lionne ; bts

7. Sleepover

'Who's your first kiss?'

After the restaurant incident, the girls and I decided to bond over a sleepover. We talked about out interests, hobbies and our love lives.

'My first kiss was in third grade when I kissed my crush. It was really awkward because we kissed while we were riding a waterslide,' laughed Jihyo.

'You think that's bad? I had hay fever the day we kissed and I sneezed all over his face,' said Dahyun.

'How unfortunate,' I laughed.

We wore our onesies as we gathered around playing cards.

'Man, I'm tired. We have practices tomorrow, right?' Rose asked.

'Yeah, we do. I love our songs! It totally portrays our personalities,' said Jisoo.

'I know! I got some help from Namjoon, he's really good at composing,' said Jihyo.

We all started giggling.

'Namjoon and Jihyo, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G!'

Jihyo blushed bright red and exclaimed, 'no! It's not like that! He's just a friend!'

'Deny it all you want,' I said.

- 2 HOURS LATER -

'Hey guys, I want to tell you something.'

As we got ready for bed, I decided it was time to tell my story. Everyone averted their eyes to me as I started.

'It links to why I got emotional at the dinner today. I wasn't going to tell anyone but I can trust you all enough,' I said.

I took a deep breath.

'It all started three years ago...'

Flashback...

'Anthony, when will you come back?'

In the hazy summer days of Italy, Anthony and I sat under an apple tree. We'd usually come here to bond while our parents worked.

'Three years.'

'Why did you choose the military?' I asked.

Anthony thought for a moment while he licked his gelato ice cream. 'Well, I always had a passion for helping others and I was always an athletic person so I'd figured to join the military.'

I nodded as I sighed sadly. He was leaving for his training course in two days.

Anthony ruffled my hair as he smiled. 'Don't worry, I'll be back in no time. When I come back, I'll see a strong and beautiful lady in front of me.'

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him tightly.

'I'll miss you, Anthony.'

'I'll miss you too, Amber.'

- TWO MONTH'S LATER -

On one lazy afternoon, I smiled as it was Anthony's birthday. I decided to call him so I searched for his military information form.

I dug into my parent's files and found a letter. I figured it was his form so I opened it.

That was when my life changed...

To Mr Armando and Mrs Hwang,

We regret to inform you Anthony Armando was killed in battle at 16:14 pm on the morning of 5th May 2012 while having got injured and could not recover.

Sincerely,

Kim Gangnam

Commanding Officer of the South Korean Army

From that moment, everything changed.

My pure soul was overtaken by grief and pain. My head started whirling as my whole body started shaking. It was as if Satan controlled my body.

I crunched the paper in my hands as my blood boiled with fury. This letter was sent one month ago. My parents kept it from me, lied to me, betrayed me.

Without thinking, I sprinted outside and down the street. I kept running until I reached the dangerous part of town. People stood in alleyways with cigars between their lips as they stared at me.

My eyes scanned the stores until it landed on the tattoo parlour. I marched inside and demanded a tattoo, I watched as they smirked and sharpened the needle.

I lifted my hair as I winced when the sharp needle penetrated my skin. Except, the pain wasn't comparable to the pain I felt with Anthony.

'Done, sweetie.' I looked at the reflection to see the word.

Fiasco.

Failure. My brother failed by leaving me. My parents failed by being quiet. I failed.

From that day, I changed.

I started drinking and smoking. I skipped school and came home late every day. My parents tried to put me into therapy but I avoided it.

The only therapy I had was music. I would sing on the streets as people leave me money. I used that money for stupid things.

My singing attracted someone in particular. He told me he was a music producer from Korea. He said he was interested in me so I sang for him. From then, he became my instructor and trained me for three months. I found myself becoming happier every day. I stopped drinking and smoking and even started private tuition.

My life was back on track.

I was flown to South Korea to start my new life.

The rest is history...

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- AlunaticD