III

When Somi knew Jongin

A/N: This is a flashback chapter to how Somi knew Jongin. 

The next day, Somi tried to approach Kai but he always had someone next to him. She knew that he really wanted nothing to do with her when he stared straight at her in the hallways and still averted her gaze and passed her. 

Still, she wanted to get to know him. She wanted something to do with him. Maybe it had been the guilt she had from her past. After helping Jongin, hopefully the guilt will disappear and she will stop worrying. 

8 YEARS AGO

"I don't want this," 8 year old Somi shouted, throwing the expensive doll her father had given her. At that age, Somi didn't understand why her father would send her dolls instead of being there himself. It was her birthday. People would always use her for her money, instead of liking her as a person. People would be envious of her because her parents were rich, but in reality she was alone. 

Her maid tried to calm her down, "Please, my lady, calm down. Seo Jun! Seo Jun!" 

Somi's brother quickly rushed into the room, finding his little sister in a state of chaos. He placed his hands on her shoulders, "Somi. Somi. Look at me. Things won't always work out the way you want them too. You need to understand that mom and dad need to focus on their work." 

"Are we not worth focusing on? Why do they have to always leave? It's my birthday, oppa! They've never been here on my birthday since I was born. I don't want some stupid doll. I don't want anything. I just want them to be here."

"You need to accept that they won't always be around." 

"Why can't we have parents like other people?" 

"Somi, we're not other people. We just need to accept that."

Somi was furious. She just wanted her parents. She didn't care if she had money, she just wanted to play in the park with her dad, go shopping with her mom, or just have a meal with her parents. She never really got that opporunity. 'I don't want to accept it." With that, she rushed out her front door and ran and ran and ran. She didn't know where she was going, but it doesn't matter. She didn't care. 

She ended up at her school. She saw three boys, most likely in a higher grade than her beating a boy her age. Somi didn't know who the little boy was, but she wanted to help him. She tried to shout. She tried to move her body. She couldn't. All she could do was run as fast as she could away from the school.  

"Somi! Somi! Stop." Seo Jun grabbed her hand. "I've been looking for you for hours! Where have you been?" 

"I'm sorry, oppa." Somi really couldn't think about anything except what had happened to the little boy. She could've done something, but she didn't. 

His name was Kim Jongin. He was in the classroom across of hers. Apparently, he had a scholarship to the school and his parents were super poor. He was chubby and short and didn't really have any friends. 

Unlike Jongin, Somi was pretty, rich, and was well-liked by her fellow classmates. However, like Jongin, she didn't have any friends. 

After school, she had to stay late and finish a test. She found different boys this time beating Jongin. Bruises were all over his body. Blood. She hated blood. This time she hadn't been so lucky. One of the boys that had been beating up Jongin found her the next day.  

"Don't you dare tell anyone about what you saw." 

She tried to make a sound and yell at him but she was terrifed. Her whole body was shaking. She wasn't running, but it felt like she was running away. It wasn't right. You shouldn't hurt a human like that. It's not right. Please stop! I will tell a teacher. "O-okay..." 

She had found him consistenly getting beat up day after day. She pretended she didn't see it. She pretended she didn't care. And soon later she stopped caring. The bruises, blood, scares, and sad expression did not disappear though. They got worse. 

But Somi ignored. 

A year passed and Jongin's class was now three doors down from hers. She would notice how he used makeup to cover up his bruises and always wore sweathers and jeans that hid most of his body. 

Still Somi ignored. 

A second year passed and Jongin had become worst. He stopped trying in school and his bruises only got worse. He would talk to the counselor for the entire school day and leave around 6, when everyone already left the school. Somi, had club activities and left the same time he did. She could've talked to him and became his friend. 

But Somi ignored.

Another year passed and Jongin rarely came to school. The bullies still harrased him even more since he hardly showed up for school. One of the bullies had asked her, "Do you know where Jongin is?"

She knew they weren't his friends and she knew they had intentions of hurting him. "He leaves through the West doors," she calmly said.

She pretended those people were Jongin's friends and they wouldn't hurt him.

The next day, rumors were going around that he was at the hospital. Somi could no longer ignore it. She had put him in this situation because she had told the bullies where he was.

She had never cried or worried for someone in her life as much as she did now. She could no longer ignore.

After a few weeks, she found out that Jongin had attempted suicide. Luckily, he had been saved and taken to the hospital. Somi believed she could've done something. 

What if I had stopped the bullies?

What if I had been his friend?

What if I had told someone?

What if I had talk to him? 

What if I cared? 

What could have changed?

She felt responsible for what she didn't do. This wasn't the kind of person she wanted to be. Someone that was too scared to do what she believed in. She wanted to make a difference for her and for other people. She didn't know Jongin, but she could've. In a different lifetime, could he have been her friend? Her best friend? Her lover? 

What if Jongin really did take his life that night? She wouldn't be able to live with herself. 

Jongin disappeared after that. He had changed schools and soon everyone forgot his name. 

Somi didn't forget though. 

Present Day

"Yo Kai! I heard you asked out that creepy girl during lunch? What's with that, man?"

Kai was confused. The only girl that he asked out during lunch was Somi.

"What creepy girl?"

His friends looked at him, bewildered. They were sure they had heard correctly when Kai had asked out the school's freak.

"Oh! Of course, you wouldn't ask out someone like her. What was her name again? Soymilk? Whatever, it do-"

"Are you talking about Somi? Yeah, we're going on a date tomorrow. She's actually pretty cute, you know."

Cute? CUTE?! His friends and a couple of people nearby were in a complete state of shock. What was stranger was that Kai didn't care. He didn't care that people were judging him. But he was Kai. He had to care about his reputation. This was the first time, since 10 years ago, that Kai had ignored what other people thought of him. All that mattered to him was the date tomorrow with Somi. She knew something about him, not just the dancing, and he needed to know what it was. The whispers about his date with Somi will be temporary. But if she knew something about his past and tells someone, those whispers will become more vicious than ever.

For her own reasons, Somi couldn't forget the date either. She was nervous meeting Kai. The first time Kai had noticed her, she had hit her head against a table and made herself sound like an idiot. She had changed herself, for the better and she liked who she was. She wanted Kai to like her. But she didn't just want to impress him, she wanted to befriend him. More importantly, she wanted to protect him.

To be Continued...

Yin wrote most of this chapter so if you liked it, leave a comment for her. :) Seriously, all I did was add a few sentences to the last section and edit a little. So, props to Yin. This was a slightly shorter and darker chapter. I tease Yin about being the "emo writer" because she always unintentionally writes dark contents. Lol. Next chapter is a lot lighter and looooooonger so don't forget to catch that later this week when we publicize it. Also, thank you to everyone who has commented, subscribed, and upvoted so far. Yin and I are fairly new to writing fanfics so we appreciate both the constructive criticism and support. Please continue to support this fanfic in the future.

- Yang

P.S. We update twice a week (mainly because our chapters are fairly short) unless we're both EXTREMELY busy. Then, it'll only be once a week. xD Thanks again.