hidden scars | stray kids (no longer ongoing)

→chapter 04←| Chased

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Aug. 28, 8:44am, 2026, Motel

I woke up to the sound of a car door slamming and yelling coming from the parking lot outside my window. Changbin was up. I see him look out the window.
"Come on, let's go." He walked towards the door.
"Why?" I asked the eager boy. He grabbed my wrist.
"They're here." We both ran to the other side of the small building until we found another door. "We have to go. They know we're here." We both ran along the side of the building towards the front. Changbin looked around the corner into the parking lot where the van is. He grabbed my wrist again and pulled me into the parking lot. We both got in the van. Changbin drove off. Relief filled my body as soon as we got far from the motel. But I looked in the mirror on my side of the van and saw the same one I saw in the parking lot behind me.
"They're chasing us." I urgently told Changbin.
"Damn it." Changbin whispered under his breath. He sped up and turned right. He kept taking different turns to confuse the people chasing us. He parked the car at a convenience store when he didn't see the van anymore. "Stay here. I'm going in to get some food. And whatever you do, do not get out of the van. Understand?"
"Yes." I whispered. I saw him walk into the convenience store. I could see him grabbing bags of chips and packages of granola bars. I saw the van pull into the parking lot. Two guys hopped out of the vehicle. I started yelling.
"Changbin! Changbin!" The two guys smashed the window and unlocked the door. I kept yelling as the men tryed to get me out of the car. It took a while but Changbin heard my screaming and immediatley ran outside. He tryed to get me out of their grip but one of them started attacking him. The other began to drag me to their van. I got thrown into the back of the van and the other guy ran away from Changbin and got in with the other. They drove off.
I saw Changbin get in the van through the window before he was out of sight. As the van I was in was driving to who knows where, I saw Changbins van chasing after us.
The van I was in stopped in front of an alley way. One of the guys opened the doors to the back of the van and picked me up. He walked into the alley way and dropped me on the ground. As soon as my body hit the ground, Changbin appeared behind him and began to throw punches at him. He eventually hit him so hard that he fell unconcious. The other guy got out of the van and began to fight Changbin. He was stronger than the other guy and kept hitting Changbin in the face. Changbin pushed him against the wall and threw fists at his face. He knee kicked him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him. He ran over to me and picked me up. He ran to the van, put me in the passengers and drove off.

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'No! Please stop!' I screamed at my step dad who kept hitting my mom with a beer bottle. 'Please! Hit me instead!' My step dad stopped hitting me.
'Y/n?' He called.

'Y/n?'

'Y/n?'
I kept hearing my name being called. I woke up to Changbin shaking me.
"Y/n? Are you okay?" He looked at me questioningly. Relief over took me. "You were crying in your sleep." I then realized there were tears rolling down my cheeks. It was all a dream.
"Oh thank god." I hugged him. He was shocked by the gesture but then hugged me back.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked me.
"I'll tell you later."
"Well, just know you're safe with me now." You're safe with me now. My dad would always tell me that.
As I began to calm down, I noticed the side of Changbin's head was bleeding.
"Changbin your'e bleeding!"
"Oh it's nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about? You're loosing blood!" I began to look through the glove compartment for something to help Changbin with. I found a napkin and began to clean up Changbin's wound. As I was tending to his wound I saw him smile a bit but I didn't question it.

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Changbin kept driving for a few more hours, being extra cautious so we don't get caught again.
"How much longer will we be on the road for? It's getting kinda late." I asked Changbin.
"Just a little bit longer. I have to stop for gas soon anyways." Silence came upon us again. I sat there and looked at the trees near the high way, the citys and towns getting less populated as we went. Nervousness over took me once again. What's going to happen to us after this?

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Aug. 28, 8:37pm

We had finally stopped at a gas station.
"You're coming in with me this time because we don't want you getting kidnapped again now do we." Changbin said as he got out of the van.
"Fine by me." I walked into the convenience store with him. I watched him pay for the gas and walked back out. As we were walking back to the van tears began to fall again. I couldn't control it anymore. Changbin noticed and stopped in his tracks. He turned towards me and pulled me into his embrace. It took me a while to process what was going on, but I soon wrapped my arms around his torso. I continued to cry, getting his shirt wet. My sobs became more quiet. I lifted my head from his chest and looked at him. The neon lights from the windows of the convenience store shined on my face, making my tear stained cheeks visible. "Changbin? ....What's going to happen to us? Are we ever going to be safe again?" I asked looking for any sign of hope in the boys dark eyes. I hated that he had to see me like this. I had finally let my walls down. He saw the real me.

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And what he saw may have surprised him, but he now had a sudden feeling in his heart that wasn't there before. He was unsure of what it was. Although he knew seeing you like this saddened him, it gave him a sense of realness coming from you. You were strong, brave, and had been through a lot. But you also could be sensitive and vulnerable. He saw himself in you.

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He looked at me in my eyes. Silence fell upon the both of us as my breathing steadied. He wrapped his arms around me again.
"Y/n, we will be okay. You will be okay," He said softly in my ear. "I promise that I will stay by your side. You have me remember? I'm always here." He reassured me. My Dad used to say the same thing. He pulled away from the long hug and took my hand. "Come on, let's go find a place for the night okay?" I nodded.

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Aug. 28, 9:29pm

I was holding onto the brown sheets that lay on top of me. I was wearing another one of Changbins shirts that he already wore. His scent began to grow on me. The dim light coming from the lamp on the nightstand in between the two beds we were laying on making it so I could make out his face in the dark motel room.
"So, that nightmare you had earlier, you wanna tell me about it now?" Changbin asked from across the room.
"It was a flashback from when I lived with my step-father and my mom. He was very abusive and was always hitting my mom." I told him, not wanting to recall what happened.
"Oh. I'm so sorry."
"No it's fine. I have nightmares like that all the time. Just once in a while they become physical. Kind of like a night terror I guess."
"Oh, well that must be tough."
"Yeah but what can you do."
"Yeah sadly you're right...... Well, goodnight Y/n. I'll be right here okay?" He said before he reached over to turn off the lamp.
"Okay. Goodnight Changbin." I said with a new unknown feeling in my stomach.

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📌a/n: If you have any questions about the book, it's plot, or the characters, please leave a comment. I will always be happy to clear any misunderstandings. If you have any thoughts you can also leave those! I like hearing people's thoughts on my writing as long as you are kind. 💗