Chapter 1: I can't but I still did it
The rain was still heavily pouring outside. It's been days since it all began. Will the sun set again? Or will the darkness still continue to fill my room and into my soul? Will I be able to get out of it?
I opened my eyes and rose up to close the open window. It's too cold outside and the breeze keeps on entering inside. I laid down again and tried to get back to sleep.
It's the month of July and I haven't accomplished anything yet. More than half of the year and I'm still stuck in my apartment. Nothing was changed, just a mess kept on piling up.
A loud irritating noise coming from my phone suddenly took my attention.
"Yes, what again?" I annoyingly answered while frowning my eyebrows.
"You know my reason to call you everyday-" I cut him out and coldly said, "Yeah I know and I've already memorized it. If you are going to convince me again tomorrow about going back to work then I guess I should cut my connections with you."
"No, please don't do that. You are one of my great working partners," he pleaded.
"Okay. Let me rest," I said while closing my eyes.
"You've been resting for more than a year. You know that we missed you already and we need a good employee like you. Come one bro I already missed my partner. Cases solved have been lowered this past few months," There comes his drama again, I heard a sigh on the other line.
"I'll be back when I'm ready. Stop bothering me," I hung up the phone and got up to get some food. Being stuck alone sucks 'cause no one's gonna cook for you. I look up in the cupboards and kitchen cabinets but I run out of food stocks. An expired ramyeon is all that's left. So I had no choice but to go outside to buy food.
"I really hate doing this," I mumbled. I wore my gray jacket, zip it up and wore the hoodie. Maybe I'll just go quickly to a convenient store to grab some not expired ramyeon.
I'm kinda anxious about my surroundings and my hands start to get sweaty. Ah, I really hate this feeling. When I reached the convenience store, I went straight to the shelf where the ramyeon is and proceeded to the counter.
I fixed my hood to cover my face while getting out of the convenience store. Streets are dark because the street lights are kinda far away from each other.
"Stop! Don't ever try to touch me," a girl shouted and her voice was slowly getting lower, that I can't barely hear everything she said. I looked at where the noise came from without turning my head. I continued walking but a voice made my feet stop from doing it.
"Come on, miss. This will be quick," a deep voice of a man caught my attention. I turned my head to look at what was going on. A girl surrounded by a bunch of men.
What should I do?
I step forward but I hold back as fear creeps from my feet up to my chest.
I turned back and whispered, "I can't."
The group of men started to hold the girl's arms and tried to take advantage of her.
"Stop! I don't want someone to be hurt!" She loudly said.
I am walking away.
slowly.
scared.
"Fuck!" I whispered and ran back to that girl.
I punched the man who was holding her right arm tightly.
"And who are you?" an angry man looked at me. I just looked him in the eyes straightly and coldly as I fought those two other men. One of them hit me in the face causing me to fall down on the ground.
I suddenly heard a loud heart beat.
My chest is getting tighter. I find it hard to breathe.
It starts to conquer me again.
With a minute of silence, I was shocked by what happened next. The girl moved quickly and threw a punch to one of those men and the ambiance started to change. She grabbed one of the men's arms and twisted it while kicking the other one on the chest. She snapped one of the men's fingers causing him to curl down in pain. One left, and he took out a butterfly knife out of his pocket and nodded to her as if he was signaling her to start the fight. She lunged forward and grabbed the knife quickly but She cut herself. The guy laughed jokingly and attacked her. Her quick reflexes respond immediately and dodge the knife. She then grabbed the opportunity to punch the guy's upper stomach and took the knife from him. The men started to run away.
"I told you that I don't want anyone to be hurt," she yelled at those men that were running away.
She knows how to defend herself but why did she let them touch her? Wait, Why am I concerned about her? I don't even know her.
"Tsk weak shits. They didn't even know basic taekwondo." she said while wiping the blood in her hands as she offered her hands to help me stand up. She stared me in the eyes as if it was pulling me in a different universe. I just looked at her hand and stood on my own. She tried to remove the dust on my hoodie but I quickly moved to avoid her from touching me.
"S-sorry," She whispered while wrapping her wound with a handkerchief. I turned back and started walking away without saying a single word.
" Hey wait! thanks! For helping," she shouted. I just ignored her and continued walking.
"Tsk! Help? I didn't do anything," I said but in a low pitch voice making sure she would not hear it.
"Hey! You forgot your ramyeon!" She shouted again. Why is she kept on shouting?
She ran towards me and gave me the ramyeon in a plastic bag. "By the way, it's Ryeji!" she added as she smiled at me. I just took the ramyeon and continued walking.
"She can already take care of herself. I shouldn't bother helping her." I sighed as I fixed the hood of my jacket and checked the device in my head if it was still in tuck.
"But I still did it." I continued.