I Hate You

The sun shone over an un-bloomed flower. Yoojun stared at it.

He respected Miss Shizuka but he knew he was not the man for the task of growing whatever the hell was in the pot.

He would probably grow to Miss Shizuka's age before that.

"Whatcha starin' at?" Naoko yawned and scratched her stomach, which was riddled in red marks from mosquitoes.

"The pot?" Yoojun looked at her and shrugged.

"Why?" She asked.

"I need to grow it to get money?" Yoojun said it like he had said something very obvious. Which he had not—-according to Naoko.

"Why do you need money?" She sat down next to Yoojun, who stared at her red arm.

"Oh for your farming?" Naoko questioned.

Yoojun nodded. 

"Can't you use the old man's money?" Naoko further asked.

"I don't know, feels unfair?" He mumbled.

"Why? Ain't it to your name?" Naoko stared into Yoojun's eyes. He was startled for a moment. Her face had three big, red marks. Right beneath her cheeks.

"But still." Yoojun sighed.

Naoko shook her head.

"Don't call me stupid." Yoojun snapped.

"Didn't say anything?" Naoko grinned, "Good to see your growing self awareness."

"Shut up brat." Yoojun mumbled under his breath.

Naoko stood up and ran to the kitchen, screaming, "What's for breakfast?"

"Yesterday's leftovers." Yoojun stood up too. 

"Eh, boring! How about some sweets—"

"No." Yoojun cut her off as he walked to the kitchen and started heating food.

"Why not?" Naoko murmured.

"Because you are sick?" Yoojun answered without looking at her.

"Nah, you!" Naoko pointed at him, pouting and biting her lips.

"Yes, I am outta my mind for listening to you speak." Yoojun took a spatula and pointed it at her.

Naoko didn't meet his eyes.

"Oh please!" Naoko paused for a moment, "You—you, you bumble bee!"

"That's not even an insult." Yoojun looked at her.

"Well whatever!" She ran off.

"Stupid teens."

Yoojun continued to cook.

He heated and arranged the food on the table.

Naoko was sitting opposite to him.

They started eating.

"Why are you so quiet?" Yoojun asked between bites.

"Do you….if I ask you something would you not laugh?" Naoko asked, not looking at Yoojun.

"Depends on if you ask me something not funny?" Yoojun stumbled.

"Do you hate me?" Naoko's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yes," Yoojun said without any thought. "You are the most annoying kid I have ever met."

Naoko looked at him. She drank a bit of the soup.

"Then why do you do all this?" Her voice was soft and trembling.

"Why wouldn't I?" Yoojun looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Because you hate me?" A few tears slipped through Naoko's brown eyes.

"So? What if I don't like you?" Yoojun's eyes widened at her tears, his words softer, "That doesn't matter to you?"

"My mother," Naoko's body shaked. 

Yoojun stood up and walked to Naoko's side.

He sat down next to her.

"Your mother?" Yoojun repeated.

"She, well she, she always said she loved me," Naoko whispered.

Yoojun wrapped his arms around Naoko's shoulder. She leaned onto him. But stiffened at the words, "Ain't that a good thing?" 

"But every week she brought another boy home, who told me he loved me." Naoko bit her lips. "Whenever she falls asleep."

"And I believed it."

"Naoko." Yoojun said through gritted teeth, "Let's do people's hunting for real now."

"What?" Naoko looked at Yoojun.

He on the other hand had his jaw clenched.

"What can you even do?" She huffed.

"Well…I can fight them?" Yoojun declared.

"Why?" Naoko asked, fiddling with her top.

"Because," Yoojun thought for a moment. "I don't know?"

"Do I need a reason to protect you?" Yoojun quipped.

"Yes." 

"You make great cakes." Yoojun started.

"I like them."

"The art too."

"And the paper craft too."

"Those are my reasons to protect you." Yoojun softly smacked Naoko's back.

"How old are you?" She asked suddenly.

"Twenty-eight."

"You are as old as those men." Naoko whispered.

"Well they should be old enough to die." Yoojun hugged Naoko from the side.

"I expected you to do the same?" Naoko said.

"Ew."

"My mother loved me," Naoko started. "She told me so every day."

"She told me that before she slept, when she woke up, before she brought those men home, when she saw those men have their way." She paused for a moment, "I thought she did."

"Not anymore but, I know now, those were her apologies." She held onto Yoojun's shirt, "Flimsy stupid apologies because she just wanted to have fun, not take care of me."

"Maybe it was my fault." She took Yoojun's fingers and scratched them, "That, that I was born?"

"Maybe she would have had more fun?" Yoojun's fingers bled as Naoko said those words. 

"It was all my fault—" 

"Oh shut up," Yoojun took his hand away. "How in hell is your birth giver's bitchy personality your fault?"

"Maybe" Naoko looked at Yoojun's fingers, "Sorry about that."

Naoko bit her fingers, "I am going to sleep."

"Yeah yeah." Yoojun sighed, "I suck at this."

"Yup," Naoko smiled.

"Wanna talk to someone else?" Yoojun asked.

"I don't trust anyone." Naoko mumbled and he nodded.

"Okay," Yoojun said.

"Okay," Naoko repeated.

They both sat in silence.

Both of them lay on the floor.

Naoko yawned, "I hate you too by the way."

"Yeah whatever." Yoojun replied.

Yoojun rubbed Naoko's back.

And she slowly fell asleep.

Naoko had a dream, she was inside a flower bud. White and small. And the sickening scent of perfume surrounded her.

She tried and tried. Scratching, biting, kicking, crawling. But other than the flower bits getting stuck in her nails nothing else happened.

But one day, the flower bloomed on its own.

And when she got out, Yoojun smiled at her.

And she woke up. 

The girl looked at the floor. She sat upright, rubbed her eyes.

When she looked at the table. There was a small ointment on top.

It was a mosquito repellent cream.

And there was a little chocolate bar with it.