Chapter Fourteen: 

Alone In the Dark

Just like that, another week had flown by in the blink of an eye. It's only been a week since Chanwoo transferred here and it seems like he's already grown close to the boys. They've been playing basketball everyday after school together, so I assume they bonded over that. I'm happy that he was able to make friends with the same interests as him… but I'm not happy that it's THEM.  They're going to taint his innocence! However, Nara and I made a date with Chanwoo tonight to watch the new episode of Cheese in the trap. We'll make sure he doesn't cross over to the dark side.

But meanwhile, another dreadful day of school is upon us. I sat there at my desk having to use my hands to support my head from falling asleep. Chanwoo who was sitting in front of me was fiddling around with his pen which was low key driving me crazy because of the noises it was making. Bobby was sitting alone, sleeping behind an open textbook again. Hanbin wasn't in class because he had to fix a schedule conflict in the office downstairs.

“Jin!” Park seonsaengnim called out to me. I adjusted myself to look a little more alive since I was on the verge of dying slowly. That's what school does to you kids.

“Yes?” I replied pretending to be interested in whatever this annoying teacher had to say. He literally calls on me every five minutes to do some ‘class president’ duty. I bet the other class presidents don't have to deal with this crap.

“Could you please deliver these crates of supplies down to Miss Jung in room 2B after class?” He requested pointing towards two mid-sized containers full of books and writing utensils. “She needs them for testing next period. It'll be very much appreciated.”

“Sure…” I replied unenthusiasticly. I guess I have no other choice either way. Teachers always have that power to guilt trip their students in any situation, therefore you can never refuse their requests.

“You're the best! Thanks!” He shot me a smile.

At the end of class, as everyone packed up their belongings to head to their next destination, I walked up to the teachers desk to begin the delivery of his supplies. The boxes were about the size of a milk crate. I hope they're not too heavy…

“Do you need some help bringing those down, Jin?” Chanwoo asked appearing behind me.

“I should be good, thanks.” I replied with a smile.

“Are you sure? They look kind of heavy…”

He asked again. I nodded my head to assure him I'd be fine.

“Yah, Chanwoo!” Bobby called out to the boy standing in front of me. He was telling him to hurry up and walk with him since he was alone.

“Go, don't keep him waiting. He might beat you.” I said pushing him lightly towards the exit.

“Okay then. Bye Jin, see you at lunch!” He smiled and waved at me as he walked away.

“See ya Prez!” Bobby called out before walking out the door.

As soon as they left, I was left standing there alone. Alone with two boxes of supplies to be delivered downstairs. Two boxes that this lazy teacher couldn't bring down himself or ask someone else to do. I grabbed onto the bottom box, sliding it off the desk and gripping onto the bottom of it. Since they were already stacked on top of each other, it was less work for me to do. They weren't as heavy as I thought they'd be, but there was a slight problem. The boxes were kind of tall… and since they were stacked on each other, I could barely see ahead of me. There's always got to be a problem or obstacle for me to overcome. Every. Single. Time. I decided to take my time and walk slowly since, you know… I'm basically 90% blind right now since this stupid box is blocking my line of vision. The halls were jammed with traffic as people were crowding the areas by standing around in the middle of the place. As I made my way down, the eyes of fellow students just stared at me with judgment.

Instead of staring, can these useless people move over and stop blocking the freaking hallway by standing around doing nothing?! I swear to god, I hate everyone at this school. They do nothing but judge you for every little thing that you do and stand around being useless.

I finally reached the staircase to head downstairs. I decided to take the backway staircase because like I mentioned before, no one ever uses that staircase. Not sure why but people just always avoid it. That was a plus for me because less people equaled less chances to collide with someone on the steps. Slowly, I put one foot down each step. This was extremely difficult and scary because I literally could not see where I was putting my feet because my vision was being blocked. I had to feel around for the next step. It was making me anxious because these stairs were so steep, meaning I could go tumbling at any moment if I make one small mistake.

I was about to take that last step to reach the first platform.

“Prez?” A male voice called out from in front of me. I suddenly jumped at the unexpected presence. It made me lose my balance causing me to trample over forward. The crates of supplies toppled over scattering books and pencils all over the ground. I screamed out as I was about to fall flat on my face. I felt a pair of arms wrapping around my waist, stopping me from my fall. My arms unconsciously reached out grabbing onto whatever was in front of me. My head fell against a sturdy yet warm touch with my arms holding onto someone's shirt.

“What is wrong with you? You're always falling all over the place…” The familiar voice said creeping into my ears.

I slowly turned my face up to see none other than Kim Hanbin. He was looking down at me as he held onto me tightly. I felt frozen in the moment. I couldn't move my body nor remove my gaze upon his eyes as they stared back into mine. The air grew silent around us, with only the sound of a pencil slowly rolling down the next flight of steps.

“Thanks...” I muttered out releasing my grip from his shirt. I proceeded back on my feet slowly breaking away from his embrace. , this is so embarrassing. I could feel my face turning growing red since my cheeks were starting to burn up. I turned my face away and went to go pick up the supplies that were scattered on the floor. In the corner of my eye, I saw Hanbin crouch down beside me helping me pick up everything. We just cleaned up in silence.

Picking up the last book off the floor, I stuffed it into one of the two boxes and proceeded to carry them again, stacking one on top of another.  

“Thanks Hanbin.” I shot him a smile of gratitude before going back on my way. I felt the load on my hands suddenly get lighter as he grabbed one of the boxes from me.

“Where are you going?” He asked holding the box firmly from underneath. I was a little surprised at the moment. Let's just say I wasn't expecting these kinds of actions from him. You know, helping out and all.

No wait, actually it's kind of his fault that I dropped everything in the first place! I was doing just fine until he had to pop out and throw me off guard. It should be a given that he helps me after causing all that trouble for me! Why does he always take this staircase too…? I thought I was the only one who actually used it.

“Room 2B.” I replied. Without a word, he turned around and headed back down the stairs.

This guy… he's definitely strange alright. Not sure why, but I can't really pinpoint his personality. One moment he's yelling and getting into fights, and another moment he's being quiet and passive. I tilted my head in thought. Eh, whatever. Let's just get this thing off of my hands.

With the lighter load and the ability to actually see in front of me, I quickly followed, catching up to Hanbin.

“Did you guys hear on the news about what happened?” Jinhwan asked at the lunch table.

“Jinhwan, I'm pretty sure you're the only one at this table who actually watches the news.” Nara replied while looking in her tiny mirror palette. She was fixing her makeup since woke up late today.

“Why, what happened?” I asked curiously.

“Another girl got assaulted last night in our neighborhood!” He announced in rage. “It was at the park. Remember Jin? The one where we sat and talked before.”

Dang, that's pretty scary. That's actually pretty close to my house. I was starting to feel a little worried.

“They still haven't caught that creep yet?” Nara asked while applying her mascara. “Just let him try and touch me, I'll make that regret life.” she said half heartedly.

Chanwoo chuckled on the side. “You're so funny.” He gave her a smile. “I wouldn't want to be that guy if that happened.”

“Well, as long as we don't roam around at night, we’ll be fine.” I said while rummaging around through my bag. “What kind of girl walks around alone at night? She's just asking to die.”

“True.” Jinhwan agreed nodding his head.

Oh great, I forgot to bring lunch today. Ugh I hate when I do this. I packed it beforehand and put it in the fridge but forgot to bring it with me this morning. I sighed deeply reflecting on my idiotic self.

Suddenly, a roll of sweet bread wrapped in plastic slid over in front me. “You can have this.” Chanwoo offered politely to me with a warm smile. “It's a thanks for giving me your kimbap last time.”

Awwww, Chanwoo!!!! You're literally melting my heart!!

“Aww, thank you!” I exclaimed happily. “You're so sweet.” I gave him a little nudge of affection. His face was turning a bright pink as he became flustered by the sudden compliments.

Hanbin got up from the table suddenly walking away. I teared open the plastic wrapper off of the roll of bread and took a bite out of it. It tasted sooooo good. Maybe I was just hungry but I was literally appreciating life at that moment. If only I had some milk, it would be perfect.

I didn't notice that Hanbin had already returned to the table. He suddenly slid something over across the table towards me. I looked down to see a carton of strawberry milk in front of me.

“They gave me the wrong one.” He said blandly returning to his lunch. Well gee, thanks for giving me your garbage Hanbin!

“Thanks anyway.” I said half heartedly. I opened up the carton of milk and took a few sips out of it, enjoying it with my bread. I feel so spoiled today, I wonder why.