Ever since I woke up, I just laid here.

There was absolutely nothing that would make me want to get up and get ready for school. Because the human form of Satan is, without a doubt, going to be there. His mind was probably filled with bad and diabolical ideas on continuing to make my life miserable. 

Oh, then there’s that problem with Sanghee. How exactly was I going to keep this thing between Hanbin and me, a secret? No matter how I looked at it, it was an impossible feat that couldn’t be accomplished. Even if I was the best liar in the world.

Totally not saying that I want to be a good liar. 

Because even though I am on the right path on turning into a liar, I didn’t want to be one.

“Jiwoo, you’re going to be late!”

Ugh. Don’t rush me, Jimin. I’m in the middle of moping. 

With a sigh, I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I took a look at my forearm where the injury was, it was about time to change the bandage. I didn’t expect it to be such a bad scrape but of course, it’ll be worse than what I expected. 

I tossed out the old and took the last bandage from the box. 

It was literally one of the hardest days to get ready. From brushing my teeth to putting my uniform on – it was terribly hard. School was supposed to be a safe place. A sanctuary where students can come learn and hang out with their friends. Instead, it has become a hell and anything but, safe. 

And I owe my thanks to Hanbin the Great. 

I got a little taste yesterday at lunch at how life was going to be from now on and I can tell you now that I wasn’t excited. 

***

“Unnie, you’re taking me to school today, right?” I stared at her, praying hard that she will. I didn’t need to start my morning off with meeting Mino and his friends on that bus. 

With her eyes still on her newspaper, she answers. “Yup. We’ll leave in five minutes.”

Five minutes closer to my scheduled misery. 

“Jiwoo, still nothing to share?”

I stared across the breakfast table at Jiyoon. Oh boy, don’t I have things to share. I didn’t know where to start. The situation with Hanbin or the one with Mino? Hm, they’re both such great stories that I’m having trouble choosing. 

Jiyoon always had enjoyed funny stories so I’m sure she would laugh her off at either one of them. Because my luck was simply laughable.

“I guess nothing, huh?” Jiyoon looked at me with sheer disappointment when I failed to answer right away. 

But what Jiyoon wanted to hear isn’t what I wanted to share. “Nothing.” I ended up saying.  

“Are kids getting less handsome?” Jiyoon mumbled to herself. 

No, they’re just getting jerkier instead. Though, I kept that thought to myself. 

“Anyways, guess what, guys?” Jiyoon gleefully switched the subject. “I got a date tonight.”

“Oh, really?” Jimin asked without particular interest.

“That’s great, unnie.” I was still lost in my thoughts about how I was going to survive today to give her a proper answer.

“You guys look happy for me.” Jiyoon’s sarcastic words were said to make us feel bad but it did nothing to gather our attention. 

First of all, her getting a date was nothing new. Instead, we’ve heard those same words at least once every week. Second of all, we don’t think we’ll ever stop hearing those words, and lastly, we already know how the date will end so no use in pumping her up for it. 

“We are happy for you.” Jimin spoke up again, her eyes still scanning the today’s paper. “But, it’s time for us to go.” I shoot up from my chair as Jimin finishes the last bit of her coffee and fold the newspaper up, placing it on the table. 

Jiyoon scoffs and stares at us in disbelief. “Yeah, nice conversation we had there.” 

I give her a quick smile and wave before following Jimin out the front door. We took the familiar route and Jimin kindly drops me off in front of the school gates. “Have a good day, Jiwoo.”

I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. “I’ll try my best to.” I give her a half-hearted answer before turning away and walking through the tall gates. 

It was no illusion. My steps felt heavy and there was this voice inside of me, screaming for me to either skip school or find a good hiding spot where no one will find me – 

“Jiwoo, we need to talk.” 

I jumped at the sudden voice, only to turn to find Donghyuk walking beside me. I composed myself seeing that it wasn’t him. “What is there for us to talk about?” I cleared my throat and casually looked around to see if Hanbin was just waiting around for when I arrived. 

“Is Hanbin bullying you?” Donghyuk asked with his eyes wide with determination to get to the bottom of what the hell was going on. “You can tell me if he is.”

This was pure ridiculousness. “What can you do about it, Donghyuk?” I continued walking towards the school’s entrance as he continued following me. 

“Well, I’m President of the student council.” He straightens up and declares. “It’s my job to make sure no student is bullied or harassed or –“

“Donghyuk, you should worry about yourself before getting into other people’s matters.” I advised. Asking Donghyuk for help is like basically asking a lamb to protect you from a lion. This boy would just get a second serving of whooping and I would still have to face Hanbin and his desire to torture me. 

And I was being kind, if you couldn’t tell. I was looking out for the poor kid, whose face just recently returned back to its normal skin tone instead of the blue and purple. 

“Seriously, is Hanbin blackmailing you or doing anything illegal towards you?”

“No, Donghyuk.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll protect you, Jiwoo.”

“Listen, there’s nothing going on.” I emphasized.

“And did you see his eye? Jiwoo, he’s bad news. He must have gotten into another fight.” Donghyuk concludes to himself. “Must have been a bad fight if Hanbin got such a bruise, I wonder how the other guy turned out…” 

“Uh –“ That’s not really how it happened. The actual story seemed a little less serious and a little more humorous now that I was thinking about it. “That’s not it.” I ended up denying his far-from-the-truth theory. 

“Admitting you’re being bullied is the first step in solving this problem.” Donghyuk continued to ignore my words – like he has always done.

“Listen to me.” I made him focus. “Donghyuk, do not do anything. You hear me?” I might end up suffering more if he did. 

“So, he is bullying you.” The boy concluded on his own and it was making me agitated.

Goddammit. Listen to me. “No! –“ The random buzzing from my phone distracted me from finishing the thought. I pulled it out to see a text from an unknown number.

Come back to the entrance. Now.

My brows furrowed as I tried to decipher what the message meant and who it came from. But, judging from the bossy words, I would be dumb to not know who it belonged to.

Another buzz brought me back to focus.

I remember saying, ‘now’.

Got it. Jeez. 

Without giving Donghyuk any excuse, I hurried from my spot to the school’s gate. There, the devil stood with his two accomplices and a girl…I looked closer and realized who the girl was. Well, isn’t it Sanghee trying to play the superhero again.

“Sanghee!” I called out as I rushed towards her. Hanbin didn’t look so amused by whatever Sanghee was saying but, Jinhwan and Bobby stared on in surprise. 

“- I’m not going to stand on the side while you bully my friend.” I were clearly ignored as she continued to yell at Hanbin. “So, if you want to get to her, you’ll have to go through -“ 

My hand shot out to cover . I gave a pressed smile for show. “Now, Sanghee. We’ve talked about causing problems, didn’t we?” I kindly reminded her. 

She pried my hand from before turning her anger on me. “No, you look here, Jiwoo. That was you, not me.”

Sanghee stood facing me as the three boys nonchalantly brushed past us. 

“Hey, I’m not done talking to you!”

Before she could go after them again. I slid in front of her. “Sanghee.” I placed my ha