I delicately tugged at Junmyeon’s sleeve, who stood next to me and was ready to take his treads towards the staircase, so no one could notice my little movement. Junmyeon’s sensitivity to touches was quick to acknowledge my mere touch and so he hung his head low to look at me with faint puzzlement glistering his big dark eyes. I pointed my finger at the vacant place on the couch beside me, on which he sat comfortably moments ago, therefore, he hastily took in my message and sat down next to me, slightly leaning his head so I could whisper whatever I wanted to say. A faint, but genuine smile, adorned my reddish lips at our little, but of great significance, delicate moment, but I was quick to wipe my smile away and subdue my childish feelings of happiness and content before he gets impatient. I leaned forward, my index and thumb still delicately tucking at the edge of his navy blue suit’s sleeve. “I do not want to sit here with these women alone, can I go sit in your room until you finish?” I asked, referring to the small crowd of women that accompanied Junmyeon’s mother to greet, or much get their noses into our life, us. Junmyeon lifted his hand up to fix his tie, abandoning my tender touch.

“Do as you desire.” He answered in a monotonous, dull voice while getting ready to stand up anew, still fixing his tie with both of his hands. He lowered his head once again to look at my eyes that were lifted up to look at his. His gaze was quick, unreadable, and vacant of emotions, yet I still felt content looking at them.

As soon as Junmyeon took a couple of steps outward the little circle the women formed after, almost, shooting each one of them a faint smile and while verbally excusing himself, I mimicked his actions, painfully lifting the corners of my lips up to form a pale, acceptable smile that no one seemed to mind.

I hastened my pace to be able to catch up with Junmyeon’s large ones, but since I was wearing a tight dress, his pace was quite beyond my capacity so I just went to my normal small steps, it was not like we were going to walk in the same way, anyway.

He climbed the flight of stairs, hastily taking two steps each time, which was also beyond my capacity and as soon as he reached the top of the stairs he turned right and got swallowed into that long mysterious hall I have always wanted to enter but never did because simply I was never allowed to wander around this mansion as I desired, so I had to suppress my curiosity for four years and suffer my lack of knowledge.

On reaching the last step of the staircase I walked to the left, which led to the area where bedrooms were located, including Junmyeon’s. I took the opportunity that no one was lurking around and bent down to untie my ankle strap heels, around which my ankle was wrapped, to take them off. I let out a moan upon feeling the relief of having my feet free again. Like a light feather, I ran in the hallway hurriedly to Junmyeon’s room so no one can see me in such “a low state” that would only cause Junmyeon and me severe criticism.

I was unexpectedly feeling slightly light today, or at least not sad. I did know why I was so, but I assumed it was because I was finally able to suppress my sadness again and I was finally proceeding in forgetting that little incident that caused my anguish and depression for weeks. I bit my lower lip amusingly as soon as I had been met with the familiar scent and atmosphere of Junmyeon’s room. Everything was neatly placed and cleaned as if no one had laid a finger on a thing. And just because I never get enough of my curiosity and I did not come here for nothing, I wasted no time to make my way to Junmyeon’s safe to read yet another chapter of his adolescent diaries. I carefully pressed the numbers that would form his birthday date. Yes, his safe’s password was that simple. The first time I ever tried to open it I really did not expect it to be so easy but it turned out to be right. I was a little sad when I told him once that I have read his diaries and already know its password because I thought he would change it in the blink of an eye, but much to my luck, I guess he didn’t really have enough time to change it. I flexed my hand and extended it into the safe to fetch the big diary which was adorned with a unique jagged black-leathered cover.

I walked over to the bed and threw myself onto it so I was on my back and my mid-lengthened hair was scattered everywhere haphazardly, I lifted my arms along with the diary above my head and aimlessly flicked through the pages so I could find the last date I read.

Aged: 13

Today, I have yet another story of betrayal.

The one whom I thought was my friend’s betrayal.

Today, he was different, his attitude towards me was so strange and so was everyone’s glances and audible whispers whenever I passed them.

But knowing how childish everyone can be I ignored all of this.

I went to my class, sat at the front desk where I usually sit and did my best to remain to be the number one student my father has always told me to be.

I reminded my teachers of all the homework due today, answered almost all of the questions asked by the teachers, took my English test, which I assured my mother was as easy as a pie as soon as I came home.

But, when it was the break’s time, I realized that whispers weren’t something of mere significance, there was absolutely something behind these glances and those weird attitudes I received from everyone that never seemed to subside.

As I stood in my place, back straightened, with my tray in a line to get my food, I met my friend, Yifan, who was my friend of months now. I liked him so much ever since I saw him playing soccer and out of all the players I have seen he was the best player that ever stepped into the Football pitch. I was so mesmerized by the way he played that I even went to him and asked him to teach me soccer which he gladly accepted. I was grateful he was new to school, he did not know me well to judge me constantly like others did, he did not hate me because I had higher marks than him, he did not hate me because I tattled on him to teachers when he did something wrong as my good nature tells me to whenever someone does something wrong, he did not hate me for not being able to communicate with other students as well as I communicate with books and equations, simply, he did not know me to hate me. Our friendship was pure, the purest friendship I have ever had ever since I entered this school, he told me everything about himself and his life and so did I. He would help me and teach me how to play soccer, basketball and even taught me some martial arts he had learned from his father while I taught him science and how to solve equations, taught him English and how to form sentences, taught him how to study and get high marks. I never wrote about him in my diary because I thought he would last forever, unlike everyone else, I thought I no longer needed to write about my sadness in this diary, but I am meant to live a hard life as my father has always told me, and now I am here sitting on my bed, tears in my eyes, heart aching, with this diary and a pen in my hand to write yet another tale of sadness.

When I greeted him in the line he explicitly ignored me and turned his head to look at the boy next to him, Kyungsoo, who was smirking at me while watching my little embarrassing scene. I ignored him and looked forward, not attempting to even understand what was happening.

Realization suddenly hit me.

Two weeks ago, in my house, in my room, it hit me.

Can he have….?

Kyungsoo, the boy who was smirking at me suddenly shoved my shoulder to the side out of nowhere causing the tray I once held to fall on the ground and cause a loud thud.

“Until when do you expect us to put up with your hypocrisy?”

I was confused, I did not know what he was talking about, I was totally confused, yet everyone around me seemed to know what was going on.

“What do you want from me?” I exclaimed pending down to pick up my tray but soon, it was pushed again causing yet another loud thud. I lifted my head angrily, my eyes fuming. “What is your problem?!”

“Did you really watch your younger sister’s death as they say?”

I was shocked, no, shock would be an understatement.

The expression my features held heavily explicitly told them the answer, which was yes, causing the corners of Kyungsoo’s lips to fly upwards amusingly.

“What are you talking about?” I still managed to gather my strength to ask another question, looking desperately at Yifan, whose hands were dug into his school uniform and head lifted upwards showing a sense of superiority, to interfere and snatch me out of this situation, but he stood there, blank and unreadable, silent and void.

And then was when realization truly hit me.

It was Yifan who told him, wasn’t he?

I panicked, my breaths started to get really heavy it was suffocating me, I averted my eyes to look at Kyungsoo once again, who was known to hate me so much. Actually, it was not always like this, at first we liked each other, and we would help each other to improve every day, by exchanging notes, explaining the hard parts, and even cheating in exams, but even though we were both intellectually on the same level, I was always number one, something he was never really able to achieve. He has always been my number one opponent in projects, exams and even verbal communication with teachers. When students started to mock him for being number two and never being able to overcome me no matter how much he tries, he started to develop venomous feelings of pure hatred and jealousy towards me, and I too, subconsciously started to develop the same feelings too, but what truly ended our not so peaceful friendship, was when I caught him once cheating in an English exam from a small paper that he had. The exam that day was really hard and I had not studied well the day before because I was really sick, and I, to be able to save my skin and keep being number one, tattled on him to the teacher after the exam because I thought he would be able to get higher marks than mine, but unfortunately, some student was eavesdropping and rumors of me betraying my friend spread like wildfire around the school and that was how I ended up being a lone in school, no one trusted me.

He finally found my weakest point and he was ready to aim arrows at it so I could bleed and wither so he can feed his vengeful, devilish side.

“He really does not want to admit it, does he?” Kyungsoo chuckled softly, before making an about-turn in his facial expression and like a thunderstorm, anger struck his face and he jostled me into the crowd that was already formed around us, I couldn’t avoid his hands, nor balance with my fragile body and so I fell on the ground along with my pride.

I could not say a single word, my mouth has been paralyzed and all I could look at was Yifan who was coldly looking forward almost not giving the scene in front of him any attention. I just watched in slow motion all the food that was being thrown at me and mindlessly accepted all the physical and emotional pain, but still drew my tears back, I was not going to show them that I was weak I was not going to give in to all the hatred I was faced with all of sudden.

I truly did not know that no one trusted me.

I truly did not know that all these people really do hate me so much.

An angelic voice to me, but a hideous shout to everyone around me, erupted ferociously and made everyone stop dead in their tracks. Almost everyone subsided throwing curses and food at me, and the circle around me loosened as everyone was taking a step back.

It wasn’t a teacher’s voice, nor was it an adult’s voice, it was a young girl’s voice, just as young as we all are, and her voice was too familiar to my ears that it almost made me smile.

Finally, someone who cared.

The girl with thick eyebrows, dark brown alluring eyes, perfectly chopped fringes, propelled herself through the crowd, shoving everyone angrily aside.

Bijoux-

My body subconsciously flew upwards, abandoning the comfortable mattress. I speedily wiped my tears away to take a better look at my name that was written on Junmyeon’s diary. Dark brown alluring eyes? Perfectly chopped fringes? I know that Junmyeon and I used to attend the same school until elementary school but we were never friends; The only thing I remember from our childhood years is that I hated him so much and I could not remember, nor imagine, that I would do such a thing to someone whom I claimed I hated so much. Our families were close since Junmyeon and I’s fathers were friends ever since they were both in medical school abroad, after graduating and burning the candle at both ends trying to work efficiently for years, they both agreed to cooperate to amalgamate and amplify their mutual medical interests. It was why Junmyeon, Sehun and I were all almost forced to study medicine to take up where our fathers will leave off. But, the fact that our families were close never meant really meant that Junmyeon and I were close because as children, we really loathed each other, for I have always thought he is an