Soo Young got up at 6:30 am to get ready for school. Waking up on a weekday morning was the hardest part for this young girl. Her body usually ached all over and her head was in pain and this morning was no different from all those other mornings. Soo Young wasn’t a sickly child, these were the effects of too much pressure brought about by academics and bullying. The young school girl got up and struggled to remove the sheets-the very light sheets-from her body and when she succeeded, she dragged herself to the bathroom where she disposed her clothes and took a hot shower. Even the hot water felt cold to her. After the shower, she put on her school uniform which was a white polo, a checkered skirt that was above the knee, knee high socks, black sheos with 1 inch heels and a blue blazer that had the school logo as a patch. She did her hair in a simple side ponytail which was lose and she was done! Soo Young looked anything but glamorous unlike the girls at school who wore a lot of accessories, shorter socks to highlight their legs, sometimes even shorter and tighter skirts as well as a perm or highlights and all sorts of different hairstyles. Soo Young didn’t care much about how she looked in school because she was there to learn and graduate and finally get the hell out of that high school that gave her the most painful 4 years of her life. Gathering her sketchpad and her bag, she went calmly out of her room and down the stairs to have a light breakfast. Minhho and her mother were there. Minho looked very much dashing in his uniform, with his hair looking very diferent from the way it looked yesterday.

“Sheez! It’s like you looked like this yesterday and now you look like this again!” Minho smirked. Soo Young glared at him and when she did that, he knew better than to open his mouth.

“Soo Young, sit down and have breakfast with us.” Soo Young fixed her bangs which were on the left side of her face, exposing the wound that was on her right cheekbone. Her strategy was to eat with her head down so they wouldn’tsee and question the wound as she was out of excuses and was definitely tired of the old ‘I-met-an-accident’ alibi. What she had for breakfast was very light, a small cup of yogurt and fruits with fruit juice. Not exactly the kind of breakfast that would give you energy to start the day. Soo Young felt her heart beating fast with every spoonful of yogurt, knowing that she was inching closer and closer to leaving the comfort of her home and out to the dangers of the schoolyard where the bullies were kings and queens. Soo Young felt the tears coming whenever she thought of her enemies and how alone she was in life, having only 2 friends who were just as pathetic and afraid of the bullies as she was, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to stand up for her and she for them. Upon finishing her breakfast, she excused herself to brush her teeth, going back up to her room.

While facing the mirror, Soo Young examined herself closely to look for any signs of imperfection. For the first time, she had a self-esteem higher than before when she thought that she wasn’t that ugly.

What do they hate about me? I’m a nice person. I barely speak. I barely even mind them. I’m not all that ugly. Sure I ain’t pretty but I’m most certainly not hideous. I’m thin! Most of the bullies out there are fatter than me but they get respected. What makes me different from them? It was moments like this that made Soo Young so insecure and lost in thoughts that she forgot she was brushing her teeth. In her thinking, she brushed her gums way too hard and made it bleed.

“!” she felt the sharp stab of the toothbrush on her gums. She spat the toothpaste and took a look at it. Yep, it was bleeding but it didn’t hurt. Soo Young was strong enough to resist that small of a pain. After brushing, she headed downstairs and grabbed her things which she left in her seat. The bike that she thought was inside the house was actually outside and this made her panic, thinking that her bike was stolen whereas she just parked it next to the door. Even in her frantic moments, her mother and brother could care less about her.

“I’m going now.” she said. Her mother bade her goodbye while Minho just stuck his tongue out at her. Immaturities as such, to Soo Young, were just made to be ignored. She got on her bike and biked all the way to school with the wind blowing against her pale, wounded face. Her hair, which was tied in a lose ponytail, started to look disorderly with the wind but Soo Young didn’t mind. All she wanted was to get to school, go to her classes unnoticed by the bullies and end this day with a smile. Like that would happen! She was their favorite target and it wouldn’t be a day for them if they didn’t pick on her. This was so inevitable that she could already guess where her wounds would be next.

Left cheekbone? Eye? Eyes? Nose? My entire face? Point is they’re going to break me again. Soo Young sighed deeply and tried to think of the last time she smiled. That was a long time ago. The school was nearing and her legs were getting all wobbly because of nervousness. Why was it like this, she often thought to herself. 4 years of hell from the same people? She should’ve been used to it by now.

Everyday they have something new.

Soo Young finally arrived at her high school Nabi High School, named after the city’s name. There was a bike stop where students who biked could park their bikes and head to class and this was where Soo Young stopped first. The bullies weren’t present so that gave her a good start, maybe by 5%. Maybe the guys were in the classroom playing their PSPs while the girls were in the restrooms fixing their hair and makeup. Who knew? Soo Young just prayed that they all ate poisoned cabbage for dinner and all got food poisioning and wouldn’t be able to come to school. Then the next day they all died of complications. That would be Soo Young’s dream. Bad, but true. It was the only way to avoid them because they seemed to always find her though she tried to hide and steer away from them.

“CHOI! CHOI SOO YOUNG!” called out Park Gahee, one of the popular girls. Soo Young let out a deep sigh as she got off her bike and parked it right next to the other bikes.

“Just ignore her, Soo Young. Pretend you aren’t Soo Young.” but they knew her all to well to not know who she was. Even from behind she was very much recognizable.

“HEY CHOI! I’M CALLING YOU! TALK TO ME!” She could hear Park Gahee’s heels clacking her way and this could only make her even more nervous. Theere was a funny and sick feeling in her stomach that made her want to throw up on Gahee but that would get her into even more trouble than she already was in.

“What do you want, Gahee?” she said with her back turned. She faced the bike parking lot.

“Face me when I’m talking to you, you rude !” Soo Young heard the b word and wanted to hit Gahee so hard that her nose would break and she would want to get cosmetic surgery done on it and it would end up like Michael Jackson’s nose (peace! RIP Michael) so she did face her, leaving that to her fantasies. It made her smile slightly, though.

“What do you wan-” without even finishing her sentence, Gahee pushed her to the bike rack and Soo Young hit her bike hard which hit the other bike hard, causing a domino effect on the bikes. There were about 10 bikes parked and they were all knocked down, as well as Soo Young. Soo Young’s slim back hit the bikes hard and it elicited great pain in her.

“OUUUUCH! OUCCCCHH…”she cried out loud. Tears were starting to stream from her red eyes as the pain was just too much. She even thought she got scarred by her own bicycle. It was painful, embarrassing, and painfully embarrassing. Everyone looked at her with pokerfaces, not knowing whether they should help her, laugh at her, or walk away but Gahee did pull off a ty act by saying,

“You are such a clumsy doofus! Why did you knock the bikes down! Watch where you’re going next time so you don’t break other people’s things!” Gahee scoffed and walked away, leaving Soo Young lying in a rack of bicycles.

“YOU’RE SUCH A , GAHEE! YOU LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE AIN’T DONE NO TO YOU!” came a squeaky yet feisty voice from the hall. Soo Young acknowledged the presence of her savior who came running from the inside. The girl had bleached blonde hair which was long up to her shoulders, like Soo Young’s. She saw Soo Young lying in a pile of bikes and jogged up to her to help her up.

“You okay?”

“Sure CL. I’m fine.” Lee Chae Rin, better known as CL was one of Soo Young’s friends. She wasn’t exactly popular but she had more friends than Soo Young. Nonetheless, she was another one of the bullies’ favorite targets but she was feisty and knew how to fight back but sometimes, her attempts to get even just weren’t enough. She was one person and they were a posse. No way she could stand a chance! She helped Soo Young up and dusted her back.

“Am I bleeding from behind?” Soo Young asked dully. CL shook her head and smartened her best friend’s uniform once again. The dust was off the blue jacket and CL gave her a pat on the back.

“You’re fine and good as new now. And no, you’re not bleeding. You must’ve thought you were because of the way the pedal hit you. Don’t come on your own next time.” CL advised. Soo Young smirked at her best friend and together they walked inside the building of learning.

The two were always like this. Their other friend Key was also being harrassed by the group because of his slightly effeminate ways and his manner of speaking. Key wasn’t present so CL and Soo Young knew they had to stick together if they wanted to make it out of this school alive.

“There are times when I just want to crawl in bed, shrink and disappear forever.” Soo Young admitted.

“Don’t think that, Soochi.” ‘Soochi’ was a nickname CL gave Soo Young, a shortened, cuter version of Soo Young-sshi. Soo Young smirked at her and sighed. “Don’t let them affect you. Sure they can break you but if you show them what you’re made of, if you show them that you’re 100% determined to be someone and not just some pushover that they can toss around like salad, they’ll bug off and give you respect.”

“Not them they won’t.” Soo Young said pessimistically. “I’ve been with them since I was 13 years old and no matter how hard I try to appear confident they always find a way to bring me down. Those guys don‘t know what respect means.”

“So don’t let them bring you down. Always walk with your head held high.” CL smiled.

“Been there, done that.” Soo Young shook her head. “You have no idea how tough it was for me, growing up with them. Growing up without a dad and with an indifferent mother and an brother.” A thump of fear came from Soo Young’s heart. Her heart was beating really, really fast as it made her stop in her tracks. CL noticed this and looked to the direction of where she was staring and it too made her stop in her tracks though not as stiff as Soo Young who was scared straight.

“Here they come.” Soo Young murmured. It was the crew that she was most afraid of. The posse of the most popular girls and boys. There they were, walking towarsd them in their beautiful glory. The girls looked more beautiful than ever and the guys were dashing. The nerdy guys tried approaching the hot girls but of course, being the cruel girls that they were, they just turned them down and told them nicely to off.

“You see that? You call that respect?” Soo Young said in between gritted teeth. CL didn’t hear what she said as her eyes were fixed on the mean boys and girls.

There they were. 3 boys and 3 girls. Park Gahee. Nana. UEE. Choi Siwon. Jang Geun Seuk. And their leader, the handsomest boy on campus, Lee Donghae. With his jet black hair and brown-and-black eyes, as well as his sturdy, atheltic physique and his model stance, how could any girl not fall for him? Well Soo Young and CL didn’t fall for him unlike the other girls. To them, they looked past the appearance and saw an ugly beast. A monster. Freddie and Jason combined. The beautiful people strutted down the hall like it was some kind of runway, pushing people aside when they caught sight of CL and Soo Young.

“This is our lucky day.” Nana said.

“As it is everyday.” UEE agreed. The posse walked quickly up to them and the two girls knew this and had to brace themselves for further damage. And yes, Soo Young’s back was still hurting from that very bad fall. The posse was inching closer and closer to them and when they were just a few short inches away, they stopped and stared the two girls down.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t our favorite girls...” UEE said.

“Hahaha. You again? How’s your back Soo Young?” Gahee teased.

“It’s doing fine and I can walk properly, thank you very much.” Soo Young snapped back, trying to appear strong though her voice was trembling.

“Poor girl. Next time it won’t just be your back!” Lee Donghae threatened. Soo Young almost lunged forward and hit him had it not been for CL who held her wrist tightly to control her. She understood how angry Soo Young was, having put up with this all her life. Soo Young just gave them the evil eye and walked away, cussing under her breath.

“Try me and I’ll cut your , you douchebag.”

“What did you just say?” apparently, the leader Donghae heard this and walked over to Soo Young. He was several inches taller than her, and with his muscular stature, he could definitely take her down. Soo Young stood there, intimidated but with all her courage, spat the words she just said.

“I said, try me and I’ll cut your …” Soo Young repeated what she just said. “DOUCHEBAG!” Donghae pursed his lips and clenched his fists in anger. He remembered when Soo Young did what he said and couldn’t talk back. Those days were gone.

“Ah. I see you’re a tough chick now! Talking back and spitting ! You’ve gotten braver!” he teased and eyed her from head to toe, circling around her like a hyena. Soo Young stood stiffly and clutched her books tightly. Not wanting any trouble, CL backed up and left her friend to deal with the big bullies. Donghae grabbed her hair and pulled it, making her head tilt backwards.

“I’m not taking anymore of your , you !” Soo Young muttered with a shaky voice. Out of nowhere, UEE took her books and slammed them down while Donghae fiercely pushed her forward, making her fall to the floor. CL tried to help but Jang Geun Seuk pushed her aside, making her trip. She crawled away from them, being unable to help her friend. Soo Young was down on the floor, flat on her stomach. She rolled around and tried to stand up but Gahee, Nana, and UEE ganged up on her. UEE picked her up by the hair while Nana punched her in the gut, making her fall back on her knees. The guys then began to play their part by beating her senseless, pounding on her and kicking her sides until she screamed for mercy.

“STOP IT! PLEASE! STOP IT!” Soo Young cried. “CL…CL!!!” she called for her friend. CL stood up and ran around, calling random students for help. Before they knew it, there was a huge crowd surrounding them, watching in awe as the big, bad guys bully the skinny outcast. Jang Geun Seuk and Donghae did team work on her, pulling her hair and punching her what seemed like 20 times and hitting her face. They really made her look like a punching bag that thad less cotton in it. Others were rooting for more while the more humane ones tried to break them apart and help the fallen girl, CL being one of them. When the boys finally let go of her and leave her on the floor to suffer. The other students as well as CL rushed to her side to help her up.

“Soochi, are you okay?” CL asked. Soo Young was lying on her side with a slightly purple eye, a busted lip and several wounds on her face and legs. They really treated her like a punching bag! The popular kids just looked at her with disgust like she was a piece of dirt and to make matters worse for her, Donghae picked her books up, arranged them neatly and threw them at her. The poor girl shielded herself with her arms.

“That’s for calling me a douchebag, you loser!” said the most popular boy in school. He and his troupe walked away, shooting dirty looks at her and CL. CL wanted to raise the middle finger so badly but couldn’t as she didn’t want to end up like Soo Young.

“I’m in a world of pain.” Soo Young mumbled but CL heard it. She comforted her friend along with several others. Soo Young kept on rubbing her head and pressing her wounded eye. CL along with a guy and a girl helped her get back on her feet. Even her legs had hematoma, thus making it hard for her walk.

“I think I may have broken a leg. Or an arm.” Soo Young tried to speak.

“Come on, let’s get you some medical help.” CL put one of Soo Young’s arms around her shoulder and asked the other student to do the same. Soo Young limped her way to the clinic, ignoring everyone’s ridiculing and pitiful stares.

In the clinic, she lay on the bed and immediately fell asleep while the nurse checked on her. She was injured badly but there was nothing serious. Nothing to worry about that much except for the fact that she needed to wear band aids and have an ice pack on her eye.

Daddy, I’m sorry… were the words she had in her head before slipping into unconsciousness because of the medicine.

A few minutes later, she woke up and saw CL standing before her. She blinked her eyes which had a blurry vision and tried to take a closer look. It was her best friend standing before her and she wasn’t just hallucinating.

“What happened to me?” she asked with a slurred voice.

“The s beat you up. But you’re okay now.”

“Will I live?”

“Pretty long.” CL smiled. “Now I’ll stay with you here until you’re all better so we can go back to class.” Soo Young snapped awake and sat up, clutching the teddy bear in her arms.

“No. There is no way you are making me go back there and face those heads. Nothing is gonna make me leave this room.” Soo Young said with dread. CL placed her hands on her hips.
“Are you telling me that you’re afraid of them? You’ve given up?” Soo Young’s clutch on the teddy bear loosened as she looked down.

“No but-”

“No? You are giving up! You don’t want to see them because you’re afraid! Soo Young, you shouldn’t be afraid of them.”

“But I am! I am, okay! To be honest with you, your pep talk is not doing me any good. The more I try to appear strong when I see them the more I realize that I’m afraid of them. Seeing them hurt other people and knowing that I’m gonna be next or knowing that I am one of those people that they hurt and talk about, lowers my self-esteem inch by inch by inch. Do you even know how much that hurts?” Soo Young was starting to cry. CL placed her hands down, realizing her friend’s sensitivity. She sat on the bed and held Soo Young’s pale, veiny, and bruised hand.

“I’m glad you admitted, though.” CL said. “It’s good to be honest about how you feel.”

“Earlier you told me to stay strong and now you’re admiring me for being honest? CL, I love you and all but I’m just not getting you right now.” Soo Young said, confused.

“I admire your honesty.” CL repeated. “Only very few people, very few brave people, can admit that they’re afraid. You’re one of them.”

“That makes me a brave person? I can’t even face my own fears.”

“What you did was actually step one of facing your fears. Admitting it.” Soo Young rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from CL’s grasp.

“That’s about as far as I can go. Step one. Step two is confronting it, if I’m not mistaken and that is something that I have no plans of doing.”

“You can’t stay here forever.” CL said, out of words to say. Come to think of it, she actually agreed with Soo Young. There was no way she was going to leave the clinic and face the bullies after what they had done to her this morning.

“I missed out on two classes because of them. What makes you think I can’t skip lunch!”

“You can’t skip lunch! You’re so skinny and you need to fatten up. Plus, who will I eat with?”

“ I don’t know, your other friends?”

“My other friends have other lives. And when they’re in their other lives, they don’t tend to concentrate on me that much, thus making me look like a loner.”

“Well I’m not going out there! I’m not leaving this spot.”

“You have no choice but to leave when the nurse comes back. There’s a limit to how long you can stay here, you know.”

“Not if I tell her that I’m really sick and I need to stay longer.”

“She won’t buy your !” CL hissed back, refusing to lose to her friend. They weren’t really angry, they were just arguing.

“What if she does? Huh, Chae Rin? What if she does?” CL, not wanting to argue with Soo Young anymore, gave up and said.

“Alright fine. If she does, then she does. You win. You stay here for the rest of your life. But in case she doesn’t, I’ll just be at the cafeteria, eating with my “other friends”.”

“Suit yourself. I’m going back to sleep.” Soo Young lay back down and shut her eyes. CL sighed and shook her head. Soo Young was becoming more and more withdrawn each day, refusing to meet new friends and participate in activities. It was making her a coward and this behavioral change worried CL so much. She left the clinic with a heavy and worried heart while her friend enjoyed seclusion from everyone.

I just want you to enjoy life despite of the bull that’s going on. Life’s about you, not them. About us. As friends. And it because all you want to do is hide from the world when the world wants to see you…

The nurse came back as soon as CL left and noticed that Soo Young was still in the clinic. Because of the time limit, though she wanted Soo Young to rest longer because of her physical condition, she had to wake her up.

“Ms. Choi. Ms. Choi.” she shook her and tried to wake her up. Soo Young began to move and look around. The nurse was now standing before her.

“Yeah? What’s going on?”

“I believe you have to leave the clinic and resume your normal schedule.” Soo Young’s heart sank upon hearing this. The feeling of comfort was gone and was replaced with the feeling of dread.

“You don’t understand. I have a really bad headache and my body’s not well yet.”

“You’ve been resting for almost 3 hours now. And your wounds aren’t that bad. I can just give you an ice pack for your eye. Besides, I’ve given you medicine already. You should be feeling better now.”

“B-b-but I’m not. I’m not…yet…better.” she stuttered in fear. The nurse rolled her eyes and tapped Soo Young on the shoulder.

“I’m only following orders. I’ll give you medicine and the ice pack. You can have them for the rest of the day. Now please get up before I report you.” Soo Young sighed heavily and lazily got up, trying her hardest, pleading to the nurse to keep her.

“Oh please can you keep me in here until the end of the day. Please oh please you have no idea what’s waiting for me out there! This is a matter of life and death!” Soo Young begged, almost on her knees but the nurse refused.

“Why are you so afraid anyways?”

“You don’t need to know that. It’s private and embarrassing.” Soo Young was now kneeling before the nurse.

“What you’re doing now is embarrassing so please. If you don’t have a good reason to stay, if you can’t give me a good reason to stay, better leave.” the nurse was clearly pissed off and wasn’t having any of her nonesense anymore. Soo Young sighed heavily and limply made her way out of the clinic but before she could get far, the nurse emerged from the clinic and called her out.

“Ms. Choi!” Great joy filled her heart when she heard the nurse call her name. She thought the nurse was going to allow her to stay longer but when she turned around, the nurse had the ice pack and pills in her hands. “The ice pack and pills.” Soo Young smirked and shook her head.

“Keep them! I’m only gonna look like an idiot and it’ll make me stay in the clinic longer.” Soo Young walked away from the nurse and headed to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was just right across the clinic so it wasn’t a long an excruciating walk for Soo Young.

The cafeteria was filled with students. Everyone she knew and didn’t know were there and that made it hard for her to find CL. This was when Soo Young felt most vulnerable, when she was alone. Heck, she’d feel vulnerable whenever she was with CL, what more on her own? Her heart beat accelerated and her legs were starting to go all wobbly because of nervousness. Confusion and fear began to settle on her and this made her go all dizzy, bumping into anyone and everyone, pissing more people off.

“Hey watch where you’re going!” seized one student. Soo Young turned and apologized to her and kept going, looking left and right for CL. In her desperate search for her only friend, she bumped into the person she tried so hard not to run into.

Lee Donghae. Soo Young bumped into him and knocked his tray down. The minute his food and drinks spilled on the floor, she knew she was in trouble.

“Do you have eyes?” he asked in a gentlemanly manner. Soo Young was sitting on the floor, staring at him, petrified by fear. Not being able to formulate an answer, Soo Young dumbly nodded her head.

“Well use those eyes the next time you’re walking around. I’m not an ant, Soo Young. I’m sure you saw me. Unless what you did was intentional…” he said. Soo Young’s eyes widened and she quickly shook her head, trembling in fear.

“No. No it wasn’t,”

“Yeah. Yeah I think it was. You saw me but since you’re badass now, you decided to just brush me off and hit me, proving that you are indeed a changed woman…” the scenario caused many to look, including CL. She won the bet but she wished that her friend had stayed in the clinic longer.

“I didn’t-” the moment of intense fear came when Donghae grabbed her arm and helped her up. At first she thought it was an act of kindness but knowing Donghae for four years, not a chance! Donghae even pretended to be nice to her by dusting her jacket and fixing her hair. Soo Young could only hope for the worst.

“I swear I didn’t mean it. I saw you but-” Soo Young couldn’t speak properly and her sentence was stopped when she saw Donghae grab the rice meal that was on the floor. He swept the rice back into the bowl and stood back up. Soo Young and Donghae had a staring contest before Donghae opened his mouth to speak.

“Eat your mess, you !” Donghae said in between gritted teeth and threw the rice bowl at Soo Young. It hit her head and spilled rice, meat, and sauce all over her. Gahee, Nana, and UEE, who were always game for some naughtiness, began to throw their lunches at her.

“See how you like your food being thrown.” Gahee said as she spilled juice and kimchi on Soo Young. Soo Young just stood there, frozen and embarrassed. CL ran to her aid but UEE saw this and confronted Chae Rin.
“You again? Look, I know you want to get your kicked but we’re still busy with your friend over here so wait in line!” UEE shoved CL hard before the latter had even time to counter, making her fall back.

“This girl likes dumping food, huh? Let’s see how she likes it when food gets dumped on her!” Donghae led the mean people (which made up majority of the population at the cafeteria) in throwing food and spilling drinks on Soo Young. Soo Young tried to shield herself but it was no use. She was already a mess and the people were getting more and more violent as they pushed her to the floor and continued to aim food at her. CL, along with a few good souls, ran out to get help. They ran into the principal and directed him to the cafeteria.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” the principal demanded in a loud voice. Everyone stopped and turned to the speaker. The huge circle parted and gave way as he walked towards the victim. There he saw Soo Young, still bruised and hurting from the first assault, on the floor with food and leftovers dumped on her.

“WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!” no one came forward and no one wanted to point Donghae out. They knew Donghae was rich and could run them over and they loved and feared Donghae too much.

“HE WAS!” a brave soul pointed at Donghae. That brave soul was Minho, Soo Young’s brother. Soo Young looked up and saw him point an accusing finger at Donghae. She cursed him over and over in her head despite standing up for her.

You were here the whole time and you didn’t even help me? You little, betraying prick!

Donghae came over to the principal with a smug face, bringing his posse with him.

“Young girl, stand up.” Soo Young, despite the injuries, helped herself up and followed them limply. The mean posse stared at her. If looks could kill, she would already be lying in a pool of her own blood.

[AT THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE]

“How long has this been going on?” asked the principal

“4 years, sir.” Soo Young said with a pokerface. Donghae smirked and shook his head.

“Why have you been treating her like this for 4 years, young man?” the principal asked. Donghae and his friends couldn’t provied a logical and acceptable answer.
“Because…I don’t know. We just want to.”

“That is not a valid reason! You have no right to be this way to Soo Young. 4 years? Of bullying? You’ve not grown tired of it? You must have some personal hate for this girl to be able to keep that act up for 4 years straight!” Nobody spoke but the principal.

“I believe I have no other choice. I’m going to have to punish you guys. The six of you will be subjected to community service for 2 weeks.” their eyes widened at their punishment.

“WHAT? This is impossible! This can’t be!” Soo Young was smiling a nervous smile deep down inside of her. She was happy that they were being punished yet scared because she knew worse things were to come.

“Soo Young, you are free to go. I shall deal with them privately.” Soo Young bowed before him and exited the principal’s office a menu of mess. The posse couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

“Two weeks of community service? Are you kidding me?” Donghae demanded before the principal. The principal crossed his arms and arched his eyebrow.

“My decision is final. And yes, I am serious. You are dismissed. Do not forget to report to the library after school hours.” Donghae and his posse stood up and left the principal’s office together with sour looks on their faces.

[LATER THAT NIGHT]

“Mom ain’t here yet?” Soo Young asked Minho as she tried to make her way in. Minho looked at her and shook his head.

“Nope. She ain’t.” Minho followed her with his gaze as she comfortably made her way inside. She was all messy, smelled of leftover food, and had a lot of wounds. Minho wanted to poke fun at her but knew better at this moment than to piss her off.

“You had a rough day, huh?” was all he could say. By some kind of miracle, Soo Young just turned to him and nodded her head.

“You said it.”

“God it must be hard being you.” Soo Young ignored his comment and made her way up to her room to take a shower and change into comfortable clothes. Minho understood her feelings though she didn’t speak. He sat back and watched television while waiting for the pizza he had delivered to their house.
After a few minutes, Soo Young came down and sat next to Minho. Together they watched TV while waiting for their food.

“Where’d mom go?” asked Soo Young.

“She went out with her old lady friends. She said they’d have some cocktails.”

“Did she ask about me?”

“No. But I’d like to ask about you. What is up with those guys who threw-” Soo Young covered his mouth with her hand and said angrily.

“Do not talk about this when mom is around. Don’t even think of bringing it up, okay!” she warned.

“MMMMFFFFMFMMM” Minho tried to speak with her hand over his mouth. Soo Young removed it an he was now able to speak freely.

“Why do they do that to you?” Soo Young leaned back and sighed.

“I don’t know. I have no idea why. I just seem to be a favorite when it comes to bullies.”

“You gotta stand up for yourself, y’know. Show ‘em who’s got swagger.” Minho tried to make light of the situation but Soo Young was obviously in no mood for it.

“Tried that. That was the exact same thing CL told me. Minho, you have no idea who I’m dealing with right here. These are brutal, beautiful people. People that, if I go against, will mean getting the entire school to hate me.” Being younger than her and knowing nothing about being bullied, he just sighed and said.

“Must really to be you.” Soo Young looked at him and nodded sheepishly

“You have no idea how correct you are.”

to be me.