After this chapter.. I will not be adding any more stories to this collection. My writing has slowed to an almost complete stop, so.. From now on, any oneshots I write will be posted separately. It's been a wild ride, guys. Thanks for following along. c:
 

---

Eunsook heard the snickering before she saw them. She stared coolly at the passing gang of boys, who eyed her and busted into laughter all over again.

She continued walking down the hall towards her classroom, pointedly ignoring the catcalls echoing after her.

—

After school, she walked to the bus stop and sat down on the bench quietly, playing on her phone. After several minutes, she looked up to check on the bus and noticed many pairs of eyes giving her a disapproving glance.

Eunsook shook it off, used to such treatment. It never mattered how nice you were, anyway.

People judged.

—

Eunsook came home and fell tiredly into her spot at the kitchen table. She ate her dinner, complimenting her mother on how good the food was.

She ignored the glance she knew her parents sent each other in favor of excusing herself to her room for homework.

—

The same routine at school the next few days, with one difference. It seemed that the group of boys who had tried to get under her skin weren’t getting the reaction from her that they wanted.

So they upped the ante.

She was at her cubby hole removing her shoes when the group ambushed her. The ringleader tried to cut her skirt off her, laughing wildly the entire time. He managed to get a chunk out of it before Eunsook came to her senses enough to bring her knee up into his abdomen.

His laughter was cut short, and the group of boys let go of her, watching menacingly as she walked away with all the pride she could muster.

—

She dreaded going home. Absolutely loathed it.

The skirt was beyond saving, unfortunately, which meant they would have to order a brand new one from the school.

Which also meant they would have to shell out an ungodly amount of money for her skirt to be specially tailored.

She shut the front door of her house behind her, face blank.

—

A week later, Eunsook’s wardrobe once again held a grand total of two uniform skirts.

Well, technically three, but the third was unwearable.

She would have to do odd jobs to pay for the damage, not that she minded.

She wouldn’t mind having a job period. In fact, she would love it. Being able to pay for her own school supplies and uniforms would be a blessing.

It was the people who were hiring that seemed to have a problem.

—

"Hey," one of the kingkas at Eunsook’s school jogged up to her, trying to match her pace. "Umm.. What’s up?"

She said nothing, continuing on her way to the courtyard for lunch. In truth, she was a little afraid. But she wouldn’t let him see that.

"Hey, I’m talking to you," when he tried to grasp her wrist, Eunsook whirled to face him.

" off," she snapped angrily. She watched him blink in a startled daze before marching off.

—

Walking on a crowded sidewalk wasn’t easy. Especially when it was a holiday like Christmas.

Automatically, she found herself moving aside for other people on the sidewalk. And normally, that would have annoyed her. But on Christmas, spending it alone.. She found herself unable to care.

Eunsook’s parents had gone out with their friends, encouraging her to do the same. She hadn’t had the heart to tell them she didn’t have any.

She stepped into a small cafe not far from where she lived, not feeling up to timidly trying to push through the crowds anymore.

"What’ll you have?" asked a friendly, cheerful voice.

Without looking up, she answered “a grande iced americano please,” she handed over a few bills and froze when she realized the cashier was someone from her school.

He handed the money back to her with a sneer on his face.

"We don’t serve your kind here. Leave," he ordered harshly.

Without a second thought, Eunsook turned and with a practiced sneer of her own, walked out the door.
 

God, she couldn’t wait until she could get away from here.

—

Cringing as she did so, Eunsook told her mother she needed a new pair of socks.

After 3 years, the pair she had were worn clear through the toes, and were unwearable.

She steeled her heart to the glance of irritation her mother sent her and hung her head, projecting the proper sense of shame while struggling not to cry.

—

Eunsook kept her sight directly in front of her, paying no attention to the whispers and glances of her schoolmates with practiced ease.

She heard the pair of trainers jogging to catch up with her and mentally sighed.

She was so tired of pretending. She would be glad to get out of her school, even if it was only for a few months.

"Hey," she heard a somewhat familiar voice call out beside her.

She glanced sideways and sneered, facing forward.

"Telling you to off wasn’t enough of a deterrent?" She questioned harshly. She missed the way he flinched next to her.

"I guess not," he sighed. "Why do you hate me?"

The question sounded genuine. But Eunsook wasn’t buying it.

In the middle of the hallway, she turned and smacked him across the face.

"Because people like you don’t associate with people like me, Jonghyun-ssi,” she hissed. “Or if they do, it’s for cruel purposes, and I’m not falling for it ever again. So I’ll tell you once more. off, and find some other fat girl to torment.”

—

August was approaching rapidly. Eunsook practiced her English pronunciation every day, and she thought she was getting pretty good.

She could barely wait for the next exchange meeting, which is where she’d be meeting the student taking her place. In person.

A fellow Korean, but raised in America. She seemed nice enough during the chats they’d had on Facebook. But undoubtedly American.

Loud, brash, and honest. That was how Gwiboon described herself. And it was absolutely true. She was very blunt, which Eunsook liked a lot.

Gwiboon was everything Eunsook secretly wished she could be.

—

"Eunsook-ssi!" She froze at the sound of Jonghyun’s voice in the hall.

How had he gotten her name? But then… Who in her school didn’t know it?

"Eunsook-ssi," she faced Jonghyun with a neutral expression, taking a grim satisfaction in the way his smile slowly waned. "I, uh, wanted to say congratulations on going to America."

Eunsook rolled her eyes.

"You sure are putting a lot of effort into someone who clearly isn’t interested, Jonghyun-ssi," she smirked. "It’s almost as if you have ulterior motives."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about? Wait, are you still—," he frowned, looking at her angrily. "I wasn’t put up to this by my friends or anything if that’s what you’re wondering."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "Oh, well that makes me feel loads better.”

"You know something, Eunsook-ssi? You should be a little more grateful to people who are genuinely trying to be nice to you," Eunsook’s amused expression soured at Jonghyun’s words.

"So that’s it? You wanted to rush in, be my hero, huh? Well I’ve got some news for you, buddy. I don’t need your “saving”, and I don’t appreciate you trying. you,” she flipped him the bird, stomping away.

—

As soon as she got home, she went straight to her room, completely ignoring her parents who were waiting for her at the dinner table.

She sat down at her computer and cried, great heaving sobs. She hated crying. It made her feel even worse than she did before.

A soft knock on the door, and Eunsook instantly quieted.

"Eunsook? Are you alright?" Her mother’s concerned voice filtered through the door and she wiped her tears away with quick hands.

"Yes ma’am. I’m alright, I just have a bigger pile of homework than usual," she answered calmly. She was pleased to realize that she didn’t sound like she’d been crying.

A second’s hesitation, then- “Okay, sweetie. If you say so. Your dinner will be in the microwave if you get hungry,” Eunsook heard her mother’s footsteps shuffling away before turning to her computer.

Gwiboon might be online at this hour. She could always talk to Gwiboon. She liked the American even more after meeting her in person two weeks ago.

Gwiboon was so pretty, but she took it completely for granted. And as envious as Eunsook felt of the other girl’s looks, she didn’t let that spoil their blossoming friendship.

Tickled pink when she realized that Gwiboon was indeed online, she began typing.

—

It was Eunsook’s last day at school. Just like every other day at her personal hell hole.

"Eunsook-ssi," a soft voice caught her attention behind her. When she turned to see who it was, her expression morphed into surprise.

Jonghyun was standing there holding a card out to her. He was blushing to his roots, and Eunsook couldn’t help but feel her heart soften.

"I.. I wanted to say sorry. And that you were completely justified in telling me off. Anyway, here," he shoved the card into her hand before walking away.

Eunsook clutched the card tightly, staring in puzzlement after Jonghyun. When she looked at the card, she realized that it was handmade.

She smiled slightly at the childish look of it before reading it.

—

When she stepped out of the plane.. Eunsook wasn’t sure what to expect. She glanced around furtively, looking for signs with her name on it like in the movies.

Instead, she found a very enthusiastic couple waving their arms at her.

"Eunsook darling!" Her heart soared at how warmly she was received. She bowed in front of Gwiboon’s mother, and was startled when she felt someone hugging her. "We’re so glad you came."

"Where would you like to go? School won’t start here for another 3 days, so we can go anywhere you like," Gwiboon’s parents beamed at her and she smiled back.

"I.. Think I would like to go to a restaurant," she replied slowly and watched with apprehension. Gwiboon’s parent’s eyes widened comically.

"You don’t sound like you’re from Korea at all. Your pronunciation is very good, Eunsook," she blushed with the praise and ducked her head.

She decided then and there that she would most definitely enjoy her months in America.

—

She almost couldn’t believe her own eyes and ears.

The students were all so nice to her. Everyone wanted to be her friend, and Eunsook didn’t know how to react.

When she sat at a table for lunch, she was swarmed by students who asked her all kinds of questions.

Boys were starting to show interest in her. She had no idea how to deal with their affections.

"Eunsook!" That was the one thing she hadn’t quite gotten used to in the month she’d been in school. No honorifics sounded horribly rude to her, and she had to remind herself constantly that they didn’t use honorifics in America. "Hey Eunsook!"

She turned and smiled at a guy named Francesco. He looked like he’d been carved from marble and for the life of her, Eunsook couldn’t understand why he was so interested in her.

"Yes, Francesco?" He looked horribly nervous and Eunsook squealed internally. He looked so cute.

"I was wondering.. Um. There’s a winter dance coming up, and I…," he trailed off, looking at her. "Would you, um, like to go with me?"

Eunsook nodded, giving him her sweetest smile.

"Sure. I’d love to go."

—

When she got back to her host’s home, she did the ridiculously easy homework assigned to her and kicked back.

Yes, she very much enjoyed her time in the US. Relaxing had never been an easy thing for her, but somehow, even though she went to school every day, she felt like she was on vacation.

Her phone beeped with a message and she frowned at the number she didn’t recognize.

Hi. ^^ it’s me, Jonghyun-ssi.

Eunsook frowned even further.

what are YOU doing w/ my number?

She had almost worked herself into a frenzy when her phone beeped again.

Ahh, your friend Gwiboon-ssi gave it to me. I told her I was a friend of yours. I hope you don’t mind. ^^;

Eunsook wasn’t mad at Gwiboon. She didn’t know any better. She had never known Jonghyun’s name, just that there was a guy Eunsook was suspicious of at her school.

I do, actually. >:/ We’re NOT friends Jonghyun-ssi. Anyway what do you want?

The reply came almost instantly.

I just wanted to see how things were going for you in America. ㅜ_ㅜAlso.. I want to be your friend.

Eunsook scoffed aloud.

Things are going great for me here. I love it. I wish I didn’t have to come back.

After she sent the message, she instantly wished she hadn’t. It was too personal. Too real.

Ouch. ㅠ.ㅠ That hurt, Eunsook-ssi. You don’t miss me at all? Really?

The question was easy to answer.

No. -_-; I don’t. 

Eunsook waited several minutes for another message from Jonghyun, but didn’t receive one. She shrugged and went about her business, figuring that he had probably gotten bored.

—

 

"Dude, I don’t even see why you’re going with her. She’s not that hot," Eunsook stopped dead after hearing a guy’s voice drifting through an open doorway.

"Well, Nicole just broke up with me. I figure at the very least, she’s ugly enough to put out after the dance," Eunsook’s face went blank after hearing Francesco’s voice.

She walked away, refusing to let him catch sight of her. She stopped in front of Francesco’s locker impulsively, tearing out a sheet of notebook paper.

Sorry, she wrote. I don’t think I’ll be able to go to the dance. Couldn’t catch you today so I figured I’d write a note.

Cheers,

Eunsook

She slipped it through the cracks of his locker door and went to class.

—

Francesco caught her just as she reached the bus stop.

"Hey," he panted. "I got your note. Why can’t you go?"

Eunsook had to hand it to him. He sounded genuinely disappointed. She smiled.

"I got an offer to go to a Taylor Swift concert, and I’m taking it," she bowed a little. "Sorry for backing out on you."

Francesco looked down, sighing.

"I.. I really like you, Eunsook. I think you’re pretty, and you’re funny. Please go to the dance? I won’t have a date if you don’t go," she burst out laughing, much to Francesco’s confusion.

"I can’t listen to this bull any longer. I heard you talking to your friend earlier. You can drop the act. So yeah. you," she flipped him the bird.

Francesco looked mortified.

"," Eunsook shrugged.

"The thing ers like you don’t realize is that this happens to me all the time," she smirked. "And you know what? I enjoy watching you trip all over yourselves when your funny little plan backfires. So who’s got the last laugh now, motherer?”

She opened her phone, effectively dismissing whatever Francesco was about to say. “Have a nice day, Francesco.”

After he left, she let out a breath and wiped away the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

It never got easier, or hurt any less. Never.

—

As soon as Eunsook closed the front door of Gwiboon’s house, she headed to her room.

She got on Facebook, and saw a notification of a friend request. When she saw who it was, she laughed and started crying.

She couldn’t seem to get away from Jonghyun.

‘ it,’ she decided. 'I've already been hurt today. If he is trying to humiliate me, then ing let him.’

She called his number, heart racing.

"H-hello?" He sounded groggy, and when Eunsook realized how late it was she couldn’t say anything. "Eunsook-ssi? I know it’s you. Talk to me. What’s wrong?"

He sounded so sympathetic, and eager to listen. She lost it. She burst into tears.

"I.. I’m sorry I woke you up. I forgot about the time difference," she sniffed, and suddenly felt way too vulnerable. "I’m gonna go. Again, I’m really sorry for waking you up."

"Wait! Seriously, Eunsook-ssi. What’s wrong? Did somebody hurt you?" Jonghyun sounded awake and concerned. Eunsook teared up and started sobbing again.

"I’m so t-tired of all the people who use m-me as a joke," she hiccuped. "I got asked to a d-dance by this hot guy, and I should have ing known he was just m-messing around. I thought it would be different here.. B-but boys are all the same.”

She cried harder, hearing Jonghyun splutter on the other end of the phone.

"Eunsook-ssi… I’m so sorry that happened to you,” it almost sounded like Jonghyun wanted to break down into tears himself. “You are a very pretty girl, and any guy would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend.”

Eunsook coughed out a laugh.

"No, Jonghyun-ssi. They wouldn’t," she put the phone down to blow her nose, so she didn’t hear Jonghyun’s reply.

“I would be so lucky.”

—

The night of the winter dance, Eunsook sat at Gwiboon’s house. There was no Taylor Swift concert, even if she’d said otherwise.

She decided to ask her hosts if she could go out for the evening, maybe watch a movie and go out to dinner.

Gwiboon’s mother saw her approaching and smiled.

"What can I do for you, Eunsook?" Eunsook smiled in return.

"May I have some money? I would like to go see a movie and catch some dinner," she explained. Gwiboon’s mother looked thoughtful.

"You know.. That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea, Eunsook. Why don’t we all go? Honey!" She called to her husband. "Get your coat. We’re going out tonight!"

—

It was nearing Christmas time, so all the shops were lit up with lights, blaring Christmas music. Eunsook loved it, and felt a little less alone walking down the sidewalk.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling her attention back to her surroundings.

"Hello?" She asked quietly.

"Eunsook-ssi! Ah, I didn’t know if you would pick up," Jonghyun’s voice floated through the speakers. Eunsook’s face lit up.

"Jonghyun-ssi," she managed to sound less excited than she felt.

"I, uh, wanted to see how you were faring on this lovely Christmas evening," Eunsook listened for even faint laughter, and couldn’t find one.

"I’m fine," she smiled a little. "I’m out and about with my host parents. Gwiboon-ah is lucky. Her parents are amazing," Eunsook sighed.

"Gwiboon-ssi says you’ve been ered in," Jonghyun snickered. "But I get the feeling she exaggerates, so I never took it seriously."

Eunsook laughed heartily.

"Yeah, she does that," Eunsook agreed. "Sounds like you’ve gotten close to her."

"We’re just friends,” Jonghyun assured quickly. Eunsook raised her eyebrows, forgetting that he couldn’t see her face.

"I never said you weren’t. But, even if you were more than friends, I wouldn’t blame you. Gwiboon is pretty," Eunsook smiled sadly, glad that Jonghyun couldn’t see her expression.

"So are you, Eunsook-ssi," Jonghyun’s voice was nervous but honest, making Eunsook blush.

"Stop saying that," she commanded. "I.. I don’t know how to respond."

'Please,' She prayed. ‘Please. Don’t be playing a joke on me.’

Jonghyun chuckled, the sound velvety smooth. Eunsook shivered.

"Agree to be my girlfriend," Eunsook’s heart stopped completely. All the times that guys had ever pranked her flashed in her mind’s eye. "I think that would be an appropriate response to someone’s confession."

Jonghyun was joking, but Eunsook could tell by his quavering voice that he was getting more nervous by the second.

"I…,"she hesitated. "I’m sorry, Jonghyun-ssi. I.. I don’t think of you that way," she cringed, waiting for a reaction.

"O-oh," the small voice Eunsook heard didn’t sound anything like Jonghyun. She instantly felt guilty. Jonghyun let out a weak laugh. "Sorry, I’m just.. Not used to being rejected."

Eunsook let bitterness consume her for a moment, thinking of all the times she hadn’t confessed to someone because of the knowledge that she would be rejected.

After all, what teenage guy wants to date a fat girl?

"I really am sorry, Jonghyun-ssi. But we don’t belong together as anything more than friends," Eunsook’s heart felt heavy delivering those words, but it had to be done.

"Why?" Jonghyun demanded. "Is it because of everyone else? Well who cares what they say?"

"I do," Eunsook cut in gently. "And so will you, eventually. Besides… You are so far out of my league, it’s unreal."

Jonghyun sighed, sounding frustrated.

"You’re different than any girl I’ve ever met, Eunsook-ssi, in the best way possible. And one day, I’ll win you over," he promised. "You’ll see."

—

It was the day Eunsook was flying back to Korea. She stood in front of Gwiboon’s parents, bowing low at the waist.

"Thank you both for providing me with a lovely experience here in America. If I can come back, I would love to visit you some more," Gwiboon’s parents embraced her tightly.

"It’s been a joy having you, and we would love to have you visit during your breaks or whenever you’re free," Gwiboon’s father remarked.

"But it sounds like you’ll be pretty busy with a new man soon," Gwiboon’s mother winked at her exaggeratedly, and Eunsook blushed. She laughed a little.

"It’s not like that at all," she denied. "We’re friends. Nothing more." Gwiboon’s mother pouted.

"No fun," she lamented.

They called for Eunsook’s flight to begin boarding and Eunsook’s smile dimmed. She teared up.

"I’ll miss you both," she admitted. "You’ve been so great to me." Gwiboon’s mother smiled tenderly.

"You’re always welcome in our home, Eunsook," they all embraced again before Eunsook was back on the fast track to Korea.

—

The further away Eunsook got, the more her time in America seemed like a dream. She’d fallen asleep on the plane in Japan and the wheels hitting the tarmac jolted Eunsook from her dreams.

She realized she was back in Korea with an immense sense of dissatisfaction.

She stepped off the plane feeling slightly groggy and grimy. But when she saw who was waiting for her at the arrival gate she couldn’t help her grin.

She walked quickly towards Jonghyun, and he met her halfway.

"Jonghyun-ah," she squeezed him slightly before stepping back. He was beaming.

"Eunsook-noona," he acknowledged. "How was the flight?" She rolled her eyes.

"Like usual. Boring and uncomfortable. And I desperately need a shower," she grumbled, and Jonghyun laughed, before looking serious.

"I’ve missed you, noona," he admitted. "And I promise, from now on, things at school will be different. You’ll see."

Eunsook twined her fingers with Jonghyun’s and started towards the baggage claim.

"I’m sure I will, Jonghyun-ah."

---

Goodbye.

Hope y'all have enjoyed reading. ^_~