Chapter 2

Ice cream meetup

Voices In My Head

His phone was ringing loudly, which slowly drew him out of the somewhat peaceful sleep he was having. Saeran groaned and answered the ringing device. "Saeran hey." A female voice muttered over the speaker. "Ah hey... I'm not late, am I?" The boy said groggily. "No, I'm early. Helping Jaehee was faster than expected so, I'm just walking around the park. I honestly wasn't sure if you forgot or not so I was partially calling to remind you." MC explained as Saeran sat up and ruffled his hair. "I'll be there soon. I'm gonna get ready and try to get out of the house without being interrogated by Saeyoung… I mean 'Seven'." Saeran made quotation marks in the air when he said the name that his brother gave himself. "Alright. See you there." MC said before she hung up.

Saeran stretched and got out of bed, grabbing his shirt, pants, and jacket before heading to the bathroom to shower. He could feel Saeyoung's eyes on him as he walked to the bathroom. "You don't have to stalk me brother." Saeran glared at the redhead before swiftly entering and locking the bathroom. Sometimes he felt bad for being such a dick to Saeyoung but, after years of thinking that he had died or abandoned him, it's hard to snap back to how they were as kids. Saeran quickly showered and got dressed before going back to his room to grab his shoes. He stared at himself in the mirror, focusing on the tattoo on his arm then staring into his own minty eyes. It was hard to believe that he was actually here and not back at Mint Eye some days. He shook his head and walked out of his room.

"I'm going out. Don't hack into cameras to watch me." Saeran muttered as he passed his brother. Saeyoung suddenly stood up and went to stand in front of him. "Where are you going?" The redhead said sharply. "I'm going to go stand in the street and wait for a car to run me over." Saeran said sarcastically while glaring at his twin. Saeyoung looked shocked for a brief second before he glared back at Saeran. "You wouldn't do that. Don't you have a date with MC?" He muttered, his voice dripping jealousy. "It's not a date Saeyoung. I'm just meeting up with her to get out of this damned house!" Saeran was quickly losing his temper. He couldn't leave the house without being questioned, it was quickly getting ridiculous. His brother shook his head and walked back to his computers. "I can't stop you. You never listen to me anyways." Saeyoung muttered just loud enough for Saeran to hear. Saeran clenched his hands into fists and glared holes into his brother's back. "Maybe I would start listening to you if you didn't treat me like some sick person all the time! I haven't cut in two months and yet you treat me like I'm on the edge of death every day! I'm fucking sick of it!" Saeran shouted at his twin. He didn't wait for a response before he ran out of the house. Saeran slammed the door and sank down to his knees. His eyes stung with tears that refused to fall. Saeran pulled out his phone and dialed MC's number. "Hello? Saeran?" Her voice was loud in his ear. "MC… can you come pick me up? Please?" His voice cracked as he let out a sob. "I'm on my way. Meet me at the end of Saeyoung's road." She said before she hung up the phone. Saeran stood up and starting walking to the end of the road.

Ten minutes later, MC pulled up next to Saeran. "Hey… MC, sorry for making you do this." The white-haired boy muttered. She shrugged and motioned for him to get in the car. He got in and put the seatbelt on. "What happened?" She asked. Saeran looked down and played with the end of his jacket. "I yelled at Saeyoung after he questioned me about going out." He said softly. The girl gave a small, comforting smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy looked at her and tried to smile back. He could feel tears pricking his eyes again and he quickly turned away, shrugging her hand off.

She only wants to hurt you. Couldn't you tell by how she touched you?

Saeran tried to curl up into a ball as MC drove. She couldn't pay attention to him breaking down, she was driving. Saeran let out a strangled sob as the memories of his mother's abuse assaulted his mind. "Saeran? Are you alright?" MC asked, concerned for the boy next to her. Saeran held his hand out to stop her from touching him. "Don't touch me! Don't hurt me anymore!" He cried out. Saeran was breaking down at the seams. His mind was flooded with memories of his past. She's here. Don't break down. Pull yourself together! Saeran tried to fight against them. The nightmares that plagued his mind just wouldn't go away.

The car stopped and MC quickly got out. She ran over to the passenger side and opened the door. The girl pulled Saeran into a tight embrace. "Saeran, I don't know what is going on in your head but, I'm here. I'm not leaving until you feel better." Her soft voice fell onto his shoulder. His arms snaked around her and he squeezed MC closer to him. "It hurts. She hurt me so badly. They hurt me. Everyone has hurt me. These nightmares won't go away…" His voice could barely say those words. MC gently stroked his hair and hugged him tighter. Saeran felt tears sting his eyes again and he finally let them out. He sobbed against her shoulder, trying to push the nightmares away.

After about 20 minutes of them sitting there, Saeran sobbing and MC holding him; he felt his mother's voice slowly go away. Saeran let go of MC and wiped his eyes. MC looked at him and gave a small smile. "Are you feeling a little better?" She asked softly. He nodded and looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry for making you deal with that. I have some issues from my past that flair up often. You just happened to see me struggle with one…" Saeran said apologetically. MC shrugged and stood up, holding out her hand to help him up. "C'mon, we still have ice cream to grab." She laughed softly as Saeran grabbed her hand. She pulled him up and held onto his hand as they walked to the ice cream shop.

They entered the cold shop and MC shivered. Saeran watched her carefully and shrugged off his jacket. "Here… Use this if you are cold." He muttered as he draped it over her shoulders. She blushed lightly and put it on. It was too big for her, so the sleeves hung off her hands, making it look like her arms were tiny. Saeran cracked a small smile and bumped her shoulder. He hoped that after seeing him breakdown that she would become friends with him. They got up to the counter and ordered their frozen treat. MC got the cookie dough flavor, while Saeran got strawberry, one of his favorites since he was a child. They paid and went outside, picking a table closer to the park.

MC took Saeran's jacket off and handed it back to him. He put it back on and ate a spoonful of the frozen treat. "Thank you for letting me use your jacket, I keep forgetting how cold that shop is." She laughed softly and ate some of her ice cream. "No problem. It's the least I could do after having you deal with me in my broken state." He said while watching people walk by. He could feel their eyes on him and his tattoo, the solid black design stood out against his pale skin, so he understood why people stared. He ate some more of his ice cream, the cold treat soothed his sore throat. Saeran hadn't cried like that since he first got to Saeyoung's house. MC was watching him as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

They both ate in silence, simply enjoying the company that the other provided. After they finished, MC stretched and walked towards the park. "Do you want to walk around and talk for a bit?" She asked while holding out her hand. Saeran nodded and took her hand, they walked for a bit before finding a bench to sit on.

"So, what do you want to know about first? What happened with Saeyoung today or my past?" Saeran asked while placing his arms behind his head. "Your past, that seems to be more important right now." MC responded, crossing her legs and looking into his minty eyes. Saeran sighed and nodded. "My mother wasn't the best person in the world. She always favored Saeyoung, she always got bad at me because I got sick all the time as a child. She would get drunk a lot, which resulted in her hitting both me and Saeyoung. Since she didn't really like me to begin with, I was the target of most of her abuse." Saeran explained. He took a shaky breath before continuing. "Once Saeyoung left the house, and never came back, she blamed me and kept asking me where he was. I never knew, so her abuse got worse. She chained me up in a damp closet, she wouldn't give me food or water for days. Basically bringing me to the brink of death then snatching me back. The torture had stopped once V and his fiancé Rika had found me and took me away. Rika taught me how to hack, and eventually she brought me to Mint Eye. Her followers had fed me so many drugs, they had conditioned my mind to think that Saeyoung was to blame for everything. I would continue but you know the story from there."

Saeran pulled his jacket closer to his body and fell silent once he finished explaining. He looked over at MC and saw that she was silently crying. "I'm so sorry… I never knew." She sobbed. Saeran shrugged and brushed his hair from his face. "We were never on good terms, so I never had a reason to tell you." Saeran sighed and leaned forward on the bench. "Saeran, I'm glad that you told me all of this." MC placed a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged again and gave her a small smile. "I probably would've told you anyways." MC looked shocked when he said that. He froze and blushed lightly. "I-I'm sorry." He muttered quickly. "I consider you my friend Saeran." The girl said while smiling at him. He looked at her and nodded. "I do too." Was all he said.

They sat in silence for a while before some dark clouds blocked the sun. "Do you want to go back to your brother's?" MC asked while standing up. Saeran sighed and stood up as well. "I have to. He's going to bitch at me again if I don't go back." Saeran ran his hand through his hair and walked to MC's car with her. They got in and MC drove back to the end of Saeyoung's road in silence. "Same time tomorrow?" She asked suddenly. Saeran looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. I'll text you when I'm ready." Saeran smiled and got out of the car.

"Hey!" MC called. Saeran looked at her and tilted his head in confusion. "Call me later tonight! I have some stuff I want to tell you!" She yelled out before driving away. He waved as she left, dreading the moment when he walked in. Saeran walked up to the door and opened it. He stood face to face with his brother. Saeyoung's eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying.

"Saeran. We need to talk." Saeyoung said, his voice cracking with emotion.