During the sports session, it was a bright day, possibly too bright when the earth rotated away from the sun. The children ran, slowly, painfully slow. It was like they were trapped between waves, laughter fading away like a distant echo. He stood in ths midst of the place, ball in hand. At the other end was Jisoo, adjusting her glasses. The life had wasted from her; her enthusiasm, those days of getting the top in class might have crashed against a void.

    He was partly to blame. But for now, he relished in the response the class gave him. Jisoo and he were the actors. The rest were but an audience. On the stage, they fit together like yin and yang. Perfect harmony and discord all at once.

    Her eyes were filled with sorrow. In one swift yet slow motion, he the ball in her direction. Her knees wobbled, but she dodged to the left. The ball hit her square in the face. Her glasses slipped to the floor and she stumbled over her feet.

Laughter. It rang like bells among the invisible waves. Jisoo curled into a ball while he joined in with the laughter.

“What’s going on?” the teacher had asked.     

    “Dodgeball,” he said, shrugging away the mischievous grin. After all, they took part in sports class. Accidents happened.

    No one dared help Jisoo up. No one at all. She lay there on the floor, hands holding her bloody nose, until the teacher spotted her.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I didn’t see the ball.”

    Jin never understood why she bothered pretending. She never once told on him. Ever.

Sadness was like a rope around your neck. It squeezed until it strangled the breath out of you. It crawled down the windpipe like smoke, before stretching into your lungs. It burned and sparkled like glass before shattering, piercing into your very soul. When the voices would stop, the sadness seeped in. That relentless feeling of worthlessness. That empty vacuum, and the endless circle of constant infinity. The idea that it would never end.

    Jin had lived with it for so many years. He wished for it to end in some way, some form. If only it could be washed out of his system, but it clung to his mind like slime. No detergent could reach in there. Only the voices, which bred amongst the sadness.

Perhaps seeing Jisoo again led him towards a purpose, a meaning to erase his sadness--or atleast face it head on. Perhaps asking for forgiveness would end the guilt that he carried for years. Six years, was it? Six years since Jisoo had to move school thanks to him.

    And he paid the price for it too, being the new target for the school to pick on.

“Jin? Are you awake?”

    He roused to his side, before he realised he was inside a room. The yellow walls were too bright. The scent of ethers made his stomach roil. There was a cannula in his arm. His head hurt, but he was strangely drowsy.

    He noticed Irene by his side, and that barbie-faced girl with the blonde hair.

“Thank God!” she exclaimed. “I was beginning to believe I’m truly bad luck walking about.” She crossed herself. “Thank you Father. I’ll promise to pay tribute in church this Sunday. Anyways…” Her features contorted. “How could you get knocked out over a little cut!?”

    “What?” Jin frowned at her. It was surely not a minor cut. His head hurt.

Irene placed her hands on her hips. “The doctor said it wasn’t serious. You probably fainted after seeing blood.”

    Jin blushed. Surely he was not that weak, was he?

“How’d you feel?” The blonde-haired girl poked his arm. He shooed her aside.

    “I’m fine.” He scratched his cheek. “Did you find your bike?”

She shook her head, lament etched her face. “Nope. But who cares? I’m just glad my bad luck didn’t get to you.” Her hand reached for his. “I’m Lisa, by the way. Your new best friend.”

    Jin snorted. “What? Are you serious?” He glanced at his cousin for reassurance.

Irene leaned back into her chair. The look on her face suggested otherwise. So coy. “We decided when you were unconscious. Lisa’s new in town, and we’re gonna mind her. Her family lives in the same neighbourhood.”

A new friend? He shifted to his side, staring past the wall. Someone like him did not deserve any friends. If Lisa knew anything about his past then she would not hesitate to admonish him. He deserved that.