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Hwara follows Jisung back into their room as the older ones all leave for college. They both sit down on the edge of Hwara's bed before Jisung turns to the girl. At this moment, he really pays attention to the girl's features.
She has round, almond eyes with a lighter brown color than most—one that causes her eyes to look golden in the sunlight. Right under her left eye is a small scar, so minimal but unique. It reminds him of Taeyong's scar a lot, but for some reason, he finds this one much more captivating. He feels like he's seen it somewhere before. But where?
Hwara's hair always looks full and voluminous as she takes a lot of care to keep it healthy. Jisung could see that most of her hair dye has washed away, fading to a slightly brown color rather than the usual black hair she's always seen with.
More than all of that, he notices that her face looks alive—full of emotive expressions despite not being able to fully make sense of them yet. All though her bright eyes seem tired from restless nights, injuries, and the trauma she probably hasn't seen yet, they look like they have the world in front of them. They look like they care.
"What did you want to talk about?" Hwara slowly asks, snapping Jisung out his thoughts.
He messes around with his fingers, wondering how to phrase this correctly. "How much do you remember?"
Hwara gulps, not realizing just how much she dreaded the question. "From the moment I was first kidnapped by Yoon Minseok three years ago, he gave them back. H-He gave them all back," Hwara breathes out, diverting her attention to her hands that are covered by the sleeves of Jisung's hoodie.
Jisung nods his head. "Are you okay?"
Hwara's face contorts in confusion as she turns her head to Jisung. "What do you mean?"
"Are you okay? Are you okay with all those memories, or do they hurt?"
Hwara shakes her head. "They hurt when I got them but—"
Jisung sighs before cutting her off.
"Does it hurt here?" he asks, pointing to his right chest, right above its heart. "Does it feel heavy here? Do you wish you never got them back?"
Hwara thinks about it. How does it make me feel? The girl takes a gulp of air before slowly nodding. "It doesn't feel good. I miss getting good sleep."
It hurts a lot, and I'm terrified of them to the point where they won't leave me alone in my dreams.
"Talk to me about it. Don't explain what happened, just how you feel about them."
Hwara nods her head before taking a deep breath.
"It's not just a heaviness, it feels like my heart is being dragged out of my body. When I close my eyes, all I can see is just this cold, dark, metal room filled with memories—none of which I feel comfortable with. I can hear his voice, cold and calculating. All that man wanted me to feel was pain. And I felt i-it alright."
