Jieun remembers the squeal of pain Joohyun let out when she rubbed a purple patch on her arm. It was a cold day when they were eight, sitting in art class painting with acrylics. Joohyun took off her blazer so it wouldn’t get dirty, exposing her pale arms with a patch of violet below the elbow. Jieun rubbed it, thinking it was dried paint that would crumble off with a bit of pressure. The latter jumped back in her seat when Joohyun placed a hand on top of the spot and softly patted it.

    “What happened?” Jieun asked, feeling guilty. Joohyun looked at her for a second then back down at her arm, moving her elbow inwards so the mark would no longer be visible.

    “Nothing. I fell,” Joohyun said with a small voice as she held her hand over the spot when standing up to grab the water cup across the table.

    That was the first of many random bruises Jieun found littering Joohyun’s body over the course of their friendship. She was often sneaky about it though, cautious in making sure no one could see them. But Jieun was too close, only becoming more and more involved in Joohyun’s world as they got older.

•        •        •

    Jieun sat next to the aisle while Yoongi drifted in and out of consciousness, resting his head against the window. Buildings ran across the landscape outside as the bus rolled through the city. She rarely went this route, usually only going over Joohyun’s house to pick her up for school in the mornings. Usually the two would go to Jieun’s house afterwards or to out some random place in the town to waste time with friends. The massive clean buildings grew smaller and dirtier as students with her uniform exited and kids of another dress got on. Jieun tried her best not to be prejudice, but she found herself unintentionally scooting towards Yoongi, increasing the distance between her and people who seemed to be...lesser. Their dialect was louder and more crass than what she heard within the safety of her upscale prep school and the clean shopping areas she spent time with other well-off delinquents. She thought she was a bad kid, but felt like an innocent child when she overheard their talk of gangs and what they consider a fun night out on the town. Jieun took in a breath and looked out of the window, Yoongi’s chest rising and falling in her peripheral. The bus approached a stop that she recognized as being down the street from Joohyun’s house. She smacked the boy’s chest to wake him and adjusted her bag, getting ready to stand.

    The bus slowed to a stop and Jieun stood, waiting for the boy as other teens also got up to exit. The girl tucked a strand of slick faded hair behind her ear as a few people gave her obvious glares when they walked past her seat. A few boys going so far as to make obscene gestures with their hands, jokingly flirting but still making her cringe. Jieun rolled her eyes to appear confident as she stepped into the aisle and grew relieved as Yoongi stood behind her, unknowingly blocking the girl from any creeps behind her. They got off the bus and walked in a silence that make Jieun even more nervous. Yoongi