“Me?” I find myself repeating that a lot these days. Simply because, I can’t comprehend why people keep calling me out or seeking me out. 

Mino nods slightly before letting my wrist go, to my relief.  

Sanghee stood beside me, staring at him hard. I’m sure she was just as lost as I felt. Like why Mino would be waiting for me. And why he was alone again. 

…Soon, so will I.

“Well, I got to go.” Sanghee blurts and decides to leave me. I grabbed her arm before she could go anywhere. She can't just ditch me. She sighs and turns to Mino before walking up to him. “I have to go but if you bully her, I’ll come find you.” She turns to me and gives me a smile as if she had done me a favor. “Bye, Jiwoo.” 

Dumfounded by her carefree attitude, I merely watched her waltz away. 

That was so unlike her. Where was the brash Sanghee that needed to make an appearance when I needed her to? 

I breathed out and looked back up at the boy. “…Why are you looking for me?” 

Mino opens his mouth to respond but I hear someone else’s voice instead.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Hanbin didn’t bother to make his tone friendly upon casually appearing, as Jinhwan and Bobby stop behind him. 

“The hell is your problem?” Mino retorts, his mannerisms did a 180 at that moment.  His expression stiffened and his hands are tucked into his pant’s pockets. 

I didn’t know what to do, so I awkwardly stood on the side, waiting for the minute I can sneak away.  Déjà vu. Except one major person was missing. My runaway accomplice, Yunhyeong.

Hanbin walked up to him, smug at the fact that Mino was outnumbered. “Looking for some friends?”

“You talk a lot for someone who only has two.” Mino shots back. 

My eyes dart between the two as they make their exchanges. I know I shouldn’t find it funny but if you saw two boys, one who had a puffed up eye and the other whose face was spotted with purple, just in each other faces, you would find it quite humorous too.

“That’s two more than what you have.” Hanbin answers and it does its job to rile Mino up. Hanbin suddenly scoffs as he now takes a notice at the boy’s appearance. “What’s with your face?”

“What’s with your eye?” Mino doesn’t fall behind on the insults. “Oh right, little weak Yunhyeong did that.” Mino pressed his lips into a taunting smile meant to irritate Hanbin. And, it was doing a good job. “Who would have thought Hanbin would fall behind little Yunhyeong.”

Hanbin his lips, trying his best to suppress his anger. “You’re just like how you were when you were five.” 

Wait a minute. This has taken an interesting turn. 

“Cool? Awesome?” Mino responds. “Still better than you?”

Hanbin marched up and Mino also took a step forward to meet him. “No. You’re still ugly and dumb.” 

Ha. False alarm. Mistaken immaturity for ‘interesting’. 

Mino glared back. “Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?”

“No, because my name isn’t Mino.” Hanbin says as he bites down on his teeth. “So, I’m not ugly or dumb.”

“Yes. You. Are.” Mino answers back, his voice dropping lower than normal.

“No. I’m. Not.” 

I breathed out, suddenly losing interest in this altogether. I thought people said these guys were tough? Were they not aware of their elementary-level of trash talking? 

And, what happened with Hanbin not wanting to cause trouble? 

I guess that’s now out the window…

I smacked my lips together as I took a glance around. My eyes rounded in surprise seeing the people that had gathered in the proximity of Mino and Hanbin’s childish argument. My head flipped from side to side, seeing the students circling us in. 

“What in the…world?” I mumbled to myself. I looked back at the two attention-gathering high schoolers to see them still staring each other down – oblivious to the free entertainment they were providing for the other students. 

I was about to say something when I thought of something better.

I can just walk away.

None of this concerned me so why was I still here? I came back to my senses and spun on my heels to break through the little circle. But, I felt a tug on my backpack that refused to let me leave. I gaped as I looked at Mino, the person responsible for the action.

“Where are you going?”

Why was he so quick to notice? “I have a bus to catch.” So, please let me go. Just return to your little argument with Hanbin.

“Let’s go together.” 

Those were his words to me and I couldn’t stop the next word coming out of my own mouth. “Huh?”

“Hey.” Hanbin walked forward and pulled Mino’s grip away from my backpack. “Go find your own lackey.”

Lackey? I nearly scoffed but controlled myself. Because honestly, it didn’t really matter to me. I just wanted to get home and if it made Hanbin happy to call me that so that I can leave, then he can knock himself out.

Mino gives Hanbin a look. “Lackey?”

“Tell him.” Hanbin nods his head to give me the ‘go-ahead’. Why does he always do that? 

I sigh. “I’m his lackey.” Should I be embarrassed that I said that with my own mouth? Yet, thinking it over, I didn't care. After all, it was priority to get out of here. Mino took a good few seconds to just stare at me. I got really self-conscious under his gaze and diverted my attention towards Hanbin. “Can I go…now?” 

With a flick of his hands, Hanbin gave me permission. Permission that I was going to gladly take advantage of. I haven’t seen him so nice in the days we’ve been associated with each other. 

I happily nodded my head before spinning back around. 

“Red backpack.”

I closed my eyes to compose myself before facing Hanbin again. “Yes?” I’m not lying when I say this. The smile that appeared on his lips made a shiver travel down my spine.

“I’ll need your ‘fixing’ tomorrow too.”

Ugh. He wouldn’t need any ‘fixing’ if he just stayed out of trouble…like me.

Hanbin needs a lesson in the Wuss department. I’ll school his . 

But, of course, I kept that thought to myself.

***

It is no exaggeration when I say that the past two days has been absolute hell for me. It was as if Hanbin went home and went above and beyond to think of every way possible to make me miserable. I know he was set out to do that because of his bad eye but, God, he wasn’t giving me any break.

Didn’t he get tired?

I’m sure he needed to use brainpower to think of his despicable ideas…. or does it just come naturally for the sadist? 

The kid called me out whenever he had a chance. Be it to grab his books from his locker, or carry out the little habit of his by ordering me to get water. If it weren’t cold, he would force me to get new water until it reached his term of perfect temperature. He even made me tie his shoelaces and it had to be a certain way. No, you didn’t read that wrong. He made me do it.

I had to squat down and everything.

It’s not really a memory I wanted to think about again. It hurts my pride each time. I mean, whatever pride I have left. 

And how about that role he has forced upon me – “fixer”. I would like to mention again that I would never be worthy of that role. First, I was a wuss – we don’t have qualities of a “fixer”, we don’t fix, we escape and leave the situation as i