CONTENT WARNING:

Doxxing, self-harm, and mention of physical abuse.

Isn't it funny how your life can turn upside down in a click? Yesterday you could just be chilling with your friends or just focusing on your schoolwork that you have to turn in, the typical boring thing you and everyone always have to go through. But then present times come, and surprises don't mean they are necessarily good. They could make you go insane and have you genuinely wonder if you are not starting to go extremely mad. Your present makes your tomorrow seem extremely crazy, so crazy that it makes your present seem undoubtedly much more boring.

Well, in the teens' lives, it was all starting to go upside down and faster than they thought. It all blank white begins with a skeleton body. You get messages threatening you. Then you get a call from someone you met only some days ago saying that one of your best friends passed out and was most likely drugged. Life couldn't get more exciting, right?

The teens found themselves in a hospital waiting room, something they certainly didn't expect from today. Soobin was still passed out, but from what it seemed, everything was okay and under control. At least one slightly good thing happened on this unlucky day.

The doctor only allowed one person at a time, and Beomgyu was the first to go in to see Soobin. Yeji, Chaeryeong, and Huening Kai were calmly sitting down, waiting for their turns to see their friend.

Lia was also sitting down with the others as she desperately wanted to go home. Still, she felt pretty guilty after kissing him, and she certainly didn't want to know that Soobin kissed her even though he was over his ex yet, so Lia was ready to debunk any rumors that could come out of Soobin's mouth.

"So Lia, what exactly happened?" Kai questioned the girl. Should I really lie? Lia thought. She really didn't want them to believe that he was a whore that kissed drugged people, so she definitely didn't have any other option.

"I was at the Jung's Mansion. Then surprisingly, I found Soobin there, so we had a small talk. We asked each other what we were doing there and all that normal stuff until it started raining. I went to get an umbrella, but when I came back, Soobin started to hallucinate for some minutes, then he passed out." You could say Lia didn't lie, but instead, she hid some information that she definitely didn't want them to know.

"What were you doing at the Jung's house?" Chaeryeong asked, raising an eyebrow. Even though many people were close friends with Jinsoul, the family didn't really like guests unless they were really close to the family, which excludes the hidden parties. When someone says they went to the Jung's mansion, you can already assume that they are somewhat special to the family.

"I was Jinsoul's tutor before her disappearance. Since I tutored her basically every day, we became close friends. So Mr. Jung invited me to the mansion to talk to me about personal matters." Although she had explained the situation the best way she could, Chaeryeong, Yeji, and Huening Kai's facial expressions told her that they wanted to know more.

Beomgyu came out of the room with an excited and happy face. It seemed like obvious good news just came his way. "Soobin just woke up, guys! The doctor also told me that we could all come in."

The four stood up in unison. They all rapidly thought of walking inside of the room, including Lia. Soobin, who had a tired look, still managed to send them a tiny smile.

"Hey, guys! Oh- Lia, I didn't expect to see you here." His tiny smile faded when he saw Lia. Lia wondered if he still remembered everything that happened, and if he did, she wouldn't know what to say or do.

"Oh yeah, I just wanted to check if you would wake up, haha... anyways, since you woke up, I think I should go. Goodbye, everybody!" Lia awkwardly said while slowly leaving the room. She definitely left herself to be seen as suspicious, especially to Soobin

"Hm, anyways. How are you feeling, Soobin?" Yeji asked, expecting a positive answer back. "I feel good, just a bit nauseous and confused," Soobin answered with his poker and emotionless face, having the others feel curious to know the reason.

"Confused? Why?" Chaeryeong asked what everyone else in the room wanted to ask. Soobin stared at the blank white wall while trying to focus on his memories.

"I think I kissed someone, but I'm not sure if I was hallucinating during the moment it happened." Soobin's words made all of them silently gasp with their eyes popping out like a cartoon.

"Was it... with Lia?" Yeji asked, making Beomgyu, Huening Kai, and Chaeryeong direct their eyes at her with even more shock. They already felt suspicious of Lia's body language, and they could see right through her when she pretended she was okay when really she seemed like she was sweating, so when Yeji said those words, all the dots connected.

"No, why would it be Lia? Plus, I felt like I saw a blonde girl. I can't really remember what she looked like. All my memories seem to be blurry." They all calmed down when Soobin said those words. Now they didn't need to put Lia on their death wish list.

"But let's get to the point. Do you remember anyone who gave you a drink or food that you think might've contained drugs?" Huening Kai asked. The room was left silent so that Soobin could concentrate on his thinking. The poor boy had his eyebrows shaking because of how hard he was thinking.

"My memory is kind of blurry, but I think I can remember a coffee I drank when I was in the Jung's mansion. I can't remember anyone giving that coffee to me, though." Even though that answer wasn't entirely what Soobin's friends expected, it was pretty much what they got. Soobin gave not a lot of information, but it was enough information to work with.

Yeji noticed an exhausted face coming from Soobin. "Well, Soobin, I think it's better if we let you rest. If you need us, just give it a call." Yeji sheepishly smiled while trying to comfort Soobin when hugging him. The others took turns hugging him before leaving the room.

In a long time in a while, they didn't see one of their friends in a hospital bed, and the last time they did, they sure weren't drugged but rather sick. Life is full of surprises, with bad and good ones. It seemed like this time they received a really badly unexpected one.

NEXT DAY...

Some people say that the first gift we received was life, but what if your life is an utterly terrible nightmare? What if your life is horrifying? What if you wish you had an opportunity to kill yourself? What if you so desperately want to take your life away because you don't remember the last time you were able to smile genuinely?

What if... you could only see ugliness in living, but beauty in death?

These are questions many have been asking for days, months, years, decades, or even worse, their entire lives. Maybe because of a trauma that followed them everywhere they went, or even because of a trauma that they might be experiencing right now, at this exact moment. Sadly, not many people were able to be saved from these terrifying moments in their lives. Every night, their pillows expected rain and thunder instead of peace.

The case is not different from Ryujin. Since day one, her life has been a nightmare. She never had a normal childhood, unfortunately. Her childhood was taken away by long-term trauma.

As she depressingly walks into her house, she has her head down, scared to face another day with her parents. She slowly opens the door so that she can maybe be ignored by her parents instead of needing to hear their insults again, but it was too late. They already heard her coming.

Ryujin's parents turn their heads to the door to have their faces fade from relaxed to disgust. "There she is. The bitch who's the disappointment of the family." Her mom shouted, loud and clear, only after Ryujin had fully closed the door.

Ryujin tries to escape sneakily going into her room, but she's quickly stopped by her dad, strongly pushing her into falling on the hard wooden floor, which was full of small, broken pieces of an alcohol glass bottle. "Where do you think you are going? You stupid whore." Her dad shouted. Tears slowly started to fall on Ryujin's cheeks.

Ryujin's dad dragged her by her uniform t-shirt until she was dizzily standing in front of both parents. "We saw that you had gotten a B+ in your chemistry test. You know what that means." Ryujin's head, staring at the floor, rapidly looks up to see both of her parents' angry faces. Every time Ryujin did something 'wrong' like taking less than an A on a test or coming home one minute late, Ryujin has to suffer from physical punishments that she has been used to since her early childhood.

"I promise you I have tried my best, so please, I beg you two not to hit me again." Ryujin kneeled in front of their parents. She looked weak. She looked miserable. Ryujin knew that desperately begging for forgiveness would only make her parents feel enraged and ashamed of her attitude, but she had no choice but to feel hopeful that their minds would change for at least this time, but deep in Ryujin's heart, she knew what her doom was.

"Ryujin, this is not time to act fragile. You are not my daughter if you do so. Stand up." Mr. Shin's tone was surprisingly calm but still intimidating. Ryujin steadily stood up, still with her head looking down and her legs shaking.

Mr. Shin took a look at Ryujin's face. Her sad face made him sigh in disappointment. "Go to your room. We'll talk later." Ryujin was startled by her father's words, and so was her mom. She expected to be beaten up with a belt or have her parents slap her in the face, but nothing happened.

Ryujin rushed as fast as possible to her room. She didn't want any more problems today. She locked the door rapidly while having a hard time breathing. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks, even though this time she was crying without sobbing, it was a silent cry— one which she hasn't had in a while.

Ryujin glances at the knife placed next to her pillow. "Perfect," Ryujin whispered, rushing to get the knife, ready to give herself a new cut. She stared at her wrist, full of scars that told a profound story about herself. All of those scars all come from the same feeling, the feeling of disappointment. Whenever she felt upset about herself, a new cut would appear on her wrist. It's not like she cared about herself anyway. Why would she? It's not like anyone would care. At least that's what she tells herself.

Before Ryujin could start cutting herself, her phone started vibrating. She picked her phone to see who it was, and it was Yuna.

"Hey, Ryu! I haven't heard from you in a while...."

"r u okay?"

When Ryujin glanced at the message, she immediately thought of saying, "yeah, I'm fine," but she wasn't fine at all, and hearing someone ask that question, even if most innocently, made her feel ten times more vulnerable.

Ryujin: Well, not really.

Yuna: What happened Ryu?

Ryujin: family problems, ig.

Yuna: Did you guys argue?

Ryujin: Let's just say I'm not the best daughter, lol

Ryujin: Plus, I don't really want to talk about it, if that's okay with you.

Yuna: I'm sorry, Ryu, I promise I won't ask you anymore! I hope everything goes well. Always remember that I love you and that I'm always going to be on your side!

Yuna: Love ya ❤️

Even though Yuna didn't fill her message with multiple inspirational words, it was one of the most comforting messages Ryujin had received in a while. Ryujin finally started sobbing as she dropped the knife on the floor. It felt like a miracle to have Yuna message her at that exact moment, where she was almost about to let herself be carried by her frustration.

Ryujin may have overreacted at that moment. Because, of course, what was about to happen in that living room would be basically nothing compared to what she had gone through. Still, Ryujin held too much stress, and it was finally time to release it. Well, only a bit of it.

At home, you are supposed to be welcomed, warm, and free; but Ryujin felt the exact opposite. The aroma of that house felt dark, gloomy, and heavy. It always did. Ryujin couldn't wait till the day she could finally leave the hell she has to call her 'house.'

Sometimes, Ryujin would wonder about the day she asked her parents if they ever wanted to have a child, and they responded with the words, "We never wanted to have a kid, but we could never get an abortion. So here you are, our mistake." She remembers shedding a tear. Every time she reminded herself of that moment, she would scoff at her 13-year-old self for believing that her parents actually loved her.

Love is too strong of a word to be used in vain. And sadly, it took too long for Ryujin to realize that.

As Ryujin had her own thoughts, she heard another ringtone. She instantly guessed that Yuna had texted her again, but only to see a message from an unknown number when she picked her phone.

Ryujin, who was playing with the knife while holding the phone, dropped the knife faster than light. She thought those messages were just a Yuna and Yeji thing, but it seemed as if they wanted to go after her too. She wouldn't doubt having 'A' message her other friends as well. Her conclusion was made even more apparent after A sent the second message to her.

Lia? What did she have to do with this? Ryujin felt so confused that she didn't know if she needed to feel curious about Lia's 'secret' or about A calling Lia a fake bitch.

She wondered a lot and finally decided to text Lia about it. Even though she knew they were probably tracking her every move, and this was what they exactly wanted, she still felt the need to understand what was going on.

Ryujin: Lia...

Ryujin: Is there something
you are hiding from me?

—————————————————————
A/N:
Hey guys! Sorry for such a late chapter. Let's just say that these latest few weeks weren't the best for me mentally, but I finally updated! I've been focusing more on school and on my mental health, so sorry if this chapter took this long, I will try to update more often!