The following day as I went back to school, it felt like the first day all over again. The anxiety, the sick feeling in my stomach,  the eye glares, all of it, magnified to the hundreth power. The only difference was before, I didn't know what to expect as I walked through the halls of Seoul Academy. This time around, I knew exactly what I was going to face: hatred, and lots of it.

     As soon as I entered my homeroom class, Chanyeol shot me a death glare across the room, forcing all sound to cease. His gaze was so strong it immobilized me and I didn't want to walk an inch further toward him, let alone sit next to him.

     "Ms. Fields, I suggest you sit in your seat, please." , recommended Ms. Choi.

     I complied and slowly sat down next to Chanyeol. All eyes were on me and I could feel the scrutizing stares pierce through me. I turned red from embarrassment. Chanyeol basically ripped me to shreds without even having to swing a fist or utter a single word because the flaming anger in his eyes was chastisment enough.  The fact that it was in front of everyone didn't help either. What also added fuel to the fire were the comments being whispered during homeroom such as, "You know she cheated on him , right?" and "I bet he regrets being with her now."

     Peachy. Now the whole school thinks that I'm a cheater and that I broke Channie's heart. Just my luck. I wanted to cry, but I wanted to maintain my feelings and not have them get out of control. Well, that didn't last for too long.

     When lunch rolled around, I sat next to Sofia outside at our lunch table, since we were both avoiding Jongin and Chanyeol. The tension at the table was so thick, it couldn't be cut with a knife; you'd need a hatchet.  The fact that hardly anyone else was outside made the silence even more deafening. Even our friends could hardly talk as they felt the strain, so they turned a blind eye to it and just listened to their headphones on low volume. Except for Ember, that is.

     "Are you guys okay?" , she asked me and Sofia who were sitting on each side of her.

     I was about to come up with a response when a felt something wet pour down on my head. I screamed as it streamed down my scalp and dripped onto my dress. Luckily it was only water, but I was still infuriated at the girl who did it.

     "Hey! What gives you the right to do that?!" , I yelled.

     "Everything! How dare you break my Chanyeol oppa's heart, you cheater?!", the girl snapped back. I think her name was Suzy. I recognized her as the girl who pushed me away from Chanyeol on the first day at Seoul Academy when he was being crowded with girls. She was also the one who called me ugly.

     Ember became defensive, while Chanyeol sat there and did nothing.

     "She is not a cheater! Who are you to say that?" , she protested.

     "Ember, shut up and stay out of this! Mind your own business! It's not my fault that your friend is a stupid, fake !" , she snarled.

     That sent Ember over the edge. "Suzy please! You have no room to talk about "fake" with that nose job of yours along with getting surgery on your s! If anyone is a fraud, it's you! Stop acting like you have authority and stop acting like a jerk to her! Besides,  last time I checked, I didn't see your name on Chanyeol's forehead. I don't care how much money your family has. You're just like the rest of us, so don't think for a minute that you can just bring down a person and get away with it! Understand?!  Now get lost!" , she barked as she pushed her into a nearby muddy area.

     "Aah! My dress! Ugh! You'll be getting a laundry bill from me Ember! You!", she hollered pointing at me. "One day soon, Chanyeol will have someone much more respectable than your sorry self! When that day comes, I hope you eat your heart out." , she declared as she ran off.

     My emotions were at a breaking point. I seriously wanted to just crawl in a hole and never come out.  Chanyeol hated me, Jongin was a cheater, and everyone blamed me for it. It was like my world was crashing down right before my eyes and there was  nothing I could do to stop it. So, I grabbed my school bag and marched away from the table as I began to weep once more. I charged back into the school and went straight to the girls' restroom. The instant I entered , I slid down onto the floor and blubbured away. Thankfully, no one was using the stalls, so I was free to let out all of my emotions for a minute until Ember and Sofia found me.

     "Hailee! Are you okay?", asked Sofia as she patted my back.

     "Of course I'm not! Everybody thinks I'm a cheater when I didn't even do anything ! Nobody even cares and no one believes me!", I lamented as I leaned on her shoulder for support.

     "Alright, that's enough. This has got to stop. I can't stand to see you this way , Hailee. So, you know what we're going to do? We're going to help you and fix this mess." , declared Ember.

     "How?" , wondered both Sofia and me.

     "We can't regulate what comes out of people's mouths." , reasoned Sofia.

     "Of course we can't. But, we can shut up the majority of the student population if we solve this problem. The students only react on what they see and hear. So, if this problem is worked out, then they won't have anything to say, right?" , she elaborated.

     "But... Chanyeol doesn't want anything to do with me. He hates me. The looks he gave me today... made me feel like I was a piece of dirt. I've never seen him show such contempt for a person, or even knew he was capable of doing so. To be honest, I don't even know how this could possibly be remedied." , I drawled dismally.

     "No, it can. I'll tell you how." Ember began to extend on her plan and I had to admit, it sounded like it could work. the only question was would all of her efforts go to waste if the plot backfired?

     In any event, we both complied as this was the only plan that could possibly be successful.

     With the plan in tow, we walked back outside to our lunch table to find that Chanyeol wasn't there.

     "Guys, where did Chanyeol go?" , asked Sofia.

     "I don't know. After you and Ember went to go find Hailee, Chanyeol got up, dumped his trash, and ran off somewhere. He probably went to some place alone. The guys tried to stop him, but he pushed them off of him ; he obviously didn't want to be bothered." , answered Reina.

     "I see. Guys?" , Ember called to make sure they were listening to her.

     "Yeah? " , they replied in response.

     "Is everyone free tonight?" she asked.

     Everyone checked their schedules on their phones and nodded.

     "Good. So, is it alright if everyone comes to my house tonight at about six o' clock? It's extremely important. Oh, and someone, tell Chanyeol to come along too. I don't care if he doesn't answer his phone or whatever. Just make sure to have him at my house at six o' clock tonight, alright?" , asked Ember for confirmation.

     "We understand." , said Suho, speaking for everyone.

     Suho was right. Everyone did understand exactly what this was about. At Ember's house, we were going to repair this situation.

                                                                                              ❅❅❅

     I got into the car at the end of the school day as Mr. Chulsoon picked me up.

     "How was your day , Ms. Fields?" , he asked kindly.

     I hesitated. "It was fine." I felt wrong for lying to him, because he seemed genuinely concerned. I suppose my face gave it away as I didn't have my usual pep in my step. My tone of voice also made it clear that I didn't want to continue the conversation , so he stayed silent for the rest of the ride.

     I thanked him and immediately ran into my house. Partly because it was raining and partly because I simply wanted to be alone. Well, it looked like I was going to get my wish because I found a sticky note on my bedroom door from my parents that read:

            Staying at work late tonight. Your dinner is in the fridge. Love you. :) -mom & dad

     I took the note off of the door and tossed it into my bin. I flopped on my bed and became angry.

     "Why?! Why, why why?! Why does my life have to be like this! Everything was fine until I moved here! Why can't I just go back to New Jersey? Why can't I just be happy?!" , I shrieked out of agony. I crumpled into my sheets and wet them with my salty tears. Next , I grabbed my pillow and screamed into it repeatedly. When that didn't work, I threw it across the room , knocking over my perfume bottles on my vanity. I clutched my blanket in frustration and even began to tear out strands of my hair. I did this for about fifteen minutes until I calmed myself down.

     Finally finished with my emotional break down, I slowly and absently walked over to my vanity and picked up my pillow, along with my assorted perfume bottles. Next, I laid down and grieved myself to sleep.

     A few hours later, I woke up and checked my phone. It read 5:45 PM. I only had fifteen minutes to get to Ember's house.  So, I immediately called Mr. Chulsoon and asked him to take me to Ember's house. Since there was a separate place for all of our family's attendants on the piece of land we owned, he was ready in five minutes.

     As for me being ready, I wasn't. Not only was I nervous, but I looked like a wreck. My hair was out of sorts, my outfit looked wrinkled from sleeping in it, and my makeup was smudged. But, I didn't care. I met Mr. Chulsoon in the front of the house and got inside our Bentley.

     "Where to , Ms. Fields?" , he asked.

     "Banpobon-dong, Seocho-gu. The house number is 9356. Is it possible we can get there in about ten minutes?" , I asked desperately.

     He had a pensive look on his face as if he was trying to phrase his words carefully. "I'll try my best. In the meantime, make sure to buckle up." , he said as he sped out of the circular driveway.

     On the way there, I bit my nails out of apprehension. I definitely didn't know what to expect out of this gathering. In fact, I didn't think that Chanyeol would even show up since I would be there. But I knew one thing for sure. This meeting would cause either some relationships to be repaired or bonds to be broken. As I knocked on the door to Ember's house, I silently hoped that it wasn't the latter...

 Message from the Author: Well, that was chapter twelve! Comment what you think! Now that the story is on a cliffhanger, what do you think will unfold at the meeting? Will Ember's plan work? Or, will it go up in flames? As always, thank you so much for reading and please stay tuned for the next chapter. So, comment, sub, and upvote! Thanks so much for reading, everyone. :) See you next time! -Hayley