Whispers were heard throughout the hallways, as Ji Ren tried not to show that she was limping to homeroom. Although covering her face with the facemask, her bangs didn’t entirely cover her eyes.

“Do you think that Zico did it to her?” Ren heard students whispering to one another. “She’s beaten up pretty bad,” the gossips continued.

Ren entered inside homeroom, and found Zico and his gang glaring at her. She ignored them, and took a seat at her desk. The classmates inside homeroom started whispering also, and then heard a loud lash on the table coming from the back.

Zico kicked several desks over, as he exited out with Kyung and a few other buddies. Ren didn’t budge to stop anyone, as she didn’t care for the rumors. Ukwon looked at Ren confusedly, as he knew that this couldn’t have been Zico’s doing.

Due to the rumors and gossips, Zico and Ren pulled inside the principal’s office.

“Miss Chae, can you please explain the injuries on your face?” The principal asked, and Ren didn’t move. Not even a peep came out of her. “I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Zico answered his part, and Ren remained staring down on the floor.

“Miss Chae, with the mask on. Are there—“

“I’m sick, so I have the mask on,” Ren quickly answered, and coughed a couple times, as she cleared her raspy throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I would like to check with the nurse in the infirmary room,” Ren said, and the principal nodded his head.

After excusing herself, Zico followed after. He grabbed her wrist with force, and spun her around to face him.

“Yah, what the did you to yourself? You want me to be looked down, because I took that stupid photo yesterday?” Zico asked angrily, and Ren pulled away from Zico’s grasp.

“Why are you so worried? People obviously know that I can kick your . So why don’t you just ignore their idiotic rumors, and move forward with life,” Ren replied, as Zico came to think for a bit.

‘She’s right. She can kick my , and I shouldn’t be mad.’ Zico spoke inside his head.

“,” Ren muttered, as she walked to the infirmary room. “Then what happened to you?” He asked, catching up to Ren. “Why does it matter? You didn’t do it, so get back to class,” she answered with annoyance, and entered inside the infirmary.

“Did you the mess on Class Rep. Ren?” Kyung asked, as he and his friends smoked on the rooftop. “Yeah, it looked kind of bad. I almost pitied her,” Zico answered, and then everyone burst into laughter.

“Happy now, Zico? She gotten badly beaten like how you wanted, although you didn’t do it,” Ukwon said, and Zico rolled his eyes at him. “What the is your problem with being happy? I’m so grateful to whoever did this to her,” Zico replied with a smirk.

Ukwon shook his head, as he exhaled and exited the rooftop.

“What’s up with Ukwon these days?” BBomb asked, and then drinks his Pepsi. “I don’t know, but he ain’t being a true friend to me lately,” Zico answered, as he puffed his cigarette.

Ren sat alone at a table inside the library, as she doodled in her notebook, while reading a book. Ukwon walked inside the library, and spotted Ren alone, so he made his way towards her.

“Love the new look,” Ukwon joked about Ren’s bruises. “Thanks, does it make me look tougher than Jiho?” Ren took it as a compliment, and Ukwon chuckled.

“You know, I think you look tougher than him in any kind of appearance,” Ukwon said, and Ren looked up at him. “Kim Yookwon, is it?” Ren asked, and Ukwon nodded his head.

“Why is a friend of Woo Jiho speaking with me?” Ren asked, looking at him with suspicion. “We’re classmates, so doesn’t that make us friends too?” Ukwon asked, and took a seat in front of Ren.

She squinted her eyes at him, and Ukwon raised an eyebrow.

“Am I sitting on someone’s seat?” He asked, and Ren shook her head. “I’m here alone,” she answered, and then looks back down at her notebook.

Ukwon peeked over, and heaved a sigh.

“It’s break time, and you’re working on assignments? Give yourself a break,” Ukwon said, and Ren chortled. “If I can, I would,” she answered through her mask, and Ukwon grabbed a book off of Ren’s table.

“You’re a er for work. Have you ever just sat down before, and relaxed?” Ukwon asked, and Ren shrugged. “I don’t remember the last time I even played video games,” Ren answered, and Ukwon gasped.

“Put your pencil down,” Ukwon ordered, and Ren glanced back up at him. “Excuse me?” She asked. “When was the last time you had fun?” He asked her. “I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Ren answered, and looks back down at her notebook.

“C’mon, we’ve been classmates forever, and we’re finally chatting. Put your pencil down, I’m taking you out to have fun,” Ukwon said, and Ren gurgled. “Okay, how much is Zico paying you to get out of me, so he can use it against me?” Ren asked, as she crossed her arms.

“Hm, that’s not quite a bad idea, but Zico wouldn’t ever think of that. You see, he’s a monkey with no brain,” Ukwon answered, and Ren bit her bottom lip. “I still don’t believe you, because you’re both friends,” Ren replied, and Ukwon shrugged.

“Suit yourself then. I guess I’ll just go have fun by myself, play video games freely, as I ignore all these school books, and same boring lessons,” Ukwon muttered, as he got up from his seat.

Shaking her left foot under the table, Ren couldn’t resist. She missed ditching school like she once did before. Ren missed playing video games, eating at random food carts, and hanging with what she once called as, “friends”.

Her life came tumbling down, when her mother got hospitalized. Ren found herself keeping her distance from friends, and became every school’s superstar. Her old life, her old self, she missed every single bit of it.

“We better stop at a food cart first, before anything else,” Ren told Ukwon, and he smiled brightly at her. “Am I really hearing this?” Ukwon asked, and Ren inhaled deeply, and nodded her head as she exhaled.

“Alright then, I’ll meet you in the back gate,” Ukwon said, and walked out of the library first. Ren bit her bottom lip, as this was risky. “It’s okay, I need it,” Ren told herself, as she packed up her stuff, and left to the back gate also.

“Zico oppa,” Tami sang Zico’s name, as she waited for him at the front gate. “Sup Tami,” Zico greeted her, and wrapped his arm around her neck like usual. “Guys, have anyone seen Ukwon after first break?” Kyung asked, as after school had came along.

“I didn’t even notice that Ukwon has been gone,” Jaehyo said, and the guys looked at each other. “I’ll text him, and let him meet us at the usual spot,” BBomb said, and the guys all nodded their heads.

“Yoko and I went to pick up some red bean cakes for you all,” Tami said, as she pulled out a plastic bag out of her backpack. “Yummy!” The guys clasped their hands together, and Zico snickered.

“Ukwon texted back saying that he’ll be late,” BBomb said, as the guys walked to their usual hangout place. “Aish, that stupid guy. Is he still mad at me?” Zico asked, and Tami looked at him.

“Oppa, you and Ukwon got into a fight?” Tami asked, and Zico shook his head. “Nah, we only argued about that dumb I told you about yesterday. Ukwon kept defending her,” Zico answered, and Tami lightly pinched his cheek.

“Ukwon is a generous guy. Maybe he’s just not into violence much,” Yoko said, after she sipped her strawberry flavored caprisun. Zico and the guys laughed, as Tami lightly kicked her friend on the . “Ukwon is the most dangerous amongst us all,” BBomb said, and Yoko apologized.

“How is he the dangerous one? I’ve never seen him beat up a guy when you all get into fights. He just watches,” Rinah asked curiously. “That’s because he’s our special weapon. Our backup. When we’re down, he rushes in to help,” Kyung answered.

“Oh, so that’s what Ukwon does,” Rinah said, nodding her head. “Besides, Ukwon isn’t the type to fight. He only fights when he’s mad,” Taeil told the girls. “Like the hulk?” Yoko asked, and the guys laughed.

“You can say Ukwon is like the hulk,” BBomb answered, still laughing. “Yoko, shut your face,” Tami said, and Yoko shushed herself. “No, no, don’t shush yourself. You’re cute,” BBomb said, and Yoko blushed madly.

“BBomb, don’t be picking on her now,” Zico said, rolling his eyes at his buddy. “What?” BBomb asked, and chuckled lightly. “She is my friend, and if you hurt her like the rest of the girls you did. I will chop off your balls,” Tami warned BBomb, and he shrugged.

“I guess, whatever,” BBomb replied, and glanced away.

“Where the heck is Ukwon at anyways?” Zico asked, as he was losing patience.

“Quack, quack, quack!” Ukwon mimicked the ducks. “What the ?” Ren laughed, as she covered . “It’s fun!” Ukwon said, as he threw the last piece of bread at the ducks.

Ren giggled some more and sighed afterwards, as she smelled the air.

“It smells horrible. Don’t inhale,” Ukwon said, and Ren choked from exhaling and started coughing. Ukwon laughed, and gently pats her back. “You alright?” He asked, and Ren nodded her head.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve had this much fun. Thanks,” Ren thanked him, as she kicked her shoes. “It’s been forever since I’ve hung out with a girl,” Ukwon said, and Ren laughed at his silly reply.

“So what are you saying then? Are you calling this a date?” Ren asked, and Ukwon turned to look at her. “Well…” Ukwon rubbed the back of his neck, “I don’t know.” Ren ran her fingers through Ukwon’s hair, and smiled at him warmly.

“You know, I would be in so much deep tomorrow, because I ditched,” Ren said, and looked at the ducks now. Ukwon gurgled, and shrugged. “I’m always in trouble, so I don’t care,” he replied, and kicked a couple rocks by his feet.

“See, I used to be like that. I used to never care. Then one day, I just started caring,” Ren said, as she heaved a sigh. “Parents?” Ukwon asked, and Ren nodded her head. “I see,” he replied, and smiled at her.

“By the way, who caused you all those bruise?” Ukwon asked, remembering about Ren’s injuries. Ren had forgotten that she took off her facemask, and the rest of the bruises showed.

“I…I was clumsy and fell,” Ren lied, and reached inside her backpack to get her facemask out. “You don’t seem the clumsy type,” Ukwon said, and studied her mild moves.

He saw the tiny brown toned bruises on Ren’s white hands, and grabbed them. Holding them, he felt how cold her hands were. It was as if, Ren was a dead person.

Ren flinched, as Ukwon’s touch was warm as her mother’s. It’s been forever, a little bit too long, ever since Ren has gotten such a warm hold.

“You should take care of yourself some more. Leaving scars and bruises on such beautiful skin like this isn’t healthy,” Ukwon told her, as he releases Ren’s hands gently.

She smiled at him, as her heart was touched by the wise words that Ukwon had said.

“Oh, I have a young kid buddy whom I visit like once or twice a week. Want to meet him?” Ukwon asked, and Ren nodded her head. “Sure,” she answered, and followed after Ukwon’s lead.

Ukwon took Ren to a huge red orphanage building, whereas bunch of little kids played and ran around on the outside park. She smiled a small one, as she saw the kids come greet Ukwon.

“Oppa, oppa, is that your girlfriend?” A little girl with pigtails asked Ukwon, as she pointed at Ren. “What? No way. Didn’t I tell little Hye Song that I’d marry her?” Ukwon replied to the little girl, and Ren giggled.

“What? You said you’d married me,” another little girl said, and Ren chuckled in shock. “Playing with little girls’ hearts now, are you?” Ren asked, and Ukwon laughed.

“Ukwon hyung!” A deep voice kid shouted, as Ren saw how tall the kid was. He wasn’t very little like the rest, as he was tall and had shockingly deep voice. “Hi Jihoon,” Ukwon greeted the guy, as they shook hands.

“We were just about to play basketball. Want to join?” Jihoon asked, and Ukwon nodded his head. “Sure, are the bigger kids playing too?” Ukwon asked, and Jihoon nodded. “Of course,” the kid replied, and then sees Ren.

“Hello, I’m Pyo Jihoon,” the kid introduced himself shyly to Ren. “Chae Ji Ren,” Ren introduced herself back, and shook hands with Jihoon. “Sorry, I’m kind of sweaty from playing sports,” Jihoon apologized, and scratched the back of his head. “No problems,” Ren replied.

“Ren, do you play basketball?” Ukwon asked, and Ren shook her head. “I don’t play sports,” she answered, and then saw Ukwon took off his uniform blazer and shirt. “Hold it for me then? I’m going to play,” he asked, as Ren rolled her eyes at seeing his white beater.

“Show off,” Ren muttered, and grabbed Ukwon’s blazer and shirt.

After watching him play for a while, Ren looked at the time, and saw how late it was getting. She had to run to work later also, and so she thanked Ukwon for the day, and then later on apologized for her leave.

“I can send you home,” Ukwon offered, but Ren shook her head. “No need, I’ll be fine,” Ren replied, and waved goodbye to everyone at the orphanage, and left.

“Hyung, is she the girl you’ve been telling me about?” Jihoon asked, and Ukwon chuckled. “Yes Jihoon, she’s the girl I’ve crushed on since 2^nd year of high school,” Ukwon answered with a huge grin.

It’s true; Ukwon had long crushed on Ren since he first laid eyes on her. He remembered it like yesterday, when Ren they met at the riverbank.

Ukwon was lying on the grass, taking his time to sleep, after a fight from another school. His friends they had all separated, and he didn’t catch up with anyone. As he lied on the grass alone, he didn’t notice that someone was there too.

When he heard loud footsteps shuffling from behind, Ukwon opened his eyes to find a girl looking at him. Scared, Ukwon sat up quickly, and found the girl handing him a box with Band-Aids inside.

“I thought you were dead, due to the amount of blood. I guess you’re okay,” she said, and then left as Ukwon just watched her leave.

“Dude, dude, that’s Ren!” Kyung whispered to Zico, as Zico and Kyung hid behind a rose bush. “Where the did she came from?” Zico asked, as he and Kyung sneakily followed her.

Ren walked inside her house, as she didn’t notice that Zico and Kyung stalked her outside her windows. Ren saw her drunken father sitting on the couch watching television, as new beer cans were on the table.

“Where’d you go?” His raspy asked, and Ren didn’t answer. She ignored him, and walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door. After closing it, her dad appeared before her, and slammed her hard against the refrigerator.

“What the ?” Zico asked, as he touched his back, feeling Ren’s pain. “Shut up!” Kyung tried shushing his friend.

“I asked you a question, missy. Now answer me. Where’d the did you go?” Ren’s father asked once more, as his beer breath brushed past Ren. “I was at school,” Ren answered, and her father laughed.

“Is this guy some psycho husband of Ren’s?” Zico asked, and Kyung smacked his friend’s head. “Why are you asking questions that I wouldn’t know?” Kyung asked, and Zico whacked Kyung’s head back. “I wasn’t waiting for an answer!” Zico whispered a reply.

“At school? The school called saying that you ditched!” Her father yelled, and he slammed her back against the refrigerator door two times. Ren showed no emotion, no pain, as nothing was painful to her anymore.

“Dumb piece of . Might as well be a dropout, if you fought yesterday, and ditched today. You want to be a retard for the rest of your life?!” Her father yelled at her. “I wasn’t saying that I was going to be a retard,” Ren answered, and her father punched her hard on the jaw.

Ren was knocked down to the floor, and Zico gasped in horror. Kyung lowered his and Zico’s head, as they tried their best not to get caught.

Ren slowly stood up from the fall, and lightly massaged her jaw. She spit out the blood to the ground, and snickered.

“The school called saying that you had ditched. Was what I taught you yesterday not enough!?” Ren’s father screamed in her face, and slapped her across the face two times.

“Ouch,” Zico rubbed his cheek, as Kyung did too.

“Why won’t you just live like those stupid kids, huh? Live like them with no jobs!” He yelled at her, and slapped her once more. Ren breathed heavily, and turned to look at her father with angry eyes. “Would that make you happy?” She asked him.

Offended by Ren’s reply, he kicked her on the stomach, and Ren fell to the ground. Her father continued kicking her, and even stepped on her. Ren was trying hard to hold her emotions in, as she was nothing but a punching bag to her father anyways.

Zico took off his jacket, as he wanted to go in and beat the guy, but Kyung held his friend back. “Don’t do it, Zico. We might just add more fuel to the fire. Let’s leave, now,” Kyung said, and pulled Zico away.

“You filthy dirty . I swear to god that you’re not my daughter,” her father said, and grabbed Ren by the hair. He sent three punches on Ren’s face, and threw her head on the ground.

Leaving her lifelessly on the ground, Ren coughed a bit, as she rolled over to her back. Slapping her forehead lightly, Ren reached over at the chair for guidance, and sat up straight, as she heard the front door slammed shut.

Ren wiped the blood streaming down on her nose, and then slowly limped to her room. She changed into her working clothes afterwards, and walked out into the dark night.

When she got to work, her coworker Sung Hee sighed.

“No Ren, not again,” Sung Hee said, as she saw the mess on Ren’s face. “I’m fine,” Ren muttered, as she can barely speak. “When did he beat you? Was it yesterday after work, because I didn’t see those marks on your face when you came to work,” Sung Hee asked, and Ren lightly swallowed her saliva.

“Sung Hee-ah, I just won’t be on cashier today,” Ren said, and Sung Hee pouted. “Ren, I already told you. I have an extra room. Just move in,” her coworker said, and Ren tried her best to smile.

“I can handle this, don’t worry,” Ren replied, and Sung Hee worriedly shook her head. “I am always going to be worried, if you don’t move out,” Sung Hee said, and Ren nodded her head.

“Soon, but not now. Okay?” Ren replied, and Sung Hee nodded her head.

Maybe I should put this as RATED, huh?

Lots of violence. :\

TELL ME WHATCHA THINK!