Eunbi was back to school again, the dreadful trip still fresh in mind as she walked down the corridor to her homeroom with Ahbin. She’d even stayed locked inside her bedroom the whole weekend due to the events of those two days, thus trying to avoid the imminent revenge she was certain Sehun were plotting. “Eunbi. You’re not even listening to what I’m saying.” the outburst arrived as a slight shock to the said girl, who spun around and apologized, “sorry.” to include further information would only end up giving Ahbin the wrong idea, something that could spark yet another situation where her friend wanted to know all the details. It’d already happened once. At the camp after she came back.

Students and teachers alike wanted to know what’d taken place, why she’d suddenly vanished off and where she’d slept. If only Eunbi knew then, about the hell that would break loose. Because it certainly did as soon as Sehun, too, came wandering out of the forest at the same spot she had. And with no shirt to add on. The scene triggered an intense reaction from everyone. Students with their wild imagination kept shouting obscene things whilst teachers demanded to know everything. Their intentions became obvious to Eunbi when one of them straight out questioned whether they’d done something indecent, to which she’d frowned and with disgust in her voice explained how that would never happen. But even though the teachers let it go, saying that she should be more careful, the students didn’t. They were still giving her looks in the corridors, whispers were exchanged behind her back and there was nothing she could do about it.

A sigh slipped from her lips.

“So. As I was saying,” Ahbin spoke with enthusiasm, her voice loud, “let’s go shopping after school.” there were a brief pause in their conversation for a moment after, not because Eunbi didn’t want to go with her friend, but due to a certain thought occupying her mind. She was still grounded and knew very well that consequences would follow if she went with Ahbin. “I’m grounded though.” the bell rang just as she completed the sentence, and the two of them hurried down and slipped inside their homeroom before the teacher arrived. Taking a seat Eunbi began unloading the books and stuff needed for the class out of her backpack, only to realize she’d forgotten the notebook in her locker. “Crap.” without much choice the girl stood up, gave Ahbin a quick glance, and then headed out to retrieve it. The little trip there and back would take a minute or two and was therefore something she didn’t give much thought about. It changed however, when Eunbi stood at the lockers and overheard a conversation about herself and Sehun, how they’d supposedly stayed together the whole night and had . The last part ended up cutting right through her heart, and she nearly gasped as more revelations were revealed after another girl asked how her friend could know, “I heard someone saw them.” the lie was obvious to Eunbi. But probably not for someone who hadn’t been there, who hadn’t experienced what she had. To make matters worse the rumor would most certainly end up being believed by the students, who, just as certainly, would put the blame on Eunbi.

Humiliated and embarrassed she carefully removed herself from the scene, making sure that the other female students wouldn’t spot her as she did. And it was during her way back that she noticed how she’d completely forgotten about the notebook, its existent overshadowed by the conversation that’d taken place. Not that it mattered because the teacher had already started the lesson once Eunbi returned, which in turn meant the girl wasn’t allowed to enter. It was a rule of the school and would most likely lead to some kind of punishment. She couldn’t know for sure though, for she’d never been in a situation like that before. The need for such drastic measures were quickly overshadowed by other thoughts, like the conversation just heard. All of it were lies, or close to at least. They’d spent the night together, but that was also all. The other word however, sent a shiver down her spine. Just the mental image of them being intimate like that was repulsive and downright disgusting.

Moving about she sat down on the floor with her back leaning against the wall. It was an hour left until the class ended, time she needed to do something with. Maybe she could take the opportunity to get some sleep. She’d after all lost countless of hours during the weekend as a result of the upcoming midterm and the increasing stress that followed. That her mother expected a lot from Eunbi was no secret, it was an ordeal she’d lived with all her life and a pressure the girl had grown accustomed to. There was a difference this time around though, for the addition of Sehun, Luhan and their father created further nuisance for the said girl. Loud snoring, music, doors being slammed shut and last but not least, the of so frustrating sound of Luhan’s bed hitting the wall. They were noises Eunbi weren’t used to when studying. It’d even distracted her at some occasions.

She would have to tell her mother about it.

The sudden sound of footsteps distracted the girl and she shot up on her feet, a slight uneasiness washing over her. She feared it would be a teacher, one that would lecture her about the importance of school and getting to class in time. Truth to be told, Eunbi had never been late before. She’d always made sure to show up at least fifteen minutes before school started. It was better that way. Because it gave the girl a chance to retrieve her stuff, talk to Ahbin for a few minutes and then make her way over to their homeroom. All that she could do without being late. But it’d been different today and Eunbi wasn’t sure how anything could’ve distracted her from her morning routine, one she’d followed every day for several years. Then again, the past week had been rather nerve-racking with the unforeseen events on the trip to the stressful studying.

“Why aren’t you in class?” much to her surprise she glanced up to meet the principal’s eyes. He didn’t look too happy about finding her there, outside the classroom. “I forgot something in my locker and when I got back the class had already begun.” she knew the explanation was of no use, more so since the old man gave her a disapproving look, like he thought she was lying. “Well then,” he stopped mid-sentence to glance down at his wristwatch, as to calculate how long it was until next class started. An hour. “Come with me.” Eunbi did as told without asking why, and pretty soon she found herself at the swimming pool. The place was empty. “I want you to clean the pool area as a punishment for arriving late.” she let her teeth sink into her lower lip as to not let out a sigh. Cleaning, just like anyone else, wasn’t something Eunbi liked all too much. She’d rather get detention. “Yes.” to say no was out of the question, especially since it would probably be seen as her disobeying the principal. An ordeal that most likely would be reported home to her mother, who’d make an even bigger deal about it. “Good. There’s a mop and other things in the storage room over there.” he pointed straight ahead of where they stood, “you have fifty minutes to finish this up and get to class.” Eunbi nodded, if not slightly reluctant, before moving over to the door and the contents stored within.

The girl sighed for the umpteenth time as she glanced up from the spot she was working on. It was huge and honestly, Eunbi wasn’t sure whether she would be done in time for her next class. The thought of missing yet another lesson frustrated her, and it was with a frown that she, with drastic movements, worked the cleaning tool over the tiled floor. Eunbi needed to be quick. And she was, a bit too fast maybe, since she missed a few spots along the way. But there were no time to fix it though, because the clock was ticking and she had more than enough left to clean. The result of her half assed effort would probably give her further punishment. Not that she actually cared at the moment, for the only thing running through her mind was to finish up and get back to Ahbin and her next period.

Voices were suddenly heard from the locker rooms, something that baffled the said girl. Had someone come to check up on her? If so, the job she’d done would most certainly be criticized as poor. It wasn’t a teacher, nor the principal though, that after a while came into view. But rather a group of male students. They came to a halt and stared right at her, just like she was staring at them. Their half- bodies caused her cheeks to flush and she turned her back at them, incredibly embarrassed, once Yixing and Kai made themselves known. Eunbi panicked, dropped the mop and ran. She couldn’t stay there any longer, not when her brain kept on replaying the images of Yixing’s chiseled torso.

She received punishment later that day for not doing as told. This time in the form of cleaning up the gym and making sure that everything was put back to their original place. Eunbi said nothing at first, not after the fiasco earlier that day. But the situation took a turn for the worse as she entered the gym and saw who she’d been paired up with. Sehun. “What are you doing here?” Eunbi voiced out her disapproval, it was as if he deliberately tried to piss her off by showing up everywhere she went. “Sehun sshi is here because he’s been caught smoking on school ground and skipping classes.” the teacher in charge answered, sounding just as annoyed as Eunbi, before continuing, “I want the whole place to be spotless when I return in two hours.” and then he was gone, leaving the two teenagers to settle it by themselves.

“We’ll do it like this. You put everything back into the storage room whilst I swab the floor.” the girl wanted it to be over and done with. She’d already cancelled the plans with Ahbin and was not going to allow either him or this time consuming detention to ruin the rest of her day. “No.” she turned to stare at him, “no?” fed up by Sehun’s attitude she stalked past him, picked up the nearest ball and chucked it at him. The object collided with his back in a manner that were a lot harder than she’d first expected. And much to her horror he spun around, his intense gaze caught hers and she shivered. “Are you out of your ing mind.” Eunbi stopped breathing when the air clogged up in , a side effect of his outburst. She should’ve expected his reaction to be somewhat like that, with harsh words and a voice filled with anger. It was nothing new. But one thing was certain. Eunbi wasn’t going to give in for him, she wouldn’t let him get away and leave her to clean everything up. “We don’t have time for this.” Sehun scoffed at her words, “more like, I don’t have time for this.” he needed to be somewhere else, and he weren’t going to let some dumb girl hinder him. That his absence would get him into more trouble didn’t matter, not when the school refused to expel him. Sehun knew the school board were trying to ignore the problem, for they didn’t want an expulsion to destroy the school’s reputation as Seoul’s best. “Can you stop with that.” it wasn’t a question, but rather a demand for him to start behaving like everyone else. The word responsibility, did it even mean anything to him?

Sehun faked ignorance, not the slightest interested in whatever the younger girl was saying. All he wanted was to get the hell out of there. “I already told you I don’t have time for this .” and with that he his heel and headed for the door, to which Eunbi reacted and darted forward. The girl placed herself between the door and him, and thus made it impossible for him to get out. “Move.” Eunbi shook her head in determination. She was not going to let him leave so easily. “Move.” the girl refused despite knowing his temperament and how angry he could get. “I SAID MOVE.” Sehun lashed about, grabbed onto her arms and with force tried to remove her. He hadn’t expected one thing though, that Eunbi could be affected by his rash actions. Therefore did it arrive as a surprise when the younger girl voiced out her pain and cried, “let me go, you’re hurting me.” her desperation, the tears, and her pain reminded him of his mother.

Sehun became numb, paralyzed at the situation, for it overpowered him. It hit a spot deep within, a place that now caused him to grasp for air. Eunbi’s cry pierced a certain part of him that he wanted to forget. But his stupid emotions, the ones he’d buried away for several years had suddenly surfaced in a millisecond. She’d ruined everything he’d built up.