III

Sora was not prepared for this development. Sehun waited for her after school and now they were sitting at a park nearby.

“Do you know me?” He asked. 

Sora stayed silent, unsure of how to reply. It felt like an eternity before her lips slightly quivered and answered. 

“No.”

“Then why do you keep giving me weird looks,” his voice building with frustration. Sora didn’t dare look up. She couldn’t deny she kept glancing over at him, but she couldn’t tell him the truth either…No. She could. Just not the whole truth.

“I…want to be your friend.” 

Sehun wasn’t expecting that. His ears became red with anger. So was she just another girl that wanted to get close to him because of his looks or his friends? 

“Well I don’t want you to be. So stop looking at me.” Venom in his voice. They always start off saying they want to be friends. Such lies.

“What can I do so that you’d be friends with me?” Sora faintly asked, her hands grasping together to feel any sense of security. 

“Nothing.” He began to stand up before Sora desperately reached for his hand. Sehun quickly slapped her hand away. “Don’t you dare touch me.” His eyes piercing into hers. Honestly, he was disappointed, he thought she was different.

And Sehun was gone, just like that.

He stomped the whole way home, irritated. What she said still didn’t explain the sadness in her eyes every time she looked at him. He hastily opened the door to his apartment, completely ignoring the existence of his mother in the kitchen. Slamming the door, he kicked off his shoes and hurried to his room. He was already in a bad mood, he didn’t want to make it worse by being near his mother. 

Yoojin pressed her lips together, unable to make a sound. Sehun didn’t even acknowledge her existence as he passed by. When was the last time Sehun simply looked at me?  Her hands were busy slicing onions for dinner, but her thoughts wandered. She only blamed herself for how Sehun felt about her…yet she didn’t regret being with Sora. She only prayed that Sehun could forgive her and call her mom once more. 

Tears gathered in her eyes and she accidentally cut herself, blood starting to ooze out of her finger. Something in her broke and she stabbed the knife into the cutting board. Her knees felt weak and she crouched to the floor, sobbing at how her beloved son hated her. 

Sehun quickly shut the door, the sounds of his mom crying were bothering him. Something tugged at his heart, but he quickly dismissed it; Yoojin deserved this. It’s all her fault…Her’s and that girl’s.

The next day soon came and school was about to start once more. Sora made her way to her seat, her hand running through her hair.

“Hey Sora.” 

Her eyes turned to meet with Baekhyun’s.

“Hey.”

“How do you like our school so far?”

“It’s…great. I really like it here.” A soft expression appeared on her face.

“That’s good. Where did you go to school before here?” It had been on his mind, but he didn’t know when would be a good time to ask.

Sora stiffened and sadness flashed across her face. Her lips slightly parted, when the teacher opened the door. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. 

Baekhyun noticed the whole thing. Her sudden lack of movement; a dull expression of sadness. And her sigh of relief when the teacher came in, allowing her to avoid the question. But why? He was confused. Was she bullied at her last school? 

Sehun soon followed after the teacher.

“Oh Sehun. You’re late. What's your reason?” Mrs. Jung questioned with her arms crossed.

“I helped an old lady get her luggage to her house.” His face was straight and no one could tell if it was a lie or not. If Mrs. Jung accused him of lying and it was actually the truth, she would look terrible.

“I-I see. Hurry and take your seat.”

He quickly bowed and made his way to his seat, Sora staring at him once again. He glared back.

The bell for lunch rang and Sehun stood up and faced Sora.

“I told you to stop looking at me, are you ing retarded?” All eyes were on them.

Sora remained silent. She only glanced over twice, but that was because he kept shaking his leg so hard that it started to shake her desk too.

“You think just because you’re a little pretty, I would treat you differently? You’re wrong. So off.” Sehun knew he was going overboard, but he had pent up anger from last night. His mom wouldn’t stop crying throughout the night and he couldn’t sleep until 3 am. That’s why he was late.

Baekhyun rushed over, “Sehun stop.” He hasn’t seen him be this mean to a girl before.

Sehun kicked her desk before leaving. 

Hyejin and all the other girls in the class ran to Sora.

“Are you okay?"

"That Sehun is so mean, you didn’t even do anything!”

“I was sitting next to her and she looked at him, like, one time. Who does Sehun think he is?”

“I’ll buy you lunch today okay? Let’s go. It’s okay.” Hyejin finally said.

Sora lifted her head, no tears and no sign of hate or pain on her face.

“I’m fine, thanks for worrying about me. Let’s go Hyejin.” 

The girls were in awe. Sora must have a strong heart to stand that. If only they knew. Sora was weirdly relieved when Sehun yelled at her. She was committing a sin against this boy for as long as she can remember and she wanted to feel his anger. She deserved it, so she felt no ill towards Sehun. She’s done much worse to him anyways.

“Sehun, what happened back there? Why were you so mean to Sora?” Baekhyun asked him as they sat down at their table.

“Isn’t Sora that new girl?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yeah, she’s hot,” Kyungsoo smirked. Joonmyeon rolled his eyes. “Calm yourself Kyungsoo.”

“She kept looking at me…It was annoying.” Sehun muttered.

“What are you saying? She had her eyes on the teacher most of the time. I sit behind her, I would know.” Baekhyun added.

“...Did something happen with…Yoo-“ 

“Don’t say her name.” Sehun cut Jongin off. The table grew tense.

So something did happen. They all thought.

Lunch ended and class resumed. The days were getting colder, so the school had begun to use the heaters in the room. A warm room right after lunch was getting to Sehun, especially since he got barely any sleep last night. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

“Sehun. Answer number three,” Mr. Lee stated. 

Sehun's eyes shot open, slightly panicked. Did he fall asleep?

Sora took notice and swiftly wrote the answer on the corner of her notebook and quietly coughed, loud enough for only Sehun to hear.

His eyes darted to her notebook and pursed his lips. He didn’t want her help, but there was no choice.

“The answer is B.”

“Correct. You may sit down.” Mr. Lee continued his lecture.

“I won’t thank you.” Sehun whispered to Sora.

“I never asked for it.” Sora replied, her eyes never leaving the front. 

He was slightly stunned by her response. Wouldn’t most people ask for something in return for their help? At least, that’s how people in his mind worked.

School ended and people were shuffling out of the room once more. Sora was one of the first to leave, ready to go home. She loved school, and she was finally making friends, but she’s never been in an environment with so many people before. Her mind was tired. She was used to being isolated at the hospital. On a lucky day, there would be a couple of kids her age, but they soon left when they were healthy. 

She reached her apartment where the receptionist, Jinju, greeted her.

They conversated for a short while before Sora went up to her room. She was still getting used to the real world, and honestly, she felt a little lonely. Her body laid on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. The hospital was always her home, so she was always being monitored, and most importantly, Yoojin spent countless nights with her. Sora could remember in her final years, Yoojin came more often, her expression downcast. She would tell Sora about Sehun and how he had been ignoring her. Yoojin didn’t mean to make Sora feel bad, she was only looking for an outlet to release her emotions, and she felt so calm with Sora. Their bond seemed to be more than just mom and daughter sometimes.

Sora swiftly got up, it was useless wallowing in her memories. She grabbed some money and decided to get some groceries. A smile soon appeared on her lips as she decided to fly over. People tend to believe it’s just a large bird anyways. 

She focused on the two marks on her back and soon, beautiful white wings emerged. With one gust, she rose into the sky, the cold air prickling her face. One of the best parts of being an angel were the wings. It made her feel so alive when she knew she was dead. Her body flipped and she faced the night sky. Closer up, she could see the stars twinkle in the darkness. Her hands reached out; it felt like she could just touch these burning balls of heat. 

It was her favorite thing to do.

She soon swooped down into a tree near the market, just in case someone was watching. Her wings quickly retracted as she made her way to buy some food.