Three

4 September

Okay, I’m pretty much sure that my life has been cursed by someone. If by chance I find the one who cursed on me, I swear I’ll mutilate his/her body. How can a friendly and kind person like me can be so unlucky in just a matter of days? Seriously.

***

     I’ve just lost from the election. I’ve been a member of school’s bulletin board club ever since my third year of elementary school in hope that when I reach another three years, I would be the head of the school’s bulletin board club. I just couldn’t receive the result of having Lee Hyori took the position because I deemed her incompetent for the throne. For being disappointed at myself, I ran toward the school’s backyard to cry for my defeat. I told my friends that I was going to the toilet. The school’s backyard would most likely be deserted at noon because most of the students prefer to play at the front yard due to its greeneries.

I’ve just started to cry while I leaned back on one of the walls and buried my face on my palms when I heard footsteps closing in. When I looked up, my anger raised up high to see my nightmare there.

“Mimi, why are you crying?” Woobin asked with a grin.

“It’s nothing,” I said as I wiped my face away from the tears. “Go away, don’t disturb me,” I continued as I walked back to the front yard.

“Do you want to talk about it? I might be able to help.” For the first time Woobin’s word sounded so sincere that I had to stop my leg and turned to see him.

“If I tell you, you’d laugh at me.”

“I won’t,” Woobin tried to reassure.

“You’ll tell Haneul and Junho and then they will laugh at me,” I sounded not assured.

“I will not tell them if you don’t want me to tell them.”

“You’ll…”

“I swear I won’t do anything to you. I swearrrr…” Woobin cut me as he pointed up his index and middle finger.

I doubted him but as I saw how Woobin’s face looked sincere enough, I yielded as I took a seat on the wooden bench that was scattered at the backyard. I told him everything, my truest feeling about the defeat. I was quite surprised to see him being attentive, not even once laughing or mocking at me. I realized at that time, behind every mischief he did, laid a serious and understanding Woobin. I heard the bell rang; a sign for us to retreat back to our class.

“Thank you, Woobin,” I said as I stood up and tidy up my skirt. I still couldn’t believe how I managed to share with him my troubled mind, I felt embarrassed to see him in the eyes.

“Don’t cry anymore.”

Hearing how gentle his voice was, I lifted my eyes from my skirt. Right at that second I realized about the possibility of me and him being friend if only he stopped his mischief toward me. Unexpectedly, he closed in his lips on my left cheek the same time the second bell rang.

I’ve never been kissed by a boy before; I stood still like a statue. I didn’t know what to react.

“Eyy… Woobin and Minah…,” Surprised I turned to see Haneul and Junho standing there not too far from our spot with that wide grin on their face.

My cheek burnt. Not only because of Woobin’s kiss but also because of embarrassed. I knew right then that the news of Woobin kissing me would spread like fire before the end of school hours that day. Without further thought, I ran back to our class. I ignored his call toward me.

Just like what I had thought about it, every child couldn’t stop teasing me. If only their teasing was based on a fact, I wouldn’t be too troubled with it, but the fact is in just a matter of hours, the fact has changed 180 degrees. The news that was spread is about me, forcing Woobin to kiss me. Annoyed, I ran to him to confront him.

I found him walking with his two sidekicks, Haneul and Junho who quickly informed him about my arrival.

I stopped my leg right when the edge of my shoes touched his. “What did you tell to everyone?” I hissed.

Woobin stared at me with not even an ounce of guilt written on his face, “As it is.”

“As it is? Should it be as it is like you said, then you should’ve told them how you suddenly kissed me on your own and not I who forced you!”

“But it is you who forced Woobin to kiss you. Be honest, Minah. Don’t be shy!” Haneul commented.

As I heard his comment, I glared at him. Haneul grew stoic, timid even, as I drilled him with my eyes, hatred poured out relentlessly. I was known as someone who doesn’t easily get angry with people so it must have been a real problem for me should I take it like that.

“Woobin, Minah forced you to kiss her, right?” Junho’s eyes darted from me to Woobin before it darted back to me.

I darted my eyes from Haneul to Woobin, challenging him to tell the truth.

“Of course, man. Minah did that,” Woobin replied nonchalantly.

Kang Haneul and Lee Junho flashed me their cocky grin while my jaw dropped when I heard that statement. “Woobin… you… you…” I couldn’t find the right word to curse him, probably because I’d never find myself in need to curse a boy before. Once I again I glared at Woobin, waiting for him to admit his wrongdoing, but I still didn’t receive any reaction from him. Disappointed, I left him the most frightening stare that I ever give.

The moment I reached home, I locked myself inside my bedroom and cried. His opposite behaviors in just mere hours really had me curious. What’s the use of him being nice to me if in the end he decided to wreck me? And I didn’t know how but I ended up believing that I’m really just a mediocre and ordinary girl that even Woobin found it a burden to admit that he kissed me on his own. That reality slapped me hard and I ended up crying even louder.

Determined to show how Woobin’s betrayal didn’t affect me the slightest, I showed up at school the next day with my head held up high a friendly smile on my face. Seeing me like that seemed to bug him that he ended up throwing everything he got at me, but I had promised myself not to mind all those mockery from him and his two sidekicks. The rumor about me forcing Woobin to kiss me died down and was gone by the end of elementary years although I still felt the aftereffect until today. I always wish that Woobin would come clean and apologize to me, but it never happen.

When I left the bathroom with a much more relaxed muscle, I saw Eunhye had woken up and was fiddling her fingers over her shirts inside the wardrobe.

“At last. I thought you would sleep the day off,” I said as I ducked down so that I could dry my hair with towel.

“Was about to but then the phone rang so I wake up,” Eunhye replied as she took out a shirt. “By the way, it’s really weird. There’s this man insisting that he is your friend and that he wants to have dinner with you. I never know that you have a friend here at Jeju, Minah,” Eunhye continued.

“He is just someone t