[warning: triggering content]

CHAPTER 8

red burn
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HARIN

Harin's jaw and cheek are sore by now, from how wide her smile has been as she walks through the dark alleys of Gangnam this Wednesday night, the stars above her keeping her company.

Her mind keeps circling around the tall, blonde-haired male with the boxy-grin, the one that makes her heart flutter every time she sees it. Tonight had been so wonderful, his company somehow feels safe and almost homey.
She knows that she's not familiar with all of the different sides to his colorful personality, but she knows that she's more than eager to know more of him. He's intriguing at many points — she want to learn more.

More than what's to know about Kim Taehyung.

That's the only thing that makes her second-guess her decision on going out with him.
Why would he lie about who he is?
Himself and his group are so popular in South Korea — in the entire world.
He has to know that she knew who he was. He must know.

But as exciting it is to be dating the Kim Taehyung of BTS, just as confusing it is — something tells Harin that he doesn't want to be known to her as that guy. He wants to be known as Tae. And she gets it, that's why she hasn't been bursting this perfect little bubble of theirs.
But for how long could she keep the secret of her knowing?

As her sloppy steps nears her home, she can still feel the tingling feeling on her lips, that's feeling cold after Tae's lips left her own. Touching her lips with the tips of her fingers she can feel her cheeks warm up once again thinking about the kiss they had shared, how warm her entire body had felt in that exact moment.
Shaking her head lightly she lifts her head up and just as fast the small smile on her lips fade as she sees one of the rooms in her home lit up.

Furrowing her brows she feels how her stomach drops at the sight and she quickly catch her bottom lip with her teeth, grabbing her phone from her pocket, her eyes widening as she realizes what the time is.

It's almost 2AM by now.

Taking in a deep breath she purse her lips and fish out her keys, putting it slowly and as silent as possible in the keyhole, slowly jerking the door open, wincing her eyes at the creaking sound.
The warmth from the apartment hits her body like a wave of the sea, but she knows that she's in deep already.

She bows down and unties her sneakers, slowly taking them off — trying to be as silent as possible. Being so concentrated she notices she had stopped breathing, the air desperately trying to come to the surface and as she stands up straight, she finally lets it out noticing how her hands tremble slightly.

The apartment is still silent despite the sheer, yellow light casting it's way out in the old entrance showcasing the worn out walls, the scars on them evident from different types
of scenarios. The faint sound of the television catches her attention and Harin closes her eyes, hoping to go to her room without being noticed. All she had to do was tiptoe over the wooden floor and open the door to her room, trying to keep the creaking on a bear minimum.

Breathing out she starts moving her way over the floor, noticing how tough physically it is to do such thing, every muscle in her body tensed up during the act. As she reaches her door a small smile creeps up on her lips, her hand slowly turning the doorknob to her room.

"Where have you been?"

A chill runs down Harin's spine as the familiar, deep voice startles her so suddenly.
Keeping her stare at the door and the grip on the handle tight she breathes out.

"I told you I was going out."

The sound of the creaking floor indicates the male inching closer to her and Harin feels her breath getting caught in her throat, her eyes closed in anticipation.

"You didn't tell me you would be out until this hour, though. Where did you go?"

Harin can feel her older stepbrother standing right behind her, his breathing hitting her neck softly, but it feels like a burning heat on her skin, and all she wants to do is flinch in pain.

She swallows harsh, a sigh leaving her body.

"Out. It's really none of your business, Songmin."

A wicked chuckle leaves Songmin and Harin can picture exactly how he looks in the moment. How the half-long raven-black hair would hang down in his face, almost covering his black eyes that had anger inside of them contrasting the grin plastered on his face. The small scar on his jaw stretching due to the smile. How his dark brows would have a slight furrow between them, followed by a clench in his strong jaw.

"Really? None of my business? I'm sure father would say otherwise." He chuckles cockily, his big hand landing on top of Harin's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze making Harin wince her eyes slightly, but she keeps her stand.

"Turn around." Songmin says firmly, a small push evident on Harin's shoulder as she stays silent, the only movement is the way her fists clenches along the side of her body in anger.

"I said fucking turn around!" Songmin yells before he roughly grabs both of her shoulders, turning her small body around and pushes her against the door with a loud thud.
A gasp leaves Harin at the sudden movement, the harsh collide pounding out the air in her lungs as she faces the towering male in front of her, the pure anger evident in his dark eyes.

Harin doesn't coward out now, her piercing gaze staring right back at Songmin with disgust, the urge to spit him right in his face stronger than ever.

"Let me go." She says, noticing how his grip on her arm was getting more strong, his long fingers pressing on her already sore skin, the feeling of new blue flowers blossoming on her smaller body.

"You want me to let go?" Songmin squeezes even more, making Harin let out a pained cry from her throat at the firm grip, "Then tell me where you've been. It's not that fucking hard, Harin."

Biting down on her tongue to keep silent, she feels how an irony taste spreads inside of her mouth. She lifts her stare once more, watching how Songmin scrunches up his nose at the words she then spills.

"You fucking wish I'd tell you. You wan't to be in control over me all the time, but guess what? You're not! You don't know anything! And you're nothing but a fucking coward—"

A slap as loud as a clap stings her face, an open-handed smack and it had left a red welt behind. Just below her right eye is a small cut where Songmin's ring had caught her fragile skin. Staggering backwards, Harin clutches her face with her hand, her eyes watering.
Removing her hand from her face, she notices the red liquid on her thin fingers from the wound below her eye through the blurred vision she now has.

And just as she thought Songmin had finished, he inches closer again, pushing her against the door once more and grab her by the throat, his big hand squeezing the air out of her. Wide-eyed she watches as Songmin's bottom lip shakes slightly, until he lets her go, backing away.

"Don't you dare disrespect me. You'll regret it."

Moving inside the small living room again, he slams the door shut, leaving Harin alone on the floor in the entrance — on her knees.

She can't breath, it feels as if Songmin is still choking her. Her heart races and all she wants to do is curl up into a ball and wait for someone to come and save her.
A choked cry forces itself up her throat, and she feels a single drop run down her warm, red cheek.

Helplessly on the floor, she tries to catch her breath properly, while her phone lights up on the ground next to her. She turns her head slowly, her eyes catching sight of the white screen. Through the blurriness she clutch her phone in her sweaty, still-shaking palm, and narrow her eyes, reading, as a few drops of water lands on the screen.

And then she smiles.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A/N NOTE 💌:

hello guys!
a new chapter in this story. i really really hope you liked this chapter and that you enjoyed seeing things from harin's point of view.
what did you think about it? also, a new character is in. songmin, harin's older stepbrother.

i had trouble writing this chapter, this type of content is always hard to write about — so please tell me how i did, if you have an opinion. thank you in advance! remember to vote and comment. it makes me happy and gives great feedback :)

- R ✨