It’d been a week since school started and Eunbi was slowly getting used to the new school and everything it had to offer. Though, the students were still a problem, as they showed no signs of ever accepting her, something Luhan was at fault for. His stupid rumor had made it a lot harder to make friends and blend in. It could’ve been worse though, if it wasn’t for Ahbin, who’d become her one and only friend. And Yixing. She’d learned a few things about him. How he, much to her own disappointment, was a senior, since that meant he would graduate in half a year, to how much pride the school took in him because of his achievements as a swimmer. She’d even heard rumors about how other schools had tried to pursue him to transfer, which in turn made Eunbi wonder what kind of amazing skills he possessed.

“Eunbi are you listening to what I’m saying?” she glanced up from her plate and the food she’d barely touched due to her thoughts, before looking over at her mother, “huh? What?” the older woman sighed and shook her head, slightly disappointed that her daughter wasn’t paying attention. “If you’d listened you would’ve known I was talking about my new job.” Eunbi knew her mother was troubled, as it was a reaction she’d seen all too many times. But that didn’t mean it was less scary, definitely not. “Oh, but... Job? Then, you’re not going to be home?” it took until then for her to actually realize what her mother had said, and it was safe to say Eunbi disliked the idea, more so since it meant she would have to be home alone after school. “Why are you upset? I thought you’d be glad I got a job.” not now. Not when Luhan was causing so much trouble. And it wasn’t like Sehun were home to help out. Not that Eunbi was sure he would help either how. But still. The change was something the girl didn’t want.

Luhan’s laughter distracted Eunbi all of a sudden and she shot the older male a firm glare, as if to tell him to shut it. That his antics didn’t suit for the current situation, one that was getting worse and worse. “Mom,” she directed her gaze back to the older woman, ignoring the fact that her new family, except for Sehun, were also sitting around the table, before she spoke, “You promised you wouldn’t get another job when we moved here. And that you would spend more time with me.” being selfish wasn’t a feature one normally associated with Eunbi, but it was different when it came to her mother, as the older woman was the only parent she had left. “I know honey. But you have to understand that staying home wasn’t really what I’d imagined.” then what exactly had she thought it would be like? “Still. You promised.” Eunbi snapped, she was mad and her mood dropped drastically. Like it hadn’t already been bad enough. “Now you’re just being childish.” her mother grew irritated at the way Eunbi behaved. “Me? At least I keep my promises.” having made that clear she stood up and headed upstairs, not caring whether she’d been allowed to leave the table or not.

An hour later was Eunbi still inside her bedroom, waiting for everyone to sleep so she could head down and get something to eat. But it would take time, and she clutched a hand over her stomach when it growled for the umpteenth time. She needed food and to wait an hour or two seemed impossible at the time, more so as she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. “I hate this.” she couldn’t understand why the promise had to be broken, it didn’t make sense to Eunbi, who’d looked forward to spending more time with her mother as they’d barely been able to see each other when Eunbi grew up, since the older woman had to work and take care of everything by herself.

There was a knock on the door, one she ignored at first. The girl didn’t want to listen to her mother, whom Eunbi thought it was, not when she was still mad and irritated at the older woman. Much to her dismay though, did it continue and Eunbi shot up from the bed, and with heavy steps proceeded towards the door. “Mom I -.” she stopped mid sentence, suddenly feeling terrified as she glanced up and met Luhan’s gaze. A shiver ran down her spine when he stared down at her, “isn’t this fun.” he cocked his head to the side, a smirk growing on his lips, “we’ll have more alone time from now on.” Eunbi’s eyes widened and she felt her stomach turn in both disgust and anxiousness. The girl was afraid of what he was trying to accomplish, especially as she had no idea how far he could go. And it was safe to say she didn’t want to challenge him, not after the rumor he’d spread, one that’ve caused the more part of the female students at their school to despise and loathe her.

But that didn’t mean she would accept it all and let him do whatever. “Can’t you just ignore me?” Eunbi took a deep breath to calm her nerves, a decision that didn’t help much since Luhan caused her pulse to increase yet again as he reached out and cupped her chin, “why should I?” his smirk grew even though she pulled away, thus breaking the skin contact, because he was far from done. “I’ll leave you alone only when I’m through with you.” Eunbi sighed, too mentally exhausted to do anything. It no longer mattered what she did since he wouldn’t listen. “Cheer up. See it as an opportunity for us to get to know each other better.” Luhan emphasized on the last few words, thus making it pretty clear to Eunbi that he wasn’t going to stop before he achieved his goals.

The girl locked herself inside her bedroom, collapsed onto the bed, and buried her face in the pillow as soon as Luhan left. It was only so much Eunbi could take and she was slowly inching towards a point of no return. Everything she did or said made absolutely no difference to the older male, who was completely indifferent about anything regarding Eunbi and her well being. He’d truly set out to make her life a living hell, a feat he was getting closer to every passing day, and it was a damn mystery to her, how he’d managed to make friends. Did he act as such around them, too? Eunbi sighed and rolled onto her back, her gaze falling upon the clock on the nightstand. It was still hours till everyone was asleep, in other terms, too long for her to wait. “It’s not like they would miss me if I headed out for a while, right?” the thought of going out to eat was appealing, more so as she was getting increasingly hungry. Shrugging her shoulders Eunbi moved about to stand up, “no one will notice.” with that the girl got dressed, completely brushing away the fact that she had school the coming day. Plus, it wasn’t like she was staying out all night. Just an hour or two. Maybe three if she found an arcade on the way.

Sneaking out wasn’t as difficult as she’d first predicted though, and it took no more than a couple of minutes before she was half running down the street, in the direction of the ongoing nightlife. Adrenaline pumped in her veins and Eunbi could barely believe it’d been so easy to slip past her mother and stepfather, and that without any of them noticing. More importantly, Luhan hadn’t even spotted her and that if anything surprised the said girl, who’d been certain he would. But he didn’t and Eunbi was safely wandering down the pavement, her mood increasing with every step.

Eunbi wasn’t sure in which direction she was walking though, because she hadn’t exactly checked out the surrounding area even though nearly two months had passed since they moved to Seoul. She blamed all that on them, Luhan and Sehun, for that she had to slave around when their parents were on the honeymoon trip. And then there was school. Eunbi couldn’t do much about that. It meant she could say bye, bye to all freedom, and say hello to endless amounts of hours in the school bench. But that was then.

“Eunbi?” the girl looked up and in the direction of the voice, slightly nervous about having been caught. She heaved a sigh a second later though, once taking notice how Ahbin advanced forward. But the male on Ahbin’s right caught Eunbi’s gaze pretty soon, and she felt her heart race when her friend, together with Yixing came to a stop just in front of the said girl. “Where are you going?” Eunbi gulped even though it was a rather innocent question, “eh, to eat.” she wanted to punch herself for acting so distant, but it wouldn’t have been so incredibly awkward if it wasn’t for Yixing, who kept on staring at her, thus causing Eunbi to feel even more nervous. “Now? Isn’t it kind of late?” Ahbin sounded surprised, almost like she’d never heard of someone eating so late in the evening. “No?” not for her, since she hadn’t eaten in so long and were in desperate need for food.

“I have to head home.” the sudden announcement saddened Eunbi, who’d somewhat hoped the older male would’ve stayed a little longer. “Oh right. I’d completely forgotten.” not knowing what they were talking about she let her gaze wander between Ahbin and Yixing, as if asking for an answer. It never came though, and she were left wondering what was going on after they’d left, only to feel a certain horror grow within, when several thoughts popped up. Could it be that they were in a relationship? The thought bothered Eunbi far more than it should’ve and she had difficulties paying attention to anything else for the next coming hour. Sure, the two of them were neighbours and all, and had probably known each other for awhile. Still, it troubled the girl in a way that made her feel disheartened, and she was not in the mood to do anything once she’d finished eating. All Eunbi wanted was to go home and sleep. To get rid of the horrendous day and never think of it again.

And she did. The girl began walking back to the home she no longer wanted to live in, a frown becoming more and more visible the closer she got. What Eunbi didn’t know was that Sehun were right around the corner, and before she knew it had they ran into each other. “What are you doing? You’re not supposed to be out.” it was another first, and it was safe to say she was taken aback that he hadn’t yelled, something he normally did when speaking to her. “I can do what I want.” brushing past him Eunbi headed for the door, she didn’t even wait for the older male before she slid the key in the lock and turned, thus making it possible for them to enter. What greeted her on the other side of the door though, caused her heart to sink and she prepared for hell.