TOP’S POV

My cheeks were cramping up from smiling so much as I stared down at the envelope in my hand for the millionth time. I stayed up all night writing and rewriting the perfect poem for her. When Mom read it, she almost cried. I wonder if Nora will cry? I don’t want her to cry, but if she did, and then she tells me how much she loved it and then jumped into arms like in the movies… I swat my face with the envelope to cover my giggle and blushing cheeks at the thought.

I came to school early so that I could slide the envelope into her desk before she or anyone else got there. Just as I did, I heard footsteps down the hall. I quickly left the classroom before anyone noticed and went to the cafeteria. I was so excited this morning that I actually skipped breakfast and my stomach was growling.

Throughout the whole class I kept peeking at her to see if she had read the poem, but it didn’t seem like she did. When she saw me looking at her, she just smiled at me the way she usually does. Had she seen it or was she was playing cool? Why was there no tears or even shyness coming from her? This made me a bit nervous because it was almost lunch time and I had told her to meet me where we first met underneath the cherry blossom tree behind the school.

When the bell rang I quickly grabbed my lunch box that Mom had made for Nora and I and ran out as quickly as I could. I wanted to be there under the tree waiting for her when she got there. I’ve seen this in a lot of movies before and my sister would always swoon and told me that she wished a boy would do that to her. I wanted to be that boy for Nora.

Everyday I was constantly teased and bullied by groups of kids at school. The worst types were the ones who were only my friend when no one else was around, but when others started to throw food at me or shoved me around, they’d joined in on it too. Nora was one of the few people that actually never made fun of me in school. Unlike those people, even though she was always surrounded by her popular cousins, brother and their friends, every time she saw me, she would still always wave hi with her smile, her beautiful smile. She was the only one in school, besides the teacher, that actually stood up for me when she saw me getting picked on. As months went by, people saw us hanging out more and so the bullying lessen, although it still happened, just knowing Nora will be there smiling every day made school bearable.

I stood there under the tree, looking down and kicking the green grass absentmindedly, when I heard laughter and footsteps coming closer.

“He’s actually in here.” I looked up to see Yoongi throw his head back as he laughed and pointed at me with his brother Seokjin, Nora’s brother Jackson and 4 other friends behind them snickering.

My eyes flashed when I saw the envelope in Yoongi’s hand. He must’ve saw me looking at it because he held it up in between his two fingers, “You call this a poem?” he threw back a harder laugh.

He opened up the letter and you tighten the grip on your lunch box.

“What is this? ‘Even a single day is too long without you?’ ‘Forever you and I?!’ We belong together?!’” He read mockingly and they all laughed hysterically together.

Out of all the times that I’ve been made of, this was definitely the worst. My face and chest felt like it was on fire. My body shook.  I wanted to say something, anything, but even my mouth wouldn’t open. I couldn’t even walked away. I just stood still like a brainless idiot.

He crumbled up the paper and threw it to the side. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked at me sideways as he began walking up to me.

He tsked and shook his head as he reached my face. His taunting stare forced me to look down, “Did you actually think your fatass his good enough for our Nora?” He pushed my forehead with his fingers but I kept my eyes down.

“Jackson,” He called out without taking his eyes off me, “Do you think Choi Chubby is good enough for your sister.”

“No.” Jackson answered without hesitation.

“Maybe if you lose some weight, no, A LOT of weight,” his hand made a large circular motion, “then maybe she would actually consider you, piggy.” With that, he lift his foot and kicked the lunch box out my hand.

He tsked and shook his head one more time before turning on his heel, “Let’s go guys.”

I stared at the kalbi, egg rolls, and kimbap that Mom woke up early to make, now laid cluttered on the grass. That was when I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to change the disgusting person that I am. I’m going to make that family regret what they said and did to me.

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