Run, Girl, Run

Yeo Ri woke up when the sun was already up and high in the sky. Her fever had died down, but she still felt rather sluggish and warm.

Yeo Ri pushed herself into a sitting position. She felt dizzy but it was definitely better than the day before. Memories of yesterday's events flashed in her mind hazily. She could barely remember what had happened, but she knew Hyuk and Gun had been taking care of her.

Her throat was parched and her lips were cracked and dry. Yeo Ri looked around and reached for the glass filled with water on her desk. Thirstily, she downed the whole glass instantly.

Now that she was more awake, she finally realised how icky she felt. Her clothes were slick with sweat and they clung to her skin.

She looked to the water basin and searched for the cloth that they had used previously. It laid next to her, having fallen off when she got up earlier. She picked it up and soaked it in the basin, then used it to wipe her body. But, it wasn't enough to clean her. Even after wiping herself down, she still felt dirty.

Yeo Ri got up, heading for the bathroom. A bath would be refreshing, she thought.

As she was cleaning herself, Yeo Ri realised that this was the second Friday in a row that she was absent from school. Min Chae's figure appeared in her mind. It was just yesterday that she had been complaining about Yeo Ri being sick. The girl was probably withering in the classroom once she realised Yeo Ri wasn't coming to school.

Yeo Ri chuckled briefly. However, her attendance at school was the least of her worries.

She was waiting for her period.

She had only started her period early summer this year; she was the last one in her class to have gotten it. Back then, she hadn't understood anything and the homeroom teacher had to pull her out of class when they discovered that her monthly bleeding had suddenly started during class. Luckily, the teacher was generous enough to instruct her on what to do during her monthlies and even bought her three months' worth of pads.

She had always been annoyed whenever her period came, but now, she had no choice but to anxiously wait for it to come. She begged, to whichever god or deity that was listening, to make her not pregnant.

"It's okay... I'm okay... it's not unusual for it to be late..." she comforted herself. With her lifestyle, her cycle had never been consistent.

Yeo Ri, just as she had been doing as of late, spent almost an hour in the bathroom, scrubbing herself clean.

She was in no condition to be carrying heavy things like a bucket of water so she simply took a cold bath.

"So cold..."

Yeo Ri regretted not heating up the water first before bathing. She shivered helplessly as the cold invaded her.

She rubbed her arms as she hopped back to her room, dying to escape the cold. Yeo Ri put on a dress and stole another sweater from Gun. She finished dressing up after putting on a pair of warm socks.

Then, she stretched her body.

All the moving around made her exhaustion more pronounced.

Yeo Ri yawned, but her stomach was begging to be filled.

It rumbled in protest.

Clearly, she would not be able to get a good rest until she ate something.

Yeo Ri defeatedly scavenged the kitchen. She was too exhausted to cook so she simply settled for whatever was available in the pantry. Luckily, she spotted a few slices of bread left. She took out a carton of milk from the fridge and poured all of its contents into a mug. Then, she tore a small portion of the bread and dunked it into the milk. She repeated the action multiple times until all the bread was eaten.

Though the meal was simple, it was good enough to fill her up.

Yeo Ri glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 1:09 p.m.

Yeo Ri's hands that were holding her mug stilled. Her eyes widened.

It was just in time for lunch.

Yeo Ri abruptly stood up, intending to run to her room and lock herself up before that man got back.

She released the mug instantaneously, letting its remaining content spill. The mug rolled around on the dining table, clattering noisily.

Yeo Ri ran as fast as her weak body allowed towards her room.

But, it was too late.

The entrance opened just as she passed the living room area.

Hearing the familiar click of the lock, she froze. Slowly, she looked towards the entrance, all the colour in her face drained.

Yeo Ri's legs moved forward before she could even think about it.

But...

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"A-ah—N-noooo...!"