The sun has finally gone down, and it's well past curfew. Luckily that means no chances of running into other students.

Her feet take the memorized route to Jaemin's dorm and unlocks it successfully, engulfed by the lingering darkness. She's never really had much time to snoop around his dorm, and tonight certainly isn't one of those days, but she can't help but let her eyes linger on some spaces.

His wrinkled bed, the bunny slippers, the large collection of DVD's. She finds herself walking towards it and picking the first disk: Fight Club. She shrugs and tucks it under her arm before searching for his dresser. When she locates it, she pulls out a pair of boxers, sweats, and an oversized long-sleeve that she deems cozy enough before rushing and locking herself out of the dorm.

She wanted to get back to Jaemin as soon as possible. Not quite sure what that was or why it happened, but she certainly didn't want it to happen again. Or ever, preferably.

Yoonah wasn't quite sure what to do with this new side she just witnessed. Was it a common occurrence? A deep secret Jaemin always kept hidden? What did it mean? Is it because of what happened with Jeno?

So many questions circled her mind as she entered her own dorm once more, but would have to be answered later after she attended to the clueless boy still sitting in her shower.

Setting the clothes on her bed, she enters the bathroom and grabs a towel. Approaching the zoned-out boy, she wraps it around him and taps him gently.

"I got your clothes, come on."

He blinks, and ignores her outstretched hands and pushes himself up and walks out of the bathroom.

Yoonah follows awkwardly. "Do you—"

"I can change myself."

Kissing her teeth, albeit a little bit irritatedly, she nods. The girl walks towards her desk and looks the opposite way when the boy changes, hearing his clothes hit the floor and the shift of his new ones against his skin.

At his confirmation, she turns around and takes a seat at his desk.

It's silent, tension so steep it almost seems impossible to get out of.

Brows drawn inward, she questions, "Jaemin, I think we really need to talk—"

He sends her a pleading, heart-rendering look. "I'm tired, Yoonah."

The girl blinks. "Oh, okay."

"I can leave—"

"You can sleep here, if you want," Yoonah interjects hurriedly. She attempts to hide her bright red cheeks by shrugging nonchalantly. "If you don't want to be alone. I'm gonna be doing homework, anyway. So you don't even have to talk to me." When he says nothing, Yoonah continues to ramble. "Just in case you don't want to risk running into classmates on your way to the dorm. Not that you would care...or, unless you did. Which, if you did, you don't have to worry about it. Cause you can stay here."

Dear lord, you are horrible at this.

Jaemin stands still for a second before slowly nodding his head. "...Thanks."

Yoonah raises her chin in an attempt at indifference. "Yeah," she watches as the ash-haired slips into her bed, head sinking into her pink, silk pillows and pulling the blanket that she uses every night up to his chin. She walks over to the light switch and kills it, encompassing them in soft darkness minus her lone lamp on her desk that shines an ambient orange light.

"Goodnight." She calls softly.

If Jaemin answers, she doesn't hear it. Though, that's okay. Finally, he looks peaceful in her bed, and if that's all Yoonah can do for him after such a stressful day, then she's happy to do it.

And if she spends the rest of the night reading short stories and doodling meaningless doodles then no one has to know. If she spends the night playing paper hockey with herself, no one has to know. And if in the middle of the night, she finally succumbs to her drowsiness, setting up her own little makeshift bed with a small throw blanket and her rolled-up sweatpants as a pillow, laying right beside Jaemin on the ground, then no one has to know.

this was literally supposed
to be a short chapter i- i
cannot control myself.
but, it is 11:51pm as of now,
and i am still officially on time
for my tuesday update :)

as i stated in my post board
on my account, i will be stepping
away from my updating schedule.
i have multiple projects as well
as school that i need to focus on,
and i don't want to rush my
chapters so there will no longer be
any weekly updates until
otherwise stated. there will be
random updates whenever i have
time. thanks for your understanding.
:)