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━━━ " 📂  " ‍..⃗. ༉

𝙍 𝙊 𝙈 𝘼 𝙉 𝘾 𝙄 𝙉 𝙂

! chapter forty-five ─── ʚĭɞ

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The woman froze, hand still and eyes wide, staring down at her daughter.

Yujin was a calculated woman. Harsh, calculated, smart and well-put together. She would never be seen with her top button undone. Not even at home. "Yes?" Yujin managed to get out, although her grip in her hair loosened. Something flickered in her eyes suddenly, and those nerves were gone, and the grip tightened even more than before.

"Don't get smart with me. You're expected to follow those rules, Miyeon. There are no exceptions." Yujin hissed, the girl regretting her choices to notice the button. "Understood?"

"Mhm." Miyeon nodded, but regretted it instantly as it tugged on her hair. For a moment, the roles had been reversed and she had the power. But that would never work out.

"Louder." Yujin insisted, another yank on her hair.

"I understand." Miyeon said, and her mother finally let go, the girl straightening up and trying not to show any hurt. But she was trembling.

"Was that Han Seojun you came home with?" Yujin asked, and Miyeon shook her head, knowing that even if she didn't believe her, there would be no good in admitting it. "I'll give you benefit of the doubt. Now, off to sleep. Don't want my beautiful daughter getting dark circles."

And so Miyeon trudged up to bed, having been so powerful in that single moment. But it was back to how it usually was.

She preferred it when the house was silent. Even if the silence came with the price of her being alone with her thoughts. Even that was better than spending time with her mother.

But even if she had lost the power, she had gained knowledge. That singular, undone button would be everything. And as Miyeon tried to fall asleep that night, she couldn't help but think about it, and what it could mean.

Because her mother's visits to family were beginning to look rather suspicious

The next day was thankfully the weekend, but instead of staying at home and knowing her mother was downstairs doing who knows what, Miyeon figured it was best for her to escape via the ladder, which somehow was still there.

How Yujin hadn't figured out why it was place specifically there, Miyeon would never know. But she would be forever grateful for her parents never being home if it meant she could get out with such ease.

Something that had helped her a lot over the past year was shopping. It sounded cliche, but Miyeon loved fashion and being able to go out and get a new wardrobe was almost like re-inventing herself. And god knows she had needed it, if her grandmother hadn't been kind enough to take her on her first big shopping trip in New York, then there was no way that she could have even considered coming back when she did.

She had gotten a full new wardrobe by the time she was back in Seoul, and her old one was packed away in the spare room. And without a real need for clothes, Miyeon's trip didn't exactly have a purpose, she was simply doing it for fun.

Jugyeong perhaps would've joined her, but it seemed that she was busy with her older sister. They had promised to meet up another time though, and so Miyeon was alone for this one.

With a couple small bags with accessories, skin care and makeup and one of a box of shoes swinging from her wrists, Miyeon scrolled through her phone, the sound of disturbance breaking the somewhat trance she was in when she passed a food shop.

"Why are you making me.." Miyeon almost dropped her bags as she saw a girl place a hand around another girl's neck, slapping her several times. "Sound like an evil witch."

Miyeon wasn't necessarily a confrontational person, that was more Soojin's style - she could easily take on bullies and come away unharmed. But Miyeon found she had neither the confidence nor the self defence skills to go up against them.

But all the same, the Hwang girl stepped forward, almost bumping into someone and apologising profusely to them as she continued towards the shop, watching as the girl tried to leave, but the one who was quite clearly bullying her stuck her foot out, tripping her over.

"Give me your number." The bully demanded to the girl on the floor, two others stood by.

"Hey!" Miyeon shouted, stepping into the shop. "Have you no shame at all?" She interrupted them, and the three girls looked up. She looked down at the girl on the floor, crouching by her. "Are you okay?" She asked.

The girl looked oddly familiar, and Miyeon's head tilted slightly. But suddenly, the girl was up on her feet and scrambling past her, and out of the shop.

Miyeon got to her feet, not knowing where she recognised the poor girl from, but knowing exactly where she knew the other three from. "I knew Soojin was right about you." Miyeon began, shaking her head and looking at the the three girls. "Mind you, I don't need Soojin to tell me how much of a bitch you are."

"How dare you!" One of the bullies started, but the main one noticed something, looking down to the floor and picking up the wallet. Which was yet another thing that Miyeon recognised.

"Don't you even think of taking that." Miyeon reached out and snatched it off of her, pulling it open for just a glance at the ID within it, which would confirm exactly what she thought. And even more anger surged through her, slapping the girl's hand away as she reached for the wallet.

But just as the bully was about to fight back, a hand appeared on her wrist. Glancing upwards, Miyeon smiled when she saw Suho, who promptly took the wallet off of her. Following his gaze, Miyeon's eyes landed on the poor girl who was being bullied, and it clicked into place.

Suho left the store quickly after, and with a glare to the three girls, Miyeon walked slowly out, not following either of them. Leaning against the wall, she found herself fiddling with the bracelet once again.

"Ah, Im Ju." The nickname left her lips and she shook her head, feeling so bad for her friend. It had all clicked into place - why Jugyeong got so upset after the cake had hit her face and why she had transferred schools.

She didn't want to pity her because she knew that being pitied wasn't a feeling you embraced. Miyeon had been pitied enough in the past year, and she couldn't stand another second of it.

Nobody should go through that, and she just felt so sad for her.