“But seriously, why did he hate me anyway? It’s not like I know him personally whatsoever. I mean, who hate stranger?”, I asked in disbelief while munching on my lunch on cafetaria. Continuing the conversation that was cut out before class.

The information relayed by Soojung earlier still left me shocked. It’s not like I’m bothered by that, I don’t care anyway, but it was just too ridiculous.

“I don’t know exactly why, but based on the rumor circulated, he just hate girls in general. Never did anyone saw him hanging around girls, all his friends are all boys, you know them, Bobby and the others”, she said.

“... not really actually”, I shrugged.

Soojung facepalmed herself, knowing that there is no hope that me knowing anyone in this school.

“Okay, okay.. I can’t expect anything from you”, she grunted and take a big sip of her cola.

I chuckled by her behavior. Sometimes I wonder why is she can be so comfortable around me who did not give a damn to anything around me except study. Not that I complained, instead, I feel grateful that she is there anytime, being a very good friend.

“But Jisoo, I did hear another rumor about Hanbin though”, she lean closer to me as she munching her sandwich.

“What is that?”

“About why he hated you particularly. They said he hated the rich- kind of girl, that act coy and arrogant”, she lower her voice.

“And I don’t think it has anything to do with me?”, I confusedly tilted my head.

Soojung sighed.

“, it has anything to do with you. You are rich, act coyly and seen as arrogant by more than half of school population”, Soojung pointed out.

“What....”, I agresively looking something  useful to hit Soojung while the later laughed her heart out.

“Everything I said is true, right? Come to think of it, I don’t think you can deny any”, she continue laughing.

I sighed. She is right for some reasons. I did come from a wealthy family and also maybe act arrogantly around school. Well it is not arrogant as in ‘arrogant’, it was just me avoiding everyone in this school.

“Well then, I think all I can do is swallow it up. My fate. The fact that I am in the same class as Jinkyung is frustating enough, now with this one fella called Hanjin to be added”, I let out my most frustating sigh today while gathering the cutleries.

“It’s Hanbin”

“Right, right”, I shake Soojung off, “I will try not to get into his radar”.

“But you’re in the same class as him, how come you not get into his radar?”, Soojung follows me to dispose the remaining food.

“I said I will try, even with the slightest possibility”, I shrugged, making my way to the next class. Classes never been this uninteresting for me.

“Hahahaha, good luck then. See you after school!”, Soojung waves while running to her class in the third floor.

Good luck for me too.

***

Soojung left school earlier because something came up and I was left alone, gathering my things from the locker. It was always like this though. When Soojung can’t accompany me, I would do everything on my own. High school days without a bunch of friends? It might sounds ridiculous for some people, but I just need to get away with it. It has always been like this anyway. Me, remain unbothered.

When I just about to turn around after locking my locker door, I bumped into someone and splattering things I held in my hands.

“I’m sorry”, I simply said while gathering everything from the floor.

Silent.

Well, I almost forgot that students here chose not to talk to me.

“Hanbin, isn’t it the girl you said before?”, someone finally kind enough to speak up.

Wait, what? Hanbin? The trouble maker?

“Yes”

I keep crouching on the floor, refusing to face the said person. I’m not afraid of him, I just don’t want things are prolonged over this simple matter. Given the fact that the certain person is Kim Hanbin.

“Didn’t you say you are in the same class as her?”, the same voice keep on asking.

“Yes Bobby. Now, can you stop asking? It’s not important, we’re just wasting our time. Football practice start in 10  minutes. Come on”, Hanbin end the conversation and slammed the locker door, make me startled a little bit.

The footsteps getting further, indicate that they have left the locker.

I get up, put the things I picked up from the floor to my bag, and going toward school gate.

Yes, I met him before in the class. Kim Hanbin. Like any other students in my class, he didn’t bother to acknowledged me, let alone greet me. We made an eye contact for a split second, but it’s not even counted if I must say.

I was occupied for the rest of the class, because there is no need to be bothered over something happened everyday since I started high school. My grades are way more important.

My bus approaching to the school bus stop. I walked closer to enter the bus, given the possibilities of getting the seat instead of standing all the way home. But looking at it, the bus are relatively empty.

Getting my favorite seat at the back, I look over the school field at the distance, where the school football club are practicing. I spotted Hanbin and his friend from earlier, running across the field. It seems that they are in the main team. I don’t know, random guess.

My mind travelled back to the scene earlier in the locker. Now I am sure that he hated me, eventhough I do not know the reason. I mean, I still probably can understand why girls hating me, but he, I don’t even remember talking to any of the boys in the school, except for assigment or school projects.

It doesn’t mean that I care whatsoever, I’m purely curious. That’s all.

***

“He really did that!?”, Soojung half-screaming through the phone, loud enough for me to distance my phone from the ear.

“I can hear you, crystal clear. But yes, he did that”, I rolled my eyes, again, remembering what happened this afternoon. Soojung called me earlier. No special reason, but we did it once at a time.

I can hear her giggling across the phone.

“Sorry, I just can’t believe that the encounter would happened this quick”, she snorted, obviously making fun of me at the moment.

I shrugged, “I know. I didn’t expect that to happened too. I mean, I did not planning to encounter him any time in the future though”. I sip on my remaining ice canned coffee while going through some notes.

“Right, just do what you usually do. Keeping yourself as invisible as possible, and avoid at any cost”.

I silently nod my head. That’s what I’m planning to do throughout this year. No more unnecessary encounter.

“Are your parents home yet? Where did they go again?”, she ask me. Soojung is that much familiar with my family condition. She knows that my parents constantly going abroad for business trips, and I will be left home most of the time, alone, only with the assistants that has been working for years with my family.

“Nope. I believe they won’t be home until Friday”, I’m trying to remember it correctly, “Oh, they went to Singapore by the way”.

“I see”, I can imagine her nodding her head while chewing on some chocolate on the bed. She loves them.

“Want to go somewhere tomorrow? Cute cafe or some newly opened coffee shop?”, she continues.

“Sounds good. I hope there is nothing important to do tomorrow. I mean, school just started. They won’t start giving us lifetime stock of homeworks, don’t you think?”, I rambling by myself. Feeling unfairly treated if that is the real case.

“Yeah, but knowing our school..”, she sighed at the thought, “But let’s just stay positive. No homework or projects tomorrow!”.

I smiled by her positivity.

***

But then, only positivity sometimes leads you knowhere. You need a proper amount of luck as well.

Two of four subjects I’m in today already handed out weekly assignment that need to be submitted two weeks from today. And it’s not a merely assignment, it was a group assignment. Which means that I need to be in the group of people that probably hates me.

What make it worse that, I’m in the same group as Hanbin.

***