Run
Taeyeon remained frozen for who-knows-how-long before she started to come back to her senses. She gave her head a wild shake, blinked twice and read the whole thing all over again, but the words didn't change. The words written on the crumpled paper were real.
"What the-?!"
She looked at the bottom of the paper, then flipped it over, trying to look for a name or any sign or symbol which could help her identify who the paper was from, but there was none.
Chills ran up her spine, then down her arms and legs. Taeyeon immediately let go of the paper, doing the crab walk, scooting backwards. Who the heck sent it? Taeyeon wasn't a scaredy- cat but finding a crumpled piece of paper on her rooftop in the middle of night saying that someone has heard everything she said the night before seriously creeped the heck out of her. A gust of wind suddenly blew in her direction, making her shiver both in coldness and in fear.
"Who is it from?"
"Kidnapper?!"
"Serial Killer?!"
...
"Bogeyman?!" She suddenly let it out loud.
Wait.
Hold up.
Taeyeon shook her head once more, and deciding that that would be the last time she was ever going to shake her head for the day. Her head was starting to hurt.
What the fuck? Seriously, Taeyeon? Bogeyman??
Using her hands to push her back up to a crouching position. A few deep breaths later, Taeyeon was slowly getting back into her more calm and composed self, and the more rational part of her mind began functioning once more.
What the hell were you thinking?
What are you, 9?
She crawled forward, taking the crumpled piece of paper with her free hand then sat down before scanning it. She wasn't delusional enough to believe that the crumpled paper containing a message came from above, or from the stars and moon, even.
She scoffed, suddenly remembering how she panicked like a kid a while ago. How silly must she have looked when she did all those. That's when it something ticked in her head. Did the one who wrote and sent that message also see and hear everything that happened a while back? Everything??
Shit.
Taeyeon suddenly had a feeling that she's being watched. She turned her head to the right, to the left, twisted her body to look back, then immediately looked back to the front.
But if someone did hear me, does that mean... somebody else knows this part of the house aside from me?
She blinked at her speculation. But who? All this time, she thought she was the only one who knew this location in the house. But then again, it was hard for Taeyeon to even think that any of the maids know that she's up here. It's just... not possible.
Taking one good look at her surroundings, she slowly stood up, then hurriedly made her way back to her room.
---
Shit! She quickly ducked in her hiding place when her neighbor turned her head and looked towards the direction where she was watching her from.
Did she see me?
One.
Two.
Three seconds later, she slowly raised her head to take a peek and released the breath she was holding when she saw her looking back to the front. She released a deep sigh of relief after experiencing the feeling of almost being caught.
She saw her take one good look in her surroundings before getting up to go back to her room, she presumed.
That was close.
---
"One bottle of coke, please." Taeyeon She reached for it as soon as it was handed over by the cafeteria staff. "Thanks."
"I'll have a bottle of coke too, please. Thank you." the girl next to her in the line added as soon as she finished speaking. She stole a glance at her out of curiosity then turned her head back to the cafeteria staff. Taeyeon reached over for the bottle of coke and was about to place it on her lunch tray when she noticed that the staff only came back with one bottle.
"I'm sorry miss but we only had one bottle of coke left. We forgot to restock yesterday."
"Oh, is that so?" Taeyeon turned her head towards the girl next to her and saw her sigh. "I guess my coke-chilling streak is officially broken." She pouted. Taeyeon felt bad that she got the bottle of coke so she took and lifted it.
"Umm.. if you want, you can have mine." The short girl beside her seemed surprised at what she said, but then she smiled, waving the bottle off.
"No, it's okay. You can have that. You got it first. I'll just have the juice for the day." She turned her head towards the cafeteria staff and asked what the juice for the day was.
"We have orange juice for today, miss."
"Alright then. I'll have that." She thanked the staff with a smile as she reached for the plastic cup containing her juice. "Thanks for your offer." The girl then picked up her lunch tray before she disappeared in the crowd of people looking for seats and tables.
---
Taeyeon has just finished her lunch and surprisingly, it went better than it did yesterday. First thing she did when she got her lunch tray was to head towards the table at the far end of the room, preparing a more comprehensible speech than yesterday. But her efforts ended up in vain when she arrived and saw that the table she was expecting to be occupied by a single person turned out to be unoccupied.
She didn't see the girl she shared a table with yesterday, but it wasn't like she'll be able to recognize her even if she were to see her again though. She just shrugged, thinking that the girl must have occupied another table today, then went to set her lunch tray down before another group of people decides to occupy the table.
---
She washed her hands thoroughly before drying it with napkins. She took one good look at herself in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair once, then headed out of the restroom. She removed the strap from her left shoulder, swinging her bag towards the front, and was about to check her next schedule when she heard someone angrily shouting at the corner of the hall. She thought it was just another nonsense ruckus caused by some unruly students, when she heard another voice. That was what made her turn her heels to go check what the noise was all about.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Taeyeon stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, noticing a girl doing a ninety- degree bow towards a tall guy with other guy companions.
"Aiiish you just spilled orange juice on my kicks! I just bought these last week!"
"I'm so sorry."
"You weren't even looking at where you were going! Now tell me... what are you gonna do about it?" The guy crossed her arms.
"I will-"
"Wait wait... not so fast. You better get this right. One try. I want the right answer in one try. Or else."
"I... I w-will... ummm...." She saw the girl sweating nervously. "I-I'll buy you a new pair of shoes!"
The guy scoffed. "Eeeenk! Wrong, wrong, wrong..." He took a step forward. "That wasn't the right answer I wanted to hear. I'm disappointed 'cause I know you're a smart girl." The girl looked up with fear in her eyes. "And we all know that wrong answers equate to a punishment. Let's make it even." He smirked.
A sound of a palm hitting a cheek alarmed Taeyeon, but it was even worse when she had to see the whole scene in front of her. Her jaw dropped low and it made her feel more awful that she could also be part of the reason why it happened. If only she didn't order the coke, or if only she insisted harder to make her take the bottle of coke instead, then she wouldn't have ordered the orange juice in a cup, and then she wouldn't have spilled it on the guy's shoes.
"Hey!"
Taeyeon intended for her voice to be loud enough for the guy to look, but she didn't expect it to be loud and clear enough to make the whole cafeteria look at her. But at that moment, she couldn't care less. She stood in between the short girl and the tall guy.
"I know the accident made you upset but it's not an excuse to hit a girl like that!"
There was silence for a brief moment. The guy also seemed surprised but she was waiting for him to speak up.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I should be the one to ask you that. What the hell were you doing? Slapping girls? Really?!"
"What the- Who gave you a right to meddle in this?"
"At least allow her to properly make up for her mistake! Properly, I mean. She already proposed to buy you a new pair of shoes. It's already too much for a bit of spill on the shoes if you ask me."
"Who the hell are you?" The guy furrowed her brows.
"Nope. Who the hell are you?" Suddenly, the quiet environment was filled with noise, due to the murmurs and shocked expressions given off by the few other students left in the cafeteria.
To her surprise, the guy started laughing, to the point that he even placed his hands over his stomach.
"My my my... first you stood up for this nerd" He pointed towards the short girl behind her. "And now you're asking who I am?" He clapped her hands. "That was a good one! Did you guys hear that?" He looked back at his two companions and she watched as the two also giggled and shook their heads.
Taeyeon raised her eyebrow, finding his expressions silly. After a few more seconds, his laughters finally stopped.
"Listen... I dunno what game you're trying to play here" The guy took a couple of steps towards her. "But you should quit it and stop now."
"Oh no, I ain't gotta stop. It's just starting." Taeyeon played along, nonchalantly spitting the words out. The other guy craned her neck and heavily breathed through his nostrils. She saw him raise his hand up, and knew exactly what would happen next, so she closed her eyes, anticipating the impact.
"Siwon!"
The loud voice made Taeyeon's eyes snap open to see the palm which never landed on her cheek. She turned her head to the side and saw a tall girl making her way towards them.
"It's only the second day and yet you guys are already causing trouble. Don't you have anything better to do?"
"This girl started it all!" The guy named Siwon pointed at Taeyeon, causing her to raise her eyebrows in shock. "Her and that nerd behind her!" The tall girl turned her head towards Taeyeon and crossed her arms.
"If that's so then leave it to me." Taeyeon's eyes widened, especially because the girl was here to help. But maybe that wasn't the case.
"Are you sure? I could handle her myself. I was just about to give her a lesson."
"No, leave her to me. I'll take care of her." The guy smirked then patted her shoulder.
"I knew I could count on you."
"Now it's time to give you a lesson."
"But I didn't do anything! It was him who first-!"
"I'm not talking to you." She then craned her neck, in search for the other being behind her. "Hey, nerd! Clean up this mess, now!"
"Y-yes!" The short girl was about to do what was told but the tall girl's voice stopped her again.
"On second thought, wait. Clean this whole cafeteria. You won't return to your classes without finishing this!"
"Hey, that's unfair for her! She doesn't deserve-"
"Who asked you to talk?" The tall girl turned to her, giving her a glare. "Wait for your turn. She turned her attention back to the shaking girl in front of her. "Now do as I told if you still want to be able to experience how to walk"
They then heard a laugh, followed by another round of clapping. "Now that's how I like it." He turned towards the two boys and gave them a signal to follow him all the way out the cafeteria. "Come on, boys."
Taeyeon shot a glare until he saw the group of guys exit the cafeteria. She then turned to look at the short girl and saw that she was on her way to pick up the plastic cup on the floor. Her chest felt heavier because it seemed like she even got the short girl in more trouble. More so because the other students left in the cafeteria were taking photos and videos.
This wasn't right.
She couldn't just let her do all these. It wasn't her fault at all. Mind all made up, she quickly made her way towards the short girl and crouched, successfully getting her attention.
"Hey, why are you going to do everything she told you to? It wasn't your fault. Let's tell her!" The girl shook her head.
"Nothing can change her decision once she said it. And it's the only way I can return to class." She sighed. Taeyeon looked at her sadly, 'til something popped up in her mind. The short girl's hand was on its way to pick up a softdrink bottle from the floor when she placed her hand on her wrist, stopping her and making her look up.
"Who says this is the only way?" Taeyeon smirked, seeing the confused look on the short girl's face. The former looked behind her, and seeing the tall girls back facing them, she quickly pulled the latter up before she shouted loud enough for her to hear.
"Run!"
Their short legs dragged them out and Taeyeon let go of the other girl's wrist as they ran away from the cafeteria. One good minute later, she turned her head back, checking to see if the girl was following her, but she didn't see her anywhere. She panted as she silently wished she safely got to her class.
---
"We're here, miss." The front door opened, revealing the always- smiling Mister Park. Taeyeon reluctantly got out, just like how she always did eversince she moved here.
"Umm.. Mister Park?"
"Yes, miss?"
"I'm just gonna go to the store. I just want to buy something."
"What is it, miss? I'll go and buy it for you."
"I can do it, Mister Park."
"Then I'll go with you instead. I'll drive you."
"Ah no, it's okay. I can handle it on my own."
"Your mother strictly told me to watch over you and to go wherever you'll be going, Miss Taeyeon."
Taeyeon inwardly groaned. Why must they always be like this? She sighed.
"Fine. But first, can you please take my bag in the back seat upstairs, Mister Park? It's kinda heavy today with all those books.
"Ah yes, miss. Right away." Mister Park opened the door of the back seat and took the backpack out, before slamming the car door shut.
"Just wait for me here and I'll bring this ups-" He turned and found himself talking to the air. "Miss Taeyeon?"
---
She panted hard as she entered a random convenience store in town. She allowed herself to breathe for a while, once again noting how this was the second time this day that she ran so hard. Deciding not to waste any more time, she quickly scanned each aisle, looking for the familiar form and shape of those bottles. She stopped when she reached the right one then grabbed as many bottles as she could carry, then hurried her way to the cashier.
The cashier gave her a curious look, probably because she had placed quite a number of bottles of beer and alcohol she just randomly took from the shelves. She hung her head lower, allowing her hoodie to do a better job in hiding her face, while starting to sweat in nervousness. She didn't need the cashier to discover and tell her that she can't buy all those because she's underage. Her face doesn't help either. She has always thought that her baby face was more of a curse than a blessing, contrary to what people have been telling her. Luckily, the cashier said nothing and continued her work.
She quickly paid for the bottles, then hugged the paperbag close to her body to carry them out as soon as the cashier said the magical words, "Thank you ma'am." The chimes of the store rang out in the air as she stepped out of the store. She made a quick scan of her surroundings, trying to see if a familiar car has followed her, and smiled when she didn't see any.
She knew she only had limited time before Mister Park could arrive at this part of the town and find her so she quickened her steps. She just had to smuggle these inside the house and run all the way upstairs until she reaches her room to lock the door. Yes, that's right.
With that thought in mind, Taeyeon's short legs began to ran again, taking a peek behind her from time to time, just to be sure that Mister Park was still nowhere in sight. She ran and ran...
"Oof!" Taeyeon lost grip of the bag she was carrying as she collided with another body at the corner of the street. Sending the paper bag she was holding to the ground, the sound of the bottles crashing and seeing the paper bag get wet brought her even more pain than what her body felt at the moment.
My beers!
Taeyeon saw another body move. A girl. She watched as she stood up and continued running, not even giving her a glance or saying anything.
"Hey!" She shouted at the person who caused her precious bottles to break and spill.
Her loud voice startled the girl, causing her to look back. She saw the girl open her mouth, and she swore she was about to say something, but then quickly closed it, before she ran away.
"Hey! Come back here you- agh!" Taeyeon shut her eyes tight as she felt pain strike up her leg when she tried to stand up. She muttered a curse while lying on the ground, and during those times, she heard about two pairs of footsteps making their way past her.
It wasn't after half a minute later that she heard another pair of footsteps, this time stopping when they reached her.
"Miss Taeyeon!" Mister Park came running as fast as he could to help her get up from the floor. "Are you alright, miss?"
The young girl brushed off the sand on her arms and looked at the direction where the girl ran off to. "Yeah, I am." She hopped a bit, trying to shake off the pain of her leg.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Mister Park noticed the wet paper bag on the ground.
"Shall I go buy the broken items, miss? What did you spill and break in-"
"A-ah, no!" Mister Park was startled by her sudden loud voice. "I mean.. umm.. it's okay. Nothing important. Just some bottles of softdrink. I was craving for them earlier but I'm suddenly not in the mood for them anymore." The man slowly nodded, following her instructions. Taeyeon released a sigh of relief. She didn't want him to know that she bought bottles of beer and alcohol. He will surely tell her mom and she didn't want any more homilies from her.
Dammit.
Although Taeyeon lied about the bottles of softdrink, she didn't lie about the craving part. She wanted those bottles of beer and alcohol. No, more like she needed them all. Tonight. But Taeyeon guesses that luck wasn't on her side tonight. Her thoughts suddenly went back to the girl who bumped into her.
She didn't even stop to help me or to check if I was okay. It's her fault I ain't gonna be enjoying this night at the very least.
As soon as her back hit the seat of the car, Taeyeon closed her eyes and tried to remember the face of the girl she just bumped into.
I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna get you.
---
She peeked from her hiding place, seeing the familiar vehicle drive off, then went back to hiding. She closed her eyes and balled her fists, feeling something heavy in her chest.
I'm sorry.