With slow cautious steps getting closer to the school gates, she keeps her head low and grips hard onto her books. Her eyes only looking at the cement floor, she tries her best to avoid all eye contacts until she enters the school. This is it. She is standing by the border of the streets to the school grounds. There is no turning back. She could only move forward from here.

Taking a deep breath, she pulls her head slowly up and puts on her best smile and starts walking inside. Opening the door into building H, the commotion of students talking and running around stops and all eyes are on her, and whispers began spreading the air along with dirty looks from mostly everyone.         

“Ugh, it’s her again. What is she smiling about being poor?”

“Wow, if I were her I would be crying.”

“If I were her, I would have killed myself already rather than tainting and lowering a prestigious school like ours.”

Those words hurt. They were like knives jabbing into her heart, but she continued smiling.

“It’s been 3 months already. I can’t believe she’s still coming here.” She felt like crying now. Her smile was beginning to falter; her lips are trembling and are ready to turn the opposite direction and her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

She felt like running away, she felt like hiding underneath a rock, she wanted to go home.

*No, I can’t give up. I have to smile. I have to keep smiling. Be strong, be strong, be strong. She repeated in her head over and over again gripping harder onto her note book nearly digging her nails inside it. 

She was now halfway through the hall. Still, no one has smiled at her. About 5 people have already pushed and shove her, 3 people have smacked her books out of her hand, nearly everywhere from the left and the right of her she could hear insults, 4 people have thrown paper and pencils at her, but no one bothered to smile back her. 

She felt her smile growing weak again. She isn’t ever sure if she could do it anymore. She felt like crying again, but that would make her seem weak. She didn’t want to be weak.

How is she going to continue on smiling when there is nothing to smile about?

She was going to let go of her smile. She wasn’t going to make a fool out of herself anymore. She felt ridiculous.

Looking to the left of her girls turn their back away from her and insult her some more.  She was afraid to turn to the right of her. She was afraid of showing her humiliation in front of him, in front of Minwoo.

She was going to take the risk anyways. She was going to do it.

Slowly turning her head to the right she never thought this couldn’t possibly be happening. He smiled. As soon as he noticed her eyes meeting his, he smiled back.

That made her very happy. That made her strong again. That gave her a power to push through another day of school.

No one there smiled back at her……..

but he.  

Hey Mochi minions. I did it again. T3T I can't resist clicking on the "Start Writing" button. Awwell. THE MORE THE MERRIER~!  I'll be writing a chapter soon. For now, patients~!!!!!