“Oh my gosh. We were so worried about you. We couldn’t find you even after calling for your name multiple times,” Jimin exclaimed, hugging her in the process, when she saw Kira coming out from the car. “Why were you not answering your phone? I called you for like a million times.”

“My phone broke when I jumped off the window,” Kira answered, smiling a little. Jimin’s eyes opened even wider when she heard that.

“You jumped off a window?”

Kira started telling Jimin what happened that night but left the details about Jongin helping her out.

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” Jimin muttered and hugged her once again. Kira smiled, patting her friend’s back. As they pulled away, they both noticed students running to the right side of the parking lot. Curious as to what was happening, Jimin pulled Kira to that direction.

“Do you really want to die? ing loser, don’t you have eyes? I’M ING ASKING YOU!!”

The screeching voice of Yuna made Kira flinch as they pushed their way through the sea of students. Yuna was pushing the girl’s forehead with her index finger and the latter stepped back with her head down.

“Sorry,” the girl squeaked, too scared to look at Yuna on the eyes.

“You’re sorry?” Yuna asked with a sarcastic laugh. “Do you think your little sorry will fix my car?”

Kira’s eyes went to Yuna’s red car and she gasped when she saw the damage. Cans of paint were on the ground and some were spilled on the car. The side mirror was broken and so was a little of the windshield. There was a big scratch on the front.

“Sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“Yuna, calm down,” Jimin interrupted, holding her friend’s shoulder. “The whole school’s watching,” she continued in a whisper. Yuna brushed Jimin’s hands away, rolling her eyes.

“Let them watch so that they’ll know what will happen to stupid people when they piss me off.”

“I-I’ll pay for the repair of your car,” the girl suddenly commented. Yuna scoffed before laughing, clapping her hand slowly.

“You? You’ll pay for it? Okay, let’s see; you’re here because of a scholarship, your house is mortgaged to pay off your father’s debts and you have freaking 7 siblings who are being supported by your sick mother by working at a factory. Tell me; how the hell will pay it off?”

Kira wanted to just shut her friend’s mouth but she couldn’t move as if her feet were frozen on that spot. The students started murmuring. Kira noticed how the girl bit her lip and how she tried to stop her hands from shaking.

“Tell me.”

The girl did not reply and remained hanging her head low.

“See? Filthy poor losers like you are just all talk.”

“Kim Yuna,” Jimin whispered, holding her hand to stop her from venting her anger.

Kira’s heart started to shatter when she saw the girl brush her tears away. Her hands turned cold and suddenly went dry.

“Are you going to sell your body to pay me?” Yuna asked as a mocking grin came to her face. The girl finally looked at Yuna and Kira could see the hate on the girl’s face. “Why? Am I right?”

“Is this fun for you?” the girl asked, voice shaking.

Yuna raised a brow. “What?”

“Do you think that you have the right to make fun of people just because you’re rich?”

“And you have the guts to ask me that?” Yuna questioned back, meeting the girl’s eyes with her glare that could murder someone.

“You’re acting like that because you know that your rich father can solve anything with his money. I pity your father for having a daughter like you – a spoiled, airhead and good for nothing person.”

“Let’s just go. Come on,” Jimin said, huffing in frustration as she pulled Yuna’s hand. The latter yanked her hand from Jimin’s grasp and in a few strides; Yuna was already grabbing the girl’s hair, making the latter yelp.

“Say that again,” Yuna snarled. “I’ll make sure you’ll regret everything that you said for the rest of your life,” she continued pushing the girl away.

“I just told you the truth.”

Yuna’s lips twitched as she raised her hand, ready to slap the girl hard across her face. “You little-”

“Whoa there,” Jongin exclaimed, grabbing Yuna’s arm mid-air. Yuna looked up at Jongin in disbelief.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Yuna hissed and Jongin just shrugged.

“Stopping you from hitting her?” he replied before letting go of her arm. “Besides, the bell just rung. Classes will begin soon.”

“Let’s go, Yuna.” Jimin pulled her friend away while Yuna was still looking at Jongin. The latter just gave her a small smile before waving his hand. Yuna rolled her eyes and started walking away with Jimin on her side.

“Kira, come on,” Jimin called out, making Kira snap to their direction. The crowd started dispersing and from the corner of her eyes, she saw how Jongin’s expression changed as he turned to the girl who was left there. He held the girl’s shoulder, asking her if she’s okay before patting her back to comfort her.

Jongin lifted his head and Kira felt her breath hitched when their eyes met. He did not smile. There was no expression on his face but Kira felt so little at that moment. She started walking away with her head down because deep inside, she felt embarrassed.

Even without saying anything, she’s sure that Jongin’s disappointed at her.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

That night, Kira’s thoughts were tangled and she couldn’t find the energy to read the reports lying on her table. She couldn’t explain why Jongin’s expressionless face has been bugging her. She let a frustrated grunt leave her lips as she looked up at the ceiling.

There’s a heavy feeling that has settled inside her and she just wanted scream everything out. She stood and walked to her bed. Plopping, she reached for a pillow and covered her face before screaming to her heart’s content. She kicked her legs in the air, rolling around.

This is so frustrating.

 She suddenly sat up, determined to get rid of what’s been bugging her. She reached for her phone and dialed Mr. Yoon’s number. The latter picked up after the third ring.

“Mr. Yoon, I need to go somewhere,” she stated quickly.

2 minutes.

4 minutes.

10 minutes.

It has been 10 minutes since Mr. Yoon dropped her off in that neighborhood but Kira has been pacing back and forth the whole time in front of a house in the middle of the night. The dark surrounding was not bothering her at all. She couldn’t find the courage to knock on the door.

“Hi, my name’s Jung Kira. I think you-” she halted and sighed. She’s been rehearsing the first words that she should say to Jisoo, the girl who pissed off Yuna, but it’s not even going on as planned. What are you doing right now Jung Kira? With a frustrated grunt, she ran her fingers through her hair. Should I just go home?

She drew a long breath and cleared , ready to begin her rehearsal again.

“Hi, I’m Yuna’s friend. My name is Jung Kira and I’m here to-”

“Excuse me.”

Kira almost jumped when she heard a voice coming from the back. She quickly turned around and a middle aged woman was staring at her. Her hair was tied in a bun and Kira quickly noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

“Are you waiting for someone? Are you my daughter’s friend?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Are you Lee Jisoo’s mother?”

The older woman nodded and Kira immediately bowed her head in greeting.

“Do you want me to call her?” Without waiting for Kira’s reply, Mrs. Lee walked pass her and opened the door of their house. Kira heard a little boy exclaim in greeting.

“Jisoo, your friend’s here to see you.”

Fidgeting, Kira stepped back. The rehearsals that she has been doing a while ago started coming back to her head.

“Friend? Who could it-”

Jisoo halted when she saw Kira standing outside their house.

“Hi,” Kira greeted, trying to sound casual, as she held her hand up. She’s sure that she’s smiling but she’s also sure that it’s an awkward one. Seeing no reaction from Jisoo, Kira let her hand down and pursed her lips. What am I going to do now?

Jisoo looked over her shoulder before looking back at Kira.

“Why are you here?” Jisoo’s voice sounded stern and Kira started scratching her index finger with her thumb.

“I-I’m here to talk to you about what happened a while ago.”

Kira noticed how Jisoo held the door tightly and how her jaws clenched before she stepped out of their house.

“What is there left to talk about? Are you going to rub salt on my wounds?”

“I’m here to apologize for what Yuna did,” Kira replied, finding her voice at last. Jisoo raised a brow. “I’m sorry for what she did. Yuna’s more short-tempered than anyone but she’s actually a nice person. I think she was just really not in the mood that day so she did what she did to you. I hope that you’ll forgive her. And don’t worry about paying anything, I already told Yuna that I’ll just pay for it.”

Kira flashed Jisoo her brightest smile but it quickly faded when she saw the latter’s expression.

“She’s so lucky to have a friend like you – someone who’ll even apologize in her stead.”

Not sure of what reaction to give, Kira just stared at Jisoo.

“It must be very nice to have money – to be rich. You can just pay for anyone when you feel like doing so,” Jisoo started and Kira noted the forced smile painted on her face. “I always wondered why a girl like you is hanging out with girls like them. They’re always loud but you’re always quiet, listening to their rants.”

“They’re my-”

“Then I realized that you’re the same. You’re not different from them. Everytime they would badmouth someone, you’d just nod in agreement or say nothing at all. You just follow them without thinking that much. You don’t even try to correct them when you obviously think that they’re wrong.”

Kira felt like a lump was stuck in . Something about what Jisoo said hit her hard and it hurts because it’s the truth.

“Sorry,” Kira mumbled unconsciously.

“If you’re sorry, you should’ve done something. When Yuna was killing me psychologically and emotionally in front of the whole school a while ago, you should’ve done something,” Jisoo said, voice cracking as it got louder than usual.

Kira looked down, hanging her head in embarrassment and guilt. She bit her lip, trying to hold her emotions together.

“If that’s all that you’re going to say, then I’m done here,” Jisoo stated before walking back to their house.

“Jisoo,” Kira called out. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t go around apologizing with those empty words of yours,” Jisoo remarked, her tone not changing. “Ah, and don’t worry ab