So-hyun remained silent for most of the days, but slowly after the days passed by, the broken girl hesitantly opened up. As days passed by like a breeze, she found herself beginning to talk more to her friends, opening up the blossoms of their friendships again.

~

“Hello..” The voice tiredly said, the fatigue in his voice shown clearly.

“Doojoon-ah?” She called out, knowing that it was late in the night and he was probably sleeping.

He was indeed sleeping, but he still picked up the call after reading the ID, “That’s me.”

“Walk with me to school tomorrow, okay?” So-hyun asked timidly, blushing from her end.

He was still half-asleep, but he had enough energy to process this thought, “ Uhh, arasso.”

“Arasso. Goodnight oppa.’ She said with her tone being surprisingly different than how it usually was these days.

Did she just call me oppa?

And...what?

“Goooodnight.” Doojoon said unconsciously, before hanging up the phone again.

~

The two missed each other’s presence in the morning. Especially on the boy's end. He was glad to be able to wrap his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the school wrapped in each other’s warmth. It was comforting, and it was a good feeling to know they had supported each other throughout the whole journey.

“I missed you.” Doojoon admittedly said,  grinning sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his messily spiked up black hair.

So-hyun still remained quiet for the most part,  but had managed to reply softly, “I missed you too.”

~

She pressed the circular button with a cljck, flashing a bright light towards the bottom busy streets of Korea. The camera quickly slid the picture out into her hands, the replicate image of her eyesight being in her hands now.

Positioning her shoes again on the edges of the school roof, she quickly clicked the button again, shutting another bright flash towards the streets.

It looks so far from down here. But from down there, it looks so short.

The scenery was indeed beautiful up here. Besides the border fence that had prevented accidents from happening, the pink light-ish skies had induced a peaceful scene. No one was up here besides her, leaving the girl in perfect isolation.

Closing her eyes, So-hyun heaved a deep breath, inhaling the scents of smoke and the outsides into her nose. She didn’t mind it. It was better than that musty scent inside the classroom. At least this was fresh air.

“You go out here too?” A voice asked, causing the girl to whirl around quickly, shocked. Dongwoon smiled meekly, his hands ruffling the back of his spiked up blonde-hair. Her eyes swiftly averted to their death gazes, causing the boy to hold up his hands in defense.

“What do you want?” She asked mercilessly, her hands clenching the Canon device her dad had bought personally for her a few years ago on her birthday.

Still holding up his hands, he explained in a scared tone, “Look, I go here all the time too! Whenever I need to relax! Or think about something!”

Sighing, So-hyun realized she had no exclusive rights to this school roof, as it was available to everyone else as well.

Tugging on the sleeves of her navy blue school cardigan, she turned back around to watch the bustling of pedestrians walking below as cars passed by in a whooshing manner. The wind slightly picked up at this moment, fluttering her hair backwards.

“Nice weather..” Dongwoon awkwardly said, his presence close enough that she could smell his cologne. The musky smell had matched his appearance, complimenting in with his good looks perfectly.

“Dongwoon, what do you want now?” She asked in a tired manner, since she was used to all of this. She really was though at this point. Someone would trick her, then lure her into a hurtful joke. Typical.

He looked down at his shoes before answering, “Look, I know I said...horrible things. But I really am sorry. You just have to trust me.”

Trust?

“Trust?” She asked aloud, her voice slowly picking up in volume, “You want me to trust you?!” She asked, taken aback that he would even ask of her to do that.

“I trusted you the first time you wanted to talk to me. You know what you did? You turned it into a joke.”

He closed his eyes, shutting them tight.

Quietly, he whispered, “I kno-.” Before being cut off.

“No. You don’t. You don’t know. You’re Son Dongwoon, the boy every girl likes in the school.” So-hyun interrupted, causing him to stare at her in astonishment. Soon after a silence had arrived over the presence of both figures, she mustered the courage to continue,

“You’re the one everyone likes. So don’t say you ing don’t know what it feels like. You don’t know what it feels like to be ing hated by everyone.”

He couldn’t say anything else but the two words in truth, “I’m sorry..”

“I thought we really had a friendship going, but like Ye-jin said, it’s just a joke. I lost all my trust. I can’t trust anyone anymore because of you bastard.” She sputtered angrily, her hands beginning to clench up again. She spun around to stare at the happenings from below, fuming in deep anger.

The skies were beginning to darken into a navy blue state, signalling the close end to the last break period before the evening study hall occurred.

“I-I’m..sorry.” He apologized quietly again, as he began to walk backwards towards the door that led to the stairways.

“I really am..”

Damn bastard. He should’ve never came up here…saying..sorry…

He said sorry.

Sorry.

His words finally came to her. He had apologized, and there was true genuinality in the words.

Rationing her cold words, she quickly turned around to face the blonde-male who looked dead. She stared at the bags that were located underneath his eyes, they were like hers. In fact, the state he was in was exactly the same as her. She had no right to just close him out like that. In a way, she was treating him the same way he treated her. Cold and heartless.

“Dongwoon..” She whispered quietly, running up towards the blonde-male to give him a long hug from behind.

Surprised at how she pronounced his name with such gentility but as well as how she gave him a hug, he couldn’t help but turn around and return the gesture, pulling her closer to him. They remained in each other’s warmth for seconds, cherishing the comfort the other gave in return.

“Give me one more chance.” He pleaded, beginning to rock their bodies back and forth in a soothing manner.

She couldn’t still. “I can’t..not yet, Dongwoon.” She gently said, her arms wrapped around his neck as they swayed to the movements of the wind. She lied her head onto his shoulder, not sure of what to believe nor do at this point. A side of her had told the girl to leave the boy, as he done things that were unforgivable to her. The other side, had advised her to continue comforting him, as he was in the same state as her. They were both suffering from the judgments of the outer world. Though he had the better life at school, he couldn’t help but be struck for the past few days with a feeling so horrible; guilt. He couldn’t help but become the stereotypical person every school was to have. It wasn’t his choice, it just happened as the days continued during the school year.

He loved holding her in his arms as they swayed to the wind. He never received this treatment from Ye-jin, or if he ever did, it never felt genuine. Instead, it felt pressured; not real.

“Class is about to start again..” So-hyun murmured as her head remained on his shoulders.

He didn’t want this moment to end.

“I know..but let’s just stay like this for a bit more?” Dongwoon asked.

She began breathing more gently, the blows of air huffing into thin amounts of smoke in the air. The weather remained mild, as the skies had darkened even more to a navy blue color quickly. The city lights had flipped on, illuminating the rooftop lights upon Dongwoon and So-hyun.

Disappointment arose out of the both of them after they heard the familiar ringing of the bell, signaling the start of the study hall session. Her eyes remained closed, but she still leaned on him in support, hoping that he wouldn’t let her fall again.

I’m sorry for the way I treated you Dongwoon. She thought sadly.

I’m sorry for the way I treated you So-hyun. He replied remorsefully in his thoughts.

Finally gazing up to him, So-hyun’s eyes slowly met up with his brown eyes, as all they could do were awkwardly stare at each other.

“Well..I’m going to get back to class.” So-hyun quietly said, pushing the boy to the side gently.

“Arasso…” He said unobjectedly, letting her go with hesitation.

He wouldn’t pull her back this time, but he wished he could. Instead, he just watched the girl saunter towards the stairs.

He had a lot to think about, but now wasn’t the time.

~

She walked down the stairs quietly, hoping no one would catch her up here. Though going to the rooftops weren’t exactly forbidden, they weren’t supported either, as many of the delinquents of the school always hung out there. So-hyun didn’t see how though. It was a peaceful area, with only the noises of the bustling city occurring from below. Even so, the sounds weren’t that loud but yet, they were pleasant sounds. The soft whistling wind, the busy murmurs of the people below, the passing of cars, it all led up to the city of Seoul.

Pushing open the side door that led by to the hallways, she looked both ways before entering through the doorway. Though she saw no one, there was of course, a presence watching.

“What were you doing up there with Dongwoon?” Ye-jin asked menacingly, her arms crossed as soon as she made herself visible from the outer corner of the hallways.

Stay strong.

She took a deep breath before taking a few steps towards the bully. “Just talking.” So-hyun said with a taller voice than she had ever used in front of Ye-jin. She didn’t tremble, shake, or quiver, but instead, she felt confident.

Taken aback, Ye-jin shot quickly at the girl, “That’s not what I saw.”

So-hyun’s heart began to race quickly.

She must’ve seen me and Dongwoon hug. .

“You ran up to him to give him a hug. Why the were your hands on him?” Ye-jin asked threateningly, beginning to slowly walk towards the other girl.

So-hyun no longer felt confident. She felt like cowering down into the realms of embarrassment again.

She herself, was still questioning the events that had just happened. It began with a sorrow, to end with an embrace.

What did just happen between me and Dongwoon?

“Nothing to say?” Ye-jin asked after the girl remained quiet.

Taking a deep breath, So-hyun built up the confidence she never really had in front of the bully.

“Just stop.” So-hyun said quietly at first, but after the bully had been taken aback, she felt a new burst of confidence arriving in her.

“You don’t know anything about me. Just like I told Dongwoon, you’re both just pathetic.”

Ye-jin’s eyes had widened. But soon after a few seconds of the sentence, her eyes soon had morphed into another form, now glaring evilly at her. The former of the two girls wasn’t fazed at all.

Instead, she took another deep breath.

Stay strong. Her grandfather repeated into her mind again.

“I’m sick of your bullying. I’m just done.” So-hyun said sadly, her eyes soon regaining their sad form from the past few weeks.

Ye-jin was entirely surprised by her act, but this time, she didn’t have any words to shoot back at the girl. She was already broken down by her words. Ye-jin was done with her work, but for some reason, she didn’t feel the same as she did before.

“Uh..” Ye-jin murmured before So-hyun pushed the cruel girl out of the way. She could hear the sniffles from So-hyun before the girl had turned the corner.

The is with her?

She’s so unstable. Not my problem.

Fixing the long curled hair, Ye-Jin resumed back towards the classroom, puzzled at the victim’s words but not showing it easily.

~