Ren

I ended up giving my mother a massage since I had promised her. I took a shower after that and went to sleep. I woke up around 6am. I brushed my teeth and got dressed. When I went to the kitchen to eat, I found a note on the table from my mother.

Ren,

Sorry I’m not there, but I have to get to the market early to get the red mackerels for today. I hope your day goes great today and thank you so much for the massage you gave me last night

, Love

Mom

_XXP.S_xx: Can you go to school with Linh today?

After I had finished reading the letter, I folded it up and stuck it in my bag. I sat down and ate some bread and drank tea. After I finished up, I went upstairs and got my gym clothes and tennis shoes. I got out of the house by 6:55am and made my way towards Lin’s place. I stood in front of her door for a moment before ringing the bell.

Ding Dong….. Ding Ding Dong

The bell rang.

I heard a lock unlock and the door slowly opened, revealing Linh. I stood there in awe, staring at her. She looked so beautiful in her black pencil skirt, black pumps, and white ruffle blouse with a black collar. Her hair was tied into a tight bun, sitting on top of her head. And her lips tinted with light pink lip gloss.

“Linh, you look amazing” I said, going inside her house. I removed my shoes at the doorway and put on some house slippers.

“And you look so plain Rennie” She said, taking a seat on her living room floor. I looked around her house, taking in everything. Her house was exactly like ours except for the fact that she had strange miniature statues and a big black and white poster of a baby Chimpanzee.

“Rennie, come sit down” She said, patting the floor. I walked toward her and sat myself down right next to her. On her coffee table was makeup ranching from eyeshadow, lip gloss to blush.

“You’re going to go to school today looking hot” she grabbed a makeup brush and a tub of blush. She dusted it over my cheeks and proceeded on applying some of the lip gloss. After that was done, she applied some mascara and eye shadow.

“I’m done” She grabbed a mirror lying nearby and handed it to me. I gladly took it and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked beautiful.

The makeup looked so natural and the lip gloss made my lips appear fuller than they actually were.

“Thank you so much Linh!” I exclaimed, hugging her.

“Yeah yeah” She put her things away and disappeared into her bedroom. She came back holding a tote bag and a small black purse.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” She asked, coming towards me.

“Yeah, have you?” I asked, getting up.

“Yeah I have. Let’s go” 

I put on my shoes while she got out her keys. She locked her door and we made our way towards the bus station. I helped carry her tote bag filled with today’s lesson for class. We sat together on the way to school. The bus arrived at the station at 7:20am. We got off and made our journey towards the school.

“Did you finish the homework for Tae-Hyun?” 

  As we got closer to the school gates, we saw students making their way towards the school. They were either walking, riding their bicycles, or their parents were dropping them off.

“Yeah why?” 

“Hand it over. I’ll hand it in for you” She said, stopping. I stopped and opened my backpack. I took out the homework and handed it over. She took it and put it inside her tote bag that I was holding. She took her tote back and told me to go inside.

“I’ll see you later, okay” She said, walking away. I nodded my head and headed inside the school. I hung my head down and walked toward  history class. I didn’t bump into Nu’est which was a good thing. When I got inside the class, no one was there. I’m guessing that they were too busy hanging out with their friends before the bell rang. I walked toward my seat and sat down. I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. It was 7:28am. I had to make the remaining 16 minutes pass by fast.

I put away my phone and pulled out my notebook and a pencil. I decided to write a song even though I wasn't very good at it.

I cry without tears

Not a single feeling left in my heart

I keep crying again and again

The sadness known to me has now become my haven

Why have I fallen into such shallow scars?

My emotions run from one end to another

Why is there a target on my heart?

The sadness known to me has now become home.

 “Ahem” A male cleared his throat. I looked up to see JR standing there. I looked around to see a couple of people sitting there, either talking, reading or playing on their phones. I quickly took a glance at the clock up front. It was exactly 7:35am.  I looked down again, concentrating on my song. As I was about to add more words, I saw my notebook taken off the desk. I glanced up to see JR standing in front of my desk, holding my notebook. I didn’t make an attempt to try and take it back because we all knew that he will win the fight. A few of the students turned around to see what the commotion was. I sat there and stared at JR as his eyes scanned the surface of my notebook. He looked at me over the notebook and put it down. So nothing happened. The kids went back to what they were doing, knowing that nothing was going on. He smirked at me before taking a seat next to me. Wu Duck-Won came to class, absorbed in his book. He looked up and our eyes met.

“You look so beautiful today, MinKi!” he said as he walked over to his desk. I looked down at my lap, trying very hard not to blush.

“Thank you” I managed to mumble. I looked up again.

“You’re welcome” He said, putting away his book.

“What book are you reading?” I asked, curious.

“I’m reading ‘Almost Perfect’ by Brian Katcher” He held up his book. The cover was of a young lady with pink lipstick on but a little bit was smeared on her cheek. It had English writing on it which I did not understand.

“You can read English?” I asked, wondering.

“Kind of. I’m still learning though” He put down the book away.

“Cool, I can only read simple sentences” I said, smiling.

“Hey that’s way better than not knowing at all”

“Yeah I guess it is better than not knowing at all” I said. I was thinking about going over there until I got interrupted by Mr. Ki. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. Right now, everyone was in their seat. Mr. Ki had a smile on his face which was a bit strange since he didn’t look like the happy type.

Mr. Ki talked about what we’ll be learning tomorrow. It felt like forever. I sat there until I heard the bell ring. I bolted out of my seat and fast walked toward the restroom. When I got there, there were no girls in there, which meant that I would be able to do my business in peace, without their occasional death glares. When I got back to class, I noticed that I was the first person to arrive. I grabbed my things and sat at the same spot that I sat in yesterday. I sat there and wait for class to begin. Kids start coming in. Sitting anywhere but near me. Linh comes in shortly after the final bell rings. The kids sit there and talk while Linh gets her things together. I sit there quietly, waiting for her to begin. BaekHo walks in shortly. He takes the seat right next to me and doesn’t talk.

“BaekHo, where have you been?” Linh asks, looking up. I am also wondering where he’s been.

“I was trying to get my locker opened” He answers. Linh looks at him and nods. We all know that he’s lying. She begins the class, telling us about what materials we will be needing for her class. She ends the class very quickly, giving us a 10 minute free time. In that time we’re allowed to do whatever we want, but we have to be quiet about it. She sits at her desk, playing on her phone while the rest of the students go about their business, chatting with one another except me. I’m the one who is excluded. I sit there, feeling down. I thought this school year would be good but so far nothing special. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up to see BaekHo staring at me. He doesn’t say anything but just sit there and stare at me.

I decide to say something since he’s too dumbfounded to speak.

“Hi” I say, smiling. He looks like he doesn’t want to say anything but finally opens up.

“Hi” He says, looking down at the ground. He seems different this year.

“Hey I want to apologize on JR’s behalf. He didn’t mean to say those words” He says, looking up. I’m taken aback by what he just said.

“It’s okay. That’s JR being JR” I say.

“Yeah I guess it is” He says, smiling. This is the first time that I’m seeing him smile.

“You look really good today” He says. I try very hard not to blush but I feel my cheeks getting red at the thought of what he just said.

“Thank you” I say. I turn to the front of the class to see Linh staring at us with a big grin on her face. She mouths the question “Do you like him?” I slightly shake my head to the side, meaning no. I smile again and turn back to BaekHo.

“How was your summer?” He asks, looking at me directly in the eyes. I am greeted by deep brown chocolate eyes. They remind me of the nature.

“My summer was okay, nothing special. I helped my mother with her job at the market” I say, not ashamed to tell him about my mother’s job.

“How was your’s?” I ask.

“I stayed home with my older brother and niece. My parents are around the world, travelling” He says. Oh! So he lives with his brother and niece.

“How old is your niece?” I ask, wanting to know.

“She’s 5 years old. She begun kindergarten today” He says, smiling proudly.

“Cool” I say. The bell rings as I am about to ask another question.

“See you later, BaekHo” I say, walking out of the classroom. I think I just made a new friend.

 I walk to class the rest of the day with a smile painted across my face. This was the first time that one of the Nu’est members was actually having a conversation with me and being nice in the process. During lunch, Linh sits with me but later moves away to sit by the teachers which I am totally okay with. 6^th hour passes. I go to 7^th hour, anticipating seeing BaekHo. I’m the first person in class. I sit there, waiting for the other students to arrive. They all finally arrive, with Mr.Yi closing the door but no BaekHo. I try not to show my disappointment. Mr.Yi collects our sheets with the music on it and plays it by first names. 18 minutes into the one of the songs, the door opens. Standing there is BaekHo with a busted lip and a deep cut on his cheek. He closes the door and makes his way towards me. He sits in the empty sit next to me and stares at the board where the music video is playing. All eyes are on him, everybody shocked. He got into a fight. I wonder who it was.

I turn to look at him to get a closer look. Blood is dripping from his lips and cheek. His right eye has a bit red around it, and in no time he’ll get a black eye. I grab my bag and pull out a bag of tissues. I take two out and slowly lean in towards him. He senses someone leaning towards him because he turns and looks at me. I press the tissue on his wounds, and he flinches a bit from the pressure. I ask Mr.Yi if I can take him to the nurse’s office and he approves. I walk with him down the hall in silence.
 

“You didn’t have to do that” He says, looking at me. I don’t say anything and keep on walking. We reach the nurse’s office but she isn’t there. I instruct BaekHo to sit on the bed while I grab the alcohol wipes. I ripe open a whole packet and dap some on his cheek. He sits still while I do that, but moves away as I am about to go for his lips.

“Don’t” He says, grabbing my wrist as I am about to do the lips.

“I need to clean it or else it’ll get infected” I say, trying to free my hand away.

“Okay” He says, letting go of my hand. I lean in close, our lips inches away from each other.

“If it helps, I suggest you holding onto the bed” I say, pressing his lips with the wipes. He lets out a low groan as I hold the wipe there to stop a bit of the bleeding. I pull away, looking at the wound.

“The blood has stopped” I say, throwing away the blood stained wipes. *Where is the nurse?* I go through her drawers looking for a band aid. I find a box of pororo band aids and hello kitty band aids. I hold the two boxes up for him to see.

“Which one?” I ask, shaking the boxes. He points to the Pororo box.

“Good choice” I say, pulling out a medium size band aid. I unwrap it and put it onto his wound on his cheek.

“I suggest you put some ointment on your lips when you get home. And try not to eat anything hot” I say, standing there.

“How would you know if the ointment will work or not?” he asks, standing up.

“I would know because I have had a busted lip before” I say. I try not to hint at the fact that he and his friends are the ones who gave me a busted lip back in the 8^th grade.

“Oh. Anyways thank you” He says, bowing.

“Yep”

By the time we get back to class, the bell rings. I say bye to BaekHo as I walk towards my 8^th hour study hall. I do nothing except for sleep. The bell rings dismissing study hall. I go to the locker rooms and change into my gym clothes away from the public. I walk to the gym and sit at the bleachers. More kids come in and sit with their friends. I don’t mind. BaekHo, Minhyun and JR come in last as always. I get up and walk towards them.

“Hi BaekHo” I say, totally ignoring the stares and glares coming from other students and JR. BaekHo looks at me with cold eyes as he speaks.

“Get the hell away from me, you !” He says, looking at me. Everyone bursts out laughing as I walk away. His change of attitude really changed just over the course of one hour. I sit there with my head down, trying not to cry.

“He didn’t just say that” I mumble to myself, wiping the tears away.

BaekHo is a two face.

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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