When Hanbin awoke he was in an unfamiliar place. Abruptly he sat up and felt the protesting shocks in his body. He shuddered with a groan. He had been lying on a sleeping mat adjacent to a bed. By his bedside he found a yellow sticky note reading:

‘Don't move around too much, you'll bleed everywhere.’

The sardonic form of kindness came with no signature, leaving him to wonder who the bedroom belonged to. The decor was too aloof to belong to anyone he knew. Rather than resonating warm feelings it gave the cold image of an office.

Hanbin inspected his wounds. Whoever had wrapped him had done so perfectly well. He didn't dare disturb the handiwork but noted that movement from him did cause crimson stains to form. He couldn't recall how badly he'd been injured but the immediate pain told more than he dared to think. Still mad at having to rest on the floor, he opted to avenge his cause.

Later that day when Lee Yowon arrived home she barely swallowed a breath before flying to her bedroom. There was no one there. Only crumpled sheets lay strewn on the floor. Her window was open allowing her curtains to bellow. Frowning, she wondered if Hanbin had ever been taught etiquette. Her room looked as if it'd met with a tempest. A stack of notes systematically placed read,

‘Appreciate it.’

That was his only remnant. Neither she nor the school saw him for a whole week after that.

Hanbin’s mysterious disappearance brought peace. Perhaps talks of him may have been abundant if Bobby’s boxing match wasn't around the corner. He was the hot topic of every conversation and his gossip, Yowon noted, was much more cheerful than the idea of Hanbin and drug seizures except no one knew about the drugs other than her. Yowon shuddered. Hanbin was a scary sort of fellow who was probably lying drugged up somewhere with his eyes rolling in the back of his sockets. It was clear where her bias lay.

The week of solace was quick to fly. Just as secretly as he'd vanished,  Hanbin reappeared, but not until it was time for lunch. Blanking all, he headed for Naeun. The timid girl shrank away from him. Students held their breaths; the lunch room went quiet. Only the sound of Naeun searching for her purse could be heard. When she found it, Naeun paled to discover she didn't have enough to please the bully. Trembling, she relayed this. Hanbin only scoffed, snatched her purse, upturned the content and with a swipe of his foot scattered the petty cash.


“You won't be needing this.” Nonchalantly he tossed the purse into the bin. Next, he flicked her lunch box from the table and began to stamp on her food. Naeun emitted a cry of despair that was reproached by a taunt. She was forced to quiet down. Even then she couldn't stop choking on tears. From the floor he plucked a battered kimbap roll and stuffed it into , commanding her to chew.

A pair of hands slammed against a table. “That's enough!” Yowon shouted. She pushed Hanbin away from her friend, offered a tissue for Naeun to empty in and using her handkerchief, wiped her face. All the while Hanbin was turning purple. He demanded for Yowon to move. She ignored him. A fistful of Yowon's sweater was grappled roughly, ready to throw her aside. Her palm made contact with Hanbin’s cheek.


“Don't dare touch me and keep away from my friend," she ordered. Then in a pleasant tone, Yowon encouraged Naeun to leave.


“Who said you could go anywhere?” Hanbin demanded. Conflicted between the two contrasting statements Naeun hesitated and then scurried reluctantly.

“So, you buying lunch?” He asked of her.

“I'm not interested in the beggar type, sorry,” she remarked.

Hanbin flushed. There was a kind of hushed cheer. Hanbin didn't like it. Yowon had always been liked and admired. Standing up to him was only added to her glorified image. In contrast he'd become a joke. Image dented, he replied with an aggressive push. Yowon huffed, fixing her uniform and pushed him back. “Go away. Everyone's sick of you and no one wants to buy you lunch.”

“You're pushing it,” he growled. “Don’t think I'll let you off because you're a girl, that'd be ist.”

“I wouldn't expect much from you.”

“You're going to have to pay up for your friend if you want me to leave her alone.”

Yowon rolled her eyes and fished her poc