After the look on Jessica’s doleful face, I knew that the word ‘shame’ would be a mere understatement. Donghae’s words, coupled by his frigid expression, were enough to drain a person’s reservoir of words. Sica was trembling. Apparently, she never heard such harsh words directed directly to her before. Having been told that was like a big slap on her face, leaving an evident red mark. She took retreating steps hesitantly, tears continuously falling from her eyes.

“You n-never l-loved me?” she stuttered, unable to counter the gaze Donghae gave her.

“No,” he clinched, not daring to withdraw his affixed gaze on her.

Sica retreated, moving nearer towards the door, clutching the handle with trembling hands. She sighed, struggled to compose herself, and spoke with a wavering voice.

“Then I guess I have nothing to do here,” she declared, wiping a fresh tear off her cheek. “As much as I want to have you back, Hae, I guess this is goodbye. There’s no point staying here anymore. Au revoir.”

She then looked at me with eyes expressing pain rather than hate, “You’ve really done it this time. Have fun,” sarcasm was dripping in her voice.

With that, she opened the door in a flash, and then dashed out hastily, not daring to look back.

Gently, Donghae bent down, peered at me with eyes that seemed to see me. “Are you okay?” he asked. I got up timidly, still shaken from the words he uttered.

“I’m fine,” I said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “How about you?”

He smiled; no trace of regret seen on his face. “Never been better; it felt good to finally say those words,” he trailed off.

I smiled unsurely – not knowing what else there is to say. True enough, I never saw this side of Donghae before. I don’t know if I should be thankful or scared that the same thing would happen to me. A voice inside my head argued, and told me that he would never do such a thing. Not to me, at least.

I seriously hope that the voice inside my head was right.

*                                                                    *                                                                              *

     Never had I once regretted that I uttered the words I had said during lunch time. Even right now, in my Biology class, I still replayed the scene inside my head. Although I felt a little guilty for hurting Jessica, it was nothing compared to the extreme feeling of release.

“Lee Donghae,” a voice interrupted my train of thought.

I shifted uneasily. “Yes?” I asked, facing the direction where the voice came from.

“What is the answer to the question?” the stern voice of my teacher asked.

I scratched my head. I can’t believe my mind was too preoccupied to listen to our discussion. Composing myself, I asked as politely as possible. “I’m sorry, miss. Could you please repeat the question?”

Mrs. Song made a sound of disapproval. “Mr. Lee, being in that condition doesn’t excuse you from listening in class. My question was: What type of solution has more solute than solvent and would lead to the plasmolysis of cells?”

I cleared my throat and forced out a smile. Thank God, I knew the answer.

“Hypertonic Solution,” I replied politely.

The sternness of Mrs. Song’s voice didn’t cease even though I got the answer right. “Listen up carefully, Mr. Lee. Next time, you won’t be very lucky,” she said, and continued to teach her lesson.

Out to my right, somebody tapped my shoulder. I smiled and faced that direction.

“Don’t worry. Mrs. Song is always like that. She has no preference to any student, not even if they’re physically handicapped,” the familiar voice of Choi Siwon said.

I shifted uneasily in my seat. I didn’t like hearing the “H” word.

Out on my left, another finger tapped my shoulder.

“That’s right,”Yuri’s familiar voice agreed. “She just doesn’t know how it’s like to be blind. It’s not worth it.”

     Deep inside, I knew they meant well, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt with their words. I don’t know, I guess I don’t respond to sympathy that well. I wasn’t particularly used to being pitied with.

“It’s nothing, really, guys. Being blind isn’t as bad as it sounds,” I reasoned, playing with my fingers.

“Still, she should make some special considerations, you know? At least she should lay it off on you while you adjust to your surroundings here. For all we know, her starkness may result to the worsening of your condition.”

I bit my lip and nodded once, unknowing what else to say. The rest of the period edged by slowly, until after what seemed like a millennium, the bell rang, and class was dismissed almost immediately. Without hesitation, I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the door.

     I didn’t know if it was rude of me to just walk out without waiting for the people I talked with earlier, but I figured that they would take my condition as an excuse. Damn, wrong thought, my brain warned. Never use your disability as an excuse. You know that, you remember that, right?

Walking towards my locker was easy and difficult – easy because I was particularly sure of the way to get there as I have always done for the past years, hard because of the hustle and bustle going on in the corridor. It was virtually impossible to go through the corridor without getting bumped or jostled by a couple of students. Occasionally I would here a murmur of apology or two, and I would just smile their direction and gave them a peace sign to say that I’m okay with it.

     Turning the combination on my locker, I made a mental note to set the lock back to zero before trying to open it. After a couple of turns and kinks, I managed to open my locker and unload the heavy burden which were my books.

“You doing okay, Donghae?” a voice said at my right.

I sighed softly. I didn’t know how many times that question was aired out today by different people. Obviously, Choi Siwon didn’t wants to be part of that bunch too.

“I’m fine, just a little tired. My first day in this school has been a little rough, but I can manage,” I said, trying to force out a smile.

“You sure? I mean, I can always help you with your stuff. It’s the least I can do,” he offered.

“I’m fine,” I said through clenched teeth which I hope he didn’t notice. Taking a deep breath and locking my locker, I said to him, “I need to be independent, Siwon. If I always rely on others, I couldn’t always count on myself now, could I? But at least, thanks for offering. I really appreciate it.”

I bowed stiffly and tried to walk away with ease until I was bumped with by a couple of people again. Clenching my walking cane, I tried to maneuver myself away from the sea of people which seemed to keep pouring out of classrooms.

“Hey Donghae, are you okay?” one called.

“Do you want us to help you?” another said.

“Maybe I can drive you home, would you like that?” offered a third.

I tried to smile and gracefully reject their offers, but I’m afraid I wasn’t doing a very good job with that. When I reached the stairs, people didn’t stop from offering their help. I gripped the railing tightly to make sure I wouldn’t slip with all this mayhem going on.

“Donghae, please, just let us help you. You’ll be fine.”

“Hyomin’s right, we can help you, Hae.”

Somewhere inside my brain, a cord seemed to snap, and I lost my sense of focus. Unknowingly, I let go of the railing and slipped down the rough staircase, bumping my head a couple of times along the way. When I ceased falling, a shocked hush hung over the atmosphere. The silence was broken as soon as a voice called out my name.

“Donghae, Donghae, are you alright?” an alarmed voice called.

Yoona,my brain whispered. My eyes tried to flutter open and I gasped.

“Donghae? W-what’s wrong?” she asked.

I recalled my breath and stood up rigidly. “Nothing, I’ll be fine. I was just on my way home.”

     Without waiting for a response, I found my way to the school’s exit, half running, and half walking. I couldn’t detach something from my mind. I was somewhat in shock. It wasn’t about the fall, and it wasn’t about the pain. It was something that happened after that. For a split second, the color of the world seemed to flood back to my eyes. For a split second, the black curtains from my eyes seemed to pull away. For a split second, I saw Yoona’s face again. A split second was all that I had before the darkness purged again.

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Hey guys, sorry for the late update, I was just really busy this summer, and this upcoming school year. I dunno when my next update will be, but for now, at least I had the time to update this chapter. I hope I won't lose you guys. Fighting!