[SANDEUL POV]

My eyes flutter open, and they sting from the salty broth that seeps in.

Without an expression on my face, I toss my books on the ground, casting them aside for right now. Part of me hopes they didn't get ruined, but the other part of me just doesn't care.

Today, the hallway is full of people. And they're all staring right at me.

My hands reach up to wipe the noodles from my face. My tongue is tied. I honestly can't form any words right now, so while my body is still functioning, I make sure to fling my wrist as I wipe so that some of the ramen flies back at Sunwoo.

The hallway is full of people.

He's never done this before. He's never humiliated me in front of other students. I thought he had an image to protect.

So why?

Did he decide he wasn't doing enough to hurt me? All the insults, all the stupid pranks, were they not enough to fuel his ego? And now, he does this in front of all his peers, the people that party with him and give him that sought after “popular” status. Does he value torturing an innocent person more than his precious kingka title?

I really just don't get it.

I stand there, a blank expression on my face as I stare at Sunwoo, and he smirks at my pathetic stature.

And slowly the shocked-silent people around us begin to buzz with whispers, which slowly turns to a few giggles here and there, and then it's just full-out laughter.

I swear Sunwoo was glowing, soaking in the positive attention and smiling triumphantly as his ego skyrockets.

So they accepted it. This guy that everyone looks up to, publicly humiliates someone older than him, and everyone's fine with it and laugh right with him.

I thought I hated this school.

Now I completely resent it.

As much as I'm angry, and as much as I should tell this ing bastard off, or give him a good slap to the face, or something, I just stand there. I can't move.

And honestly, I just want to cry.

I glance down at my uniform jacket. The once brilliant navy blue is now stained all along the front with ugly brown liquid. My dress shirt is covered in it as well, and I can feel bits of meat and vegetables and ramen in my hair. My eyes are focused on a noodle currently sliding down the length of my tie, and next thing I know, my vision becomes clouded.

Don't you dare cry, I warn myself in my head.

Don't you dare ing cry. You're better than this. You're so much better than this and that bastard doesn't deserve the satisfaction of making you shed a single tear.

Don't ing cry. Don't cry don't cry don't cry.

A drop lands on the back of my hand, and I know I've lost this battle.

Abandoning my books, I clamp my fists shut and run as fast as I can past Sunwoo and his stupid “posse”, making my way to the restrooms in the next hall. I don't look back to see his expression, but I can only guess that is laughing even harder now.

My back slides down the wall of the bathroom, and I pull my knees to my chest and hide my face in my arms. Honestly I don't give a who's in there right now. No one knows who I am anyway.

I'm not the type to sob loudly, but I know my whole face scrunches up and I gasp a lot. I've never actually seen myself cry, 'cause well, that would be weird, but I'm pretty sure its not very attractive. So I sob into my sleeves, not really worried about ruining the fabric any further in this situation.

My head is swarming with every insult Sunwoo's ever thrown at me. Each one makes me cry a little harder, gasp a little louder. I'm supposed to be stronger than this and he wasn't supposed to get under my skin. I feel so pathetic, so weak that it makes me cry harder.

I'm not exactly sure on the time, but when it feels like I've been there for half an hour, I decide to call Gongchan.

That's what he said I should do, right?

I pull my phone out of my pocket, about to press 1 for his speed-dial, but my hand freezes in it's place when I hear hurried footsteps coming towards the bathroom. My body tenses and suddenly I'm on high alert.

, I swear if it's one of Baro's friends or even Baro himself...

But I'm relieved to see it's just Gongchan.

He looks down at me with wide eyes, glancing at my condition, his chest rising and falling as he pants in the doorway. He must have been running or something...

I look back up at him, and I must have looked completely pathetic, because he quickly bent down and wrapped his skinny arms tightly around my shoulders.

“Gongchan, your uniform's going to get all dirty,” I croaked out, my throat dry and painful from crying.

“Shut the hell up,” he snapped and tightened his grip, and I was almost frightened for a second. Sweet little Gongchan never used words like that. But then he continued, “I don't care if my uniform gets a little messed up. Look at you.” To prove his point, he pulled away and looked me up and down, finishing by looking right in my eyes.

“Sunwoo?” he asked, his gaze and voice suddenly filled with a gentle concern.

I nodded slightly, not wanting to say anything more because it hurt to talk.

He hugged me again. “That bastard,” he cursed once more beside my ear. “He's going to pay for this. I will get him back. No one hurts my best friend.”

I smiled and let my head rest on his shoulder, shamelessly accepting the small boy's comfort. I don't know what I'd do without Gongchan. I'd be completely alone. Sometimes I take advantage of his company, telling him I prefer to be alone, but in all honesty I love this kid. He does a lot for me, and I don't do enough for him.

“Thanks, Gongchan,” I mumble with a smile, and he responds by hugging me tighter.

Gongchan suggested that I go home early, so with a bit of reluctance, I agreed. It's not like it'd be a problem for me to miss out on a few lessons, so as long as I get a pass, I should be fine.

I walk through Sung Hwa's empty halls to get to the nurse, my feet dragging along the ground as I go. I had my jacket and tie draped over my forearm, damp from being scrubbed in the bathroom sink, and I probably looked (and smelled) like a mess, with ugly brown stains around the neckline of my white dress shirt, and puffy red eyes. My hair was wet, because I washed that as well.

Whenever I walked, no matter where I was, I tended to face the ground. It's not like my neck would be bent 90 degrees and I would see nothing in front of me, but I'd always focus my gaze about twenty feet in front of me on the floor. I had a hard time looking people in the eye, so sometimes I'd clumsily run into someone.

Gongchan thinks I don't have enough confidence.

I think the floor's just interesting... Or something. (I'm also lousy at excuses.)

So anyways, because my gaze is always directed at the ground, naturally, I notice what the ground looks like.

And let me tell you, Sung Hwa's floors are some of the dirtiest in Korea.

(Now you're probably waiting for me to tell you why you should give a about what the floors look like.)

Well honestly, it's just one of those stupid things that make me hate this school even more.

The maintenance is awful. Obviously, not only do the teachers and students not care, but the janitorial staff doesn't either.

The halls probably haven't been cleaned in a year, the walls have writing all over them, and to be frank, I can't believe I sat on that bathroom floor not too long ago.

I just want to go to Seoul Academy. Please.

My OCD thoughts end as I reach the nurse's office, where I rap on the door lightly. I hear a muffled “Come in!” from inside, so I turn the handle and step inside.

“Oh goodness, what happened to you!” she exclaims and stands up at my appearance. I guess I look as ty as I predicted.

I scratch the back of my neck. “I, uh, spilled my lunch,” I lie. No sense in telling her the truth, I don't need to get involved in any more drama. “I was wondering if I could go home early and wash up?”

Her wide eyes relax a little, and she sits down to pull something out of her desk. “Sure, sure, honey, let me write you up a sick pass and make sure none of your teachers mark you absent, and then you can go home.”

“Thanks,” I smile lightly, and wait for her to finish. Meanwhile, I glance around her office. Her desk is covered in small nicknacks and photographs, and the drab off-white walls are plastered with colorful posters about different health topics. Though I don't care about the content of the posters, the bright colors make the room a little more friendly and inviting.

I glance at the nurse herself, and she looks about fifty, with a pretty face that's almost enhanced by the wrinkles she has. She reminds me a lot of the librarian, and I conclude that this nurse isn't as awful as some of the other teachers at this school.

She finishes what she was doing and hands me the pass. “Hold on to this just in case the secretaries at the office stop you on your way out,” she smiles, and I take the slip of paper. “Do you need me to call home to get a ride or anything?”

I smile back at her. “No thanks, I live close enough to walk.”

“Okay, have a good afternoon,” she exclaims, and I let myself out of her office.

“You, too,” I say before closing the door behind me. I quickly go back to my locker, grabbing my books off the (ew) floor where I left them earlier. (Okay, I probably sound insane now, but the dirty floors really bother me!) I rush out the door and down the sidewalk to my house, where, luckily, my mother isn't at.

I toss my uniform in the washer, adding detergent and turning it on. I grab a quick shower, the hot water turning cold as I stupidly remember you can't run the shower and the washer at the same time.

By the time I'm done and dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans, it's still only two 'o clock. If I remember correctly, my mother comes home at six. She works part time as a waitress at the moment, and I'm surprised she still has her job. She's showed up late and hungover enough times that I figured they would have fired her by now.

In the free time I have, I decide to go out. It's been a while since I've had time to myself, and I think after today's events, a walk in the park to clear my head sounds like a good idea.

I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and shove my phone in the pocket of my hoodie, heading out the door.

Unlike this morning, the sun is high in the sky and shines brightly through the spring leaves. I inhale deeply, taking in the scent of plum and cherry blossoms that I hadn't noticed begun to appear in the past few days. Cherry blossoms used to fascinate me when I first moved to this area, because there weren't any cherry trees in my old town. They easily became my favorite thing to look at while living here.

Lately, my mind's been so busy that I forgot it was my favorite time of year. Today, I make sure to take the time to actually enjoy the nature around me. My mind is clear of parents, school, and all the other pressures in my life.

Walking along the path in the park, I watch married couples with small children having picnics, men playing Frisbee with their dogs, and younger couples walking hand in hand.

I dream that someday, I'll be able to have all of that. I'll be completely honest, I want a cliché life. I want a romance story filled with innocent feelings and puppy love. I want to end up with a beautiful wife, three kids, a dog, and a white picket fence. Though I may not seem like it because stress drains the personality out of me, I'm truly some stupid hopeless romantic.

It's pathetic, I know.

But as I walk through the park's damp grass and think about these things, my lips turn up into a goofy smile that probably makes me look ridiculous.

A guy can dream, right? I know that someday, I'll be really content. Whether I make it happen for myself or it's just fate, a day will come where I'll finally be happy.

I sit down on one of the park benches, hands in my pockets as I lean my head back and gaze up at the clouds. My eyes squint because of the sun, but I start picking out shapes in the clouds nonetheless. I've found a squirrel, a duck... –

Suddenly a shape obstructs my vision, casting a shadow over my body and blocking out the sky above me.

“Nice to see you here, fattie.”

And that day when I'll be happy suddenly seems very far away.

[A/N]: So it's past midnight here and I'm exhausted, so that's why this chapter is probably a little messy. xD I wanted to get it out tonight, though, so I'll probably clean it up a little tomorrow, along with hopefully posting Chapter Three. (: So what do you guys think? Did Sandeul react the way you expected? ^^

Comments are love, and I want to thank you guys for the awesome response to Chapter One. I love you all :D <3 Goodnight. ^^