#bokseul

But she felt sad nonetheless, because the care and (albeit platonic) love she had once received from Joonhwi, had dwindled down to almost nothing. He still worried over her unhealthy eating and sleeping habits and berated her about it when he felt it was needed, but it was no longer the same. She felt he did it mostly out of habit now and with no real sentiment behind it.

Sol felt the prickle of fresh tears forming in her eyes and she shut her eyes tight, taking a deep breath to try and stop them from falling, but it was useless. A pained sob escaped her lips and her body trembled as flashbacks of memories appeared behind her closed eyelids.

The first one was from after the trial, when she invited Yeseul to stay with her in her dorm because the other Sol had gone home. She was in the middle of brushing her friend’s long locks when the conversation arose.

“Unnie, I feel so grateful” Yeseul’s voice sounded muffled against the pillow she was hugging.

“About what?”

“About having you all as my friends, without your support I don’t think I would have been able to survive this trial… let alone win it” the girl’s voice trembled “but I’m even more grateful of you and Joonhwi-oppa”

“Yeseul-ah” Sol stopped brushing her friend’s hair and gave her a hug, not knowing how to comfort her with words.

“If Joonhwi-oppa and you hadn’t intervened when you did I-”

Sol tightened her arms around Yeseul as she cried on her shoulder, trying not to get emotional herself. She had been so scared for her friend after seeing the signs of abuse… after all she was no stranger to them herself, with seeing what his stepfather had done to her mother several times all those years ago.

“I feel both guilty and grateful, unnie” Yeseul said in between sobs “because he got involved knowing the consequences… and he didn’t mind being called a two-timer and having to testify in court”

Sol rubbed circles on her friend’s back, not daring to say anything so Yeseul could say the things she had kept to herself throughout the trial.

“I owe him now, unnie” she sighed “how do you repay something like this?”

“I think you should ask him”

The second memory to appear was a far sadder one and Sol felt her chest tightening in pain, making it harder for her to breathe. It was of the conversation that catalyzed the situation she was currently in, that had her feeling a heartache as painful as the one she experienced when Dan had left for the States.

Joonhwi had surprised Sol by asking her to go out for ice cream with him after a particularly hard week and she had agreed – albeit reluctantly – because she didn’t want him berating her over her time management and health once again. Their 2L midterms had just passed and while they were waiting for the results, the legal clinic was flooded with new cases, making it impossible for them to catch a breath and relax. Hence why they were currently sitting side by side on a bench in a nearby park, enjoying the rare sunny day in the middle of winter.

If Sol was honest with herself, she was glad he had invited her out because they hadn’t spent much quality time together lately. She thought this was mostly due to the fact that she had started their second year far steadier than their first one, trying to ask more questions in class and optimizing her studying time so she wouldn’t have to cram as much before exams. She still struggled and needed Joonhwi’s help, but not nearly as much as before. Besides, she also had Dan supporting her now.

It was because of her efforts to be a better student, that Sol had enough time to notice a shift in both their relationship and the amount of time they spent alone together. She had also realized him and Yeseul had gotten closer, going as far as him changing seats in class to be besides her sometimes and including her in their – no longer one on one – study sessions.

Sol felt so happy Yeseul was slowly getting back to being her usual more bubbly and confident self around Joonhwi, and him being more comfortable and cheekier around someone other than herself, that she locked away her own worries about her relationship with him in the very back of her head. Because they both deserved happiness… and who was she to deny them of that.

Truth is, as much as Sol tried to deny it and not think about it, this shift in her relationship with Joonhwi was hurting her. Towards the end of their 1L, after the mock trial competition, she had started thinking that maybe there could be a bit more to their friendship. That maybe there was the slightest hope that it could turn into more… she still had engraved in her mind how intensely Joonhwi had been looking at her as they rehearsed their argument, how that had sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach and had made her look at her best friend in a whole new light.

“Sol-ah, you must be really tired” Joonhwi’s voice brought her back from her reverie “your ice cream is melting, and you’ve barely eaten anything”

“Hmm? Oh!” Sol looked down at her cup and moved the melting scoop around with her spoon “yeah, I- I’m really tired”

“Are you sure it is just that?” her friend frowned “you seemed lost in your thoughts a moment ago”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about the case we just took at the clinic” Sol lied, hoping he wouldn’t notice “sorry Joonhwi-ah, I know this was supposed to be a relaxing evening out… but you know how my brain works”

Joonhwi scoffed playfully as he nudged her ribs with his elbow “your brain continuously works in overdrive, that’s why I’m always so concerned with your poor self-care habits”

“Ya! Give me some credit! I’ve gotten better at taking care of myself this year” Sol nudged him back with her shoulder and he laughed.

She noticed out of the corner of her eye Joonhwi scratched his neck for the nth time, then opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to say something but could not find the right words. She had been aware of his nervous antics ever since they had sat down at the park, but she didn’t want to push him into telling her something before he was ready.

“Sol-ah, I must admit I invited you out with ulterior motives” he cleared his throat “I uh- I wanted to ask you something”

Sol’s heart skipped a bit and she turned to look at him.

“What is it?”

“I don’t even know where to start” he sighed “I haven’t felt like this in a while”

“Felt like what?” her heart was racing by now.

“I think- I think I might like someone” she had never seen Joonhwi being this hesitant before “and I want to ask them out but I’m afraid about how it might go”

Sol was certain this someone he wanted to ask out was not her and she felt her throat closing.

“Who is it? Who do you want to ask out?” her voice came out a bit strangled, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Yeseul”

Sol felt her stomach plummet to the ground and her mouth go dry. “Yeseul? Jeon Yeseul?”

“Who else?” he chuckled nervously “I- this is as unexpected for me as it is for you, Sol-ah… I didn’t expect to develop feelings for her”

“Mm hm” was all the response Sol could muster, she didn’t dare talk in case her voice betrayed her.

“Do you think I should ask her?” Joonhwi looked at her and she immediately looked away, she didn’t think she could look into his eyes without giving away her emotions.

“I think- I think Yeseul would like that because-” Sol’s voice almost broke, and she hated herself for it “she’s grateful you and I helped her last year, so I don’t think she’ll reject you… but Han Joonhwi…”

“What?”

Sol faked a frown, stood up and turned around to point an accusatory finger towards him “If you hurt her, I’m killing you”

“I won’t, you can trust me on that Kang Sol” he smiled at her, and Sol could feel her heart breaking apart.

The third memory was a bitter one. It was the memory that made Sol wish she could have been more selfish, that she for once had put herself and her desires on top of everyone elses, even if it meant hurting someone she loved. But she was too selfless, and it had proved once again to be a curse. This event had occurred a few days after her conversation with Joonhwi on their ice cream outing.

It was a Friday night and Sol was spending the night at Yeseul’s dorm for a change. They were huddled under the covers of Yeseul’s bed watching a movie, when Sol noticed that her friend was absentmindedly playing with a strand of her hair and not paying attention to the computer screen.

“Yeseul-ah” Sol softly elbowed the other girl whilst she paused the movie “you’re not paying attention”

She snapped her head up and turned to look at Sol “sorry unnie, I just have a lot in my mind”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Unnie, I talked to Joonhwi-oppa this morning…”

Sol’s stomach churned as she felt a wave of apprehension wash her body “And?”

“He asked me out” Yeseul looked away from her “on a date”

“That’s… good!” Sol tried as hard as she could to make her voice sound cheery “what did you tell him?”

“He took me by surprise, to be honest” her friend was fidgeting with a strand of her hair “I told him that I needed time to think about an answer”

“Why?”

Yeseul turned around and looked at Sol and gave her a small smile “Unnie, maybe I’m wrong but, I always thought you had a special relationship with him… and I’d feel horrible to meddle into that”

“Yeseul-ah, we have nothing special, he’s just my best friend!” Sol exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, trying to appear nonchalant “it would be weird for us to be anything else, don’t be silly!”

“Unnie” her friend frowned, her voice indicating disbelief.

“Yeseul-ah, I’ve seen how comfortable and happy you look around Joonhwi” Sol smiled even though her heart was in pain “you’re slowly going back to being the bubbly and cheerful girl I befriended in our 1L… and I’ve seen how Joonhwi has played an important role in that”

Sol raised her hand to stop her friend from interrumpting her.

“And Joonhwi doesn’t open up with anyone, so he either trust you or really likes you, to put his guard down around you and show how he truly is” Sol’s vision got blurry with tears “but most importantly, he’s a good, caring man… and you deserve to be loved and cherished by someone”

“Unnie!” Yeseul gave Sol a tight hug, a sob escaping her lips.

“Go on the date” Sol whispered as she spilled a few tears of her own “you deserve to be happy, Yeseul-ah”

The Sol from the present panicked when someone stopped near her, shading her face from the sun. She feared opening her eyes and look up at whoever had found her in her miserable state and having to explain why she looked a mess and had a tear-streaked face.

“Noona, if you wanted to hide, this is a bad place to do so” Bokgi’s voice made her ease up the tension of her body “it didn’t take me that long to find you”

She opened her eyes and found the boy staring down at her with a sad smile on his face. She lifted one corner of her mouth in an attempt to reciprocate the gesture and then chuckled mirthlessly.

“Do you mind if I join you, noona?” he asked “I get that you probably wanted to be alone but-”

“It’s fine, lay down with me” Sol patted the empty spot beside her “I could use some company”

Bogki rummaged through his bag for a few seconds, passing her a handful of paper napkins, before laying down. Sol silently accepted them, dried her face, and then clutched them to her chest. They spent a few minutes in silence before Sol spoke.

“You’re not going to ask me?”

“Ask what, noona?”

“Why was I crying when you found me”

“I think I know why” Bokgi sighed “because I think we’re sad about the same thing”

“Oh?” Sol turned her head sideways and saw a tear rolling down Bokgi’s cheek.

“I think we’re both sad about Yeseul-noona and Joonhwi-hyung’s recent announcement” he turned to look at her too.

“Mm hm” she extended a handful of the paper napkins towards him and Bokgi half smiled.

The reason why Sol had been in the field all along had been because at their lunch break in the copy room, Joonhwi and Yeseul, after months of dating, had announced that they were officially in a relationship. Joonhwi had kissed Yeseul’s forehead afterwards and that had been the last straw for her. She made a poor excuse of needing to call Dan – which made absolutely no sense given the different timezones – and had ran as far away from the copy room as her legs would take her.

“Back in our 1L, you liked Joonhwi-hyung, didn’t you noona?” Bokgi’s question sounded like a statement to her.

“I think you know the answer to that question” Sol sighed.

“I always though Yeseul-noona was out of my league” the boy sniggered “but still I had the smallest sliver of hope that she would reciprocate my feelings one day”

“You would’ve been cute together” she gave his upper arm a reassuring squeeze.

“You would’ve made a cute couple with hyung too, we all thought that back in 1L” Bokgi pat the hand she had placed on his arm “but I guess there’s no use in thinking about it now”

“Nope” Sol felt her eyes brimming with tears again.

“All we have left is to be happy and supportive of them, right?” Bokgi whispered.

"Yah, Bokgi! Are you listening?" Yebeom nudged his friend as Bokgi stirred his metal tray of rice.

“What?" Bokgi raises his head, to find his friends staring in concern. Bokgi, confused, leans back as he spoons another mouthful of rice into his mouth. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he chewed anyway. He knew if he didn’t eat, he would end up dozing off in class. And it didn’t help that he was already blacklisted for talking back to the teachers often.

"You okay? You seem pretty distracted." The older Sol asks. Bokgi shakes his head, avoiding eye contact with his noona. But he knows that amongst the six of them, he’s the worst liar. Setting his utensils down, he leans forward and darts his eyes and head around. The group gets his cue as they lean down to the table further, huddling together.

"You know Jeon Yeseul-ssi?" Bokgi asked. Yebeom cocked his eyebrow.

"What, the eye candy in my batch?" The younger Sol turns her head, staring in a cold piercing stare and swats his arm. Jiho clicks his tongue as Joon Hwi sighs.

"Yeah, she's the new transfer right? Just got in about a week ago?" Joon Hwi asks, ignoring the mutters of complaints from Yebeom.

"What's up? You like her?" The older Sol asks, a hopeful grin on her face. Bokgi swears his face flushed red, but this wasn't the time. He needed to be truthful on what he saw.

"I saw her this morning arguing with an older guy today. Some college dude. He looks kind of familiar, I just can’t remember.” Bokgi admits uncertainty in his voice as he chews on a piece of meat.

"It might just be her boyfriend, and they got into a fight." Jiho quips.

"It didn't look like it. The way he shouted and the way she shrunk back was...different. I can't put my finger on it, but it felt weird." Bokgi sighs. "Maybe I'm thinking too much about it."

The group is mostly silent as they finish their meals. Bokgi, still deep in his thoughts, can't shake the image from this morning. The way Yeseul's eyes were so full of fear and hurt when she looked up at the older guy, the way when her eyes met Bokgi's that screamed helplessness, but she only gave a small smile when Bokgi asked if she was okay. Most of the time, Bokgi would have blushed as usual whenever he caught her eyes, but that moment, he felt uncertainty and sadness.

"Bokgi, she has club activities with me today. I'll ask her about it carefully. Maybe ask if she has a boyfriend or whatever first. After all, she did create quite a buzz when she arrived." Sol says. Bokgi hides a blush and darts his eyes away to anywhere but his friends. God, Sol-noona is never gonna let me get away with my embarrassment.

"Thanks, noona."

"Oh, wait. Sejun from class 5 just sent me some gossip." Yebeom said, scrolling on his phone. "He says that some girls have asked Yeseul and confirmed she has a boyfriend. Her boyfriend is popular politician's son, Ko Yeongchang."

"Ah! The guy that went viral for all his videos online and good looks?" Joon Hwi asks as Bokgi researches his name and confirms it when a bunch of his photos pop up over his browser. Yes, this was the man that Bokgi saw with Yeseul this morning. But why does he feel like he knows Yeongchang from somewhere else too?

“We’re going to be late. Let’s go.” Jiho says, picking up his tray and the rest follow suit as they head out to clear it. They split to their respective classes, agreeing to meet after school at the entrance.

Bokgi shoves his hands in his blazer pockets as he walks back to his classroom, taking his seat at the back. He slumps his head on the table, replaying the way that Yeseul shrunk back when Yeongchang raised his voice. The way that Yeseul formed a shaky smile when Bokgi came over to ask if she was okay, and she only nodded. How he noticed the small bruise on her arm, hidden by her blazer, but said no word.

There was something more, and Bokgi was ready to find out.

-----

Yeseul sits on the toilet seat cover of the school’s bathroom as she takes off her blazer and rolls the sleeve of her blouse up. She sighs looking at the bruise that is slightly red, a hint of purple just underneath. She's glad for the blazer now, as much as she hates the rough material and the ugly colour. At least it hides away the bruises blossoming on her arms under the white shirt.

Taking an ointment from her pouch, she dabs carefully, rubbing in with care and bites her lips from hissing when it's too painful. Yeseul sighs when she rolls back her sleeves and runs a hand through her long locks. When she shuts her eyes, she can only replay the way Yeongchang's hand digging into her arm over her fresh bruise from the day before, and her foolish mistake for angering him more when she forced her arm away and shouted back. She knew better than to shout back, especially when they were in front of her school in the early morning.

"I should have never said anything about school..." Yeseul mumbles to herself as she puts her blazer back on. She opens the cubicle door, sighting a few female students reapplying their lip tints and she forces a friendly smile before heading to the last sink to wash her hands. The girls give an equally excited smile back before they rush out in hushed whispers. She catches a girl whispering about how Yeseul looks so elegant, like a sculpture brought to life.

If only they knew, Yeseul thought, as she dried her hands and stared at her lifeless eyes. She fixes a smile on her face before walking out of the washroom. Once she was out, she noticed the back of a familiar curly haired student from afar walking along the hallway alone, hands in his blazer. When he turns to walk into the classroom, Yeseul's eyes soften as she's reminded of what happened just a few hours ago.

Bokgi was someone Yeseul always noticed, even though she had been in school for just a week. She would find him hiding behind a wall and he would run away or just smile in a silly fashion before making a lame excuse to run off, no, sprint away. Yeseul also noted how Bokgi's voice could be heard from the other end of the hallway, arguing with his teacher on the reasons on why he strongly agrees with the point of having all citizens exercise their own right to express their views. Shortly after, when she ended class, he was sitting outside on the floor sulking, kicked out from class. Yeseul stifled a laugh, because for some reason, his sulking made him seem like a cute five year old that didn't manage to convince his parents that he wanted that piece of candy.

When he approached him this morning, his tie loose around his collar and asked in a soft voice if she was okay, Yeseul had wanted to say that it wasn't. Yeseul wanted to admit to him that the bruises on her arms hurt, that she was boiling with anger. But she held her tongue back. No, she wasn't angry, Yeongchang was just going through a phase and his emotions got the best of himself. No, her bruises didn't hurt. Yeongchang doesn't mean any of it, he never means to hurt her.

Yeseul takes a deep breath in as she walks back to her classroom and takes her seat. She flips through the photos she's taken with Yeongchang. A mirror selfie with his arms around her waist in his room. Them in matching outfits sharing a sweet kiss. Her in a body hugging satin ruched dress and him in a suit as they celebrated Valentines. She smiles at the sweet memories, remembering his loving touch and sweet words.

No, she doesn't regret being with Yeongchang. He doesn't mean it.

No, she loves Yeongchang, and he loves her.

Yeseul is okay.

Yeseul is not a victim.

-----

Bokgi unwraps the hand wraps around his knuckles as he pants heavily. Leaning against the locker door, he picks up his phone and replays the video. Screening through, he sighs as he notices the break in his form when he punches the punching bag and how unsteady his footwork is. He needs more practice, if he wants to improve from where he is now.

He wipes the sweat off his forehead, thankful for the hair tie that the older Sol lent him to tie his hair back for training. He grabs a fresh change of clothes before heading to the shower room, stripping off his sweaty clothes and taking a quick shower, erasing all traces of sweat. His boxing training ends the earliest, but he takes the longest to shower with the mount of curled locks he has.

When he's changed into comfortable, clean clothes, he dries his curled locks as best as he can, but he still doesn't know how to not make it look so wet. He wishes the younger Sol was here to help him with his hair, but she's probably still in debate, arguing with Jiho. (Silently, Bokgi prays that they are on the same team so that he wouldn't have to witness another cold war between the two.)

Muttering his curses, he throws the towel in his duffel and picks up his school bag and heads out the gym after waving goodbye to his coaches and club mates. He goes to the vending machine, purchasing a carton of banana milk and sits by the steps of the school's entrance, sipping on his drink.

From the corner, he notices Yeseul walking from the side and Bokgi does his best to not choke on his milk. He scrambles from the steps and runs away to the corner, behind a wall, peeking over to see Yeseul with a small smile as she walks with a few students. But her smile drops when they bump into a familiar man, hands in the pocket of his jeans, a smug smirk on his face.

Ko Yeongchang was back.

The students next to her gaped, for the first time seeing this ulzzang in person. Bokgi can't make out their words, but Yeongchang throws his head back, mouth wide open and eyes crinkled. From the way the students are looking, Bokgi suspects that he must have told them Yeseul is his girlfriend. Yeseul's face plasters a shy smile, but her eyes speak otherwise. Her eyes bore uncertainty, the same way that Bokgi remembers from this morning.

Yeongchang's arm slipped around Yeseul's back, his hand grabbing onto her arm. For a split second, Yeseul's eyes flashed pain, but it was quickly covered with her usual sparkle and light as she gave a light laugh. Bokgi's stomach churned. Something was obviously wrong, and it was enough to make him feel almost slightly nauseous.

The other students giggled as they walked away, waving to Yeseul as they scurried back to school. As soon as they were out of sight, Yeseul rips her way out of Yeongchang's arms and takes a step back, her hand instinctively going up to grab her other arm. It was enough for Bokgi to infer what was probably going on. Bokgi's anger bubbled inside as he felt the puzzle pieces falling together.

"This bastard..." Bokgi cursed through his gritted teeth. It didn't take a genius to know that Yeseul was being abused by Yeongchang. The way that she shrunk back when his hand reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear this morning. The way her eyes darted when Yeongchang held her arm in a tight fashion.

Yeseul shouts something inaudible to Yeongchang, and they exchange a few shouts. Yeseul is turning around to leave when Yeongchang grabs her bag and spins her around, hand gripping her wrist. She forcefully pulls away, but Yeongchang grabs her arm. The moment he raises his hand up is when Bokgi crushes his carton of milk and shouts. No, he can't see this. Not again.

"Yah! What do you think you are doing?" He shouts in a voice so loud and full of anger, he can't recognise it as his own. He storms over, sticky sugary milk dripping between his left hand as he clutches his carton. He reaches and Yeseul is almost surprised to see him. If Yeseul wasn't there, Bokgi would have said nothing and pummel him back.

"Bokgi-ssi..." Yeseul whispered, almost in surprise.

"Noona, are you okay?" Bokgi turns to ask Yeseul.

"Noona? What, does he know you? When did you know other guys?" Yeongchang asked, voice raised and slightly aggressive.

"That's none of your business. And what were you about to do? Hit her?" Bokgi spat back in anger. His eyes burned with fury as he challenged the taller man.

"Why are you meddling in our business? She's my girlfriend, I get to do what I want." Yeongchang scoffs back, hand grabbing back to Yeseul's arm as he pulls. This time, Yeseul is caught off guard as she hisses in pain.

"Stop!" Bokgi shouts in fury before pulling Yeongchang's hand away. Swiftly, he pushes Yeseul's hand away from the both of them.

"Why are you so concerned? What, you like her?" Yeongchang's eyes are dark and challenging as he stares down at Bokgi.

"Noona doesn't deserve to be treated by a bastard like you." Bokgi seethes with gritted teeth as his fists are balled tightly.

"What? What did you say?" Yeongchang's face contorts to one of so much fury, as he grabs onto the collar of Bokgi's shirt.

"You heard me, bastard."

And that was all it took for Yeongchang's fist to come flying across his face, knocking him to the concrete ground. Bokgi shook his head to centre himself, a hand reaching up to his face knowing a bruise will form.

"Bokgi-ssi!" Yeseul shouts in concern as she bends down, trying to help Bokgi up. But Bokgi only shrugs her concerns off.

"You know, for someone that beats people, you're kinda weak." Bokgi says, a taunting smile on his face. Yeongchang's face grows in even more fury as Bokgi stands up, dusting the dirt of his clothes.

"You—" Another punch comes, but Bokgi has enough playing victim, and he dodges the blow effortlessly. Yeongchang tries throwing an uppercut, but Bokgi is quick to block his arm and land one across his jaw. He doesn't hit hard enough for a bruise, but hard enough to hurt. Yeongchang stumbles back, almost surprised at the power of this high school rebel, but Bokgi stands tall.

Another punch comes, but Bokgi is faster to land one before Yeongchang could land his. Bokgi manages to catch Yeongchang off guard as he turns his arm backwards and pins it against his back. With every tug, Yeongchang is cursing in pain.

"One more word from you and I'll sprain your wrist. Or should I maybe crack your ribs?" Bokgi threatens. "You sick freak, beating up your girlfriend? And you have so many people looking up to you as an influencer?"

"Let go of me!" Yeongchang shouts in anger.

"You know, we have security cameras here, right? And they clearly saw you this morning and just now, raising your hand. They also caught you punching me first." Bokgi brings his lips closer to his ears. "How will that look, hm? A politician's son, on the news of beating his girlfriend?"

Yeongchang is lost, but still squirming. Bokgi slides his foot between his legs, letting him fall to the ground on his knees as Bokgi holds him in a kneeling position. From the corner of his eye, he spots Yeseul with the older Sol rubbing her back and Joon Hwi next to her with the rest of his friends.

"What-What do you want?"

"Promise you won't ever, ever touch noona like that again. If I find out on my own that she's hurt by you..." Bokgi tightens his grip on his wrist as Yeongchang grunts in pain. "Your wrist isn't the only thing that is going to be broken."

Bokgi finally lets go and steps away from Yeongchang, Joon Hwi joining Bokgi by his side.

"Get out. Now." Joon Hwi sternly barks as Yeongchang, still seething with anger, dust the dirt from his pants. He sets his eyes on Bokgi as he stares straight into the brown orbs.

"You...watch out. You'll pay." He says before turning on his heels and walking away, hands running in his hair with frustration. The group joins from behind, as Sol and Yeseul walk over to join. All of sudden, it occurred to Bokgi that Yeseul had to watch this, and he wished a deep pit swallowed him alive in that instant.

"Ah, Yeseul-noona... I'm sorry you had to watch that... I...I'm sorry." Bokgi mutters his apologies. Yeseul shakes her head slowly.

"Thank you for standing up for me. I'm sorry you had to get hurt." Yeseul says softly as Bokgi brings a hand up to his face. It's sore, and he finally tastes the slightest bit of metallic blood from the burst corner of his lips.

"Ah? This is nothing. I have it a lot worse in training." Bokgi shrugs it off. The older Sol hits him on the head lightly as Bokgi yelps.

"A lot worse in training? Do you want us to kill you before you get beaten to pulp? Take care of yourself, Min Bokgi!" Sol scolds. Yebeom passes him a wet wipe to wipe his sticky hand from the banana milk.

"You should get ice on the bruise." Yeseul says as she digs into her pockets for a small container and takes Bokgi's calloused hands before pressing it in.

"It's some ointment for bruises that I, you know..." She trails off. The older Sol just carefully places an arm around her.

"Are you going to break up with him?" Jiho asks, his head nodding in the direction of where Yeongchang left. Yeseul stayed silent as her lost eyes darted, her hand sweeping her hair away. Bokgi doesn't know where he gained the courage from, but he gently places a hand on her shoulder, careful to just let it rest.

"I'll protect you, okay?"

Yeseul looks into Bokgi's soft eyes as Bokgi gives a small smile. Even with a red bruised jaw, a burst lip, this man could still smile at her like an innocent child. Yeseul just nods, drawing a small smile out of her, as she suddenly feels a faith arise in her.

Bokgi might not have been able to protect her from the bruises then. But he will protect her heart and from the bruises now. Even if it means being beaten down countless times, he would protect her, each time.