If only you could know what remains unrevealed Maybe you'd think twice before revealing it
The girl sat down where she had been standing, beads of sweat trickling from her temples. She had been dancing to randomly played songs for more than an hour.
Honestly, she was still capable of dancing. But the negative thoughts gnawing at her mind immediately affected her body. She was exhausted not from moving, but from the turmoil that refused to leave her head.
__“Tsk!”__
The girl clicked her tongue, annoyed that her mind was still replaying what had happened that afternoon. Cheresse knew that incident had become part of her daily life. But her defensive walls weren't sturdy enough, allowing arrows of pain to break through and tear open wounds that had already been closed.
The music changed, prickling every inch of her nerves. This song was one of the side tracks from her favorite girl group's album.
The girl group had been performing it frequently lately because their fans kept asking them to put it onstage.
Cheresse jumped to her feet and started dancing just as the song entered its bridge.
Hayan nunkkot wie stranger (Stranger on the white snowflake,) Mareun ttangeul neukkin Ghost (Ghost that felt the dry ground) Dachin mame deonjyeo lonely in the night (Throw at the wounded heart, lonely in the night)
“No Lie” by Everglow was one of her favorite songs. Its slightly melancholic melody paired with upbeat music made it a perfect choice for dancing.
Wae neon tteonan eunji danger (Why did you leave danger) And you got nowhere to go Truth is, we were in the Antarctica Beire ssain (Covered in a veil)
Suddenly, her bedroom door swung wide open, revealing an elegant figure standing there with her hands on her hips.
“No wonder you didn't hear me. Turns out your ears were plugged.” The girl shook her head several times when she saw this habit of her younger sister's.
“Uh, Sis Chia?” Cheresse stammered as she approached her sister. “What's up?”
“I've been yelling for you to come down for dinner this whole time. But you didn't answer.”
Cheresse gave an awkward little laugh. Fine, this was her fault for wearing her earphones for so long. “Sorry.”
“Whatever. Come on, let's go downstairs.”
They went downstairs to the dining table. Their mother and second-oldest sibling, Gamalino, were already waiting there. The young man was holding his phone horizontally. Gamal was probably watching a video of a contestant from the talent competition he liked.
“How'd it go? Did they make it to the next round?” Cheresse asked as she took the seat across from Gamal—the spot that was always hers at the dining table.
“Of course! I'm sure he's going to be the winner.”
“Enough, enough. You two, eat first!” scolded the woman at the end of the table, who was already busy spooning rice onto each of her children's plates.
Dinner began. Though it was quiet, Cheresse felt comfortable in the silence. To her, silence among the people she loved was a blessing, while being surrounded by strangers who gave her strange looks was hell on earth.
If Cheresse had a blessing like both of her older siblings, maybe she would never have had to experience that hell.
Chia, her eldest sister, had a well-proportioned figure. She was tall and slender, with pale golden skin, and her graceful manner only added to her beauty. Plenty of young men had tried to win her heart, but to this day, she still chose to remain single.
Meanwhile, her second-oldest sibling, Gamalino, was a veteran of boxed scars, the kind of acne scars that made the pores on his face look larger. Lately, though, those scars had faded because Gamal had slowly learned to take care of his skin. It was hard to admit, but Gamal looked much more handsome now.
Whenever she looked at her siblings' appearances, the girl felt unworthy of introducing herself as their younger sister.
“Cheresse.”
Her mother's call startled her, and her endless daydream suddenly evaporated. She turned and gave her mother an awkward smile. “Yes, Mom?”
“I didn't see your motorcycle in the garage yesterday. Where is it, Che?”
Oh, crap!
“Oh, that's true,” Gamal muttered in agreement. “No wonder the garage felt like something was missing yesterday.”
“It’s, um, Mom…” Cheresse stammered, unsure what to say. “Y-yesterday, I got a flat tire—yeah! The tire went flat. So I left it at school, then I called a mechanic just now, Mom.”
Her mother, Chia, and Gamal exchanged bewildered looks at the youngest child's confession.
“Seriously, Ris?” Chia asked. “Why didn't you call me? I could've picked you up from school.”
“It’s fine, Sis! I would've just interrupted your work hours. Besides, I already brought the motorcycle home, didn't I?” The girl made excuses as she shoveled food into her mouth.
Oh, right. There was one more secret Cheresse hadn't told her family.
Her family knew that she liked dancing and occasionally entered solo dance competitions. But they didn't know that she was The Bland Mask, who had recently become the talk of the town.
To be continued