Title: Hero

⚠Trigger Warning: bullying, mentions of blood, and violence⚠

⁞⁞ 𓃺 ⁞⁞

"where's your courage now, dumbass? stand up!"

naeun was sprawled on the ground, her body severely damaged as a result of their constant beatings. she had coughed far too many times by this point, she was coughing blood. she tries to remain strong and awake even though her eyes are barely open and her breathing becomes unsteady.

one of the bullies knelt down next to her and snatched a handful of naeun's hair, forcing her to gaze up. "aww, it's fun seeing you paint yourself in your own blood. say, do you want us to add more? you can always tell us, we'll do it without hesitation."

"it's a good thing that your 'hero' is out of the country and not here to protect you from us. you look so vulnerable, i wonder how heejin fell for you."

naeun remained deafeningly silent. not because she was afraid-in fact, she isn't-but she was having trouble breathing and gathering the words that needed to be said.

"cat got your tongue? silent implies yes they say," the bully held naeun's hair even more, making her wince in pain. "i guess giving you another round of beating would be interesting."

and so they started once again with their session until they finally had enough of beating the poor girl, who was now lying motionless on the ground.

"break up with heejin now or you'll never see the sun rise again," the girl said, pushing naeun away, who was merely staring at the ground. the bullies eventually walked out of the dark alleyway, leaving naeun alone in the cold with no trace of sympathy nor guilt.

naeun had been at her current location for some hours and it was growing late. she finally summoned all of her might to stand up and walk back to her house.

her vision was fuzzy, but she managed to see everything in front of her as she limped to her apartment. her body swayed because of fatigue and feeling heavy from all the beatings she endured; the pain had yet to leave her body.

naeun never realized her door was already open when she arrived at her apartment, implying that someone was inside. but because she didn't notice it, she went in without noticing that someone had been waiting for her for hours.

naeun closed the door behind her before turning around once again only to see heejin sternly looking at her with arms crossed. her eyes went wide at the sight of her girlfriend who has been out of the country for almost a year.

by the time heejin saw naeun's current state, she rushed over to her and drew her into her arms. after months of not seeing each other, she hugged her tightly. her girlfriend's face was covered in scratches and bruises, the bunny's sympathetic eyes were fixed on her.

heejin tilted naeun's chin up to get a better look on her face and the evidence of the fight. the taller girl delicately thumbs away the streak of blood by naeun's mouth, saying nothing as she examined it.

after a brief pause, naeun's heart skips a nervous beat as heejin looked at her dead in the eyes. her voice is quiet and tense, her anger barely restrained.

"who did this to you?"

heejin's growl of rage drew naeun in, but she knew it wasn't the proper time.

she remained silent, not wanting heejin to take revenge for her and put her in a horrible predicament.

heejin's eyebrows were knitted as she lead naeun to the couch, leaving her for a while and coming back with a first aid kit in her hold. the bunny began treating her wounds as well as the bruises.

in the meantime, naeun couldn't help but stare at the girl in front of her.

her girlfriend, who had been out for months due to the fact that her parents persuaded her to accompany them on a business trip.

her girlfriend, who was always by her side, protecting her from the bullies. her girlfriend, who acts as her personal guardian.

heejin is finally back.

as naeun struggled to form words, tears coated her eyes and a smile pushed itself out of her face. just seeing heejin's face and being in her presence made her feel protected.

"y-you came back."

a smile curved up on heejin's lips, "i promised, didn't i?"

"now tell me. who did this to you?" her voice grew sterner again, and she looked at naeun with a solemn but worried expression on her face. as she played with her fingers, naeun's gaze drifted around, avoiding heejin's piercing gaze.

heejin quirked an eyebrow, holding her girlfriend's hand to calm her down. "c'mon naeun-ah, i'm here to help you so you don't need to be scared anymore because i'm here with you now."

"it was still t-them," naeun stammered, nervous that heejin might lose control of her emotions.

heejin, on the other hand, restrained herself from erupting in front of the girl. her fists were clenched into a fist, and her teeth were gritted in rage. "how long have they been doing this?"

"...after the day you left the country," she hesitated answering.

heejin buried her face in her own hands, not letting naeun see her face crunch up in frustration. "bullsh- i shouldn't have come with my parents. i could've protected you from them!"

"it's fine, heejin-"

"no, it's not fine! stop saying it's fine or you're fine when reality is saying otherwise! you cannot just bottle up things naeun, that won't make anything better" the bunny sobbed.

naeun bit her lip in guilt, seeing heejin cry was the last thing she ever wanted to see. "i tried confronting them but this is where it lead me. i'm sorry heejin, i couldn't protect myself."

"no, no it's okay. none of this is your fault, you have done completely nothing wrong."

heejin brought naeun into her arms, making her feel safe in her hold as they stayed in their position for a few minutes before deciding to continue treating naeun's injuries.

following that, they spent their time together simply cuddling on the couch while watching random television shows and movies while waiting for the night to grow darker.

"you won't leave again...right?" naeun broke the silence before turning her head to face heejin with a pleading look as the bunny chuckled, kissing her girlfriend's forehead. "i won't, now that i have to do my duty as your hero."

naeun giggled, snuggling onto heejin's warmth more. "since when did you became a hero?"

"uhm, the moment i saved your life."

"and when did that even occurred?"

"not at the past tho but soon, i'll act as your hero!" heejin exclaimed before striking a pose as if she was flying like superman, naeun only chuckled by her girlfriend's cheekiness.

"you're such a dork, heej."

the bunny shushed her with her fingers, "correction, your dork," chuckling at her statement.

there was a second of silence until naeun decided to break it once again, "promise me you're not going to take revenge on them for me, got it?" she told, earning a chuckle from heejin.

"after all what they did to you, you're still being an angel to them," the bunny clicked her tongue as naeun pouted.

naeun whined, "just promise, you're not going to put yourself in trouble because of me," she held out her pinky finger, waiting for heejin to intertwine hers.

heejin thought about it for a while before groaning, "alright. i promise, just because you look so cute right now!" the bunny squealed, quickly stealing a kiss on naeun's lips as the girl was a blushing mess.

[THE NEXT DAY - At School]

"listen up, you bunch of jerks. if any of you put your hands on naeun again, i will not hesitate to report you to the principal as well as the police. don't test my patience; in this school where you idiots are, i wield great power. i could easily convince my sister to kick you and your gang out of this school."

heejin warned, her death glares directed at the gang of bullies in front of her, who appeared helpless and terrified in her presence.

"be thankful to naeun that she made me promise not to snap all of your necks at once, y'all are lucky because i knew to myself i might not handle punching your faces once i see you all," she rolled her eyes.

"w-we're sorry-"

"don't say that to me! go say that to naeun, aish i didn't know that dumb people like you would be even here." a the bullies trembled in response to the heejin's rage, heejin rubbed her temple in frustration.

they nodded, still trembling, and then lowered their heads in shame and humiliation.

"now, get out of my sight before i'll seriously kill you all here right now."

the bullies rushed out of the room, most likely track naeun down and apologize profusely. despite the fact that apologies are insufficient for heejin, she let it pass out of naeun's words to her.

"nice work with the villains, my hero."

naeun clapped her hands, before walking her way towards heejin who had a cheeky smile as she pulled naeun into her arms. kissing the shorter girl's forehead, "you don't have to worry about anything anymore. your hero had come to save you."

⁞⁞ 𓃺 ⁞⁞