Chapter -8
"Cowards"
Shin's friend turned to him as soon as I secured the main door of the house, grabbing him by the collar and saying angrily, "Do you take me for a fool?" Shin beaks off as I settle in to bask in the impending drama in silence. An old friend's gathering is never tranquil.
"The department sent me here to closely monitor events after learning of strange happenings in the area. Do you know anything about the lies I told to support you? To protect you and your stupidity, I even scared off all the rentals here! (laughing mockingly) What do I get in return from you blatantly flaunting your existence to the entire world? Please get real; you are fucking dead to everyone."
"I'm sorry, but I didn't ask you to do that. I told you not to include me in your—no, this won't work—(glancing at me). I haven't been at peace since you moved into this house."
Words that come out of nowhere hurt more than ones you were expecting to hear. In the first square, after all my efforts. My throat felt funny, and my heart was sinking—I'm not sure why. I could sense that if I blinked, a tear would escape my eyes. I said nothing at all.
"It's not her fault it's all yours." He shoved shin.
"Get out of my place." I had the guts to say something. "It used to be your place But I Pay Rent...I Bought It. You can't scream..you can't -you." Tears were streaming down my cheeks, my ears were burning, and my throat burned as bad as my heart.
"Hey." Shin became tense and shakily grasped my hand, which I promptly waved off.
"See what you di-"
"Whoever you are, shut up. To begin with, Shin, how dare you act so devoid of life. This is how you two think things are done. What is the duration of your deathlike behaviour? He did it a very long time ago, while I caught you now. Others soon will as well(pulling his collar) "Remember that I am not a very good citizen, much less a human, the next time you lay a hand on him."
While I stopped crying, the two looked shocked.
He leaned in and said, "Lady, I'm sorry for my behaviour. I jus-t"
Shin yelled, "Stay away from her," and pulled me firmly in his direction. My cheek strikes his enormous chest.
"You two need to realise that running away won't help you out—believe me, no one remembers you and you've grown older. I don't understand you, Shin. (moving backwards). At that point, you were simply a boy, but today you are a man. What's wrong with the two of you? You see, I believe I need some alone time. I implore you two to please go upstairs and leave me alone." My voice broke into tears as I spoke. I saw shin's whimpering eyes. He turned back just as he was about to speak.
Even in my room, where I was crying, I could hear their furious voices. It brought back memories of the fights my parents used to have when I was a child. Truth never heals, but trauma can. Adults are really just cowards dressed up as brave people. When they talk about their experiences or encounter something unexpected, they are no better than a child in his teens since they are afraid of the fear and act accordingly. I continued to hide until everything outside was quiet and peaceful.