School on Monday was a nightmare. Where usually it was easy for me to lose myself in my studies, suddenly all I could think of was Seo Joohyun and my mother and how horrible my life suddenly seemed to be.

To make matters worse, it seemed like everyone had found out about my father being sent to jail. Though things had really settled down for me once everyone accepted the fact that I was dating Jonghyun and had become a part of the popular group, suddenly everyone was whispering and pointing at me again.

The worst part was when I caught what they were saying.

“A deadbeat father, yeah…”

“In jail, that’s what I heard…for breaking into someone’s house! Can you believe it!”

“I heard her mother didn’t even want her. She’s got no family.”

“What a pathetic excuse for a human being.”

And what I hated the most was that everything they were saying was true.

I avoided Joohyun like the plague, which wasn’t too difficult to do considering we only had physical education class together. Likewise, she seemed to be avoiding me as well.

But sometimes, like in the locker room, it was impossible to avoid her. Mostly because Jessica had decided all these new rumors about me meant it was time for her to step up the bullying again.

We were changing back into our school uniforms after gym class when I saw her whispering to her clones and glancing over at me, smirking.

“Great,” I muttered, doing up the buttons on my blouse. “Here it comes.”

Amber looked up at me questioningly, but before she had time to voice anything, Jessica came sauntering over, flanked by her bimbos. Joohyun was there, hanging at the edge of the group and looking anywhere but at me.

“Well well,” Jessica sneered, arms crossed. “If it isn’t little miss criminal. I’m surprised you can even show your face around here after what your dad did.”

I turned my back on her. “I’m not accountable for my father’s actions.”

She didn’t like that I had turned away. She grabbed my arm and forced me to turn back to face her. “So you’re not denying that he’s a petty criminal? In jail?”

I jerked my arm away. “Why do you need me to tell you anything?” I snapped. “You know everything about everyone already, right?”

Joohyun was looking more and more uncomfortable, but still she said nothing, just crossed her arms and looked down at her shoes.

It was Krystal who came to my rescue. “Leave her alone, Jess,” she snapped, glaring at her sister. Then she pretended to be surprised. “Oh my god! How long has that been there?” And she pointed at a nonexistent something on Jessica’s face.

Jessica panicked at once and fled to check the mirror, her little clones following her. Joohyun was the last to go, looking awkwardly at me before disappearing.

“Thanks,” I muttered to Krystal.

She gave me a sympathetic look. “If you ever need any juicy dirt on her, I’ve got plenty. She may be my sister, but she’s a .”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, Krystal, but I don’t want to stoop to her level.”

Amber patted me on the shoulder. “Good for you, Narae. You’re better than that.”

I almost wished I’d taken up Krystal’s offer when Jessica and the rest of the Bimbo Brigade cornered me in the hallway on Thursday. It was after school and I was getting my books together before going to meet Jonghyun in the parking lot; as usual, he was giving me a ride home.

“Hey there Narae,” she purred, sidling up beside me.

I rolled my eyes and turned to leave, but found the girls blocking my escape route. They effectively had me trapped up against my locker.

I sighed. “What do you want, Jessica? I really need to go home. I’ve got a lot of homework to do.”

“What home would that be?” she asked innocently. “I heard that since your old man went to prison, you got kicked out of your place. So where are you crashing?”

Hyoyeon, one of Jessica’s Bimbos, laughed unpleasantly. “She’s probably shacking up with Kim Jonghyun,” she joked.

Jessica glared at her; no matter how much she likes teasing me, she didn’t like the reminder that Jonghyun and I were still very much dating. She turned back to me, and her eyes had narrowed. “So where are you staying, Narae? Huh? Who are you blowing to keep a roof over your head?”

“ off,” I said simply, and I brushed past them. I hardly glanced at Joohyun, who was looking down at her shoes and refusing to look at me.

Much later that night, after Jonghyun had gone home and I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, finishing up some homework, there was a timid sort of knock on my bedroom door.

This didn’t surprise me. Ever since I’d come to live with my biological mother and her new family, it was like everyone was walking on eggshells. My mother and her husband were constantly fawning over me, asking if there was anything I needed. What did surprise me, however, was when I opened the door and found Joohyun there. Thus far, she’d been avoiding me as much at home as she’d been at school.

I crossed my arms and glared at her. “What do you want?” I demanded.

She twisted the hem of her skirt anxiously in her hands. “I-I just wanted to apologize,” she muttered, her voice so quiet I could barely hear her. “For what Jessica and the others have been saying to you. I-it’s not right.”

I just looked at her for a long moment. “No ,” I finally said, and I slammed the door in her face.