spectrum【fem!reader .lookism】

. xlix

"What is...this?"

The new house was a strange place. It was...not the best, that's for sure. But it was better. It had a roof, it gave fed her stomach. It gave her a place to sleep at night.

There's a strange CD in one of the rooms. (Y/N) found it just as she was trying to find any reason at all to mistrust this place, even if she knew it to herself that there's nothing wrong there.

"Look at him...what a cute little boy! He's a bit more fragile than I thought, but it's fine. I had this feeling, you know."

This was a memory of a long time that's passed.

By this point, (Y/N) probably doesn't quite remembered much of it. She was still young when she saw that video, and she wasn't there long enough to actually meet him in person.

Still, she watched that video in an old, almost failing player, eyes wide as she takes it all in.

The man in the video...he looks like a strong person. Someone who could easily bat her away with a tap on the shoulder. Yet he interacts with his son so carefully as if he doesn't want the toddler to snap in half if he were to be a little too rash.

(Y/N) watches. She listens to each word. And takes it all in.

"I love my family, either way. I'd like to keep them safe. It's only natural to protect your loved ones, right?"

-

Just as expected, the apartment was empty. It was likely that Daniel had no plans of stopping by the place as soon as he delivered the letter to the hospital. Still, (Y/N) dutifully searched every nook and cranny of the small place in hopes that she'd find anything.

Zoe's crying figure is still burned through her eyelids, showing her that same scene everytime she closes her eyes. Somehow, it doesn't leave a very good feeling on her tongue.

Daniel Park: as hasty as a fool as ever.

She can roughly guess the situation. It was quite obvious he sees himself as the reason why nothing seems to be going well lately. The most plausible conclusion he could've made is that running off and away from everyone would've been a better choice.

Because that's always been his style, hasn't it? Either run away, pretend the problem doesn't exist, or deal with it until it's too much.

In short, the recipe for disasters.

(Y/N)'s steps inside that empty room sounded so loud. Never before has it felt as large as it did then.

If she were to be honest, there was a time the (h/c) haired girl liked her brother. She'd expected that when she entered their household, he'd resent her for stealing the attention of his birth mother. She thought perhaps he'd curse her for adding more burden to his mom.

But instead, he only showed her open curiosity and a friendly and accommodating treatment.

(It was terrifying at first. She didn't want to trust it. Until finally, she did.)

(Maybe her mistake was taking too long to do so.)

Her search brought her to the futon where Daniel sleeps at. She stares at it for a bit, debating whether to check it or not. There's a chance that there could've been a hint as to where he went in that futon, or maybe it's just a fruitless act to do so. In the end, she crouched down and flipped it over and checked it from all angles.

None.

It's hilarious. This entire situation reminded her of a memory she's almost forgotten by that point.