~ Chapter Nine ~

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes in confusion. He didn't understand what that girl was talking about. Wasn't there drawings inside Chinsun's sketch book? That was what a sketch book was for... He couldn't possibly think of anything that could be used against her. She had explained to him that she drew animals most of the time, being her cat.

Had Chinsun drawn something personal? Oh no...Chanyeol panicked as he tried thinking of what those girls were plotting. He was certain if there was anything personal in her sketch book those girls would probably show it to many people. What would happen after that? He didn't know, he didn't even want to think about it. What if everyone started laughing and making fun of her drawing? That would be terrible! Chinsun was in loved with drawing, it was her passion. If anyone ever made fun of something so important to her, she would feel worthless. Endless tears would probably be shed by those beautiful dark eyes. Her sorrow would illuminate every feature of her existence until all that is left is a shriveled up corps slowly making the effort to survive the torment day by day.

Chanyeol couldn't allow that. He just couldn't. He had to stop those fools for the sake of Chinsun. But how could he? If he asked for Chinsun's sketch book they would just say that it was theirs. They would lie about it. They would never give him what he wanted.

“Please turn to page thirty-two,” Miss Kim spoke up, turning away from the chock board. Chanyeol flipped to the next page and focused on the task at hand. He was seriously worried at the moment and couldn't take it if those girls actually had Chinsun's sketch book and did something terrible with it. “Yes?” the teacher suddenly questioned, pointing to the desk beside Chanyeol. The tall male glanced at the girl next to him. Her hand was up, Chanyeol couldn't miss that unsettling gleam in her eye. He cocked a brow in confusion as cold sweat began to tense up his hands.

“Do you mind if I show something to the class relating to the book we're reading?” the girl questioned Miss Kim, bringing her hand down. Chanyeol searched over the students and spotted Chinsun looking quite worried for some odd reason. She was fidgeting in her spot, her body slightly shaking as she kept her head held low. Chanyeol couldn't shake off the feeling that she knew what was going to happen.

“Um...yeah sure why not,” Miss Kim agreed, “what did you have in mind?” The girl gave a twisted grin as she pulled out something from underneath her desk. As it came into view, all Chanyeol could do was stare in fear and worry as the girl stood up from her seat. She walked up to the front of the class. Every step making Chanyeol feel more nervous by the second. He couldn't believe what was happening. She came to a stop in front of the oblivious Miss Kim and whispered something into her ear. The teacher nodded her head slowly as she began explaining. “Yeah sure go ahead,” Chanyeol heard Miss Kim tell the student as she whispered what had to be said. Miss Kim took a step foreword and announced, “Alright class! We have a drawing that has been drawn by Chinsun here,” Miss Kim pointed to the shaking girl, “that she is willing to show for us! Please be respectful and enjoy!” The completely quiet class erupted in hushed whispers and confusion as the girl, holding Chinsun's sketch book, cleared .

“Okay,” she started as she searched through the book, “my personal favorite is this one.” She told the class as she stopped at a specific drawing. Glancing at Chinsun, who was mentally trying to dig her grave by hiding her face in her hands. The girl then looked at all the students. She smiled innocently and turned the book around. The whole class became silent as the picture was displayed.

It was a portrait of a girl. Chanyeol didn't know who it was, but he had the feeling it could have been Chinsun, but he knew no one really took that into account, considering how distorted and ugly the person looked. Her hair was black and stringy, it was shooting in every which way that couldn't have been any less hideous. was plastered into a distorted frown with blood drooping out of the sides, the liquid traveled down her chin all the way to the curve of her pale neck. The girl's lips were chapped and colorless. There were stitches to the left of the corner of , a scar poking out the sides. Her nose was extremely skinny and crooked with little swirly hairs sticking out. Her cheek bones were narrow, allowing the class to clearly see the hollowed shells of her face. The rosy pink that was supposed to light up the sides of her couture were completely forgotten. There were enormous dark bags underneath her eyes and her bottom lids drooped down due to exhaustion. The color of her pupils were all black. It looked as if her soul had died and all that was left was a weak body trying its best to carry what was left of the girl's terrible state. Her brows her narrowed upwards to emphasize the depression and sorrow that resided within her. Her forehead crinkled upwards due to that action causing unattractive folds to highlight that area.

She was the most disgusting thing Chanyeol had ever seen. How could have Chinsun drawn something so abnormal? How could she have thought of something so rejected, so unwanted, so...dead?

“That's so gross,” one guy criticized as his other friends nodded their heads in agreement. The class erupted in insults and mockery as they laughed at the hideous drawing. Miss Kim furrowed her brows in anger as she observed her class being completely disrespectful.

“Please be quiet!” she announced. The class shut their mouths at the power of her voice. Miss Kim turned towards Chinsun who was hiding her face. “Thank you very much for that,” Miss Kim said with a smile as she looked at Chinsun, but the girl didn't nod or move a finger. Noticing her behavior, Miss Kim awkwardly coughed and turned to the girl. “I guess I'll take that since this isn't yours...” she mumbled as the girl happily handed her the sketch book. “Now please take your seat and we'll continue our book,” the teacher announced. The girl walked back to her desk sitting down happily in her spot as if nothing had happened.

“Did you see that?” her friend whispered as Miss Kim continued the story. “She looked like she wanted to just die.” Both girls chuckled as they faced the front in accomplishment. Chanyeol couldn't believe what happened. He was utterly awe struck by the occurrence. He was feeling so pissed off that he could literally explode with anger. How could they do that to her? They just humiliated Chinsun in one of the worst ways possible. What if that drawing meant something extremely important to her? What if that drawing wasn't meant to be shared with anyone but Chinsun? What if that girl...was her?

--

Finally the class came to an end. In no time, Chanyeol was up on his feet and ready to run to Chinsun but Jongin just had to go in the way.

“Hey Chan are you okay? You look like your inner hulk is about to reveal itself,” Jongin joked, looking up at Chanyeol.

“Shut the up,” Chanyeol unconsciously growled as the girls beside him skipped out of class. Jongin froze at Chanyeol's rare appearance of anger.

“Dude what's wrong?” Jongin questioned, giving him a serious look. Chanyeol ignored his friend and looked frantically around the room for Chinsun, but she was no where to be found. Noticing what was really on Chanyeol's mind. Jongin sincerely smiled at how worried Chanyeol was for Chinsun. Jongin knew it, Chanyeol would never admit...but he fell for Chinsun. From the first time he saw her she always seemed to pop up into every conversation they had. It was very obvious to Jongin, but to Chanyeol...not so much. “Hey Chan, she probably went outside,” Jongin told his friend as he stepped out of the way to the door. Chanyeol just nodded as he subconsciously ran out of the class.

--

Chanyeol's heart beat was racing while he stepped onto the pavement, his breathing thick and heavy. Chanyeol couldn't understand what was going on, but it was like the most precious of diamonds had been squished and trampled on. Something he saw as fragile as glass had been cracked and thrown away into an endless pit of humiliation. It was hurting his own feelings seeing something so valued to him be treated terribly.

He eagerly searched around the building. Frantically trying to notice any sign of a black jacket with red letters on the front. Tree after tree, step after step. He still couldn't find her. The wind was picking up and the weather was getting colder, but Chanyeol couldn't care less. He had to find her, he needed to. She could be crying. Chanyeol didn't want that to happen. Anything but that. He wanted to make her stronger! He wanted to comfort her, care for her, be her friend.

Chanyeol turned the corner and jumped over a pile of snow, landing on the hard ground. He lifted his head. His breathing hitched and he came to a complete stop. A couple paces away, a figure before him sat down on a lonely bench. Chanyeol could only stare as he watched the person sit there. She was all alone, peacefully allowing the wind to brush her hair in every which way. The scenery before her was cold and miserable. But it didn't seem like she cared. It honestly looked as if she found the freezing winter day as one of the most beautiful sights to behold. Despite her love for the landscape, she had a frown on her gentle face. She wasn't crying. She wasn't complaining. She just simply sat there. All alone.

Chanyeol swallowed hard as he regained his steady breathing. A small smile appeared on his face. He found her. She wasn't crying, she seemed in better shape than he had imagined.

He then took the initiative and carefully walked up to the lonely girl. The snow squished and squashed under his feet. It was probably really loud because Chinsun rapidly twisted her head over her shoulder to the source of the noise. She jumped a bit and scrambled to grab her lunch box. Chanyeol just watched in confusion as he got closer. Realizing why she was panicking and about to run and leave he swiftly stopped her just in time.

“Wait!” Chanyeol called, jogging up to her. Chinsun froze, scurrying away from the bench. Chanyeol watched from the other side as Chinsun ducked her head low in fear. “I was just wondering,” he said as he caught his breath, “if you were okay.” He explained, digging his ice cold hands into his pockets. Chinsun tensed at his statement. After a while of dead silence, Chinsun lifted her head the slightest bit.

“I-I'm fine...” she shakily mumbled, gripping her lunch box harder. Chanyeol could only smile at her answer. Even though she wouldn't admit that she was clearly not fine, it didn't matter. Now was Chanyeol's chance to start a friendship.

“Have you eaten your lunch yet?” Chanyeol spoke up, changing the subject completely. Chinsun lightly shook her head in reply. “Were you going to eat here?” he asked. Chinsun nodded. Chanyeol took one of his hands out of the warmth of his jacket and gestured her to the bench. She looked at him in an alarming way not moving from her spot. Chanyeol pursed his lips in thought. Looks like she doesn't trust me...He noticed. Chanyeol then walked around the bench, Chinsun's eyes widened, probably thinking that he was going to come and beat her up, but she was terribly mistaken. Chanyeol decided to sit on the bench right next to where Chinsun had been moments ago. The girl blinked at him in confusion.

“W-what are you doing?” she whispered just loud enough for the boy to hear. Surprised at the fact that she spoke her mind, she couldn't help but feel extremely nervous. She frantically looked anywhere but him.

Chanyeol just grinned his cheerful toothy smile.

“I'm keeping you company,” Chanyeol easily replied. The girl stiffened at his response, Chinsun's eyes grew wide in disbelief, but she quickly ducked her head to cover her shock. It took some time, but once Chinsun was able to gather the small little courage she had, she gradually made her way beside Chanyeol and sat down. She made sure sure to keep as much distance from him as possible, still feeling uneasy with his sudden kindness.

Chinsun zipped her lunch box open. Reaching her hand inside, searching for her home made sandwich. Pulling her hand out, along with her meal, she open the Ziploc bag and took the first bite of her food. Chanyeol just sat there and watched the scenery with Chinsun trying not to bother her with anything else. Chanyeol wanted her to realize that he was different from the others. He didn't want to laugh or judge her past or appearance. Chanyeol wanted to be her friend, he wanted her to be comfortable with her, laugh with her, talk with her. He knew it would probably take a long time before the ultimate bond would be made, but that was to be expected.

Being bullied and treated like scum by every human being was a hard thing to get over. Chanyeol knew that braking through her wall was going to be hard. But it would be worth it. If Chanyeol knew that someday he was going to be able to call Chinsun friend, that was all the motivation he needed.

--

“Where were you at lunch?” Kyungsoo asked, running up to Chanyeol and Jongin.

“He was saving his damsel in distress,” Jongin joked, walking out of the school building. Chanyeol glared at Jongin but didn't say anything in defense because he knew that his clever friend would come up with some idiotic line to fire back.

“You mean that loner girl?” Kyungsoo questioned. Chanyeol turned to Kyungsoo with a threatening look.

“Her name is Chinsun,” he stated matter-factly. Kyungsoo raised his hands in defense. Jongin scoffed at the tall boy.

“Whoa, now where did this come from?” Jongin teased as he grinned up at Chanyeol.

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol pondered. Jongin cocked a brow.

“Oh you know what I mean, you're seriously on defense mode with her,” Jongin explained as Kyungsoo thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“I'm just trying to protect her...” Chanyeol mumbled, ducking his head in embarrassment. Kyungsoo smirked at Chanyeol's reaction.

“Seems like you do have a little crush on her!” Kyungsoo cooed as Chanyeol looked away.

“Aw! Is our little Channie getting shy again?” Jongin pouted as he and Kyungsoo began laughing up a storm. Chanyeol just groaned as he hid his face from the many girls and boys looking their way.

“You guys are so annoying...” Chanyeol whined as they walked off school campus.