Junhong stood still with his head hung heavily, looking down at his feet.

 

“This isn’t fair…” he mumbled quietly hoping it wouldn’t be heard. Luck was clearly not on his side today because he could hear Mr. Bang grumble beside him.

 

“NOT FAIR JUNHONG? YOU CLEARLY STOLE THE $400 FROM THAT GIFT SHOP!”

 

Junhong winced in fear and backed away from his teacher. His hands were visibly shaking but his face so emotionless it was scary. He didn’t want to show any weakness in his expression. He had nothing to be afraid of anyways, because he didn’t steal that money.

 

“I told you Mr. Bang I didn’t steal the money. Why won’t you believe me?” Junhong replied calmly.

 

“Listen to me Junhong, you were the only one missing from the dining hall before the clerk found out that the money was missing. Would you mind explaining that?” Mr. Bang pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm down.

 

“Yeah, I was in the bathroom. How many times do I have to tell you that? I didn’t steal the money. It was probably Jiho’s gang who are the culprits if you ask me!” Junhong said and raised his voice a bit too loud for his own liking.

 

He was pissed that Mr. Bang would even consider accusing him of stealing the money. He thought Mr. Bang was the only teacher he could trust in this entire school but it turns out he was just like any of the other teachers who has clearly given up on Junhong as a student.

 

Mr. Bang sighed and patted Junhong’s shoulders, “Look Junhong, I know that their group hasn’t been nice to you but that doesn’t mean you can put the blame on them and call them a gang. How about you and I just go up to the gift shop, apologize to the clerk, give him back all his money and continue with this trip hmm? We can act as if nothing happened. He will forgive you if you step up now Junhong.”

 

Mr. Bang said as he tried to butter Junhong up a bit. It sounded more like begging than a command from a teacher to a student but it was enough to get Junhong fuming.

 

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?! HAVEN’T BEEN NICE TO ME? HAVE YOU SEEN THE STUFF THEY’VE DONE TO ME OR ARE YOU ADULTS TOO BLIND TO EVEN CONSIDER A BULLYING EVENT HAPPENING IN YOUR SCHOOL?!” Junhong yelled from the bottom of his throat and the sound was even worse than nails on a chalkboard.

 

He bunched up his hands into a fist and his whole body was shaking now.

 

“You, you of all people should know that I would never have stolen that amount of money. I thought I could trust you to understand me. Are you really that blind Mr. Bang? Do you actually think these scars on my arms and legs are from ‘accidents’?”

 

Junhong lifted his sleeves as he pointed out the bruises and scars that were slowly fading from his body. Some of them looked new like they’ve just been made a few hours ago. Mr. Bang’s eyes widen at the sight but he didn’t say anything, too shocked to even speak.

 

“Those s are smart. They use my body like a punching bag but never touch my face. You know why? Because if they did the teachers would eventually find out what’s been happening right under their nose all this time.” Junhong scoffed, “Adults like you aren’t even as smart as them.”

 

He pulled down his sleeves and started rubbing on his forearms. The scratches were still burning from his earlier encounter with Jiho’s group.

 

“Was… was that why you were in the bathroom?” Mr. Bang spoke up after a long silence.

 

Junhong looked up and him with mock in his eyes.

 

“At least one of the teachers in this school is smart.”

 

Mr. Bang shifted his weight from one leg to the other and stared at Junhong. He felt sorry for accusing the boy for doing such things when he was the victim himself.

 

“So that amount of money… you didn’t steal it… did you?” He asked again, this time trying to be more careful and use a slower approach. Junhong exhaled heavily and hunched back down into his seat opposite Mr. Bang.

 

“No sir, I didn’t steal it. I swear.” Mr. Bang looked at Junhong’s face and his expression was unreadable, it was just like a sheet of paper: blank. But for some reason he believed Junhong. He believed that the boy was telling the truth, from the bullying to the crime. Mr. Bang relaxed his shoulders and pointed to the door.

 

“You can go back to your room now. I’ll talk to Jiho and his group.” He said and turned around before he could see Junhong’s expression.

 

But somewhere between the sound of the boy standing up and the slam of the door, Mr. Bang could hear a sigh of relief.

 

I wonder if it was the right thing trusting that boy

 

The next morning all the students assembled in the dining hall of the motel to get breakfast. Junhong mindlessly pecked at his food with his fork, too emotionally and physically drained to even eat. He looked at the other students around him who were talking happily with their friends and throwing food at each other. He scoffed.

 

What a bunch of losers.

 

Then he felt something cold being thrown at the back of his neck. He looked back and quickly realized it was Jiho again, holding a bag or frozen peas.

 

“HEY IDIOT! MIND TELLING ME WHAT YOU BLABBERED TO MR. BANG ABOUT LAST NIGHT?!” he yelled from across the table and threw another handful or peas at Junhong.

 

What does this er want?

 

“I told him what I told him. Now for once in your life quite down Jiho.” Junhong tried to say with his calmest expression but failed miserably when he felt his lips quivering.

 

“HA! What was that? Say that again you !” Jiho flew over the table and was now right behind Junhong.

 

“I said-”

 

He lifted Junhong’s collar and the boy could feel the bully’s breath tickling his cheeks as eyes grazed his. Eyes of a predator.

 

“If you don’t confess that YOU stole the money I’ll ing rip out your rib bones and feed it to my dog.” He said with a menacing tone and tugged at Junhong’s neck even tighter, cutting off his oxygen supply and leaving him in a gagging mess. “You got that?! Answer me you little-”

 

“That’s enough Woo Jiho!” a strong voice came from behind Jiho and the boy frantically turned back, dropping Junhong’s collar. Junhong gasped for air as the oxygen rushed back to his lungs.

 

“I found this in you room.”

 

Mr. Bang held up a backpack and dumped out the contents of it. A couple of water guns, some condoms and a stack of money.

 

“Exactly $400, what are the odds huh?” Mr. Bang said in a mocking tone as he flipped through the money. “Oh… and you won’t need these.” He swept up the condoms and dumped them in the trash.

 

The whole dining hall erupted with laughter as they saw Jiho and the rest of his group heat up like a light bulb about to burst.

 

“…” Jiho whispered under his breathe.

 

“You sir are coming with me.”

 

Mr. Bang dragged Jiho buy the ear and out of the sight of the other students.

 

He could have sworn that he saw Junhong smile. He also could have sworn that he heard the boy mumble a little ‘thank you’ to him. But he’ll save those thoughts for another time.

 

 

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thanks for reading guys hopefully I'll have better ones to come ~~~