Sojin's POV

 

Smile, bow, keep quiet. That was all that was asked of me. The people moving around in our house was all important, and I was only there to look cute. But the smile part was hard for me, since my cheek hurt too much. So instead, I sat on a chair, looking at my glass of water while Dongsung was the centre of attention. Everyone wanted to know how he'd been, how it was going. No one even bothered looking at me, but that was actually expected. I wasn't interesting, so why should they bother? 

 

When I woke up the next morning, I just stared up at the ceiling, wishing that I was allowed to just stay there. Who would know the difference anyways? But three knocks on my door disturbed my peace, and my brother entered.

 

"Oh, you're awake", he said happily.

 

I sat up, resting my back against the wall. He sat down on the bed, pulling up his long legs under him.

 

"So, what are you going to do today?" he asked, looking like he was really interested.

 

"Uh, probably just study", I answered truthfully.

 

"On a saturday? Come on, Sis, allow yourself to have some fun!" he joked, patting my leg.

 

I had to grip the sheets to not wince. My knees were still hurting from when Kyunwoo had pushed me down on the floor. 

 

"You should come with me to the mall! I have to buy a new phone anyways, and I could use some company", he said.

 

"Oh, no, I rather not", I said, getting up from my bed.

 

"Why not?" he asked, sounding like a whiny little kid.

 

"Because... I don't feel too well", I lied, walking up to my wardrobe.

 

"Oh... Okay. But another time?" 

 

"Yes. Another time."

 

"Great. But get well, and I see you later?" he asked, and I heard him getting up from my bed.

 

"Yeah, see you", I said over my shoulder, and then I heard him leave my room.

 

I sighed and leaned heavily against the wardrobe. I couldn't tell him that the reason I didn't want to go with him was because I didn't want to risk someone from school seeing me. They didn't know about Dongsung, and I wanted to keep it that way. They would only make up a new way to torment me by using him, and I didn't need that in my life.

 

Minhyuk's POV

 

I only listened with one ear, as Ilhoon went on and on about the girl he'd seen after school on friday. Me, him and Peniel was walking down the street, heading to some place where we were supposed to meet up Eunkwang and Hyunsik. The sun was shining, warming my face, but at the same time the wind was blowing, so I was forced to wear a jacket.

 

"And she SMILED at me!" Ilhoon suddenly exclaimed, throwing his arms out in excitement.

 

"So?" Peniel asked.

 

"What do you mean 'so'?" Ilhoon asked in despair.

 

Me and Peniel exchanged a discrete smile behind Ilhoon's back.

 

"Well, Changsub smile at you everyday", Peniel said matter of factly.

 

Ilhoon made a sound of disgust.

 

"That's not the same! You're just jealous because no one likes you!" he said.

 

Peniel snorted loudly and chuckled at the others immaturity.

 

"Okay, if you say so", he said, shaking his head.

 

I had noticed that Peniel was somewhat popular with the girls, but I'd never seen him showing any interest back. Ilhoon muttered something unintelligent and kicked some gravel on the ground. 

 

When I got home that day, I'd learned quite alot about my new friends. It was obvious that it was Eunkwang who had the most respect among them, and that Ilhoon was the one of them who got picked on the most out of all of them. But there wasn't any harm in their words though. Even though I liked all of them, I still pondered over the Sojin situation. None of them had done anything to help her, and still they had helped me when Kyunwoo had cornered me. 

 

"Minhyuk, honey, is that you?" mom called from the kitchen when she heard the door close behind me.

 

"Yeah!" I answered, taking off my jacket. 

 

"Did you have fun?" she asked.

 

"Yeah", I answered, walking up to the doorway.

 

She was cooking, which was pretty unusual. It wasn't often she had time to do such things, since she had her work to worry about. 

 

"You're making dinner?" I asked her.

 

She turned around to look at me, and smiled lightly at me.

 

"Yes, I thought it would be nice for a change", she answered.

 

"Well... Where's dad?" I asked, not seeing the old man around.

 

Her face fell, and she turned back to the food. 

 

"He's in bed. His back is hurting", she answered shortly. 

 

Right. His back. Mom didn't like the fact that he was in pain, and neither did I. But what could we do?

 

"Okay... Well, do you need any help?" I offered.

 

"Oh, no thank you, honey. But it's nice that you're offering", she said, giving me a smile over her shoulder.

 

I smiled back, before I went to my room. When I passed my parent's bedroom, I heard dad's heavy breathing. He was sleeping. I bit my lip, thinking that he didn't deserve it. But then again, the world's not fair. 

 

Dongsung's POV

 

Sojin was sitting quiet in her seat, slowly eating her food. Dad was talking to me about my studies, but I didn't listen on his words. That bruise on her cheek was all that I could focus on. It was way too easy to tell that she was lying to me, about her not feeling too well, and that she'd tripped to get that mark. But I didn't try. No one did. Everyone saw that she was in pain, but no one was helping her. Why? It wasn't like I didn't love her. But it was something that was stopping me to confront her. Was it our parents? I respected them highly, and I didn't want to disobey them. Maybe it was just my imagination. If they hadn't noticed it, I was probably only imagining my sister's pain. They wouldn't let it be like that, would they? No. She wasn't lying, why would she? It would only be idiotic. But even though I tried to convince myself, doubt still filled my chest.