Missing

A good mixture of anger, sympathy and frustration had been shaken and mixed within Jongin, as he left Haru in the infirmary. Jongin had always been clear of himself and of his own emotions. He always knew what to do and how to react, but that all somehow went down the drain when it came to Haru. Seeing how vulnerable she looked lying on the infirmary bed, hearing the fear in her trembling voice and feeling her insecurity, made Jongin so unsure, so confused, not only of himself, but also of what to do. He really did not want to leave her like that; he wanted to make sure that she at least was ok. He wanted to know what exactly had happened, and he wanted her to know that everything was going to be all right that he was going to take care of it. But drowning in his own confusion, he left her, like she wanted him to, because how could he tell her that everything was going to be all right, that he was going to take care of it, that she was going to be safe, when he knew very well that he essentially was the source behind it all. Confused and frustrated he ran his fingers through his hair. These emotions were quickly defeated by anger and rage, as he passed Chemistry, where he found the culprits, standing and chatting happily right outside the classroom. If he was going to stay away from Haru, he was going to make damned sure that they were too.

"Oh hi Jongin are you coming to English class today?" The girl with Haru's hair band asked happily, as Jongin stopped right in front of her. Suppressing his anger he leaned into the girl so that his lips almost touched her ear, making her blushed wildly and her friends let out audible gasps.

"This is my first and last warning. Stay way from Haru. If I see or even hear that you have thrown her a glance at her direction I’ll-” Jongin whispered coldly

“Please don’t throw me out of the school my parents they-” the girl sacredly cut him off

“You don’t think that I’ll let you off that easy do you? Why do you think I haven’t reported you to the teachers yet? Let me make this absolutely clear, I wont get you thrown out of the school. No, I’ll personally make the rest of you time in here a living hell. Understand?” Jongin whispered coldly, and the girl nodded timidly in fear.

“That’s good. Now why don’t you go tell that to your little minions? And one last thing, I don’t think this belong to you does it?” Jongin said, as he ripped the hair band out of the girl’s hair and went on his way. Jongin thought that his little successful encounter with these girls, would make him feel better or at least make him a bit more relieved than he was right now. Stepping in the class, both Sehun and the teacher were surprised that he had come back to class.

“Is she ok?” Mari turned around and whispered, as Jongin sat down

“I don’t know” Jongin simply answered before laying his head on the table and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. A bit confused by his answer, Mari turned around and looked at Sehun for answers to explain his friend’s odd reply, but Mari was only met with and equally confused Sehun, who shrugged, not knowing why his friend somehow seemed so distressed.   

                “I’m going to go down to the infirmary and check on Haru, do you want to come?” Mari asked Jongin, as the class ended and they were packing up their stuff.

“No” Jongin answered shortly

“No?” Sehun asked, confused about his friend sudden change in interest, when he a few moments before looked deeply worried and concerned.

“She told me not to speak to her and see her anymore. So no” Jongin said dryly before leaving the classroom and Sehun and Mari behind. Sehun and Mari decided that Mari should go and see Haru alone, believing that she would be more comfortable speaking with Mari alone, and hopefully they could clarify what had happened to her.

“Hey Haru? How are you feeling?” Mari asked, as she faced the petite girl lying on the bed. Even though Haru had stopped crying a long time ago, the traces were still visible; her eyes were puffy and red and she looked more than exhausted.

"H-h-hi Mari. W-w-why are you here? English just started" Haru asked almost inaudibly.

"They really took it too far this time didn't they." Mari ignored Haru's question, absorbed in the petite girl's poor and pitiful state. Haru had made her promise not to tell anyone about the daily slips of paper in Haru's locker. Mari was also lucky enough to be a receiver of these slips of tiny papers, but unlike Haru, Mari did not put too much thought or worry behind them, but on the contrary she found them utterly laughable and ridiculous.

"You need to report this to a teacher Haru. I mean, tell them what happened to-" Mari tried to argue but she did not manage to finish

"No! It will only make it worse! I've seen it before! It will only make it worse. Please don't tell the teachers, please promise me that Mari, please!" Haru claimed in panic and fright.

"Please promise Mari" Haru repeated, seeing that Mari hesitated to answer her.

"Ok, I promise I won't tell the teachers about it. But I still think that you should report them" Mari unwillingly gave in and pulled Haru in for a hug. Mari knew that if it was going to have any affect, Haru needed to report them herself.

"But can you please tell me what happened?" Mari asked, as she released her.

"Uhm...they pulled me into the restroom. They didn't like that Jongin and I had spent so much time together. I-I-I tried to explain that it was because of the English project and that we only met accidentally at Lotte World, but they wouldn't listen…they believe me. They said that I had planned it. They told me that it was my fault he didn't spend time with his friends anymore. And that everything that happened to me was my own fault" Haru almost whispered, as she looked down, while fiddling with her hands.

"What kind of sick logic is that!" Mari said loudly, in disbelief.

"But they are right Mari. It is my own fault. If-if I would've said no to work with him from the beginning, he wouldn't have had to spent so much of his time on me and the project." Haru said a little louder.

"You don't really believe that do you Haru?! First of, it was the teacher who made the groups, we had not a say in it. And second of, it was Kai who chose to stay and work with you. It was essentially his idea that we tried the rides together.  So if you look at it maybe this is all his fault." Of course Mari did not think that any of this were neither Haru's nor Jongin's fault, the only one to be blamed were those girls, and she wanted Haru to see that too.

"No, no it wasn't his fault. It was me-" Haru said, as she looked at Mari

“If you can see that it wasn’t his fault, then why can’t you see that it wasn’t you fault either Haru?” Mari cut her off and pulled her in for another hug

“The only ones to blame are those obsessive girls. It wasn’t you fault, ok?” Even though Haru nodded it was clear to Mari that, Haru didn't fully believe it and still blamed herself.

"So are you going to English class?" Mari asked Haru, as she let her off the hug.

"Uhm...no" Haru replied after much thought.

"Are you going home?" Mari continued to ask, to which Haru shook her head.

“That’s good, cause we’re going out for some Udon” Mari happily claimed, wanting to get Haru on other thoughts than what had happened.

“But what about English?” Haru asked curiously

“Well you said you weren’t going, and I really don’t feel like English right now. Should we call Aaerin and see whether or not she is free?” Mari asked, as she took out her phone and started to look for Aaerin’s number.

“No wait Mari, I…it’s just that I…” Haru did not want Aaerin to see her in this state, because she knew that Aaerin would make a big deal out of it.

“I understand. So let’s get your stuff and sneak out” Mari put her phone back into her pocket and smiled challenging at Haru.

                Reaching their lockers to get their belongings, Haru found her hair band dangling on her locker. Carefully she took the hair band and looked at it with confusion and thought; *I don’t understand? Why is it here?*.

“So are you going to wear it?” Mari asked curiously. Even though Haru was more than glad that the hair band had somehow magically return to her, her actions was still driven by fear of the girls, who had dragged her into the restroom. Haru shook her head and put the hair band carefully in her backpack. Taking a bit of a detour, to avoid the teachers, Haru and Mari went around the school building, and as they were about to exit the school gate, a teacher suddenly stopped them.

“Aren’t you two supposed to be in class at this time?” the teacher looked suspiciously at them

“Oh, Haru here has been in a little accident, so our teacher and the nurse told me to take her home” Mari smiled at the teacher. The teacher swallowed Mari’s half-truth, as he saw Haru’s condition and let them pass the gates.

“That was close” Mari smiled unaffected, before the two of them moved on in the direction of the Udon restaurant. The little walk to the restaurant had made Haru a bit better and less stuffy, and as soon as they stepped into the restaurant the smell of different ingredients hit both of them and instantly made their stomach rumble.

“Isn’t that Aaerin and Luhan?” Mari suddenly spotted, as they were looking for free table. As if on cue Luhan got eye-contact with Mari and Haru and waved at them, making Aaerin turn around to see, who Luhan had seen.

“There goes not calling Aaerin” Mari claimed, before they started to walk over to them, with Haru right behind her.

“Hey what are you guys doing here? Skipping school? Where’re Sehun and Jongin?” Luhan asked teasingly. During the past month Luhan had often spotted them together. Luhan was not sure of whether or not it had only been a result of their project, or of something else, but if Haru was there Jongin was not far behind, and the same went for Mari and Sehun.

“They were too clingy, so we ditched them.” Mari teased back. She wanted to ask why he was here, especially in the company with Aaerin. It had seemed to become a normalcy, that 80% of the time one visited or had had bumped into Aaerin, she had been in the company of Luhan. But before Mari could ask, Aaerin cut her off.

“What happened to you unnie?!” Aaerin’s eyes widened in complete shock, as she saw her puffy eyes, the red mark and cut lip on Haru’s face. Aaerin turned her wheelchair around and pushed Mari gently to the side, so she could get a better look at her petite unnie. Haru had in vain been trying to hide behind Mari, and kept her gaze at the floor, but now she could feel three pairs of worried eyes on her, making her not knowing what to say.

“And don’t you dare tell me that you’ve bumped into some book self! No book self will give you a cut lip. Please tell me the truth unnie!” Aaerin starred at Haru for an answer, but the petite girl only kept her gaze on the restaurant floor and Aaerin shifted her gaze over to Mari.

“Shegotpulledintotherestroombysomegirlsfromschoolandshedidn’twanttoletyouknowbecauseshedidn’twantyoutoworryabouther,nowthatyou’vestartedtorecover” Mari quickly confessed, as she received Aaerin’s ominous and threatening gaze. Satisfied Aaerin directed a blaming look at Haru, for not telling her the truth, who shocked directed a look Mari, as she could not believe that Mari had just blurted everything out just by one look.

“I’m sorry, but she’s scary. I only promised not to tell the teachers, and the truth is going to get out at one point or another” Mari looked apologetic at Haru.

“Wait a second! Why did they even drag you into the restroom in the first place? Was it because of that guy, you’ve been spending so much time with?” this time Aaerin didn’t bother to look at Haru first, but directly looked at Mari, but before she could open , Haru covered it with her hand. Even though Mari did not manage to answer Aaerin’s question, Haru’s action answered it instead.

“I knew it! I told him to keep an eye on his brain-dead fangirls…argh…1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8…” Aaerin continued to count silently trying to calm herself, while the other three starred silently at her. Luckily the waiter interrupted the silence and distracted Aaerin’s rage.

“Two bowls of Udon” the waiter announced and placed the two bowls on the table

“Can we get two more please?” Luhan asked the waiter, as he pulled two chairs to the table.

“Why don’t we sit down and eat first” Luhan suggested and looked at the three girls, to which they all agreed, and not too long after placing the order, the waiter came out with two bowls of Udon. Surprisingly Aaerin did not mention or hinted to Haru’s incidents after that, but instead the small group began to talk about everything else.  It did not take long before the theme of their conversation had moved over to Aaerin's recovery process. There was still a long way, before she could walk again, but during the last month her motivation and mental state had never been better. She had become more motivated at the rehabilitation training and had gained a more positive attitude towards it, which not only was evident for the trainers, Dr Lu and the nurses, but Mari and Haru had also noticed it. The tense atmosphere and silence soon disappeared and the four of them enjoyed their bowls of Udon.

“Are you going to the hospital today?” Haru asked, to which Aaerin nodded, as they stepped out of the restaurant, ready to go home.

“It seems like you still live in the hospital, even though you moved back home” Mari commented, looking at Aaerin, who just shrugged.

“They said that there’s still a long way regarding to the rehabilitation training, so I guess it’s only logical that I regularly go to the hospital for that. Oh, I almost forgot, my grandma asked me to remind you about the dinner at our house on Monday” Aaerin almost jumped out of her wheelchair, as she suddenly remembered her grandmother’s note. The two girls assured Aaerin that they had not forgotten about it, before they went their separate ways. Haru and Mari had suggested accompanying Luhan, as he took Aaerin back to the hospital, but he had politely declined, since it was the opposite direction of Haru and Mari’s homes.

“Is she letting him push her wheelchair?” Mari asked curiously, looking in the direction of Luhan and Aaerin.

“Yeah, she is.” Haru confirmed, and smiled as she saw them. Haru had also noticed that it was not only Aaerin’s motivation and attitude, which had become a lot better and more positive, but Aaerin had also become a bit more relaxed, when it came to receiving help from others. She was still wary around people, but she had for instance now let the nurses - who were close to her - help her with getting cloths on or getting from her bed to her wheelchair, without putting up a fight, like she usually did. Aaerin had also begun to ask for help, for instance when she had become too tired to manage her wheelchair. Whether or not his role had been big or small, Haru was sure that Luhan had played a part in Aaerin’s little changes.

                “Why didn’t you tell them that you’re going to start school, next week?” Luhan asked Aaerin curiously. He knew that she was close to both Mari and Haru, so it had surprised him that she had not told them, as soon as she got accepted to their high school. Apart from him, the only ones who knew about her enrolment were the principle and her grandmother.

“Because I want it to be a surprise. And don’t you dare tell them! Remember you promised not to.” Aaerin turned around and looked seriously and threateningly at him.

“I promise, I promise” Luhan chuckled, as he kept on walking. Luhan was happy when Aaerin had decided to start at Do High school. He liked her straightforwardness and blunt personality, which had been like a breath of fresh air in comparison to other girls he knew of. During the past month, he had grown fond of the girl. Luhan had discovered that her outwards hostile personality, hid a little childish personality, and behind that was strong girl, who would do anything for the ones she loved and held dear. But Luhan was also aware of Aaerin’s insecurity that lay buried deep inside her. It was an insecurity he had seen glimpse of during the time he had spent in the hospital – the time he had spent with her. And even though it was slowly decreasing, it still had a strong hold of her.

                Haru found herself frequently checking her phone for no reason, during the weekend. She had felt like there was something missing. It was as if she was waiting for something, but having no clue what so ever, what that something was, made her frustrated. Hoping that her homework would help her forget her frustrations, she took out the readings for tomorrow. Finding herself reading the same sentence for the ninth time, Haru subconsciously reached for he phone and unlocked it. *What are you doing Haru?* she thought and put her phone back on the table. Letting out an irritated sigh, she gave up, and dove in her bed, hoping that things would be a bit clearer tomorrow.    

To Haru from Jongin: 
Hi what are you doing?

Jongin quickly deleted the message, as he realised to whom he was about to sent to. This was the fourth time, during this weekend, where he for a second had forgotten everything that had happened last Friday, and in his forgetfulness he had started to write a message to Haru, which had become an enjoyable habit of his during the last month. But luckily - or maybe even unluckily, it depends on how you see it - right before he pressed send, her words and pleads echoed in his head, making him quickly delete the message, but for some reason it also left him disappointed and irritated. Annoyed Jongin threw his phone carelessly on the table and let out a sigh, before he went over to his refrigerator and poured himself a glass of water. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Beakhyun asked, with his focus on the game.

“I have no idea,” Chanyeol whispered back, without taking his eyes of the ongoing game.

                A Sunday full of frustration and irritation had passed by, as Jongin found himself walking to school with Mari and Sehun, like he usually does. What was evidently unusual for both Sehun and Mari was how silent Jongin was today. Jongin would usually join their small conversations, but ever since they walked out of the apartment building, he had not uttered a single word. Neither of them asked Jongin why, as they were both more or less aware of the reason for his unusual behaviour. Entering the school gates they suddenly found their friends chatting happily with someone they had surrounded. Curiously they walked over to them, wanting to see whom they were talking with.

“Hey, see who’s joined Do High” Chanyeol waved at Sehun, Mari and Jongin, and as they got closer, the little circle their friends opened and revealed Aaerin right in the middle of it.

“Aaerin, what are you doing here?” Mari asked happily, as she ran over to the girl and gave her a warm hug.

“Isn’t it obvious that I’ve enrolled to the school” Aaerin pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, retuning Mari's hug.

"You could've told us when we met each other last Friday" Mari broke free of the hug and looked at Aaerin

"I wanted it to be a surprise, so surprise!" Aaerin smiled cheekily. Aaerin was about to ask them if they had seen Haru, but that question was long forgotten when she saw Jongin. Aaerin’s smile disappeared and she rolled over to him a bit faster than normal. Skilfully, she manoeuvred past Sehun and right into Jongin's shin. Jongin groaned in pain, as he grabbed his shin, while the others froze in place of shock.

"YOU! I told you to keep those zombie-fan girls of yours away from my unnie! Tell me who did it!" Aaerin angrily said, as she satisfied crossed her arms, waiting for an answer

"I already took care of it, they won't bother her anymore" Jongin rubbed the place where Aaerin's wheelchair had hit.

"I didn't ask whether I not you took care of it. I told you to tell me who those girls were!" Aaerin continued annoyed. 

"Take a picture it'll last longer" Aaerin sent threatening gaze, at some girls who had stopped to see what was going on, but they quickly moved on by Aaerin's comment and look.

"So are you going to tell me or not?" Aaerin returned her focus to Jongin.

"I took care of it, so you don't have to worry" Jongin repeated, and before Aaerin could say anything further a teacher interrupted them and told them to get to class. Far from satisfied with Jongin’s answer, Aaerin still followed Luhan and Kyungsoo, who took her to the principles office. Determined, Aaerin was going to, in some way or another, let the ones who hurt Haru know that they should leave her be.

                "So this is the Yoon Aaerin I've heard so much about" principle Do smiled, as he saw Aaerin.

"Yes that's my name, but I can't guarantee that everything you've heard is true" Aaerin simply replied, looking around the office. Her answer made Luhan chuckle, while Kyungsoo simply smiled at the girl's straightforward and cheeky answer. But what surprised Aaerin was the principle’s warm laughter, which made her focus on him.

"But I'm sure that all the things I've heard about you is nothing less than the truth" principle Do laughed.

"Why don't we say thank you to the boys for bringing you here and tell them to get back to class, before more rumours about special treatment for the principle’s son and his friends spread" the principle eyed Kyungsoo and Luhan, who quickly bowed goodbye and went their ways.

"So are there any questions about the school you want to ask?" The principle asked, as he went over to his desk and printed Aaerin's schedule out.

"No, I don't think so. The pretty b- I mean Luhan pretty much told everything there is to know. Wait actually I do have a question" Aaerin said, eyeing a particular item on the principle's desk.

"Yes?" Principle Do said, waiting for Aaerin's question

"What is that for?" She pointed at the black item.

"Oh that is a microphone for announcement to the whole school. Why do you ask?" The principle smiled

"For no reason in particular, I was just curious that's all" Aaerin replied and the principles brought her to her class. Sitting in the assigned class, it hit Aaerin that she had forgotten to ask where Haru's classroom was. Ever since Aaerin along with Dr Lu and her grandmother decided that she was ready to start school again, Aaerin was determined to tell neither Haru nor Mari about it, since she wanted to see their facial expressions when she started at Do High. So ruining the surprise by texting Haru and ask, which classroom she was in, was not an option for Aaerin. Instead Aaerin decided to wait of the lunch break and make either Mari or Luhan take her to their petite friend, since she was not familiar with the school yet. The long and boring classes went by, and Aaerin found herself gathering her stuff together to go down to the cafeteria for lunch, but before she could exit the classroom the Social Science teacher stopped her.

"Don't you have a locker?” the teacher asked.

"Uh? No? Am I supposed to have one?" Aaerin looked confused at him

"The principle must've forgotten to give it to you. Why don't go to the principle's office and ask them to give you one, so you don't have to carry all those things around all day?" He suggested. Aaerin was about to say that she would do it tomorrow, since she did not want to miss lunch, but something made her agree and she was on her way to the principle's office for a second time this day.

"What can I help you with dear?" The secretary asked.

"I was told that I could get a locker and code here,” Aaerin answered

"Oh you are the new student. I need to give these papers to a class, but why don't you just wait here and I'll be right back" the secretary said. After receiving agreeing nods from Aaerin, the secretary hurriedly went out of the door. Seeing the secretary disappear, around the corner a bit down the hallway, she rolled back in the room and over to the principle's office.

"Hello?" Aaerin asked, as she knocked on the door. Wanting to make sure that there was no one inside, she knocked on the door once more. Rolling in the abandoned office, she closed and locked the door.

                Haru was a bit nervous for coming to school today, but her nervousness turned into wonder mixed with a bit of confusion, as the slip of paper that usually would welcome her were nowhere to be found thi