She’d thought about it long and hard, she’d tried availing help, in the end Lee Yowon made the decision to confront the blackmailer. She felt goosebumps prickle while she waited, not daring to go inside the janitor’s closet by herself. Who knew what this masked persona was planning! In her mind she imagined meeting an eccentric student. Perhaps that person wanted money. Yowon smiled bitterly. If that was the case she refused to comply. She was not going to complete favors in the hopes of keeping a few pictures secret. Besides, who cared if they ended up in front of Hanbin? That jerk had already ended their relationship. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more all this was Hanbin’s fault.

Five minutes had passed since the assigned time. Yowon tapped her foot incessantly to count the seconds. This was a waste of her time. Her mind was telling her to drop the issue. Nothing could be done to amend what had broken. Yowon was impassive to her thoughts. She wanted to end the rumors once and for all.

Eight minutes; a figure was climbing the stairs. She observed the lax rhythmic pattern until the individual came to view. It was Hanbin. A scowl was printed across his features. His hand quivered in rage. In it were the pictures Yowon had tried to stop. When she saw them her mind turned blank.

Hanbin shook a fistful of photos at her. His gaze reflected disappointment. “I know why you came here. You didn’t want me finding these.” He snorted. “Is there more?”

Yowon arched a brow.  “And what’s that?”

“Your lie.” He waved. “You don’t love me, do you?”

“What do you think?” She stared at him from beneath her lashes.

Hanbin ruffled his hair. “Fine-- just-- fine! Let’s go back to the way we were when we didn’t know each other.”

She shrugged off the humiliation. This time Yowon was the first to leave. She couldn’t bear it anymore! Hanbin was her blackmailer! He’d set a trap and she’d fallen into it. Yowon coughed with disbelief. She’d been ridiculed! Hanbin had become conniving since she’d last met him. Her good intentions felt foul. She could imagine what he was thinking. It wasn’t very nice. The anger he had been accumulating towards her now mirrored back.

While in the corridor she was confronted with a foot hoping to trip her. Yowon swerved around it. A hand came from nowhere and pushed her. Suddenly she was surrounded by a mob of girls. Naeun was among them.

“Naeun has something to tell you,” Chorong instigated.

Naeun was staring at her in a peculiar way, one that wasn’t normal. Yowon knew that look she was giving. It was the same one Hanbin had given her. Instantly she felt dislike grow for her friend.

“I didn’t think badly of you before but now… I’m not sure,” Naeun bleated. “You tried to cover up your tracks…”

“Why did you do that? You conspired with each other when neither of you know anything about me.”

“I’m glad I didn’t know. We can’t be friends anymore, now that I know.”

Yowon scoffed. “Let’s pretend we don’t know each other from now on, Son Naeun.”

“Wow Naeun, your friend is so mean. I didn’t know she was that mean,” Chorong remarked.

“Get out of my way,” Yowon declared.

Chorong’s hand collided against her cheek. “Sorry. My hand slipped.”

“She doesn’t know her place. You should have hit her harder,” one of the girls, Namjoo scolded.

“Oh, I’m glad someone hit her. I was getting sick of her lies.” Hayoung fanned herself.

Yowon didn’t bother to correct their mistake. She had never lied but it was clear that no one would believe her. There was a shard in her heart. Naeun hadn’t tried to defend her. She brushed past them.

-

From then on Hanbin saw her around occasionally. Yowon was usually on her own. Her friends had stopped talking to her. He thought she deserved it. But then one day she stopped coming to school. He wondered where she’d gone. It didn’t matter who he asked. No one knew much about her whereabouts. He tried checking her SNS but found that she’d closed it down. It made him frown. If felt as if Lee Yowon had dematerialized from their lives. Well, he didn’t care too much about that. Maybe it was for the best that she was really gone. No one liked her much when she’d been around. She was an eyesore.

After a week Hanbin eventually found his way to the teachers' lounge and inquired about a certain student. He was told she was at hospital. When he pressed for details though he wasn’t told anything. Heck he might have spent actual time worrying about her if she didn’t appear in the office. Yowon was so startled to see him, she jumped. Her gaze fell from where he tried to hold it. Her arms crossed. Hanbin was surprised too.

Blood rushed to his face. Wasn’t she going to talk to him? He took a step toward her. She moved back. For a second he imagined he saw fear. She turned her head away from him. His heart drummed in his ears. Hanbin walked away from here as fast as his legs could carry him. That was the last he would ever see of her.

News of her transferring spread fast and pretty soon the name ‘Lee Yowon’ was forgotten. Still, that didn’t stop Hanbin from prying open her locker -- yes he did still pry it open with a knife; bad habits don't go easy. It was filled with trash; unsightly. Without a word he emptied it. Amid his duty he came across a strange piece of paper.

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