There was nothing else to do, though, then just pick yourself up and keep going, right?

He walked into the school gates, hearing whispers all around him.

“Is that the guy whose mom had an affair?”

“I heard his mom has children all over the place.”

“I would be so ashamed if I was him. I feel so bad for Bo Na that she’s tangled in this mess. It’s all this guy’s fault.”

Chanyoung gritted his teeth to keep his anger in restraint. Stopping and putting in his ear buds, he quickly went to his homeroom to avoid any confrontations with other kids.

“Good morning, Ms. Park,” As always, he greeted his teacher politely though even she had more of a forced smile on her face this morning.

“Good morning, Chanyoung,” She wouldn’t look at him, as expected of teachers who knew that the real powers at this school were the parents. Chanyoung guessed that complaints had come in already.

“Ms. Park, can you tell me about other good schools in the area? Or just anywhere? I think my dad wants to relocate next year.”

She pauses, finally directly looking at Chanyoung. “I’m sorry, Chanyoung…It’s hard isn’t it? There’s some academically fine schools in Suwon that I’ve heard of…Excuse me for a minute, hm?” Ms. Park suddenly rushes out, Chanyoung seeing her glazed eyes for a quick second before she turns away. It was hard for her, too, because of him. All of this seemed to be his fault. Maybe if he showed more love towards his mother, she would have stayed? His actions only hurt the people around him now. His dad, Bo Na, Ms. Park…who next? Chanyoung closes his eyes to prevent himself from becoming too emotional and lays his head down on his desk. If only he could go home…

“Oh? Who do we have here? If it isn’t the poor boy who has no mom?”

There’s a small slap towards his head as everybody jeers. Anybody could recognize the clear voice of Young Do and the rest of his friends laughing. Chanyoung keeps his head down, making no movement. Be the better person, be the better person.

“Hmm, I wonder why he’s still here? I mean, his mom basically took everything so he’s not even on our level now,” Young Do continues sharing his information, and the news makes Chanyoung open his eyes. What? Mom had what? He thinks back to last night, remembering the conversation his father was having on the phone.

“Yah, Young Do, quiet down,” That was Kim Tan, definitely the most important boy in the whole school. His father owned Empire Group, which basically meant he was royalty. Young Do relents though unhappy with the bossy attitude Kim Tan had.

“Besides, Bo Na might not like it.”

“What about me?”

Chanyoung shifts his head slightly to see the small girl in the doorway of the classroom, a suspicious look on her face as she sees the group of kids crowding around Chanyoung’s desk.

“Yah, what are you doing?”

“Bo Na, come here,” Young Do’s voice turns sticky sweet, as he waves her over. She comes with a skeptical look, glancing at the desk and back at Young Do.

“We were just talking to Chanyoung, asking about his situation and all. Now, don’t you worry about a thing, we’ll take care of everything, okay? Just ignore him. We’ll make sure he doesn’t follow us next year,” the tall boy escorts the shorter girl to her seat, smiling the whole time while Chanyoung shudders silently.

We’ll take care of it. What the hell did that mean?

Besides, if what Young Do had said about his rank not being the same anymore, then there was nothing he could do. If Chanyoung hurt any of them, their parents would easily be able to expel him. That would only bring more trouble for his father…Chanyoung bites his lip, wondering what to do.

“Alright, class, let’s start. Chanyoung, please lift your head, I need everybody to listen right now,” Ms. Park reenters the room, her clear voice silencing the murmuring classroom. Even though he’s asked to lift his head, Chanyoung doesn’t and instead drifts off into a soft sleep, finally finding peace. A few seats behind him, a young girl glances worriedly at the young boy, wondering whose side she was truly on.