OBLIVION | NCT 127 ff - discontinued.

Chapter 12

Minjoo's POV

When we got back at the motel, Jungwoo and Sicheng followed me to my room. I've calmed down after crying and these two have taken the role of being ensuring I was safe alongside Jaehyun who was my emotional support.

Regarding their decision, they had nowhere to go at all and they couldn't care less if we were criminals either. They said: "We've been dealing with criminals our whole life; how bad can you be?" I quote. I got to say, Jungwoo was quite the daring one, on the other hand, Sicheng was more cautious, I'm slightly convinced that he's just here to watch over his colleague.

They helped me pack the shopping bags, putting some clothes on another bag for more convenience. Odd enough, I'd trust these two to hold my drinks in a club. They might be sex workers but I stand my belief that you can't label someone generally by their job/profession.

I glanced at the clock and it was already past midnight. I sighed. Happy one day anniversary to my debut as a murderer, I guess?

Sicheng and Jungwoo were quiet the whole time, by the way, but when they heard me sigh, they've clearly had enough. "Okay, sis, you're clearly stressed and this silence isn't helping at all. Would you maybe want a girl talk?" Jungwoo asked me and I slightly chuckled.

"That's kind of you, being surrounded by men for hours is getting quite tiring already." I smiled. He giggled.

"I believe that this would be a good chance for me to show our gratitude to you. Although Sicheng is less outspoken about it, I can assure you that he's relieved and thankful." Jungwoo explained with a saddened smile, unaware of the glare that Sicheng was giving him.

"No problem. I've had quite the adventure in the process of rescuing you." I joked and chuckled.

Although I was aware of the fact that they had no intention to joke around and kid, I attempted to lighten the atmosphere and aura of this room but failed drastically. I knew where this kind of situation would lead to.

They were jars of tears that needed to be emptied. They needed someone to help them open the lid; to explore and open up the deepest chambers of their own bitterness in life.

I was aware and yet, I cowered. I cowered all over again and tried to avoid the situation. I couldn't open their jar when I can't even bring myself to open my own.

That was what I would've done and believed in.

But no more secrets; secrets that create lies.

No more trust issues; trust issues that builds a boundary between us.

I didn't want to pretend any longer. I can't fool the people that actually care about me and take them for granted for doing their best and yet, make them feel like they're not enough.

"You deserve to know about us, at least." Sicheng spoke. Which is a very rare occasion, I presume.

I nodded and looked at them eagerly, mentally preparing myself and telling them that I'm all ears.

"We were raised and born to be prostitutes. Our mothers were prostitutes as well and as soon as we entered the world, we were taken care of and groomed to be worthy sex workers." Jungwoo spoke, looking down, ashamed. They had nothing to be ashamed about, they shouldn't be labelled as sex workers because they're normal humans like me.

Sicheng just pursed his lips and rubbed his shoulders anxiously, I could see that talking about this topic made him uncomfortable and anxious.

"We didn't choose to be like this. We were given no choice. We were forced and had no way out. We tried to escape countless of times and each time, the punishments would only get more worse. We would be forced to satisfy and deal with 10 clients and more for a day and it's just... sickening... and exhausting... and....self-degrading" Sicheng was a composed man, but the Sicheng that appeared in front of me was frankly the opposite of the his image that carved on my mind.