Chapter 3

Da Eun hurriedly closed the door behind her and she giggled hysterically to herself. That’s what you get for always being so biased towards Da Soo.  The wide grin she was carrying around with slowly turned into frown as she leisurely paced around the unfamiliar looking streets with her school bag. 

 

She faintly remembered passing by certain shopping malls and traffic junctions the week before because she went for an adventure, she told herself, an adventure to find the shortest pathway from her new house to her new school.  However, she wasn’t too sure if the shopping malls and traffic junctions she saw last week were the exact same as the ones she’s looking at now.  Thank god she left her house an hour earlier, she expected something like this to happen. She groaned to herself in shame, she’s forgotten the way to CheoNan Highschool…

 

The sun wasn’t that hot but Da Eun could feel rivulets of sweat on her face and her back.  Her face felt so warm she thought she could fry an egg with it.  She was thankful that she had her hair tied up.  Da Eun wiped the beads of sweat off her face as soon as she ambled along the pathway full of flower stalls and cafes at the side.  She got a little too immersed at how cute they looked beside each other.  She had to stop in her tracks to sniff her surroundings.  The stalls and cafes were closed because it was still pretty early in the morning but Da Eun could sniff out the fragrant smell of grass and flowers that complimented the aroma of black coffee and the rich scent of freshly roasted beans.  For a moment there, Da Eun thought she was in wonderland, she stood there quietly and closed her eyes gently as she took her time to sniff away the lovely scent. 

The peaceful moment didn’t last for very long as Da Eun was interrupted by a girl’s voice.  She was pretty sure it sounded like a yell for help.  Da Eun snapped her eyes open as she wandered off to where the voice had come from.  She found herself at the mouth of a back alley at the end of the line of stalls, the voices she heard getting louder and clearer. 

 

“Keep it down pretty.”  A person with a husky voice spoke. 

“All I asked for was your number.”  He chuckled creepily.

 

Da Eun blinked at her shoes in relief, it was just a guy asking a girl for her number.  How typical.  She was thinking too much.  As she turned around, ready to leave, she heard another voice.

 

“And your money and maybe your body as well.”

 

Laughter erupted among them and Da Eun could hear at least a group of guys in there.  She estimated around four to five boys.  Da Eun spun around and bit her lips nervously.  What are they doing in there?  Are they going to do something bad to her?  This is bad. 

She decided to call for help from someone nearby and picked up her pace out of the alley when another yell for help was heard from the girl.  She sounded so scared, her voice literally trembling in fear.  Da Eun stopped running when she heard it and glanced to the alley again then she glanced back to the line of stalls again.  She noticed that there wasn’t anyone walking around in that area. That’s right… she finally recalled.  It was still early in the morning as she left her house an hour earlier today.  There was no one there to help.

 

“Not budging?” The guy asked in a slow and frightening manner.

“Boys, her.”  He ordered his gang mates.

 

Da Eun felt a chill went down her spine.  She gnawed at lip in panic, it then started to taste bitter and a strong metallic smell flooded .   She took no notice of the pain in her lips as she thought about the dire consequences she might face if she ran in there recklessly.  She really didn’t want to get herself involved.

 

Another yell was heard, this time with a loud thud.  Da Eun felt her heart beating faster and faster, just what on earth was she thinking?  Help the girl!  What are you doing?  Why are you even hesitating?  GO HELP HER!  NOW! 

 

Da Eun took a deep breath, gathered all her courage and darted swiftly into the back alley.  Screw the consequences, that girl needed her help now.

 

“Hey you!”  Da Eun hissed menacingly at the group of guys as she spotted the poor girl that has fallen down the ground, her eyes showing a glimpse of hope.  She wore the same uniform as Da Eun.  CheoNan Highschool?!  She gasped in surprise as she shifted her gaze back towards the group of boys. Her estimations were correct, there were five boys in there.  Da Eun also took notice that they were wearing school uniforms.  She couldn’t recognize the school they came from but she was convinced that they were high schoolers just like her.  The group of boys stared at Da Eun in surprise.  One of them from the gang was chewing on a piece of bubble gum which Da Eun immediately thought was the ‘leader’, blew a bubble into the gum which then popped, revealing a sly smirk.

 

“Well well well.  Were we too loud?”  That guy questioned Da Eun as he smiled creepily at her. 

 

“Heck yeah you were.  Now let her go.” Da Eun raised her voice at them, not wavering it one bit.  The guy raised his brow at her.  He expected her to quiver in fear but she replied him with a straight face and a steady voice.  Impressed by her braveness, he chuckled to himself.  Things are getting even more exciting now.

 

“I’m sorry.  I guess I have to punish her for yelling so loudly for help just now.” He glanced down towards the girl in front of him and kicked her hard in her stomach.  Everyone was taken aback at his sudden attack, even his friends.  One of them even yelled for him to stop.  As the poor girl cried out and hugged her belly in severe pain, Da Eun dashed towards the guy without hesitation and sent him a powerful punch to his jaw. 

She clicked her tongue in infuriation when that punch didn’t send him flying which was what she had hoped for but instead just a few steps back.  The girl scrambled behind of Da Eun in panic and Da Eun turned around to help her up so she could stand.

 

Da Eun made sure that she was standing upright when the girl suddenly exclaimed, “BEHIND YOU!”

 

“Never let your guard DOWN!” was what Da Eun heard the moment she turned her face around.  She felt a strong knock on her nose bridge and Da Eun literally thought that her nose had dropped off.  The punch was so powerful and swift that Da Eun stumbled.  She covered her nose in searing pain and winced in agony. 

 

She felt so stupid.  When someone ever shouts ‘behind you’ in a fight, never ever turn around to look.  Da Eun had watched plenty of action movies and it always turned out to be this way.  The punch she received was pretty much the most expected thing she’ll ever see in those shows.  She regretted calling the people who got punched ‘stupid’, because let’s be real here, who’s the stupid one now? 

 

Da Eun was honestly quite relieved that the other boys were just standing there and staring at them.  At least they were reasonable enough to know that picking a fight on girls was wrong.  But she was still pretty annoyed that they were doing nothing about it, example maybe stopping the guy from fighting with them?

 She heard a small gasp of fear escaping the girl’s mouth followed by a stuttering, “You..You’re... bleed..bleeding!”

Da Eun widened her eyes in shock as she wiped her nostrils with her fingers.  That’s right, blood was what she saw. 

Her eyes flashed with resentment.  Venom spewed from her lips as she hissed at the guy, cursing him belligerently.  Her blood was boiling and she felt like a bull in a China shop.  She was furious. God damn furious.  Da Eun then grab the girl’s wrist and the latter winced a little at how tight her grip actually was.  The girl gulped down a lump in a throat, Da Eun was very unpredictable now. 

 

“BASTARD!” Da Eun cursed at the guy.  “That was my last straw.” Her voice crackled with anger.  “You’re so gonna DIE!” Da Eun suddenly charged towards the guy, pulling the girl along by her wrist.  Her sudden movement caught him off guard and he shut his eyes closed with hands crossed in front of him as a way of defending himself.

 

 A second passed, and then two seconds, and then three and four and five.  The guy felt something was off.  Why wasn’t she attacking him?  He slowly opened one of his eyes when he finally heard Da Eun yelling at him from a distance, “Never let your guard DOWN!!”

 

The guy snapped both his eyes open and noticed that the back alley was now empty, other than his four friends.  “Useless piece of !  Why did you guys let them run away?” he screeched at his friends as he watched the two girls fleeing the scene.  “Chase after them!” he demanded but the four boys were reluctant to move.  While the leader’s guard was down, the four boys signaled the two girls to run away as far as possible. Thank god for that.

“You guys are absolute trash.  Cowards.” The leader snarled at them and ran out of the alley alone towards the direction of the girls.

 

~~~~

 

“It hurts…!”  The girl bent a little forward, holding on to her stomach as she ran for her life.  Da Eun clicked her tongue worriedly as she turn around to see if the group of boys were chasing after them.  She didn’t let her guard down although it was just the leader that was after them.  No signs of the other boys.

 

“We can’t stop now!  That stupid guy is chasing after us!”  Da Eun never felt anything like this in her life before.  She was afraid, worried, frustrated and furious all at the same time.  She tried to run as fast as she could but the girl kept slowing her down, not that she blamed her or anything.  They finally crossed a small road ahead of them where Da Eun noticed a few people.  What a relief!  She thought.

 

As Da Eun was about to yell for help from those people, she felt a sudden force pulling her head backwards painfully.  The guy had already caught up to them and was yanking on her ponytail.  “Help!” the girls shouted for help together and a few passerby turned to look at them.  The guy immediately loosen his grip on Da Eun’s pony tail and she could feel some strands of her hair being pulled off.  He scurried away when one of the passerby shouted at him to stop.

 

The passerby wanted to chase after that jerk but stopped in his tracks after noticing the rivulets of blood Da Eun’s nose and mouth.  He then glanced at the girl with her hands clutching on to her stomach and teeth clenched together.  She was trying her best to endure the piercing pain in her stomach that her face was getting paler every second. 

The passerby then offered his help to them by asking them if they would like a lift in his car to the nearby hospital but the girl refused.  Da Eun couldn’t understand what was going through her mind then, why doesn’t she want accept his offer?  Was she afraid that the guy might kidnap her or something?  The passerby was persistent though.  He kept offering his help to them and Da Eun could tell that the girl really didn’t want it.  She looked extremely exhausted.  Da Eun never really noticed how much pain she was going through until the girl had finally collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. 

 

~~~~

 

The girl fluttered her eyes open and squinted at the white ceiling, it was so bright that it stung her eyes.  She had to blink a few times so her eyes could adjust to the brightness of that unfamiliar looking ceiling.  She jerked up from the bed and glanced at her surroundings in panic only to see Da Eun’s relieved expression and a piece of bandage on her nose.

 

“You’re awake!  Are you feeling better?  Does your stomach still hurt?” Da Eun chirped gleefully as she handed a glass of water to the girl. 

 

“…hmm…”

 

“Lee Ye Rin.  It’s nice meeting you.” Da Eun beamed at her as she said her name for the first time. 

“How...”  Ye Rin asked as she gulped the water down instantly. 

 

“I saw your name on that piece of report paper thingy.” Da Eun pointed at a piece of paper on a table beside the bed.  It must have contained her personal information of her health reports. 

“Oh…” She placed the empty glass between her thighs where a piece of blanket was covering.  She doesn’t seem to be in pain anymore.  Da Eun sighed in relief.  Thank god.

 

“How’s your nose?” Ye Rin asked as she pointed at Da Eun’s bandage on her nose.

“Don’t worry it’s nothing big.  Though the doctor said it will bruise and swell for the next few days…  She told me not to scratch or irritate it, so yeah.” Da Eun beamed at Ye Rin and it gave her a sense of assurance.  After all, she was the one that dragged Da Eun into the fight somehow and she felt really bad to let her get injured.

 

“Are we in a hospital…?” She asked worriedly.  Da Eun saw her worried expression.  She expected her to say that, judging on how much she didn’t want to accept that man’s offer just now.

“No.  We are in CheoNan Highschool.  The first aid room.”  Da Eun replied her, hoping she did the right thing.  Ye Rin felt the weight on her shoulders fall off, she beamed at Da Eun and thanked her for bringing her here instead of the hospital.  Da Eun pinked a little and told her humbly that it was the passerby that brought and carried her here but she still couldn’t thank her enough.  

 

Ye Rin then noticed the clock hanging on the wall in front of her.  

“I was unconscious for an hour..?” She asked, rubbing her temples in circles.

“Hmm… around there.” Da Eun pouted cutely as she tried to remember the exact timing.

 

There was a comfortable silence that surrounded them.  A few moments had passed when Ye Rin suddenly remembered something very important.

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?” she asked Da Eun curiously.  Da Eun blinked in surprise at her sudden question, oh that’s right… she forgot to introduce herself.

“My name is Kim Da Eun, just call me Da Eun.” She pinked at her own name.  She never felt so proud saying it out loud like this before.  Ye Rin burst into a happy smile and grabbed her hands. 

“Nice meeting you Da Eun.  And thanks for saving me just now, I owe you one.” She beamed.  Da Eun pinked when she heard her own name again.  She pulled her hands away from Ye Rin’s grip and her messy ponytail in response to her nervousness.  She never noticed how pretty Ye Rin actually was. 

 

Da Eun felt a lump in her ponytail after she it a few times.  She on it a few more times before confirming that there was indeed something in it.  She furrowed her brows as she tried getting that lump out of her hair but it stuck onto her hair like superglue. 

 

“Hey Ye Rin…” Da Eun glanced at Ye Rin as she back faced her and sat down on the bed where Ye Rin was sitting on as well.

 

“What is this?” Da Eun pointed at her ponytail and Ye Rin tilted her head curiously.

 

“It looks like a piece of gum.” Ye Rin pouted at the sight as she placed the glass of water back onto the table beside the bed.  Both of the girls exchanged glances, they knew who exactly placed it in there.

 

“Ugh… That jerk must have stuck his piece of gum onto my hair when he yanked it.” Da Eun let out a frustrated whine as Ye Rin tried her best to take the piece of gum out her hair.  She tried and she tried but to no avail.  The two girls were suddenly interrupted when someone entered the first aid room.  It was a lady wearing a doctor’s coat and standing behind her was a sick looking student.  She shifted her gaze towards Ye Rin and grinned at her. 

 

“You’re awake.” She stated the obvious as she gestured the sick student towards the bed where the two girls were sitting at. 

“You woke up just in time.  If you are feeling better now please return to your classrooms.  As you can see I have another student here feeling unwell.” She gestured them towards the door and Da Eun almost snapped at her rudeness. 

The two girls stood up and Da Eun watched as Ye Rin walked swiftly towards the lady in the doctor’s coat. “Please, don’t tell anyone about my injuries. You know it may cause a big ruckus among my company and fans.” She pleaded sincerely.

The lady smiled softly at her, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Ye Rin thanked her and she pulled a confused Da Eun out of the first aid room.