Chapter 2: First Incident

“Finally!” Seulgi shouted as she sat next to Irene. It was lunchtime, and they both went to their normal spot on the roof to eat.

“I still can’t believe you can eat all of that,” Irene awed at the large container filled with curry, next to an even larger container filled with rice.

“Well it’s your fault for teaching me how to cook,” Seulgi said, happily taking her first bite.

Irene looked out at the school campus. The roof was supposed to be off limits to students, but due to Irene’s issue with some of the boys at school (and consistent whining from Seulgi to their teacher), they were the only ones allowed to go up there for lunch.

“So what do you think about that girl, Wendy?” Seulgi face was messy with sauce.

“She’s nice, at least from what I’ve noticed,” Irene said, wiping Seulgi’s mouth.

“I heard that she already has a fan club from those guys in Room 3B.”

“Really?” Irene asked.

Seulgi nodded, “Yeah, and I heard some of them are already trying to get her attention.”

Irene frowned. She knew exactly what that meant. Throughout the years, no matter how many times she would ignore or reject their advances, the boys would always find a way to trap her or force her into situations that she was extremely uncomfortable with. Eventually, with Seulgi following her everywhere, the boys no longer dared to pressure her.

Seulgi slammed her fist into her hand, “If they hurt that poor girl…” she chewed hard at her monstrous bite.

Irene laughed and stood up, “So you’re going to protect her now instead of me?”

Seulgi sighed, “I guess not…”

“Wow. Fine, I see how it is,” Irene turned towards the exit and walked away, pretending to be hurt.

“I’m just kidding!!” Seulgi tackled Irene from behind as they crashed through the door. Irene couldn’t react fast enough as her foot got caught, and she fell over, almost falling down the stairs. A pair of hands held onto her.

“Omo! Are you okay?” A concerned voice caught their attention.

Wendy was sitting at the top of the stairs, staring at them as they gasped. Seulgi quickly pulled Irene up and apologized as she got hit on the head.

“Don’t apologize to me you dumbo! Hi Wendy, sorry for disturbing you…” Irene looked down at the mess of food on the floor. She bowed again swiftly and started to help clean up Wendy’s lunch.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…Seulgi-ah! Help me!” Irene pulled Seulgi down and they began to wipe up what remained of Wendy’s sandwich.

“It’s okay! I didn’t know anyone was up there!” Wendy nervously helped them clean up and quickly bowed.

“I’m really sorry for everything!” Wendy’s eyes were shut tight as she continued to bend over. Irene quickly helped her up.

“Please, it was our fault, don’t apologize,” she elbowed Seulgi in the gut.

“Y-yeah! We’re sorry for ruining your lunch,” Seulgi tried not to cry out in pain.

“I was getting really nervous around everyone…so I decided to hide up here,” Wendy’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Smart move,” Seulgi commented, getting her foot stepped on.

“I think what my friend means, is that you don’t have to be nervous around us. Are those boys bothering you?” Irene asked, sincerely.

Wendy nodded shyly.

“Damn it! I knew it!” Seulgi was already imagining smashing their faces in.

“Do you want to talk to the teacher about it?” Irene walked down the stairs with Wendy.

“No…I don’t think it’s a big problem. I’m sure it’ll pass…” Wendy said, staring at the ground.

“Don’t be so sure,” Seulgi added.

They reached their hallway, and saw three boys standing by their classroom, looking towards them. It was obvious what their goal was.

“Just stay next to me,” Seulgi tried to walk ahead, but Wendy took the first steps. Irene and Seulgi looked at each other, confused. They followed slowly behind her, concerned about what was going to happen next.

“Hey, there. Wendy, right? You’re in room…3A! That’s nice to know,” one of the boys smirked as he stood by the door, the other two behind him. He was composed and arrogant, a sign that he led their little group.

“Yeah, I am,” Wendy surprised Irene by speaking down to the three boys, who seemed flustered as well.

“You know…you’re a lot prettier than your friend over there.” His eyes scanned Wendy’s body, causing Seulgi to fume. Before she could act, Wendy walked right in front of him, an inch from his face and stared into his eyes.

“Don’t you dare talk about my friends that way.”

There was a brief silence as the six of them stood there, hovering in the tense air. Irene couldn’t see Wendy’s face, but she could tell how serious she was, just by the tone of her voice. It seemed different, almost sinister, as opposed to the shy and embarrassed girl she had encountered not moments ago. 

A drop of sweat trickled down the side of the boy’s face as he laughed nervously and tried to brush off the fierce stare that Wendy was giving him. He turned around, pretending to ignore the vicious aura surrounding her, and walked off with his friends.

“Holy crap!” Seulgi broke the uncomfortable silence.

Irene felt like she just woke up from a dream, and put her hand on Wendy’s shoulder. She was shaking.

“Are you okay?” Irene was worried that the boys had broken through Wendy, causing her to act that way. Surprisingly, Wendy’s eyes looked as fearful as she felt.

“That was scary…” Wendy’s lips trembled as Irene helped her into the classroom. Seulgi was still unable to process what just happened.

“That guy is probably the worst one we’ve ever had to deal with, and you just made him pee in his pants!” Seulgi was getting overly excited.

Wendy laughed anxiously as Seulgi continued to blurt out all of the horrible things that guy had done to Irene in the past. Irene, however, was unable to pull her eyes away from Wendy, who was now back to her normal, shy self. She was in disbelief, and kept thinking back to what happened in the hallway.

Before she could ask, their teacher came back in and disrupted their conversation.

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“You saw that right?” Seulgi asked, walking home with Irene.

“I’ve never seen Jung-Min that…scared before,” Irene remembered a similar moment when she first met him, also outside of their classroom. Ever since Seulgi was around her, he never approached her again. Of course, it could also be that Irene had openly rejected him in front of the entire class.

“He deserves it…that …” Seulgi kicked a rock in front of her house. Irene walked her to the door and greeted her mother, who opened the door.

“Oh Irene! Hi! It’s nice of you to walk Seulgi home like this every day,” Seulgi’s mother smiled warmly and gestured Irene to go inside.

“Hi, it’s nice to see you again Mrs. Kang. It’s okay, I better get home soon, before it gets dark,” Irene bowed and waved at Seulgi, who had already run to the kitchen and come back.

“Take this, my mom prepared it,” she handed Irene a plastic box filled with fruits.

“Thank you!” Irene bowed again as she accepted the gift. She waved one last time as Seulgi and her mother walked inside, closing the door behind them.

Irene laughed slightly as she walked home. She hadn’t had a day like this in a long time. It wasn’t boring, to say the least.

A new transfer student named Wendy, who also has blonde hair like me, and is really pretty.

She unlocked her door and went inside her empty home. Looking down at the three pairs of slippers, she smiled and whispered.

“I’m home.”

After putting the fruit into the fridge, she went upstairs to her room and collapsed onto her bed.

“Don’t you dare talk to my friends that way.”

Irene still remembered the voice very clearly, but most of all, she remembered the fear. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. The feeling that Wendy’s voice echoed slightly in the hallway, almost like time had stopped in that very moment, as the malevolent words wrapped around her, suffocating her.

She shook her head as she began to feel uncomfortable, and pulled out her homework.

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Irene looked out of her window as she rubbed her tired eyes. The moon shined brightly through the glass and ignited the streets with a blue tint. It was quiet, which Irene dreaded, as she closed her book. She finally finished her homework and put her book in her backpack, seeing the small envelope still tucked deep inside. She pulled it out and lay down on her bed, reading the letter.

 The words were sweet and romantic, but Irene felt nothing. It was always like that, which is why Irene seemed to be set as the perfect goddess at school. After all these years, Irene never seemed to take an interest in anybody, regardless if they were interested in her or not. In fact, Irene didn’t really have any friends besides Seulgi. It seemed that being the most popular girl meant that other girls wouldn’t particularly like Irene, seeing as she drew all the attention towards herself.

Irene placed her arm over her eyes as she lay on her back, listening to the soft music being played in her ears. Slowly, her tears began to fall again, like every other night. She turned over and pushed her face into her pillow as she cried loudly, uncontrollably.

It didn’t matter what had happened today, or any other day. The only thing Irene was reminded of at the end of it was that she was alone.  She was left alone to endure everything on her own. Seulgi made things bearable, but she couldn’t rely on Seulgi forever. Her tears, filled with anger and sadness, fell endlessly as she began to grip the sheets.

The house fell silent as she finally stopped crying. She felt her pillow and reached inside, grabbing something. Her eyes blurred as she smiled down at the picture in her hands, tears dripping down.

Her parents were by her sides, smiling brightly as they celebrated her 10th birthday. A big 10 was stuck in the cake in front of her younger self. Irene saw her own happy, laughing face, and closed her eyes.

How long had it been since she’d smiled like that?