School was finally beginning again. At home, Sunmi and Jaemi were almost installed and everything was going perfect; well, at least it was normal. Sungyeol still wasn’t comfortable with the situation, and he and Sunmi didn’t get along too well. But they never had a fight, and Jaemi was slowly growing in Sungyeol’s heart.

That morning, the parents looked more excited for school than the kids. Waking up early, going to the bus stop, wearing the school uniform and eating sleepy were only some of the things that annoyed them.

Hyunsung and Jaemi said goodbye to them with a smile on their faces; Sungyeol growled in a low voice while Sunmi acted like she didn’t know them. They walked to the bus stop in silence; half because they were still sleepy, and half because they didn’t really want to. Sunmi was practically following Sungyeol, since it was the first time she was going to that school. They walked together and got on the bus together, but it was like they didn’t know each other; it was only because they had to.

Once they arrived to the school, Sungyeol pointed the way to the office and told her she needed to ask there to know her classes. Then he walked away, leaving her alone.

When the boy left, Sunmi almost panicked. She hated being “the new one”, and she didn’t even want to change schools; she had friends and was perfect at her previous one. Another reason to be mad at his mother.

She started to walk slowly, trying not to show that she was scared. The lady at the office smiled at her, which made Sunmi feel better, and handed a paper to her. Classes were starting soon, so she rushed outside to find her classroom.

Sunmi’s heart started to race when she felt lost. Even if she didn’t actually like Sungyeol, she wished he was there; a known face among all the people in the hallways. She was looking for the classroom, then looking at her paper again. Doing it a few times made her forget she was walking, and she bumped into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” The boy asked before she could say anything.

“Y-Yeah…” Sunmi replied, grabbing her head. Her paper fell to the ground; the guy took it and looked at it. “Oh! You’re new to this school?” He had a really beautiful smile; warm, sweet and made his eyes look small in a cute way. She nodded.

“I’m Song Sunmi.”

“Nam Woohyun.” The guy replied still smiling, and she smiled back. “I can help you find your class, if you want…”

“Oh, that would be great.” Sunmi kindly said; Woohyun pointed the way and they walked together.

*******

“How are things at home?” Sungjong asked his friend at lunchtime.

“Awful.” Sungyeol replied, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Why?” The boy seemed surprised. “Did something happen?”

“Well, two strangers moved in with me. But I thought you already knew that.”

Sungjong rolled his eyes while eating; Myungsoo glanced at Sungyeol, who wasn’t paying attention to anything but his food. He knew he was exaggerating, and that made him want to know how exactly his life was now. Sunmi wasn’t a bad girl, and he was sure her mother was a nice woman… but there was something than Sungyeol just couldn’t accept, and he wanted to know what it was.

The cafeteria was full of people, so they could hear students speaking even if they weren’t moving their mouths. But something caught Sungyeol’s attention; he stopped chewing and pointed to the door, where Sunmi was entering with someone at her side.

“N-Nam Woohyun.” He mumbled.

“What about him?” Sungjong asked, not really caring about it.

“With… with Sunmi.”

Myungsoo and Sungjong turned their heads just to see how the girl was chatting happily with Woohyun; the both of them were smiling and she was making gestures while talking. They were walking without any worries to buy some food; Sungyeol was petrified.

“Wow, she’s been only here for a couple of hours and she already got the popular guy.” The youngest said, making Sungyeol feel irritated.

Myungsoo glanced at his friend, and noticed how he was acting like that never happened, and chewing his sandwich harder than normal. He smiled and kept eating his lunch, while Sungjong followed him after a few seconds.

*******

When school was finished, Sunmi and Sungyeol met at the bus stop to go home. She was alone and with a serious gaze; he thought she was back to normal and wondered what had happened to Woohyun. When the bus got there, they got up and sat next to each other.

Sunmi was ignoring him, as usual, but Sungyeol kept glancing at her, curious. The girl noticed it and looked at him.

“What?” She asked.

“I… I was wondering if you made some friends.” He said feeling a little shy.

“Why? Do you need to know?”

Sungyeol growled at her and looked away, through the window. “Why does she have to always talk to me like that? I didn’t say anything wrong.” She went back to ignore him, and Sungyeol felt even angrier.

*******

That evening, Sunmi left the house, to the surprise of Sungyeol. He didn’t know where she had gone, and his curiousness was killing him. But he tried to forget about it, remembering how the girl treated him, and went out with his friends to play soccer. His father made him promise he wouldn’t be late, but as time went by, he didn’t realize he already had to go home.

“Oh my god, I gotta go.” He exclaimed, watching his cellphone. “It’s really late; my dad’s going to kill me.”

He waved at Sungjong and Myungsoo and started his way back. The sun was already down, and there were only a few people outside; he tried to walk faster, but suddenly stopped a few blocks away when he saw some dark figures near an alley.

*******

Sunmi was rushing home; it was late and she still had to make up an excuse to tell her mother. She put on her jacket, and was so immersed in getting home she didn’t notice three shadows following her. She kept on walking faster, until a big man got into her way, making her stop and lift her head.

“Hey, there, pretty lady…” The man said in a snore voice. Sunmi tried to walk past him, but the man got in her way again. She backtracked, but bumped into two more men.

“You have really beautiful eyes…” One of the men said, making her shiver and hold onto her bag.

The men kept on coming closer to her, trying to reach her. She felt paralyzed; her legs didn’t move and her heart started beating like never before. Sunmi embraced herself when she felt a hand touching her and grabbing her jacket, trying to get her closer. She wanted to scream and run, but the three men were a lot bigger than her, and they were getting closer to an alley.

Sunmi was scared as hell; she could only imagine the things those men wanted to do to her as she felt tears falling down her cheeks while she closed her eyes. But a hard sound made her jump and watch the scene; Sungyeol had just punched one of the big men, making him fall to the ground.