Chapter 15

Being at school today. I still had my headache. It hasn't gone away since I almost got harassed by Soo Hyuk at the concert. That guy was now on my hitlist right under Jong Kook. Ugh. I'm starting to hate people. Worst thing about this whole situation? I didn't even have to tell Jung Ah. She ended up hearing about it somewhere and told everyone about it. People are probably going to think I'm some idiot that keeps getting involved into these stupid mess when clearly, I was just trying to be a nice person. I guess I should really just stick to school and not worry about talking to people. Life was better that way anyways.

"I heard that Se Hun's grandpa passed away this weekend." Jung Ah whispered to me quietly as we made our way to the cafeteria. "I heard that his grandpa was his last family member alive."

I looked over at Jung Ah surprised. How did she know more about Se Hun than I did? Well, I guess I shouldn't question that because Jung Ah seemed to know about everything without even having to ask. Maybe I should be like her more so I could find out more things about Se Hun. I still knew little to nothing about the damn gangster, but he seemed to be the only person who's ever seen me cry like a baby more than anybody else in the world. 

Just as we got into the cafeteria, I saw a huge crowd formed. I could see Jae Hyun's head from where I was. His hair wasn't that hard to spot. I squinted closer when I heard him yell something. Was he about to get into a fight with someone? I made a few steps closer and saw Soo Hyuk standing across from Jae Hyun. His face was all busted up, probably from Se Hun beating the crap out of him. I wanted to laugh. He deserved what he got, but what was Jae Hyun doing standing in a cirlce with him? I made my way over. I was too curious.

"Why do you even care? I already got beat up! What more do you want?" Soo Hyuk scoffed at Jae Hyun. "You're the that made her try to make Se Hun fall in love with her."

"You're a sick bastard, Park Soo Hyuk. You think just because Se Hun got a piece of you doesn't mean that I won't?" Jae Hyun walked over to Soo Hyuk and grabbed him by the collar. "You think you can just go and touch Soo Jin like that?"

He laughed in Jae Hyun's face. "What's so great about her anyways? The girl is probably the dumbest person on earth. First in academics is all she is." Wow. I was actually kind of offended that he thought I was nothing but smart. . He's really going to get it. "The girl's never had her first kiss nor has she had a boyfriend. Obviously there's something wrong with the girl." Is this guy serious? He's seriously trying to diss me like this? I'm single because I'd end up with es like you! "You fools here are only trying to make her look better than she should be. She's nothing but trash."

I think it was my turn to laugh. Stupid jerk.

Jae Hyun huffed a sigh to the side before swinging at Soo Hyuk's face. I swear, I don't know if you could mess Soo Hyuk's face up even more, but Jae Hyun proved it. Right after he punched Soo Hyuk, his face was already bleeding, as if Jae Hyun had a knife and cut his face. I was already standing up in the front watching this happen. A few people from the crowd noticed me, but they didn't say anything. Just as Soo Hyuk was about to get up and hit Jae Hyun, Jae Hyun backed up and kicked him across the face. Okay. Jae Hyun can kind of fight, so why was he so scared of Se Hun then? 

"You don't even know Soo Jin. You didn't even realize that she pitied you, took care of you after Se Hun beat you up, and risked her life going with you to that concert. She trusted you. Why? Not because she's stupid, but because she has a kind heart." Jae Hyun threw Soo Hyuk onto the ground and spit at him. "You will never understand because you're the one who's trash, not Soo Jin. You were lucky to even be close to her, but you messed up, Soo Hyuk."

Jae Hyun rolled his eyes and turned around. His friends and him were about to walk off when his eyes met mine. I stared at him and somehow, I smiled. Jae Hyun, this jerk, just stood up for me and beat up Soo Hyuk even though Soo Hyuk was practically dead. Sounded kind of mean, but I didn't care. This guy deserved all the that happened. He called me trash and humiliated me in front of the school. I'm glad that someone stood up for me even if that meant it was the person I hated the most.

"Ahn Soo Jin... How long were you standing here?" He asked, his face turning pink from embarrassment.

"Long enough to say 'Thank you'." I smiled at him and sauntered off.

I ended up not eating during lunch since people were so loud and my head was throbbing with pain. After school, I made my way to the cafe and grabbed my drink and then I headed to the hopital. It was finally time for my stitches to come out and that also meant that whoever else would dare to grab my arm again will be lucky because it has fully healed. Well, at least that's what I was hoping.

The doctor told me that it was weird how my arm had healed but there were bruises surrounding the whole cut. I should have told them what happened, but my mom would have probably freaked out and would never let me out again. After they were done, my mom and I went back home together and I went to my room to study. I didn't want to study at all. I stared at the first few sentences and closed my book. My head hurting wasn't going to make it easier for me anyways so I decided to go lay in bed.

I didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, I checked my phone and saw that it was only 9:oo at night. Maybe I should go out and go do something. I went into my closet and looked at my clothes. I had so much to choose from, but I felt like there was nothing there that I really wanted to wear. Instead of choosing my outfit right away, I left to the window and looked outside to see if it was cold. It's supposed to snow soon since it was almost the end of November... That reminded me. I had over a month and half left before my time was up for the bet. Great. I still have to make that happen so far, but I haven't seen Se Hun since we got back home. In fact, we haven't talked  nor ran into each other. 

After finalizing my outfit to a plain white t-shirt under a sap green jacket and a pair of skinny jeans with my white oxfords, I grabbed my purse and headed out the door quietly. My parents were already asleep and I didn't want to wake them up. When I reached outside, it was kind of nice out. It was warmer than any day that has passed so far. "What am I going to do?" I said to myself as I turned from left to right, deciding which road to take. I shrugged and made my way out to the main street to call for a taxi. I wanted to take the bus, but I don't think the bus could take me to where I kind of wanted to go.

I ended up at Hongdae. Goodness, this place was just as pretty as Myeongdong at night. There were many clubs and bars around Hongdae so it was crowded with people tonight. I wasn't the type to be in these kind of scenes, so I went on my way and went to the shopping area. I wanted to buy new clothes for my already filled closet, but when I was looking around, nothing was catching my eye. I was a really plain person, so I don't know why it was hard trying to find something. I walked passed a few stores and found myself standing in front of a graphic t-shirt store. It was filled with many different kinds of shirts with different logos. They looked really nice, but the price for each of them were way too much to even want to be bought. I passed by disappointed. 

Just as I thought I wasn't going to find anything alluring to me, I found a shop where they were selling cute scarves and gloves. Winter was coming soon, so I decided that I should just buy these things. I looked around and all the different varieties of scarves they had. They ranged from colorful, to different fabrics, etc. They were all so cute and pretty. I didn't know what to choose. I ended up buying a plain tan scarf and black mittens. I didn't end up paying that much because the ahjusshi thought I was pretty, so it was at least worth my money. I guess being pretty could help me out sometimes, huh?

I put the mittens on since it was getting a little more chilly out. There were so many things to look at. I even passed by three guys, who were sitting down at the corner of the street with sunglasses and beanies on, singing as if no one was there. One of them was playing the guitar and humming along with the other two who were singing. I stopped and watched with other passerbies who did the same. They weren't bad, in fact, they were amazing. Their voices were soft and soothing and... familiar? Familiar? I looked closer at the three guys, but why couldn't I tell who they were?

The guy to my left had a soothing, raspy voice, the middle guy playing the guitar had a low voice, and the guy to my right had an angelic voice. I don't know why, but why did they sound so familiar? Everyone was enjoying their performance, but here I was, trying to figure out who these people were. Maybe they were people I knew? Now I was getting bothered. If only they would stop and let me go take off their sunglasses to see who they were... Okay. I'm not that rude, but I wanted to see if I knew them.

The audience started clapping and even a few of them had handed them money. The three boys thanked people and nodded their head at a few, but when they faced their attention towards me, they just stared at me. Maybe they knew me too? They smiled and waved at me, as if they knew who I was. I awkwardly just stood there, making the audience look over at me. What was I supposed to do? Wave back at them too? I didn't even know who these guys were. Just then, they all took off their sunglasses and I saw who it was. Baek Hyun, Chan Yeol, and Lu Han. 

"Oh?" I pointed at them. How is it that out of all of the people, it was those three who were singing and playing music here in Hongdae? And the fact that they were these gangster kids. They... They actually had talent? "What... What are you guys doing here?"

"We were just going to ask you the same question." Baek Hyun got up from his seat and walked up to me and stared me in the eyes. "What? Are you surprised to see us doing this?"

"Who would have thought we'd run into you?" Chan Yeol followed behind Baek Hyun and smiled at me. "We haven't seen you for awhile now."

"It's been three days." Lu Han said stretching his arms up. "You just bought those gloves, huh?"

I looked down at my gloves and nodded my head. "Do you guys always do this?"

"No, it's a secret." Lu Han put a finger to his lips. "Don't tell anyone."

"Yeah. We don't want to lose our bad boy image." Baek Hyun winked.

"Are you looking for Se Hun?" Chan Yeol asked.

"No." Why were they asking a question about Se Hun to me?

"He's clubbing with Kai, if you were wondering." Baek Hyun said as he pointed in the direction of the club.

"I don't care about his whereabouts." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "I came to get some fresh air."

"Ah, I guess." Chan Yeol shrugged and looked around. "We're going to go clubbing now that we have money."

"Wait..." I said before they had walked off. They all stared at me. "How's... How's Se Hun doing?"

Lu Han raised an eyebrow at me. "Have you not talked to him since we came back?"

"I... I haven't had time." I lied. I always had time on my hands.

"In case you haven't noticed, Se Hun hasn't been himself lately. He's going a little bizerk because of his grandpa passing away." Lu Han said a little quietly. "We've been to the clubs everyday since then."

"Aren't you guys bored of it then?" I raised my eyebrow at them.

"Se Hun's the one who wants to go and we're going with him because he's our friend. Even though we really don't want to go and rather go beat up on people, we want to let him know that we're always there for him." Chan Yeol sighed. 

"I guess we're just worried about him and if this is the way to help him get over his grandpa, then we'll be doing the same to make him feel better. Even if it takes a year..." Baek Hyun ran a hand through his hair after taking his beanie off. 

"We have to go. Kai keeps calling me and telling me that Se Hun's asking for us." Lu Han said looking at his phone. "We'll see you around, Soo Jin. Take care of yourself."

They all nodded their heads at me and went back to their spot to pack up their things. I watched as they walked off into the direction of the club. Seeing them look like that made my heart squeeze. Even though they never really showed their expressions, this was an expression that I have never seen my whole life. For once, they all looked like they were sad and broken. Maybe they were also trying to get over the same situation as Se Hun. Or maybe it was because they wanted to help their friend out, but they didn't know how to. I found myself thinking about this for thirty minutes, still standing in the same spot that the boys had left me an hour ago.