Two days have passed, and there weren’t any signs of Kyungmi. She didn’t attend school and she was unreachable when her friends tried to contact her. Gossips about her won’t stop and the entire school knew about the post that was published two days ago.

 

“What's with her? “. Jarim sighed as she ended the call after she tried to reach Kyungmi. “She’s not answering my calls “. 

“She didn’t even read my messages “. Minji pouted as she shook her phone. “Could it be related to the post? “. 

“Yah, the post is giving false information “. Ahram pointed out. “Do you think our Kyung is really someone like that? “. Ahram then cursed. “I’m sure that jerk of Jo Seungmin has something to do with it “. 

“Jo Seungmin? “. Jarim blinked at her. “Why do you bring him up? “. 

“Kyungmi and I encountered him one day and he seems to know about a guy called Kim Hyukjae, plus, he said something about him going after her, I don’t know what he meant….”. Ahram sighed. “Just thinking about it makes me want to rip off that mouth of his “. Kyungwoo glanced at her as he wondered what the hell happened for a post to be published like that. He didn’t believe Kyungmi was someone who would have acted like that, in fact, he refused to believe that. 

“Shouldn’t we go visit her? “. Minji asked. 

“I already tried “. Jarim told her. “She won’t open the door “. 

“What should we do? “. Minji pouted with sadness. “I’m worried about her “. 

Kyungwoo sighed as he grabbed his backpack and left to go to Kyungmi's apartment. 

 

 

Kyungmi bit her thumbnail as she tried to remember some things about her past, more like the real Kyungmi’s past life. 

 

“If the real Kyungmi faced stalking in the past, there’s no way she hasn’t left any evidence before the accident….”. Kyungmi thought, and she decided to look through her room if there was anything that the real Kyungmi left behind. She looked through her desk but nothing came out. Then she went to her closet and went deeper to find any kind of secret boxes that she usually sees in dramas. She looked down, and she saw a small box covered in between the coats. “Bingo “. She bent down and took it out while dusting it off. She went toward her bed and sat down before opening the box. She frowned when she found an old cell phone along with its charger. “Could it be that this phone has all the evidence from the past? “. She tilted her head to the side and decided to turn it on. She waited for a few seconds until the cell phone and she was glad that it had at least 49% of the battery. 

“Let’s see…..”. She shakily sighed in nervousness as she went to the gallery of photos. She frowned when she saw pictures of her body with tons of cuts and bruises, and her face was kind of swollen with purple bruises around her eyes. She gulped down as she left the gallery and went to the voice recording. She saw tons of voice recordings and she decided to play one. 

 

“Stop it, Jo Seungmin! You are hurting me! “. She frowned when she heard her own voice. 

“Yah, how dare you to say you want to break up with me? Just because you realized the real truth about what happened between me and Nam Yuri! Crazy b*tch! “. The voice of Jo Seungmin appeared along with the sounds of glasses shattering, startling her.

“What's this? “. She softly gasped as she covered with a hand. She then hissed in pain when she felt a sharp stab on her head and dropped the phone as she grabbed her head with both hands. Then, scenes of her past played like a movie in her head. 

 

~ Flashback ~ 

 

Kyungmi was walking toward the exit of her school’s grounds when she spotted a familiar face that, instead of making her heart flutter, made her feel scared at some point. She shivered at the presence of Jo Seungmin standing in front of the gates as he seemed to be waiting for someone. Clearing , she acted normal as she smoothly walked toward him with the intention to walk past him. As she reached toward him, he called her when she walked past him. Closing her eyes, she turned around with an anxious expression. 

 

“What are you doing here? “. She asked him. 

“What do you mean? “. He scoffed at her sudden change of attitude. “You were ignoring my calls and text messages. I'm worried about you! And you suddenly texted me saying that you wanted to break up with me- “. 

“It’s because that’s true “. She cut him off. “Let’s end this “. 

“What? “. His eyes twitched at the sudden announcement. “Why all of sudden? “. She didn’t dare to say anything and he was beginning to feel frustrated. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her away. They arrived at an alley where no people would go, which scared her to death. 

“Let go of me “. She murmured with annoyance as she yanked her wrist away from him. 

“Yah, you dare to break up with me? “. The sweet Jo Seungmin she used to know was long gone. Now she was facing a replica of the devil itself. “The reason? “. Kyungmi mustered up her courage and lifted her sleeve up, showing him the bruises she got because of him. 

“Do I need a reason after seeing this? “. She spat in anger, now feeling it after constantly keeping it for herself. “Every time we had a discussion, you would end up beating me “. She started. “At first, it was a few bruises and I wanted to break up with you the moment you laid a hand on me, but after seeing you feeling regret about it, I decided to forgive you “. She replied as her voice cracked as she continued. “But the beating continued and I can’t stand it anymore! “. She sobbed as she let a few tears fall. “This isn’t love, this is violence! “. 

“Yah, just because I beat you doesn’t mean you can’t break up with me! “. He exclaimed in anger. “You know that it wasn’t my intention to hurt you “. 

“And what about the rumors you spread to Nam Yuri? It seems like your relationship with her was fake after all “. She scoffed with a forced smile. 

“What did you say? “. 

“I know everything now. You were never in a relationship with her. You just said those rumors because you were jealous that she chose a better person than you “. 

“Shut up “. He muttered as he came closer to her with a threatening aura. 

“It was my mistake to trust someone like you. I should have seen the signs….I guess I was blinded to receive love “. She finished and she began to walk away when he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back, earning a yelp of pain from her. 

“Yah….you can’t just leave like that. You should apologize to me! “. 

“Why should I? I did nothing wrong but to love you “. She spat. She yelped when he pushed her to the floor as he sighed in tiredness to have to deal with her. 

“I guess I should give you a lesson to make you behave well “. He glared at her as he slowly walked toward her while she crawled backward, trying to escape from the misery she felt. 

 

At one of the parties Kyungmi got invited by a senior she was ‘friends’ with, she was sitting on the couch, feeling bored that no one was interacting with her. But she was glad they didn’t, or else, they would have asked her to do stuff for them and she didn’t feel like doing it today. 

“Yah, Choi Kyungmi! “. Kyungmi looked up to see the senior she was friends with, looking at her with her drunken gaze as she mischievously smiled at her while sitting next to her. “Our cute Kyungmi~ Why aren’t you getting a shot of soju I offered you before? “. 

“I’m sorry, unnie….I’m not feeling well “. Kyungmi lied as she tried to make it believable. 

“Eh? Stop lying! “. The female senior laughed as she grabbed the shot of soju and passed it to her. “Plus, soju is the best medicine for every disease~ “. 

“I’m really fine, unnie…”. 

“Yah! “. The female senior shouted as she glared at her. “You shouldn’t reject what your unnie is giving you, huh?! “. 

“But...I’m not feeling well, really….”. 

“Really? “. She arched an eyebrow as she smirked at her. “You know I won’t accept a no for this. You choose, should I shove it to your throat for you or you would take it on your own? Remember that you promised to sing ten songs today “. She reminded her as she looked at her in a threatening way. “If you don’t do as I say, then I will keep spreading those rumors about Nam Yuri and torment your little friend...Kang Seri was her name? “. Kyungmi was trembling in fear as her tears were threatening to fall down from her eyes. With her shaken hands, she accepted the drink and she slowly gulped it down while the female senior cheered her up along with her friends. Kyungmi almost coughed because of the strong feeling of alcohol in but she suppressed it because she didn’t want to show her weak side to them, or else they would keep mocking her. 

 

 

“Y-Yah, Kim Hyukjae…. “. Kyungmi murmured as she took slow steps back to avoid him from coming closer to her. Six months after her break up with Jo Seungmin, she began to experience stalking from an unknown person, which led her to feel anxious all the time and even suffer from depression. Just recently, she found out the person who has been stalking her, was none other than Kim Hyukjae, one of Jo Seungmin’s classmates. “Why are you doing this? “. 

“Why are you acting like you don’t know? “. Hyukjae looked at her with a creepy look as he smirked. “I thought you liked me “. 

“W-What are you saying? I don’t even know you that well “. She stuttered as she continued taking steps backward. 

“Don’t lie to me! “. He shouted aloud, to the point to make her shiver in fear. She clutched tightly onto her phone as she thought of whether she should call the police. “Then what are all those texts of love confessions you sent me, huh? “. 

“What texts? I never sent you anything! “. She denied it as she shook her head. “There must be a misunderstanding! “. She got goosebumps after hearing his maniac laugh. 

“Aigoo~ Our pretty Choi Kyungmi~ you shouldn’t be lying to your lover like that “. He said as he walked closer to her. “If you keep doing that, I will get mad “. 

“Don’t come any closer! “. She warned him. 

“Or what? Are you going to call that ex of yours? “. He chuckled in disbelief. “It will be difficult for him to come…..because I won’t let you do that! “. He screamed before he pushed her toward the road. She groaned in pain as she tried to stand up but she heard a honk on her right side, and the last time she remembered was seeing those flashing lights coming toward her. 

 

~ End of Flashback ~

 

She gasped for air as she sat on the ground and leaned her back against the bed as she tried to calm her breathing down. 

 

“I remembered everything….Kim Hyukjae...it was him who caused the real Kyungmi's accident. That son of a b*tch….”. She thought as she glared at the horizon as her headache eased while her breathing became normal. “Kim Hyukjae, Jo Seungmin…..you guys are going to pay for what you have done to her……”. She exhaled as she stood up and walked out of her bedroom at the same time she heard the bell. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering who might be since she knew her mother would be coming late because of work. She slowly walked toward the door and she was about to ask who it was when a familiar voice began to speak. 

 

“Kyungmi-ah. Yah, Choi Kyungmi “. Kyungwoo called her as he banged the door. She gulped down as she leaned her back against the door while cupping with a hand to not make a noise. “Kyungmi-ah, I know you are in there, come out “. He kept banging the door. “Please, go away….I don’t have the courage to face you right now “. She thought as she was on the verge of tearing up. “Come on, I know that post about you isn’t true. So you have to come out and clear this up so there mustn't be a misunderstanding “. Her shoulders began to shake as guilt was consuming her. She covered her face as she let the tears she'd been holding, roll down on her cheeks as she slid down to sit on the floor, wishing for him to leave. “Please, Kyungmi .... let me help you….”. He exhaled in tiredness as she didn’t open the door for him in the end. He hoped she would at least tell him what was going on. “I thought you would rely on me if you were in trouble….Maybe that’s not the case, right? “. He shook his head and he was about to leave when he heard muffled cries at the other side of the door. His eyes widened a little as he knew Kyungmi was right there, listening to him. He was about to call her again when he heard her cries getting louder with each second. It pained him to imagine her being all alone while enduring the pain and suffering all by herself. He exhaled as he rested his palm on the door, as if by doing that it meant to help her a little bit. On the other side, Kyungmi hugged her knees as she succumbed to misery and guilt. 

“I’m sorry, Kyungwoo….but I don’t think I have the right to be your friend anymore...not after what I’ve done in the past…..”. 

 

The next day, Kyungmi skipped school as well, but she decided to have a stroll around the neighborhood. She made sure she wore a black hoodie along with a black cap to avoid attracting too much attention from people, especially from students of her age. With her new earphones on each side of her head, she walked around while listening to music as she enjoyed the sun rays kissing her skin. It was already four in the afternoon and she knew that all her friends were already at home or hanging out somewhere. 

“I kind of miss them….”. She thought with a sigh as she hopped off the bus she recently rode. With heavy steps, she went to a new internet café, which was an hour and a half away from home by bus. There, she stayed for at least three hours while playing Overwatch to release some stress. 

“Yah, have you seen this post about this girl from Yisan Information High School? “. Her ears perked up after hearing a male voice saying that. She knew it was time to leave. She logged out of the game and walked out of the place before taking the bus on her way home. She slowly walked in the direction on her way to the apartment until she saw the minimarket nearby. Her stomach growled as she remembered that the only food she had was mayo spam fried rice from the internet cafe. With a sigh, she headed inside to get a cup of ramen and a few snacks to satisfy her hunger. She paid and thanked the old lady before walking out of the place. As she made her way toward her apartment, someone called her. She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Jarim walking toward her with an expression of concern. 

“Jarim-ah….”. Kyungmi whispered as Jarim stood in front of her. Jarim scanned from head to toe at her friend and sighed when she saw the plastic bag filled with junk food. 

 

Both girls sat down on one of the benches near their apartment building and didn’t utter a word. Kyungmi nervously played with her fingers as she felt awkward with her friend’s presence. All the appetite she had disappeared in a second. 

 

“So you’ve been wandering around….while ignoring my calls and text messages “. Jarim stated, more in an accusing way. 

“Sorry….”. Kyungmi murmured as she looked down, not daring to make eye contact with her. 

“I didn’t come here to hear an apology from you “. Jarim stated as she turned to her. “I want to know something and I hope you could reply to me “. She started, making Kyungmi feel nervous about it. “Is the post on Instagram telling the truth? “. Kyungmi closed her eyes as she stood in silence, unable to respond to her. “Is it really true? “. 

“....no “. Kyungmi responded after mustering some courage. “It isn’t “. 

“Then why are you hiding and not responding to our calls or text messages? “. Jarim asked as she felt frustrated that her friend was hiding when she did nothing wrong. “You can defend yourself by saying that none of that is true “. 

“I have another reason why I couldn’t respond to your calls or text messages “. Kyungmi softly replied, almost as if she was losing her voice because of fear. 

“Which is? “. Jarim lifted her eyebrows in curiosity. Kyungmi exhaled heavily as she the bottom of her lips in anxiety before replying. 

“Last year….I suffered an accident “. Kyungmi started. “I was hit by a car and I was in a coma for a week “. Jarim’s eyes widened at the new fact. “I woke up remembering nothing about what happened before the accident, nor I couldn’t remember past events and I couldn’t recognize people I used to know….including my mom “. Kyungmi gulped as she began to tear up. “Until I recovered my memories yesterday after finding something out from my room…..I dated Jo Seungmin in the past “. 

“What? “. Jarim scoffed in disbelief at the news. “You mean the jerk that spread ridiculous rumors about Lee Kyungwoo? “. Kyungmi closed her eyes and nodded in affirmation. 

“I didn’t know Jo Seungmin was the one who spread those rumors about him since at that time, everyone believed them, and I was one of them….I pitied him, thinking he was heartbroken because of Nam Yuri and because he had no one by his side, so I befriended him and then we became lovers….until I ended up in an abusive relationship “. She confessed as she wiped her tears away as she heard a soft gasp from Jarim. “After breaking up with him, I suffered from stalking, from a guy called Kim Hyukjae, who happened to be one of Jo Seungmin’s minions “. 

“Crazy bastard “. Jarim cursed as she glared at the horizon. 

“And you know the funniest thing about this? “. Kyungmi let out a soft scoff as she bit down her bottom lip from crying out loud. “It happened that Kim Hyukjae was the one who caused my accident. He was the one who pushed me to the road “. Kyungmi breathed as she continued wiping her non-stop tears. “That’s why I couldn’t tell you nor to the rest of the guys….because I was so ashamed for meddling with Jo Seungmin, who did nothing but give pain to you, Kyungwoo, Jooyoung, and Nam Yuri “. 

“Yah, why are you ashamed about it? “. Jarim came closer to her and encircled an arm around her. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know how he really was “. Kyungmi shook her head as she let her tears roll down her cheeks. 

“It is….I didn’t know about how much Kyungwoo suffered because of him...and I was being his friend without even remembering the past….I’m the worst….How brazen I can be….”. She whimpered as she covered her face with her hands. 

“Don’t say that “. Jarim replied as she rubbed her back in comfort. “Lee Kyungwoo will surely understand you. Both of you are victims of Jo Seungmin’s bullying and you even suffered abuse and violence because of him “. She said as she took both hands from Kyungmi and squeezed them in assurance. “Don’t let him take you down like this. Let’s face this, together. We will come up with a solution. So, don’t hide anymore, and come back to school. Nothing is the same without you “. Kyungmi sobbed as she closed her eyes while feeling grateful that Jarim was being understanding of her situation. She cried, even more, when Jarim pulled her into a tight hug as she smoothed her back while trying to calm her down. Little did they know that Kyungwoo actually listened from start to end of Kyungmi’s story from afar. He didn’t intend to listen to the whole story, since he came with the purpose to see Kyungmi this time, but he couldn’t help to hear it after his name was mentioned. Clenching his fists tightly, his mind was blinded with red because of Jo Seungmin. “ing bastard….you are no human being for doing this to a sweet girl like Kyungmi…”. He glanced at the girls one more time before he walked away from the scene. 

 

Kim Hyukjae was in the billiard center along with Gongwoo and Jihoo, with the latter having an eye on him as a promise he made with Kyungmi. 

 

“He doesn’t seem suspicious at all….Was Kyungmi wrong about him? ”.  Jihoo thought as he kept his eyes on him. Just then, Seri and Yuri came over as they agreed to meet them. But from their expressions, they were not happy with Kim Hyukjae’s presence. 

 

“Hey “. The said guy greeted them but they gave them the cold shoulder as they crossed their arms. “Yah, what’s with the silent treatment “. 

“It was you, right? “. Yuri started. 

“What about me? “. Hyukjae blinked in confusion at them. 

“The post about Kyungmi, you were the one who posted it, right? “. Seri asked with eyes of accusation toward him. At that, Kim Hyukjae laughed as he shook his head. 

“Are you guys writing fanfiction? What are you even saying? “. He frowned at them. “Do you even have proof that I did it? “. 

“You mean this? “. Yuri said as she showed him the screenshot of his IG account being hacked and it showed all his personal information. “You know I have lots of contacts, right? It took me not too long to find out that you were also Kyungmi’s stalker. No wait, you were her stalker even last year! “. She mocked him. 

“This crazy b*tch “. Hyukjae cursed as he was about to confront her when Jihoo came over and blocked them from harm. 

“Don’t even dare “. Jihoo warned him. 

“Tsk “. He scoffed at the sight as he smirked at him. “So now you are showing your true colors. It’s obvious that you like Choi Kyungmi but you don’t admit it, why? It’s because you got rejected! “. He laughed while the three of them glared at him. “See? You and I are on the same level! But to be honest, she isn’t that great of a person, although she has a fantastic body. Do you know what I mean, right? “. He stopped speaking when Jihoo grabbed him by the collar. “Ha, why? Did that bother you? Try hitting me then, I dare you to try! “. At the same time, someone came in and suddenly threw a punch at him. Everyone gaped at the newcomer, who happened to be Jo Seungmin. He looked angry as he glared at Kim Hyukjae and lifted him by grabbing his collar. 

“Jo Seungmin? “. Yuri whispered as she looked at him with a frown. 

“Yah, you bastard...you dare post something like that? “. Seungmin muttered under his breath.

“Why? You said you wanted that b*tch to suffer “. Hyukjae chuckled with excitement. “Why? Already regretting it? “.

“Shut your trap “. Seungmin warned him. 

“You are no better than me, Jo Seungmin. In fact, you are the worst “. Hyukjae laughed. “At least I didn’t beat her up “. 

“What?! “. Yuri exclaimed with anger as she separated both guys before facing Jo Seungmin. “You hit Kyungmi?! “. 

“You didn’t know? “. Hyukjae exaggeratedly gasped as he looked at her. “He and Kyungmi used to date before! “. Yuri and Seri looked at him with widened eyes before staring back at Jo Seungmin. “But that poor girl ended up trapped in an abusive relationship….by him! “. Hyukjae exclaimed with a laugh. Yuri glared at Jo Seungmin, who just stayed in silence, meaning he was admitting to his wrongdoings. 

“You are worse than the devil itself! How could you do that to her?! “. Yuri exclaimed as she began punching him in the chest. 

“Aish, ! Just leave, okay! “. He shouted as he grabbed her wrists and pushed her away. Luckily, Seri was there to catch her.

“YAH, JO SEUNGMIN! “. 

“Now what? “. Jo Seungmin turned around with annoyance before a punch landed on him. He fell to the ground while groaning in pain and looked up when he felt weight over him. He scoffed in amusement when he saw Lee Kyungwoo hovering over him while grabbing his collar. “Yah~ what a surprise “. He retorted. “I never thought I would meet you again after the karaoke thing “. 

“Cut the crap “. Kyungwoo muttered in a low tone, sounding dangerous to the point Jo Seungmin felt intimidated. “I didn’t know you could be the worst human being ever….from being an abuser to hiring a stalker “. He said as he glanced up at Kim Hyukjae smirking at him before he looked at Seungmin. “Wasn’t enough to torment me? Why do you have to make innocent people suffer because of you?! “. 

“Because that way! She will know how I felt when I was humiliated! “. Seungmin spat, earning a scoff from Kyungwoo. 

“Crazy jerk! You should just die! “. He said as he threw punches at him. 

“Yah, Kang Jihoo! Do something! “. Yuri pushed him toward Kyungwoo so he could stop him or something. Jihoo listened to her and approached him and wrapped his arms around him to pull him away from Seungmin. 

“Enough! “. Jihoo screamed as he turned Kyungwoo around and grabbed his forearms to force him to look at him. “I know you are angry, but try to cool down. You don’t want to dirt your hands with blood, right? “. Kyungwoo heaven in anger and then turned to Kim Hyukjae before walking toward him and grabbing his collar. 

“You “. Kyungwoo glared at him. “You dared shoved her toward the road and caused that accident? Are you even a person? “. 

“So what? “. Hyukjae scoffed with a smirk. “Be glad that she’s alive now “. Kyungwoo hissed and he lifted his fist to punch him when Yuri came over and stopped him. 

“Enough, Lee Kyungwoo! “. She exclaimed. “He’s not worthy of just a few punches “. She tried to reason with him. “Think about Kyungmi. She wouldn’t want you to act like this “. At the mention of Kyungmi, he calmed down a little bit and gently yanked her hand away from his fist. Then he glared at the psycho guy as he pointed a finger in warning at him. 

“If I ever see you rounding while looking for Kyungmi, I will kill you “. He promised before releasing him, not before punching him in the stomach. “Son of a b*tch “. He muttered before walking away from the scene. Yuri looked at both Jo Seungmin and Kim Hyukjae before saying. 

“There will be no exception with this situation. We will make sure you guys pay for the consequences. Mark my words “. She replied before walking away as well, along with Seri and the boys.