SMACK!

. My face stung from the impact of her hand on my cheek. My head started getting hot, as the student body had frozen down the hall at the sound of that slap. Why? Because of my ex-neighbor/friend whom I teased for 8 years. Because she decided to leave. Because she decided to return from Busan after 5 years. Because she got into the same college as me. Because she was in the same classes as me. Because had she gotten beautiful. Because I said the reason Suho hyung would pair up with her was that her surgeon did a good job on her face.

She stared at me with her eyes and lips trembling, tears threatening to fall. I could only take a glance and then stare at the floor. Whisperings were everywhere as the students waited for something to happen. I looked up at them and they were smart enough to start minding their own business. The boys tore through the crowd and looked at us. “Just so you know, I NEVER got anything done,” she said shakily, “And just so you know, girls get their faces done because they have low self-esteem about their looks. And JUST SO YOU KNOW, they STAY THAT WAY? Because insensitive bastards like YOU tease them like this.”

I glanced at her, but her eyes were on the ground now. “Even if Suho-oppa thinks that my face is unnatural,” she continues softly, unable to look at the observing hyung, “At least he kept mum about it.” “Excuse me,” she said to the guys and walked past me.

“Hey are you alright?” Minseok hyung asked me. “I’m fine,” I answered curtly and headed off to the dance studio first for cooling off. I was glad nobody followed me.

My classmates started filing into the dance studio for class. She silently walked past me and sat on the other side of studio, star