chae ai is supposed to be dead.
she's supposed to be buried six feet under, tucked inside a nice, cozy coffin while flowers and a silky dress adorn her skin. she's supposed to be incarcerated, the ocean welcoming her flaky ashes as distant family relatives and kinda-not really friends sing alongside the rising tide.
she's not supposed to have a body. at the very least, not a pristine one that's fresh without scars.
she remembers slippery, muddy roads; a chilly fog draping over polluted air and towering skyscrapers. her parents interrogated her over the new cafe part-time: her mother's laugh airy and light, her dad's rumbly and quiet as his eyes stayed glue to the streets.
the street light blinks red.
their shiny vehicle came to a stop as she answered with a nonchalant hum. it was neither a positive or negative affirmation.
unhappy at the lacking response, her mother poked and prodded for something more. something of substance. she jabbed with tethering teases, grappled with a few sly comments. eventually, she's able to reel chae ai in like a professional fisher, pulling her words out, albeit by the grit of her teeth.
after an unwavering interview, her mother finally relents; smile pearly white and satisfied as she settles into her seat. her father, a mere watch audience to the previous episode, is evidently amused. a breathy chortle is drawn from the depths of his throat as her mother rewinds the show.
chae ai can do nothing but pout by now, gaze tossed to the distance as her parents' voices mesh together; harmonious like a symphonious song as it becomes meager background noise alongside the sudden trickling rain.
the light blinks green.
she observes the car next door. its wheels turning and grating against the forming puddles, water splattering everywhere. not a great day to be wearing something white. their own car follows along, dragging itself slowly and cautiously, just like the person her father is.
her mother's voice has eroded into the air, dispersing like the whimsicalness of bubbles. content has settled on their shoulders, the outside world like a 1950s movie tape lurching by. she shuts her eyes, lids heavy and loose as she drifts away to the radio's broadcast.
she wonders whether it was her father or mother who turned the volume up.
when she opens her eyes, it's not out of want. she's exhausted, moreso than when she first rested. however, her heart is bursting at its seams, pounding against her chest and squirming through the ribcage. she swallows thickly. there's smoke on her tongue.
it seems like an eternity before she's forcefully pulling her eyelids apart. immediately, they're drawn shut like the abrupt scene change of a play. what she saw was blinding, but more importantly, it was hot.
that's when she realizes the slight sting against her leg, something like pebbles prickling her skin. the subtle pain is replaced and ignored once more with the awful, wretched stench of something burning. it wafts through the air and causes her nostrils to flare.
curiously, she blearily blinks away the weariness. what greets her is an orange glare.
the fire is loud, roaring and gnawing its orange combustion against the metal of the car door.
it flickers. it attacks.
her brown eyes frantically try to locate her parents.
they're haunted with red.
YOU ARE READING
their new dawn. | inso's law
Fanfiction[used to be titled my secret friend] chae ai & choi joon. choi joon and chae ai─two individuals who had seemingly nothing to do with each other besides for the tongue twister that is their names when mushed together. come quickening daybreak, a dis...
