Trigger warning - Trauma thoughts and referencing to the Kidnapping chapter.

The sun blazed through the windows of Sooyoungs room as her eyes fluttered open. She had made sure to get a lot of sleep especially after the stressful day that she had, had a few days ago. She found it hard to sleep at first but she soon let the tiredness take over and her eyes naturally close. It felt like a calm night was needed after the traumatic experience she had been through.

She couldn't let go of the thoughts running through her head. She remembered how the rope felt against her hands and especially the fear she felt in that moment. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she thought about the experience that she had in that moment. She didn't want to experience that again as she remembered the emotions she had on that day and how she found it hard to escape by herself.  She remembered how weak she felt as she rubs her head slightly with her right hand.

She also remembered the hope of Rilian finding her and the feeling of freedom once she escaped. She felt full of confusion as all these emotions mixed like a dangerous potion in a pot. She remembered the warmth that she felt dancing with him. She remembered how she glided through the dance floor with him. She loved how calming that moment was for her. Part of her wished to run to him again, to have that feeling again. She wanted to show her weaknesses however she was worried that doing that could make her seem soft.

She shook her head as she got out of her bed and slowly walked over to her wardrobe to see what she could wear. She was hoping to maybe practice again since she felt slightly better then the previous day. On top of feeling like she needed to train to protect herself. She questioned if she could protect herself if a day came that Rilian wasn't there...she wasn't completely sure about that herself.

She later walked down the stairs in her sparing outfit that she usually used to practice in as she peaked into the dining room. Her eyes widened to see food had been served. It looked so delicious to her. She felt happy that the staff put on  more effort for her.  She wondered if Rilians staff had noticed how scared she was after the kidnapping. She was trying to hide how she was feeling however she now wondered if she had failed when it came to that. She wanted to show that she was stronger.

She then saw Rilian walk in as he had seemed like his head was trapped in the clouds as well. She wondered if it was similar to how hers was this morning. Rilian looked over to Sooyoung as he walked over to her. He had worry in his gaze as he noticed Sooyoung didn't look very joyful. Sooyoung slowly looked up to Rilian as she then tried to fake a smile. "I can see right through that." Rilian said softly as Sooyoung then looked down. "Just pretend you don't...please." Sooyoung whispered.  Rilian sighed as he took a seat across from Sooyoung.

Sooyoung looked down at her food infront of her. " I don't want to talk about it." She muttered as she sturred her food with her fork. Rilian looked down and slightly analysed her movements as as he looks up at her with a worried gaze. Sooyoung didn't want to be so open and Rilian noticed that so he decided to respect her decision as he sat across the way from her. " If you don't want to I won't pry. You've gone through a lot recently." He said softly as he looked back up at Sooyoung.

Sooyoung looked up as she met his gaze. They both blushed and looked down at the table. Rilian added to the awkwardness by clearing his throat. He felt weirdly drawn to her and he couldn't help but take her in through his gaze. Sooyoung was drawn to him as well however she had so much going on in her mind that she didn't really want to add something else to that. All she wanted to do was to turn her brain off and forget about all her stress.

Sooyoung grabbed a bite of her food as she brought the fork up to her mouth. After swallowing the food she looked to the side. "C-can we dance again?" She muttered. Rilians eyes widened as he started blushing. "C-can you repeat?" Rilian stuttered as he tried to regain his calm. Sooyoung blushed red as she realized what she said as this was followed by her eyes slowly widening. "I-I didn't mean to...ahh." Sooyoung stuttered as this was followed by a sigh.

Rilian laughed as Sooyoung looked up at him with a pout. "Hey! What's with that laugh!?" Sooyoung wined as Rilian gets up and walks behind her. Sooyoung looks confusingly over to where Rilian was walking. She was curious about what was going on in his head and how he saw her in that moment. Rilian leaned in against her ear as he made sure to meet her gaze as he whispered in a smooth and deep voice" You really are a cute one aren't you~? ".

Sooyoungs look became bright red as she tried to cover her blush with her hands. " You are such a menace." She mumbled under her hands as she heard Rilian laughing again. Rilian leaned back as he winked to Sooyoung. "Anytime Sooyoung~. " He responded playfully as Sooyoung looked over to him as he left. He peeked his head through the door before leaving. " On a serious note, I'm always here if you need me." He reassured with a soft smile on his face as Sooyoung watched him affectionately as the door closed behind him.

Sooyoung finished off her food as she leaned against her hand and sighed. Her blushing still made her cheeks red but it was slowly fading away. She wondered again why Rilian was making her feel the way she was. She wondered weather she could open herself up to him. Would he judge her?, Would he think of her as weak? It was question after question running through her head. She couldn't really have a moment of mental quiet today. She hoped the quiet would come soon.