"What is love, mom?" the little five year old girl asked her mother as she came running to her mother, abandoning her hard earned seat at the swing.
The woman smiled and made her daughter sit beside her on the bench in the park. "Don't you use that word everyday?" the mother asked. "Yes, but the boy over there," the girl pointed towards the boy playing on the swing, "he said, it means something different when a man says it to a woman."
The woman's face lit up in understanding. "Ah, you mean that type of love. It isn't much different," she said, her smile widening as she though of the person she loved. "It is the most beautiful and horrifying feeling in the world. You'll feel like you are on cloud nine when in love, your thoughts full of the person you love. But at the same time, you will feel as if you are going crazy, you will be scared of loosing that person and you might even fight with the person because you are so scared. However, at the end of the day, you won't find comfort anywhere except in the arms of your loved one. So, make sure never to loose that person. Love them and keep them safe."
The little girl heard every word clearly but her forehead was scrunched trying to understand what her mother meant. "Do you find comfort with dad?" she asked, finally catching up with each word. The woman's smile dimmed.
"No, baby, I don't."
***
"You'll get a tan," Doyun said, pulling Aera out of her memories. She was sitting outside the convenience store, eyes closed, facing the sky. Opening her eyes, she looked at her date, holding a can of soda.
"I don't mind getting tanned," she said, taking a sip of the cold drink, while Doyun pulled his chair into the shade. "I wasn't doing it for the tan anyway. I read somewhere that if you look at the sun with closed eyes for a few minutes, you don't have to squint while taking photos."
"That's a great fact but come here before you get a sun burn." Shaking her head, Aera moved her own chair in the shade, watching the kids running down the street.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Doyun asked, finishing his drink quickly. "Sure!" she replied, getting up to throw the cans in the dustbin a little away.
She could see Doyun walking down the few steps, waiting for her. She would have moved too if not for a flyer attached to the store's wall. It read, 'Help needed' and she just had to enquire about it.
"What happened? Did you want something else?" Doyun asked as soon as the smiling woman walked out of the store. She shook her head. "I was just asking something. Come on, let's go."
They decided to walk in the park nearby. The setting sun's heat was just enough to remind it was still summer but it wasn't overbearing. It was beautiful and walking underneath the shade of trees was just as perfect. Aera was thoroughly enjoying the stressless hours.
"Can I ask you something?" Doyun asked, breaking the silence. Aera didn't think much of it, she just nodded in reply.
She heard him take a deep breath, her hands growing clammy thinking about the way he was behaving these days.
"What is going on between you and Taehyung?"
Her feet halted on their own, her heart beating faster in trepidation. "What do you mean?" she asked with a nervous smile. She had never been good at hiding.
Doyun rubbed a hand down his exasperated face. "You know exactly what I mean. You like him, possibly love him. I heard you saying as much when I met him at your place."
She shook her head, holding onto his tightly clenched fist. "You are misunderstanding me. I didn't mean it in a romantic way. I just said it because I was excited I got an idea for my painting by looking at him. That's it."
The man sighed, his restless hand tugging at his hair. "Fine, even if I believe you right now, I'm not a fool, Aera. I'm not blind. You talk about him all the time. I saw the way your eyes lit up yesterday at his message and I just know you like him more than a friend. He likes you too. I like you too," he said, the last coming out as a whisper, his hands finding way to her arms.
"I– Doyun, it's not what you think. He's just a friend..." That sounded like a lie to her own ears, but she was afraid to admit the reality. Admitting the truth had never benefited her.
"Stop playing with our feelings, Aera!" he screamed all of a sudden, his control finally slipping. The woman flinched at his tone and struggled to get out of his grip but it was impossible.
"Please, just stop, okay?" he continued, shaking her slightly. "You either stay with me, body and mind or with him. Don't play with me like this. I won't tolerate it. Do you even have any idea how long I've liked you? I'm probably in love with you by now, knowing it's one sided. I can't do this, Aera."
"Then don't," she said, pushing him away. "I never asked you to like me. We were supposed to be best friends forever, you, me and Hwayoung but look where we are. Honestly, I'm too tired to deal with this relationship shit. I'm too tired to think about a man and my feelings when I've hit rock bottom and am struggling to keep myself from going bankrupt."
"I can help–"
"I don't want it!" she cut him immediately. "I don't need help, I just need support and someone to say it's going to be okay. You keep going on and on about how much you like me but have you ever even asked me if im doing okay? No, you haven't! The way I see it, you are no different than my father who only thinks about himself."
That was a low blow, Aera knew it quite well but she was too overcome to even care. She watched with angry eyes as Doyun's hands clenched into tight fists. "I'm not like your father. If anything, you are the one who's so self absorbed that you can't even see how you are hurting people around you. You are his daughter, not me."
Daughter of a murderer...
Who will you murder when you grow up?
Killing is in her blood!
The memories, the horrifying memories of people's snide comments and condescending laughter still rang loud and clear in her ears. Those voices grew louder with each step Doyun took away from her, leaving her to wallow in the darkness of her mind.
I really am my father's daughter, she thought as she collapsed on the walking track, uncaring of the dirt and the people walking around her.
~~~~
A/N:
It feels like forever since I updated. I'm still trying to come up with a schedule, probably by the next update I might know.
Anyways, what do you think about this chapter? There are a few clues in it. If you saw, let's see if your theories come true.
Thank you so much for waiting so long and reading!!💖💖💖
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Brush Strokes ✓
Fanfiction"It's tea. I didn't add poison to it. If that's what you are thinking." ⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅ Lee Aera has never had it easy in life. Struggling in the cut-throat industry of art where you either get noticed or...
