Mianhae. Forgive me for not updating in a while. I've been busy lately, but I've had this story on my mind for the whole time. I hope this update will make up for the time lost. <3

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            Eli was scanning the classrooms after school in hopes of finding Hae Mi. They hadn’t talked since he walked her to her classroom two weeks ago. He was hoping to talk to her to see how she was doing. He missed her for unknown reasons, but those would be held off until later. He had to find her right now.

            “Hae Mi~” Eli called. “Are you still—?”

            “Wh-who’s there?”

            Eli grinned. Her voice was bashful and it was too cute to ignore. He walked into Mrs. Kang’s classroom. The sight he found frightened him to the point of a mini-heart attack.

            Hae Mi held a razor blade to her wrist. Hot tears streamed down her face. The corners of turned into a poor scowl, twitching with each sob that escaped them. Eli rushed over. “HAE MI!” He rushed over and pulled her hand away from her arm. The razor was flung across the room and crashed on the teacher’s desk. Eli was sure there was blood on a few of the papers, but those weren’t his main focus.

           “Hae Mi, what in the world do you think you’re doing?!” Eli cried. He held Hae Mi’s head to his chest. He needed to. It was the only way he felt he could protect her correctly.

            Hae Mi sniffled and clutched his shirt. He was warm, and smelled really good. “I don’t know.”

            “There’s a reason for everything. Now what’s yours?”

            “… I was scolded for getting a bad grade in class. Mrs. Kang told me she was going to call my parents and tell them about it. Don’t let them hit me, Eli. Please, don’t let them…” Hae Mi let a sob roll through her vocal chords. She buried her face deeper into Eli’s broad chest. She found comfort in it easily.

            Eli was shocked. How could parents hit their own daughter? It was inhumane. They shouldn’t bring any form of pain to their child, let alone do it on purpose. Eli was raised by caring parents who taught him how to treat people correctly. He wasn’t really aware of why they did that until he saw the world’s true colors—cruel, uncaring, heartless. He knew from that moment on he would make a difference. He would be there for anyone needing it. Hae Mi was just the kind of person that needed the help.

           Eli waited until Hae Mi’s sobs turned into little whimpers before standing up with her still in his arms. Surprising him, Hae Mi looked up at Eli and bluntly admitted, “Why won’t you let me cut myself? That’s the only thing I’ve ever wished to do.”

            Eli pursed his lips in thought. Then the idea struck him. He didn’t answer Hae Mi’s question, but instead dragged her to the Yearbook Office. In there, he took a picture of her with the school’s Polaroid camera without Hae Mi even blinking an eye. In fact, her “o” face was the most adorable thing Eli had ever seen. He chuckled softly and pulled the picture out of the slot. He handed it to her.

            Hae Mi grabbed the picture gently and looked at her face—the one she despised with all her heart. “What is this for?” she whispered.

            “Well,” Eli said while looking around for his next item, “I’m going to let you—Aha! There they are!” Eli snagged a pair of scissors from a nearby desk and handed them over to Hae Mi. “You’re going to cut yourself.”

            Hae Mi stared blankly at Eli for a few seconds before the idea registered in her head. She sheepishly grinned. In a matter of seconds, the sharp blades of the scissors connected with the photo with a sharp “slice.” Hae Mi watched as half of her face fell to the floor. She continued stripping the picture of its simple beauty until a little square remained in her hands. She took it and crumpled it up in between her fingers and let that last piece flutter to the floor. Just like the others.

            “There,” Eli said with a satisfied smile. “Are you feeling better, Hae Mi?”

            The girl shyly nodded, looking at the ground. Then, just loud enough for Eli to hear, Hae Mi admitted, “Today’s my 16^th birthday.”

            Eli’s smile faltered, but didn’t leave. He sighed and walked closer to her with hope in his heart. He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go out for ice cream. My treat.”