NEW GIRL, RUMOURS AND A HAUNTING PAST

“I can’t believe you knocked down a cute girl!” Hyun Seung exclaimed.

“I didn’t see you stop to help her up,” Doo Joon replied smugly. He was great with comebacks. “Anyways, if you guys weren’t chasing me it wouldn’t have happened,” he added.

“Tut tut,” Gi Kwang shook his head at his best friend. “The poor girl didn’t expect to be thrown to the ground by a hundred and eighty centimetres guy weighing sixty seven kilograms all of a sudden.”

“I did say sorry to her.” Doo Joon quickly defended himself.

Gi Kwang shrugged his shoulder.

Dong Woon leaned forward with a frown. “But guys, did we ever see her in school before?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Jun Hyung said. “I would never have forgotten a pretty girl like her.”

Yo Seob laughed. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have.”

“The poor girl,” Gi Kwang repeated with a sigh. “Her first day and she gets pushed around.”

Doo Joon wanted to protest but Hyun Joong entered.

“Can I have your attention please!” he yelled through the class loud noise. He walked to the centre behind his desk and rested his hands on the desk. The class slowly quietened down. “Komawo. I have an announcement to make,” he paused as he looked at Doo Joon with disappointment. Doo Joon looked away guiltily. He crossed his arm on the desk and put his chin on top. “Starting today, we have a new student. I hope you all behave.”

“We will, sonsaengnim,” Yo Seob said. “Very well,” he added.

“We’ll make sure he gets along fine with us!” Dong Woon said.

Hyun Joong knew very well that they didn’t mean it. But they might change their mind when they find out who it was. “Who said it was a ‘he’?” Hyun Joong was grinning ear-to-ear as he got everyone’s attention.

“It’s a girl?” Jun Hyung was very much on alert. He hoped it wasn’t any troublesome girl.

A knock came at the door. Everyone’s gaze moved to the door except for Doo Joon who didn’t seem bothered.

“Come in,” Hyun Joong yelled.

The door slowly slid open. Everyone held their breath.

~*~*~*~

Seul Mi took a deep breath. She slid the door open and entered. She froze. All pairs of eyes were on her. They were all male eyes. Was this what the teacher from before meant? Their appearance was absolutely appalling. She had expected everyone to be in appropriate attire but the class did not look any different from a public school. Was this school not meant to be the top high school in Seoul?

The guys were all over the place, hardly sitting on their chairs as any other normal students would do. One was holding an electric guitar in his hand - who, presumably had stopped when she entered - with an amplifier connected to it. A group of three were holding darts while the dart board hung on the wall behind them, and another group playing deck of cards. In the front, she saw one sane looking guy with a laptop in front tapping away, ignoring the fact that she was there. At the back she saw a bunch of them were reading manhwas and playing their PSP, one was actually watching a movie not bothering to pause it as his eyes were not on the screen anymore but staring at her instead. Then there was one fiddling with a video camera not sure what he was doing with it.

“Come on in, Seul Mi,” Hyun Joong repeated stopping her from observing her soon-to-be - actually two seconds away - from being her classmates.

“Eh?” Seul Mi wanted to ask if she was in the wrong classroom. She really wished she was.

“Don’t worry they won’t bite,” Hyun Joong teased.

Seul Mi flushed with embarrassment. She quickly went to stand next to the teacher. She tried her best to smile but it was as if the fear won’t let her.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself?” the teacher implied.

Seul Mi looked at the teacher then at the students. She finally managed to force a smile on her face. You can do it, Seul Mi! “Annyong haseyo! My name is Han Seul Mi!” she said. “Please take care of me for this year!” she bowed.

She found the classroom oddly quiet. She raised her head to inspect. She frowned because they all looked like they were in constipation which scared her more. She then realised that they were trying very hard not to laugh when they did eventually burst out laughing.

“She has good manners!” one said.

“She’s way out of place here,” said another.

“You can say that again!”

“Did they put her here by mistake?”

“Maybe, but will she be alright?”

“And she’s the only girl in this class.”

“But she looks so cute!”

Seul Mi frowned. “Huh?”

“Don’t take it to heart,” Hyun Joong said. He clapped his hands hard to quiet down the class. “They just laugh when someone shows them respect.”

Seul Mi’s frown deepened. Was that meant to be funny? She gave a nod as if to say she understood when she didn’t.

“Don’t think too much of it,” Hyun Joong told her. “But sadly they don’t have good manners like you.” He sighed in disappointment. “Why don’t you find yourself a desk?”

Seul Mi looked for an empty seat. There were a lot of empty seats. She found the one at the back corner of the room right next to the window more appealing. But the seat next to it was occupied by a guy who was resting his head on the desk. She couldn’t see his face.

“You can sit on my lap,” someone shouted.

The brunette didn’t dare look at the person who said that. She went to the empty desk at the far corner of the back next to a window. She sat herself down and put her bag down on the desk with a light thud causing the guy who was next to her to stir. He raised his head up and turned to face her. Seul Mi’s eyes widened.

So did the other guy’s eyes.

“The poor girl,” Gi Kwang said, “has to sit next to the guy who pushed her.” Doo Joon leaned forward and smacked him at the back of his head. “Ouch!”

“It’s you!” Seul Mi gasped pointed her manicured index finger at him accusingly.

He gave an innocent smile. “Mianhae!” he quickly said.

She looked away with a huff. “Jerk!”

Doo Joon gaped at her. “I did say sorry!”

She shot him a glare. “One can say sorry but if you don’t mean it then it’s not a real apology,” she stated.

He rolled his eyes. Then rested his head back on the desk and closed his eyes. She gasped at his rudeness. She looked at the other students, the one who was sitting in front of Doo Joon who looked away with a sigh. The rest of the class did the same.

What a great start of the day! She thought in frustration. At first she comes late, second she gets pushed to the floor by the guy sitting next to her and now she got the whole class ignoring her.

But she took a mental note. This guy ‘Doo Joon’ looked like the leader of the bunch. It looked like arguing with him didn't win her any points with the others.

Hyun Joong shook his head at the class but he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t exactly force his students to like someone. He went back taking down the attendance of his students which was the only time they would listen to him before going back to their usual thing that had nothing to do with studying.

Seul Mi found that she was the only one listening to the English teacher during the second period. The guy sitting next to her had fallen asleep and did not wake up until after class. The class were reading mangas, playing games and chatting away, ignoring the teacher completely. She thought if she came to the right class. Was she in the right school? And why was she the only girl?

At lunch time Seul Mi slowly walked out the classroom. She didn’t make any friends in class sadly but she wasn’t surprised as she was used to it.

~*~*~*~

“I wonder if the head teacher went mad,” Dong Woon said with his mouth full of rice balls.

Hyun Seung pushed Dong Woon’s head with his palm in disgust. “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he told him.

“Okay,” Dong Woon replied back yet again with his mouth full.

Hyun Seung glared at him knowing well he had done that on purpose. He shook his head and thought to ignore him. “Anyway, I think he is mad.”

“Who is, Dong Woon or the head teacher?” Yo Seob joked.

“Hey!” he protested after swallowing down his food.

Yo Seob laughed sticking out his tongue. Hyun Seung held out his hand and gave him a high-five. Dong Woon pouted as they were ganging up on him. “I wonder what kind of type she is, though,” Yo Seob said.

“Probably the y type,” Jun Hyung came up with.

Gi Kwang narrowed his eyes. “But she doesn’t seem the type.”

“Anyone can act,” Doo Joon backed up Jun Hyung. “I mean she may seem nice but wait until she turns on you, after all, all girls are unreliable not to forget annoying.”

They heard a small gasp behind them. They turned to be surprised to see the very girl they were talking about standing in front of them with slightly

Seul Mi found herself at the rooftop wondering where the staircase leads to. She did not expect to find the guys sitting on the benches that were up there. She also did not expect them to think worse of her. y? She was a y type?

Recovering quickly she gave a short bow at her waist. “Choesong-iyo!” She left in a sudden taking the flight of stairs down.

The guys felt a little shame as they were caught talking behind her back. They looked at each other.

“Uh, what just happened?” Jun Hyung broke the silence.

“Maybe we upset her,” Yo Seob said, who was in somewhat daze.

“Maybe we should apologise to her,” Dong Woon was of the same mind.

“Maybe we should,” the rest agreed.

The guys knew that the guilt would eat them alive if they didn’t. They trailed down in pursuit after her. One thing for sure was that they were not backbiters. They did not want her to think that’s what they were.

~*~*~*~

Seul Mi thought to use the opportunity to have a school tour on her own and hopefully to forget those classmates from the rooftop. It was a great time to do it rather than leave it to later and get lost. She made her way down to the third floor. It was strange why they had the fourth floor only for one classroom. But to go up to the fourth floor you had to walk down the corridor at the third floor.

She had a feeling that they did that knowingly as Class 3-D was filled with delinquents. She couldn’t help but wonder if they really were what people thought of them. She was in deep thoughts as she did not realise someone stopping in front of her. She collided with that someone. “Oof!” she cried out.

She looked up to see who she had bumped into. A redhead girl stared at her. She found the girl very pretty. Maybe not described as pretty but beautiful. Her long red hair flowed down to her waist. She had a very curvy body. If not for the fact she was a girl she would have fallen in love with her.

Wait, why was she even thinking such thing? She thought pinching herself on her thighs. “Choesong-iyo,” she tried to walk around the girl but she stepped to her side blocking her way once again. The girl gave a once over look at her. Seul Mi arched an eyebrow questioningly.

“Han Seul Mi, right?” the girl said.

Seul Mi chewed her bottom lips wondering if she should answer. “Neh.”

“Thought it would be,” the girl laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh.

She stepped back. This girl didn’t seem so friendly. “Wha-at do you want?”

“Han Seul Mi,” the girl repeated her name. “Transferred from Suwon Private High School but why did you get transferred instead of getting expelled?”

Seul Mi’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief as this was the last thing she had wanted. Could this girl know about her previous school?

“Oh I know alright,” the red haired spoke as if reading her mind. “I know the reason why you got transferred! But I don’t think you deserve expulsion. What you deserve is to go to jail for murder!”

A gasp was heard behind. The two turned to where it came from. The six guys stood shell shocked.

The new girl let out a breath of frustration. She turned back to the redhead and glared at her. “I did not kill anybody!”

“But you didn’t save anybody!” the red haired came back with.

Seul Mi was put on a spot. The girl was right. She didn’t save anybody. She couldn’t. “Just mind your own business,” she shrieked. “You don’t know anything!” With that she ran back up to the rooftop pushing passed the still shocked guys.

Why was her past coming back to haunt her? Why couldn’t she forget it? Why?

Tears streamed down her face. She wanted to start anew here. But now it can’t happen. The way the guys were looking at her, they believed she was capable of what the redhead girl had accused her. If they can believe it then there was no doubt others would as well.