#1 [SJ/WONDER GIRLS, DONGHAE/SUNYE]
Fandom: Super Junior/Wonder Girls
Title: Xenophobia
Rating: G
Pairing(s)/Focus: Donghae/Sunye
Length: 2,837 words
Summary: Don’t go outside. It was her rule, her mantra, her prison.
Notes: Hope my remixee likes this! :)
Remixee author: kisoap
Title of work you remixed: Disquieted
Link to work you remixed: http://hansumdo.livejournal.com/4722.html#cutid1
Don’t go outside.
It was the rule that governed her life from the moment she learned to walk. Don’t go outside. It’s dangerous out there. Outside the walls of her house there were evil people, wild animals, and accidents waiting to happen. Every day her parents would emphasize the horrors that awaited beyond their walls, and Sunye believed them.
As she got older and her parents stopped coming back, instead sending a stranger who called himself her uncle to take care of her, Sunye believed the outside had swallowed her parents whole. They wouldn’t be coming back, because the outside was a dangerous place. It was that simple. She accepted it as soon as her uncle introduced himself, wordlessly standing and walking silently to her room. The tears wouldn’t fall, even if she wished they would.
Don’t go outside.
Why would she want to go out? All she needed was provided for her. Her uncle came and went, braving the dangers to bring her food, necessities, even games when he was in the mood. Most of the time, Sunye was alone. She learned to keep herself occupied, enjoying the silence. She soon began to sleep during the day, finding the chaotic noise that filtered in from outside while the sun was up much easier to ignore in her sleep. The night was quiet, and that was when she’d dare making the trek to the second floor to look out the only windows in her home.
The world beyond the windows looked barren, empty. Rows and rows of houses just like hers lined the streets. She wondered if people hid there too, too scared to go out. She rarely saw people out on the streets, and it would make sense that she didn’t. The outside was dangerous. She touched one hand to the cool glass of the window, noting the latch that kept it shut. Kept her safe.
She rarely saw her uncle now. He brought a lot of food that stored for a long time, and left her sometimes for weeks. Most of the time he came during the day, when she was asleep. It was fine, not seeing her uncle. She hadn’t really liked him anyways. After all, he’d let her parents be eaten by the outside.
It was because he rarely showed up at night that the creaking of floorboards from downstairs caught her attention one night. Slowly closing the book she was reading, Sunye stood and tiptoed to the top of the stairs. She’d gotten over years ago how the house creaked on it’s own, but this wasn’t an ordinary creak. There were footsteps.
A beam of light landed on the bottom stairs and she ducked her head back out of sight. She could hear it now; breathing, a soft cough. Someone from outside. The outside had gotten into her house.
Leaning slowly back over the railing, she gasped when bright light blinded her and a noise of equal surprise came from the stair landing. Ducking back again and blinking the spots out of her vision, she retreated to one of the rooms and shut the door. Wood hit wood a little too quickly, the bang echoing down the hallway.
“Hello?” She heard a man’s voice, a voice that didn’t belong to her uncle. “Miss?”
Looking around, Sunye found the book she’d been reading and grabbed it. She slowly backed up away from the door, book raised and at the ready.
When the door creaked open and a dark figure stepped past the threshold, she threw it at him with all the force she could muster. Unfortunately it didn’t hit his forehead as planned, instead hitting his shoulder and bouncing off. He grunted in pain, the hand that wasn’t holding the flashlight grasping his shoulder. The beam of light enveloped Sunye again and she covered her eyes against it.
“Well, you’re no ghost. Sorry to scare you…I thought this place was abandoned?”
She heard his words, but they made little sense to her. The beam of light was still there, still uncomfortably bright, so she kept her hands over her eyes.
“Miss? …Oh.”
The light disappeared. Sunye waited a moment before peeking between her fingers. The man hadn’t moved from the door, and she could see his smile in the dark. He was young, younger than her uncle. Maybe only a little older than Sunye.
“Better?”
“Who are you?” she asked, slowly lowering her hands and stepping back. Her parents had never told her what to do should the outside get in. They had never even brought up the possibility. “What do you want?”
“Want?” The stranger from outside rubbed his shoulder again. “My name is Donghae. Everyone said this house was abandoned and that it’s haunted, so…I thought I’d check it out. But you’re no ghost. Pale like one though.”
“This is my house,” Sunye said, surprising herself in how calm she sounded. “I live here.”
“Weird. No one’s seen anyone come or go from this place in ages, apparently.”
Sunye was silent. The outside was dangerous, and he was from the outside. Surely he would understand that she couldn’t leave.
“What’s your name?”
“…Sunye.” She thought of something. “How did you get in?”
“Oh…the lock on the door was easy enough to pick, it’s so old and worn,” the man who called himself Donghae shrugged. “Listen, I’m sorry for breaking into your place, I didn’t know someone lived her. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Please leave,” was Sunye’s answer. She wanted this strange man out of her house. He could go back outside to be eaten.
“Yeah. I’m going, I’m going,” Donghae retreated out of the room. She followed him, more to make sure he’d actually leave than to keep up a conversation.
He paused at the doorstep downstairs, looking back at her as she lingered a safe distance from the entranceway. “Have a good night, Sunye.”
Weird, she thought to herself as he left and took the outside with him. Who wishes someone a good night?
***********************
The following night, Sunye was roused out of her reading by a rapid knocking on wood from downstairs. Closing her book, she frowned and went to the window, peering out and down. She couldn’t see anything from the covered porch; the outside looked as barren as it always did. Inhospitable, cold.
The knocking continued. Downstairs she went, following the noise to the front door. She rested a shaking hand on the door she’d never actually opened herself. Please go away, please, please.
The knocking continued.
Finally she leaned up to look out the tiny peephole she’d seen her parents use when she was little. The view of the world outside was distorted and scary, but she could recognize a bright smile at least. It was that strange man from before.
Unlocking the door, she gave it two rapid knocks in return before retreating to the safety of the living room. After a pause, she watched the knob turn and the door swing open, the familiar head of brown hair poking in. “Evening,” Donghae smiled at her. “Can I come in? I brought fruit.”
“Fruit?” Apples. Strawberries. Treats she used to love, but rarely had now that her uncle started bringing her only canned food instead. It was the offer of delectable fruit more than anything that made Sunye nod, and she watched Donghae step past the threshold and close the door after him.
“Lock it,” she said when he started to move inside. Blinking Donghae nodded and reached back to do as told.
“Why? No one’s out there.”
“Keep the outside out,” Sunye replied, arms hugging herself tightly as she watched him. Her eyes landed on the basket in his other hand.
He looked confused at that, but nodded. “Uh…you got a bowl for these? The basket’s kinda worn.”
Sunye disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a large plastic bowl. She set it down on the table and watched as Donghae carefully transferred the fruit from the basket to the bowl.
“Why?” She asked finally once it was all in the bowl, looking from the bright and colorful fruit to his beaming smile.
“As an apology for scaring you last night,” Donghae rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and the motion was almost endearing. “I tried coming by during the day, but you didn’t answer.”
“I was sleeping.”
“During the day?” Donghae sat down on the couch, helping himself to her furniture. Sunye chewed her lower lip, but figured she couldn’t kick him out so soon after he’d brought her fruit. It was more than uncle had done. She slowly sat down across from him, a safe distance from this stranger from outside.
“Easier to ignore the outside,” Sunye replied. Donghae looked confused. Why didn’t he understand? Didn’t he travel through the outside, through all that chaos? To avoid the look he was giving her, she leaned over and selected a fruit from the bowl. An apple. She admired it’s red, shiny surface free of blemishes.
“How often do you go out, Sunye?” Donghae asked.
“Why would I go out?” she answered, more focused on the fruit than the conversation.
“…Why wouldn’t you?”
“It’s dangerous outside.”
“When was the last time you were out?”
“I don’t go outside,” Sunye sighed at having to state the obvious fact.
“…Never?” There was shock in Donghae’s voice. She didn’t understand why. Don’t go outside: the rule, the one rule she had.
Sunye regarded the apple in her hand again. It was almost too perfect to eat. Placing it back down, she selected a pear instead and bit into it.
“Sunye, have you really never gone outside?” Donghae was persistent, unwilling to take her silence as an answer.
“The outside is dangerous,” she replied, reciting the words she knew by heart. “As long as I stay in here, I’m safe.”
Donghae stared at her incredulously. He didn’t understand. Then again, he was an outside person. The outside, brought inside her safe home.
“Sunye…”
“Leave,” she looked up at him. “Please leave.”
Their eyes met, and she couldn’t say what she saw in the man’s gaze. Emotions she’d never seen before, from her parents, her uncle, or even her own eyes in the mirror. She bit into the pear again, distracting herself with it’s sweet taste.
Donghae stood up. “I’ll visit you again tomorrow, okay?” His voice was gentle, so gentle.
Why, she wanted to ask, but she had her mouth full of pear.
“Good night, Sunye.” He left, closing the door behind him. Sunye sat there for a long moment before getting up, locking the door after him. Keeping the outside where it belonged.
************************
He was back. Sunye hadn’t even opened her book tonight, sitting in her chair with it in her lap and her gaze on the wall. Her eyes absently followed a spider who seemed to think he could catch dinner where the wall met the ceiling. When the knocking came, she slowly stood up and made her way downstairs. Once again she unlocked the door, knocked back, and stepped into the living room.
When Donghae appeared, his smile was half-hidden behind a bouquet of flowers. Sunye blinked once, twice, letting the sweet smell fill her nose. It was so different from the unmoving air inside the house that smelled slightly foul at times.
“For you,” he was holding the flowers out with a wide grin. Sunye carefully took them from him, not wanting to damage the delicate petals. Her slender fingers traced over the different colored bulbs.
Why, she wanted to ask, but instead she asked, “Where did you get this?” It was so…pretty. She had faint memories of her parents bringing her flowers, but she’d never asked them where they came from. Her uncle never brought her flowers, and the memories had faded into the back of her mind.
“Just outside,” Donghae replied, jamming his hands into his pockets. He hadn’t locked the door behind him tonight. Sunye wanted to remind him, but she was too distracted by the flowers. “There’s whole gardens just outside your house. Kind of overgrown without anyone taking care of them, but there’s more flowers just like those.”
How could these pretty, pretty things be from outside? Sunye lowered her face until her nose touched the petals, inhaling deeply. Inhaling the outside. They smelled like old memories. They smelled like her parents.
“Sunye?” Donghae’s soft voice, concerned, made her look up. “You’re crying.”
Sunye blinked, separating one hand from the bouquet to brush at her cheeks. She was crying. The flowers smelled like her parents. This part of outside smelled like happy memories, good memories she’d lost in the dust of the house.
“How can the outside smell so good?” she asked, choosing to ignore the tears in favor of asking the question.
Donghae looked like he was biting his tongue for a moment before he smiled. “The outside smells much better than in here, trust me. Do you…want to go outside?”
Don’t go outside. Sunye shook her head. “I’ll be eaten.” Eaten like her parents, like her uncle probably was. He hadn’t come by in weeks, and her food supply was almost empty.
“…” Donghae sighed and sat down on the couch, patting the space beside him. “There’s nothing bad out there. Nothing’s going to eat you.”
Liar, Sunye thought, but the smell of the flowers was still in her nose. “What’s out there then?”
“Everything,” Donghae grinned. “Freedom. Life. Flowers. I’m a traveler, Sunye. I go from town to town, look for work for a couple months, then find somewhere new to go. There’s so much beauty out there. I want you to see it for yourself.”
“It’s dangerous,” Sunye looked down at him, clutching the flowers tightly in her hands.
“No more dangerous than staying in here and maybe falling down the stairs one day, with no one to hear you or help you,” Donghae sighed. “Five minutes?”
“Five minutes?” she echoed.
“Let me take you outside…just for five minutes. Just stand right outside the door, you don’t even have to go anywhere. I promise, I’ll protect you.”
Don’t go outside. Sunye chewed on her lower lip. No. She couldn’t go outside. But he would protect her. He brought her flowers that brought back memories of happy times, brought her fruit more delicious than anything she’d tasted in years.
Five minutes. Two hundred breaths. Not that long, then she’d be back in the safety of her house.
When she nodded slowly, Donghae grinned and stood. “Take my hand.” When he held out his hand, she did. The young man turned towards the door, the gentle tugs of his hand pulling Sunye along. Closer and closer to the unlocked door.
Donghae opened the door and stepped out beyond the threshold. Sunye closed her eyes, heart pounding in her ears and flowers tickling her chin as she followed him. The click of her shoes on tile gave way to the light knocking of shoes on wood. With a creak, the door closed behind them.
“Open your eyes,” Donghae said, and Sunye did.
*********************************
For the first time in a decade, Sunye didn’t go to sleep as dawn approached. She didn’t retreat from the door downstairs and hide in her bedroom as morning noise began to filter in from outside. Instead she stood by the door, bag at her feet and basket of fruit hooked around her arm. She ate an apple while she waited, eyes on the door.
Half an hour from sunrise, the door swung open and Donghae smiled at her. “Ready?”
A nod was his answer, and Sunye picked up her bag. Donghae took it from her and slung it over her shoulder, taking her hand and leading her out of the house.
A car waited in the driveway, engine idling. Donghae tossed her bag in the back and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Where do you want to go first?”
“I don’t know,” was Sunye’s honest answer. “Somewhere.”
“Somewhere sounds good. Let’s go see the ocean.” Donghae watched her climb into the passenger seat. He waited for her to strap herself in before putting the car into drive and rolling out of the driveway. Sunye didn’t look back at the house, eyes on the expanding road in front of her. One road turned into another, and another. As the sky lightened, they merged onto the highway. The windows are rolled down, the wind blows through her hair and makes a racket in her ears. It’s one of the best feelings ever.
“This is weird. Noisy.” She has to yell to be heard.
There’s a laugh and smile in his voice, his hand covering hers. “It’s our first morning together, Sunye.”
She laughs, the first laugh she could remember.
“I like the sound of that.”
Title: Xenophobia
Rating: G
Pairing(s)/Focus: Donghae/Sunye
Length: 2,837 words
Summary: Don’t go outside. It was her rule, her mantra, her prison.
Notes: Hope my remixee likes this! :)
Remixee author: kisoap
Title of work you remixed: Disquieted
Link to work you remixed: http://hansumdo.livejournal.com/4722.html#cutid1
Don’t go outside.
It was the rule that governed her life from the moment she learned to walk. Don’t go outside. It’s dangerous out there. Outside the walls of her house there were evil people, wild animals, and accidents waiting to happen. Every day her parents would emphasize the horrors that awaited beyond their walls, and Sunye believed them.
As she got older and her parents stopped coming back, instead sending a stranger who called himself her uncle to take care of her, Sunye believed the outside had swallowed her parents whole. They wouldn’t be coming back, because the outside was a dangerous place. It was that simple. She accepted it as soon as her uncle introduced himself, wordlessly standing and walking silently to her room. The tears wouldn’t fall, even if she wished they would.
Don’t go outside.
Why would she want to go out? All she needed was provided for her. Her uncle came and went, braving the dangers to bring her food, necessities, even games when he was in the mood. Most of the time, Sunye was alone. She learned to keep herself occupied, enjoying the silence. She soon began to sleep during the day, finding the chaotic noise that filtered in from outside while the sun was up much easier to ignore in her sleep. The night was quiet, and that was when she’d dare making the trek to the second floor to look out the only windows in her home.
The world beyond the windows looked barren, empty. Rows and rows of houses just like hers lined the streets. She wondered if people hid there too, too scared to go out. She rarely saw people out on the streets, and it would make sense that she didn’t. The outside was dangerous. She touched one hand to the cool glass of the window, noting the latch that kept it shut. Kept her safe.
She rarely saw her uncle now. He brought a lot of food that stored for a long time, and left her sometimes for weeks. Most of the time he came during the day, when she was asleep. It was fine, not seeing her uncle. She hadn’t really liked him anyways. After all, he’d let her parents be eaten by the outside.
It was because he rarely showed up at night that the creaking of floorboards from downstairs caught her attention one night. Slowly closing the book she was reading, Sunye stood and tiptoed to the top of the stairs. She’d gotten over years ago how the house creaked on it’s own, but this wasn’t an ordinary creak. There were footsteps.
A beam of light landed on the bottom stairs and she ducked her head back out of sight. She could hear it now; breathing, a soft cough. Someone from outside. The outside had gotten into her house.
Leaning slowly back over the railing, she gasped when bright light blinded her and a noise of equal surprise came from the stair landing. Ducking back again and blinking the spots out of her vision, she retreated to one of the rooms and shut the door. Wood hit wood a little too quickly, the bang echoing down the hallway.
“Hello?” She heard a man’s voice, a voice that didn’t belong to her uncle. “Miss?”
Looking around, Sunye found the book she’d been reading and grabbed it. She slowly backed up away from the door, book raised and at the ready.
When the door creaked open and a dark figure stepped past the threshold, she threw it at him with all the force she could muster. Unfortunately it didn’t hit his forehead as planned, instead hitting his shoulder and bouncing off. He grunted in pain, the hand that wasn’t holding the flashlight grasping his shoulder. The beam of light enveloped Sunye again and she covered her eyes against it.
“Well, you’re no ghost. Sorry to scare you…I thought this place was abandoned?”
She heard his words, but they made little sense to her. The beam of light was still there, still uncomfortably bright, so she kept her hands over her eyes.
“Miss? …Oh.”
The light disappeared. Sunye waited a moment before peeking between her fingers. The man hadn’t moved from the door, and she could see his smile in the dark. He was young, younger than her uncle. Maybe only a little older than Sunye.
“Better?”
“Who are you?” she asked, slowly lowering her hands and stepping back. Her parents had never told her what to do should the outside get in. They had never even brought up the possibility. “What do you want?”
“Want?” The stranger from outside rubbed his shoulder again. “My name is Donghae. Everyone said this house was abandoned and that it’s haunted, so…I thought I’d check it out. But you’re no ghost. Pale like one though.”
“This is my house,” Sunye said, surprising herself in how calm she sounded. “I live here.”
“Weird. No one’s seen anyone come or go from this place in ages, apparently.”
Sunye was silent. The outside was dangerous, and he was from the outside. Surely he would understand that she couldn’t leave.
“What’s your name?”
“…Sunye.” She thought of something. “How did you get in?”
“Oh…the lock on the door was easy enough to pick, it’s so old and worn,” the man who called himself Donghae shrugged. “Listen, I’m sorry for breaking into your place, I didn’t know someone lived her. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Please leave,” was Sunye’s answer. She wanted this strange man out of her house. He could go back outside to be eaten.
“Yeah. I’m going, I’m going,” Donghae retreated out of the room. She followed him, more to make sure he’d actually leave than to keep up a conversation.
He paused at the doorstep downstairs, looking back at her as she lingered a safe distance from the entranceway. “Have a good night, Sunye.”
Weird, she thought to herself as he left and took the outside with him. Who wishes someone a good night?
***********************
The following night, Sunye was roused out of her reading by a rapid knocking on wood from downstairs. Closing her book, she frowned and went to the window, peering out and down. She couldn’t see anything from the covered porch; the outside looked as barren as it always did. Inhospitable, cold.
The knocking continued. Downstairs she went, following the noise to the front door. She rested a shaking hand on the door she’d never actually opened herself. Please go away, please, please.
The knocking continued.
Finally she leaned up to look out the tiny peephole she’d seen her parents use when she was little. The view of the world outside was distorted and scary, but she could recognize a bright smile at least. It was that strange man from before.
Unlocking the door, she gave it two rapid knocks in return before retreating to the safety of the living room. After a pause, she watched the knob turn and the door swing open, the familiar head of brown hair poking in. “Evening,” Donghae smiled at her. “Can I come in? I brought fruit.”
“Fruit?” Apples. Strawberries. Treats she used to love, but rarely had now that her uncle started bringing her only canned food instead. It was the offer of delectable fruit more than anything that made Sunye nod, and she watched Donghae step past the threshold and close the door after him.
“Lock it,” she said when he started to move inside. Blinking Donghae nodded and reached back to do as told.
“Why? No one’s out there.”
“Keep the outside out,” Sunye replied, arms hugging herself tightly as she watched him. Her eyes landed on the basket in his other hand.
He looked confused at that, but nodded. “Uh…you got a bowl for these? The basket’s kinda worn.”
Sunye disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a large plastic bowl. She set it down on the table and watched as Donghae carefully transferred the fruit from the basket to the bowl.
“Why?” She asked finally once it was all in the bowl, looking from the bright and colorful fruit to his beaming smile.
“As an apology for scaring you last night,” Donghae rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and the motion was almost endearing. “I tried coming by during the day, but you didn’t answer.”
“I was sleeping.”
“During the day?” Donghae sat down on the couch, helping himself to her furniture. Sunye chewed her lower lip, but figured she couldn’t kick him out so soon after he’d brought her fruit. It was more than uncle had done. She slowly sat down across from him, a safe distance from this stranger from outside.
“Easier to ignore the outside,” Sunye replied. Donghae looked confused. Why didn’t he understand? Didn’t he travel through the outside, through all that chaos? To avoid the look he was giving her, she leaned over and selected a fruit from the bowl. An apple. She admired it’s red, shiny surface free of blemishes.
“How often do you go out, Sunye?” Donghae asked.
“Why would I go out?” she answered, more focused on the fruit than the conversation.
“…Why wouldn’t you?”
“It’s dangerous outside.”
“When was the last time you were out?”
“I don’t go outside,” Sunye sighed at having to state the obvious fact.
“…Never?” There was shock in Donghae’s voice. She didn’t understand why. Don’t go outside: the rule, the one rule she had.
Sunye regarded the apple in her hand again. It was almost too perfect to eat. Placing it back down, she selected a pear instead and bit into it.
“Sunye, have you really never gone outside?” Donghae was persistent, unwilling to take her silence as an answer.
“The outside is dangerous,” she replied, reciting the words she knew by heart. “As long as I stay in here, I’m safe.”
Donghae stared at her incredulously. He didn’t understand. Then again, he was an outside person. The outside, brought inside her safe home.
“Sunye…”
“Leave,” she looked up at him. “Please leave.”
Their eyes met, and she couldn’t say what she saw in the man’s gaze. Emotions she’d never seen before, from her parents, her uncle, or even her own eyes in the mirror. She bit into the pear again, distracting herself with it’s sweet taste.
Donghae stood up. “I’ll visit you again tomorrow, okay?” His voice was gentle, so gentle.
Why, she wanted to ask, but she had her mouth full of pear.
“Good night, Sunye.” He left, closing the door behind him. Sunye sat there for a long moment before getting up, locking the door after him. Keeping the outside where it belonged.
************************
He was back. Sunye hadn’t even opened her book tonight, sitting in her chair with it in her lap and her gaze on the wall. Her eyes absently followed a spider who seemed to think he could catch dinner where the wall met the ceiling. When the knocking came, she slowly stood up and made her way downstairs. Once again she unlocked the door, knocked back, and stepped into the living room.
When Donghae appeared, his smile was half-hidden behind a bouquet of flowers. Sunye blinked once, twice, letting the sweet smell fill her nose. It was so different from the unmoving air inside the house that smelled slightly foul at times.
“For you,” he was holding the flowers out with a wide grin. Sunye carefully took them from him, not wanting to damage the delicate petals. Her slender fingers traced over the different colored bulbs.
Why, she wanted to ask, but instead she asked, “Where did you get this?” It was so…pretty. She had faint memories of her parents bringing her flowers, but she’d never asked them where they came from. Her uncle never brought her flowers, and the memories had faded into the back of her mind.
“Just outside,” Donghae replied, jamming his hands into his pockets. He hadn’t locked the door behind him tonight. Sunye wanted to remind him, but she was too distracted by the flowers. “There’s whole gardens just outside your house. Kind of overgrown without anyone taking care of them, but there’s more flowers just like those.”
How could these pretty, pretty things be from outside? Sunye lowered her face until her nose touched the petals, inhaling deeply. Inhaling the outside. They smelled like old memories. They smelled like her parents.
“Sunye?” Donghae’s soft voice, concerned, made her look up. “You’re crying.”
Sunye blinked, separating one hand from the bouquet to brush at her cheeks. She was crying. The flowers smelled like her parents. This part of outside smelled like happy memories, good memories she’d lost in the dust of the house.
“How can the outside smell so good?” she asked, choosing to ignore the tears in favor of asking the question.
Donghae looked like he was biting his tongue for a moment before he smiled. “The outside smells much better than in here, trust me. Do you…want to go outside?”
Don’t go outside. Sunye shook her head. “I’ll be eaten.” Eaten like her parents, like her uncle probably was. He hadn’t come by in weeks, and her food supply was almost empty.
“…” Donghae sighed and sat down on the couch, patting the space beside him. “There’s nothing bad out there. Nothing’s going to eat you.”
Liar, Sunye thought, but the smell of the flowers was still in her nose. “What’s out there then?”
“Everything,” Donghae grinned. “Freedom. Life. Flowers. I’m a traveler, Sunye. I go from town to town, look for work for a couple months, then find somewhere new to go. There’s so much beauty out there. I want you to see it for yourself.”
“It’s dangerous,” Sunye looked down at him, clutching the flowers tightly in her hands.
“No more dangerous than staying in here and maybe falling down the stairs one day, with no one to hear you or help you,” Donghae sighed. “Five minutes?”
“Five minutes?” she echoed.
“Let me take you outside…just for five minutes. Just stand right outside the door, you don’t even have to go anywhere. I promise, I’ll protect you.”
Don’t go outside. Sunye chewed on her lower lip. No. She couldn’t go outside. But he would protect her. He brought her flowers that brought back memories of happy times, brought her fruit more delicious than anything she’d tasted in years.
Five minutes. Two hundred breaths. Not that long, then she’d be back in the safety of her house.
When she nodded slowly, Donghae grinned and stood. “Take my hand.” When he held out his hand, she did. The young man turned towards the door, the gentle tugs of his hand pulling Sunye along. Closer and closer to the unlocked door.
Donghae opened the door and stepped out beyond the threshold. Sunye closed her eyes, heart pounding in her ears and flowers tickling her chin as she followed him. The click of her shoes on tile gave way to the light knocking of shoes on wood. With a creak, the door closed behind them.
“Open your eyes,” Donghae said, and Sunye did.
*********************************
For the first time in a decade, Sunye didn’t go to sleep as dawn approached. She didn’t retreat from the door downstairs and hide in her bedroom as morning noise began to filter in from outside. Instead she stood by the door, bag at her feet and basket of fruit hooked around her arm. She ate an apple while she waited, eyes on the door.
Half an hour from sunrise, the door swung open and Donghae smiled at her. “Ready?”
A nod was his answer, and Sunye picked up her bag. Donghae took it from her and slung it over her shoulder, taking her hand and leading her out of the house.
A car waited in the driveway, engine idling. Donghae tossed her bag in the back and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Where do you want to go first?”
“I don’t know,” was Sunye’s honest answer. “Somewhere.”
“Somewhere sounds good. Let’s go see the ocean.” Donghae watched her climb into the passenger seat. He waited for her to strap herself in before putting the car into drive and rolling out of the driveway. Sunye didn’t look back at the house, eyes on the expanding road in front of her. One road turned into another, and another. As the sky lightened, they merged onto the highway. The windows are rolled down, the wind blows through her hair and makes a racket in her ears. It’s one of the best feelings ever.
“This is weird. Noisy.” She has to yell to be heard.
There’s a laugh and smile in his voice, his hand covering hers. “It’s our first morning together, Sunye.”
She laughs, the first laugh she could remember.
“I like the sound of that.”