Sora turned the computer on and typed the website link furiously. Eunhee’s heart was beating so quickly, she felt like it was going to pop out from her body any moment.

Whoposted it?

Whydid she do it then?

Eunhee gasped at the title of the video: ‘Crazy girl claiming star L.Joe as hers’. She fumed in anger and Sora clicked the play button. True enough, there, shrieking was Eunhee. The girl who was filming the video mumbled “she’s retarded”. Although the words sounded faint, Eunhee still heard it. The scene was replaying in front of her again. There Byunghun was, head hung low, as she screamed like a mad woman. And then, when he finally looked up, those two cold eyes smacked her.

“Who the hell does she think she is?” she heard the girl say. Eunhee shook her head and asked Sora to stop the video from playing. She was on the verge of crying. Sora wrapped her in a warm hug and Eunhee started sobbing.

“Why are they so cruel? Why…” she asked while hiccupping. Sora felt sad on behalf of her cousin. She was only 18 yet she had faced so many challenges in life. Most of them only made her break down and become even more depressed. The worst was probably when Myungsoo broke up with her, but this came in second. Her breath hitched and she sounded so weak that Sora felt like crying too.

Sora pulled away, quickly but softly, and started commenting on the video. She had created an anonymous account to disguise as a commoner instead of someone who actually knew Eunhee.

Excuse me, but I think you should delete this video. Or if you still want it to be on Youtube, please set it to private. I think this is disgraceful because you’re just making things worse. Don’t add fuel to the fire. Who knows if the girl in the video is feeling so depressed? What if suicidal thoughts bombarded her mind? What if she actually commits it? Someone’s death will occur because of your childish behavior; uploading a video like this online. Please, re-think. Try to put yourself in the girl’s position. Would you like it if someone films you and uploads an embarrassing video of you on the net? [so_so_sorawr] She pressed the ‘enter’ button and waited for the user’s reply.

Eunhee looked at what was written on the computer screen and her lips curved upwards, forming a slight smile.

“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Eunhee said sincerely. Sora gave her a thumbs-up sign and grinned.

“I wouldn’t know too. Now go to sleep. Please, you need to rest. This is too much for you to handle. Let the pain be your teacher,” Sora advised. Eunhee froze. Byunghun had said those words to her. Sora looked at her cousin’s pale face and frowned.

“Are… you okay?” she asked. Eunhee was unable to move. She felt herself tremble and Sora was shocked. Why was she like this? Did she mention something wrong?

“Those words…” Eunhee murmured. Sora shrugged.

“Yeah, why with it?” Eunhee shook her head and tapped Sora’s shoulder, convincing she was okay.

“Never mind, I’m going to rest now. See you later,” she said and with that, she closed Sora’s bedroom door. Sora was confused. Her cousin had this pained expression on her face, almost like someone had said those words to her before.

Eunhee landed on her bed and stared at the ceiling. “Let the pain be your teacher,” she heard herself say. The sentence pierced her heart and she found herself crying again.

“God damn, Eunhee, stop crying-“she growled. Her eyes became smaller and the whites in her eyes turned red. She turned to her bedside table and pulled the drawer out. She looked at the picture she was holding and the tears dripped and ended up wetting the photo.

“Byunghun…” she said. Soon, she fell asleep.

When Eunhee woke up, it felt as if all the energy had drained out of her. Her body sank into the mattress and she had never felt so weak before. She did not want to get up but felt so dry she was in a desperate need of water. Eunhee heaved herself up and dragged her heavy body to the kitchen.

The house was so silent as if everything had stopped in time except for her. Her eyes landed on the clock. 1:10 am. Of course, everyone was already asleep.

Eunhee pulled the refrigerator door grabbed a jar of water. Pouring the cold liquid straight into , she felt relieved and hydrated again. All the events of the day came back to her in a blur, as if the sleep had clouded her memories in a thick fog. She somehow knew that night that she could not sleep yet.

Eunhee slipped on her cardigan and slithered out the door. She headed to the nearest park. The night was clear. Little spots of white dotted the burgundy sky and a cool breeze caressed her skin. She was aware of the dangers lurking in the shadows at night but somehow, she felt secured in this darkness.

She strolled around the park as if she had nothing else to worry about. After a few minutes, she stopped to rest on a bench. Just breathing in the night air helped to freshen her mind. Then, the sound of footfalls shattered the silence.

“Hey.” Eunhee looked up. It was Myungsoo. He nonchalantly took a seat beside her.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

 “What are you doing here?” Eunhee purposefully avoided the question.

“Taking a night stroll in the park like you always do? Do you have any problems you want to tell me?” It was Myungsoo’s turn to avoid her question.

“Nothing. I just saw an embarrassing video of me,” Eunhee did not know what drove her to confide in Myungsoo but the words just flew out of . Maybe it was because of the security of the night that made her not think of anything else. Or maybe it was because she could hear genuine concern in Myungsoo’s voice. But whatever it is, she knew that she went too far.

Eunhee stopped waited for Myungsoo’s reply.

“You know what? What other people have to say about you does not even matter. They don’t understand your predicament. They don’t even understand you.”

“So you saw the video.”

“Yeah.” He muttered softly.

“And is that why you came to find me?”

There was silence. Eunhee could feel his body stiffen beside her. Of course this would happen. Everything would replay itself again. What Myungsoo did to her came flooding into her again. Rage built up in her. She clenched her fists and stood up.

“You know what Myungsoo? You don’t need to act like as if you care so much about me. Now you are consoling me and all and the next day, what? You’re gonna dump me as if I am just a piece of ? Nice try. But I won’t fall for it twice.” Eunhee swiveled on her feet.

“Eunhee…” Came Myungsoo’s voice.

“Shut up and let me have my own peace.” She stomped away.

“Eunhee.” Myungsoo grabbed her arm. Eunhee inhaled sharply and turned.

“What the hell do you want with me?!” Eunhee struggled out of his grip.

“Eunhee listen.”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

She was walking away now. She was walking away and swore that she will never ever see his loathsome face again.

“Eunhee! I didn’t break up with you because I wanted to!”

And then, when the wind carried his voice to her ears, it was so soft; too soft that she had to strain her ears to hear. But it managed to make her stop in her tracks.

“I still love you.”

[author's note: ......................>:D Remember to comment!]