Chapter 224: Shiori — V
Hon’s frown eased slowly, the anger draining from his face the way a water is being drained— not disappearing, just going somewhere lower, somewhere he was keeping it away from me specifically.
He looked at me for a second, then let the uncle drop and walked over, and when he crouched down in front of me I could still see the edges of it in his jaw, the way he was holding his hands steady on purpose... well, I understand him since I’m not dumb...
"Shiori," he said. "Do you know them?"
"Yes."
"Yeah?"
"Yes." I looked at the floor. "They’re the mean uncles. When I still lived with Mom and Dad they used to come and take half our rations every week. That’s why I always get scolded. Because there wasn’t enough after." I pressed my lips together. "I just thought... if I gave it quietly it would be okay."
Hon stood up.
He didn’t say anything right away. He just put his hand on my head and patted it— steady, unhurried, the kind that settled rather than just landed and then he scooped me up and carried me toward my room without explaining, and I let him because his arms felt like the right place to be right now.
On the way past I caught a glimpse of Jisoo.
Both her hands were pressed down on the uncle pinned beneath her now, and her face was doing something sharp and very specific, anger, annoyed, pissed, irritated. She pushed down, and I heard a crack. I flinched and closed my eyes.
The mattress came up under me soft and familiar.
When I opened my eyes Hon was at the door, hand on the frame, looking back at me with an expression that was still carefully arranged to be gentle.
"Stay here," he said. "You don’t need to see what we’re going to do. Okay?" He waved, small and easy, like it was nothing, like he was just stepping out for a moment.
The door closed.
I waited exactly three seconds, then got up and pressed my ear against the door.
Thuds. Repeated, rhythmic, the kind that meant something was being handled thoroughly. Then Jisoo’s voice, clipped and irritated: "These guys are pissing me off— let me do it, Si Hon, let me—"
"Aren’t I called Hon?" Hon replied, calm. "And no. These are mine. You already cracked that one’s neck while you were choking him."
"That was efficient—"
"That was before I said anything—"
"Shiori nee—"
(Are they arguing... because of me? N-no!) I opened the door.
They both turned. Hon had one of the uncles by the collar, face swollen, not putting up much of an argument anymore.
Jisoo had the heel of her shoe resting on another one’s neck with the unbothered weight of someone who had forgotten it was there.
"Please don’t fight," I said, walking toward them.
I reached them and put my arms around both of them, or around as much of both of them as I could reach at the same time, which wasn’t much but was the principle of the thing.
"I’ve already seen worse than this. So don’t worry about me. You can do whatever to the mean uncles." I squeezed. "But don’t fight each other. Okay?"
Jisoo lifted her foot. Then she reached down and picked me up and held me close and pressed kisses against my hair and cheek in a rapid pepper that I pretty much didn’t dodge anymore.
Time passed after that the way it did when a lot had happened— in bigger pieces than usual, one moment Jisoo and Hon were patting me, and the next the uncle disappeared.
Jisoo put me in my room and I fell asleep without meaning to, and I fell asleep, and when I woke up the room was dark and the moonlight was hitting the mirror on the floor in a wide silver bar.
I sat up. Went to the door. Opened it.
Hon and Jisoo were at the living room, talking quietly. I could see them from the hallway— Hon sitting forward, elbows on his knees, and Jisoo opposite him, Jisoo, sharp face for no reason...
I began the approach.
Tiptoeing. Careful. Then my foot found something and it cracked beneath me, and I went completely still, stopped breathing, held every single muscle in my body motionless.
That always worked.
Hon and Jisoo paused mid-conversation.
Then continued.
See? Hehe. Works every time.
I made it to the couch and sat behind it, back against the fabric, knees to my chest, and listened.
"Si Hon," Jisoo said. The name, not Hon Hon— that’s weird... yep, really really weird. "We should actually go. I don’t know how long we’ve already been here."
"Yeah." A pause. "What about Shiori?"
"We can’t take her, dumbass. But Remember, we killed those 5, she’s safe now, the supply people like her, they’ll keep spoiling her and giving her ration here and there. She’ll be fine here."
I flinched and immediately pressed both hands over my mouth.
"But our promise," Hon said, quieter. "We said we wouldn’t leave her."
"I know." A long pause from Jisoo. "I don’t know if this is me or the other me talking, but— I don’t want to either. I genuinely don’t. But we have to. We’ll leave at 2am. It’s 1am now, so we should just—"
I got up.
Walked to my room. Closed the door behind me and lay face-first on the bed and held the pillow against my face and let the sob happen into the fabric where nobody could hear it.
Then I sat up.
"Think," I told my head, pressing both hands against my own temples. "Think think think think think—"
The plan arrived.
I messed up my hair first— running my hands through it until it looked properly just-woken-up. Then I arranged my face into the groggy expression.
Then I walked back out and stood in the hallway and said, voice soft and cracked like sleep: "Hon? Jisoo?"
"We’re here," Hon said.
I went to the living room and looked between them. "Can I sleep here?"
Jisoo was really different. Her whole vibe was different— quiet, contained, looking at me with something careful rather than something eager. And... the most weirdest is she didn’t lunge. She didn’t press her cheeks against mine.
She just looked.
Very suspicious... that somehow made me sad though, I don’t know why... I expected her to jump and pepper kiss me... (´;ω;｀)
I didn’t comment on it. I climbed onto Hon’s lap instead, turned, pressed my face against his chest, and closed my eyes. "Kkk. Goodnight."
His hand came to my back.
I am not sleeping. I thought, very firmly, into his shirt.
I am going to wait until you both start moving. And then I am going to follow you. Both of you. Wherever you’re going. You promised. You PROMISED and I am going to make sure you keep it even if you forgot that you made it.
I breathed slow and even and did not sleep.
Though, I almost actually fell asleep because Hon is so comfortable... (｡•́︿•̀｡).
I would not let that happen again.
I won’t sleep.