My name is Do Kyungsoo. I am just like any other boy. Completely normal. I have never hurt anybody. I have never done anything wrong. But why do they hurt me?

§§§§§

"Yah, guys, would you look at that?"

"Woohoo!"

"Our boy is finally coming."

Some bad voices were heard.

I ignored them.

"Yah. Who the hell you think you are, huh? Look at me, you brat!"

I tried to run away.

"Ha! don't think you're gonna get away from us! Hey Kris, seems like this kid needs a lesson from us." They chuckled.

They easily carried away my small figure. I struggled to break loose, but there were too many of them.

"What do you want from me?!” I finally spoke up. “Let. Me. GO!"

"What? You wanna go? Sure, we'll let you go!"

They dumped my body on the hard ground like I was a bag of trash. They started to beat me, kick me, and I knew that I couldn't do anything. As always, I just had to accept it quietly and without protest. They continued to beat me until they were satisfied, and they left.

I was still lying on the ground, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. I knew I had to skip school that day. No way in hell would I have gone to class like that. I pushed myself forward, trudging alone through a park, looking around, wondering. I still remember their words. "You better not be going around telling anyone about this. I repeat, you tell anyone, you're gonna get it worse from us!"

Why had my life become like this? I had no friends; they wouldn't involve me for fear of being bullied, too.

I hated this. I hated myself. I hated the world.     

Things never changed. The next day, they beat me up again. And again. And again. That day, I tiptoed across the hall to my bedroom. I didn't want my mom see me like this because she and I had gradually become distant. I always avoided looking her in the eye because I was scared of her seeing me like this ㅡ bruises and scars all over. Ever since my dad had passed away, my mom worked hard to support me. I couldn't burden her further with my problems.

"Kyungsoo?" Oh . It was her. "Kyungsoo? Is that you? Please come here. I need to talk to you about something."

What should I do?

"Mom, I'm tired. I..." Before I could finish, she pulled me into her arms, looking into my eyes with deep concern.

"Oh my God! Kyungsoo! What happened to you? You face, your body... Oh my God, please tell me, is this why you always avoid me? Please say something, Kyungsoo!" She almost shouted. I had never seen her like this with her worry and deep concern obvious on her face.

I was speechless. Suddenly, I felt a tear drop on my cheek, and my mom quickly embraced me. I cried. It was the first time I'd cried ever since I started getting bullied. I told