//

[MC Tales: It's the start of a new year, a new term. Let's see what's happening with the kids right now.]

//

                The wind whistled through the bare branches of the dead, winter trees. Students huddled around the school's courtyard, crowding around two figures in the center. Photos and cameras were out and recording the scene unfolding before them. No one dared to take a breath, afraid they'd intrude in the argument between step sisters.

                "You do not know who you just messed with," Haneul sneered, towering over a trembling Ella curled up on the floor. "I thought you'd get the hint and back off, but you're a persistent one, aren't you? I wasn't lying when I said I'd make your life a living hell."

                "I'm sorry I made you upset, although I'm not sure what for. Let's not do anything rash and talk this through in a calm, civil manner," Ella's voice shook in fear as she pushed herself up off the floor. Shards of gravel dotted her palm, embedded into her soft skin from breaking her fall. Haneul's hollow glare was set and Ella knew there was no stopping her.

                "I'm sick and tired of being second best. Today is the end of you, Ella," Haneul raised her hand, preparing herself to bring it down on Ella's cheek. Anger coursed through her veins. Never has she felt so much dislike towards someone in her 18 years on the Earth. Nobody relied on her. Nobody thought she was good enough. And why was that? It was because Ella was always outshining her. Today, once and for all, she was going to show her step sister who was the best. Never will she be ignored. Never will she be second after her step sister. People will ask for her help and not Ella's. She will never be regarded as just a pretty face. She will never be called useless because of Ella anymore. Today was the day Haneul showed people who the better step sister was.

                Ella squeezed her eyes shut; ready for anything Haneul was going to do. She figured she deserved it for getting her older sister so angry.

                "Any last words before I teach you a lesson?" Ella remained silent, eyes still shut tight. Haneul smirked and raised her arm higher.

                "You better think twice before you hit her, Haneul-sshi."

//

[MC Tales: Um, well, that was a pretty bad start. I wonder what happened to make Haneul so angry. Let's take a look-see.]

//

                Ella hummed tunelessly, minding her own business as she walked through the halls. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and turned the corner abruptly.

                "Oof!"

                "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU JUST RUINED MY FAVOURITE SHOES!" Haneul spun around to face her next victim of humiliation. She couldn't deny that she felt a little joy seeing her step sister standing there, shocked into paralysis. 'Oh, you have no idea what's coming for you now, Ella,' she smirked.

                Ella stood rigid, frozen in place, afraid to move. What did she just do? 'Oh no...' she thought, shaking like a leaf in a fierce storm, anticipating the wrath of her sister. The wide, sly grin on Haneul's face was not reassuring in any way, shape, or form. What was her next move going to be? A beating? More tormenting? Ella's breath came short as Haneul took a small step forward. What she did next, however, scared Ella more than an empty threat. Haneul turned around without a word and walked off with her followers.

                'Silence is deadly. I'm doomed...'

--

                Ella flinched at the sounds that echoed off the hallways. She constantly checked over her shoulder, afraid that one of Haneul's goons would pop out from behind her and attack her with water or garbage. They have been doing that to her all day now. Ella knew that these little blitz attacks were not the end. Haneul was planning something big for her, all the students were gossiping about it.

                People watched her walk by and some gave her sympathetic looks, looks of understanding. They had been on the receiving end of Haneul's torment and knew the anxiety Ella felt. Not knowing when or where they would attack her next was a punishment in itself.

                However, other students who joined Haneul's forces mocked her, jumping forward and feigning attack, scaring her senseless. They took advantage of the fact that other people were teasing Ella, so they too, joined in.

                Ella jumped yet again when a student walked by and screamed in her ear, cackling as he ran off. Most of the attacks were simple things like that, fulfilled by people who had just joined Haneul's little army. Bumps on the shoulder, knocking her books to the floor, and little insignificant pranks were their calling. She didn't mind those, they were things she could easily ignore. However, it didn't stop there. Those in Haneul's close ring of friends did the worst. Some threw her things off the roof, breaking her hard earned supplies. Others dropped buckets of water on her or pushed her into the garbage cans, soiling her clean uniform. Stains patched her clothing and water soaked through to her skin. Haneul's second in command even went as far as to push Ella down half a flight of stairs. She'll never forget the chilling words whispered into her ear right before she went tumbling down the steps.

                "Let's go for a ride, shall we?"

//

[MC Tales: Wait, HOLD UP. She did what? Why I oughta slice that pretty little face of hers….*mumblemumblemumble*]

//

                Heavy, uneven footsteps staggered through the halls, echoing into the busy classrooms. Despite the noise from her steps, lessons continued on. Bullying and injuries had become so frequent at Tae Mun teachers did not bother to interfere and get involved; they feared for their own jobs and lives. The things some students were capable of doing to their victims left even grown men shaking in their shoes.

                Ella limped slowly, holding onto the rows of lockers for support. Her right arm hung flaccidly at her side, her wrist turned at and unnatural angle.

                Of all the things that had happened to her in the school, the fall took the cake. It left her thinking, what horrible thing had she done in her past life that was bringing her so many misfortunes now? What did she do to the girls that made them hate her so much?

                'Its okay, Ella; nothing a hospital visit can't fix. Besides, if I hadn't gotten in the way of others, this wouldn't have happened. There's nobody to blame other than myself,' she tried to convince herself. Even though all arrows of blame were pointing at the bullies, somehow, Ella managed to find a way to blame herself.

//

[MC Tales: Wouldn't have happened?! Whaddya mean it wouldn't have happened?! IT SHOULDN'T have happened! Ah, poor Ella. What is wrong with kids these days? Didn't their parents tell them never to push people down stairs? I know my mom did. All the time. I ain't a bully, if that's what you're thinking. You know what? Let's just get on with the story *grumbles*]

//

                Somehow, fate seemed to be toying with her that day because for the second time in 2 hours, Ella managed to get herself in another pickle.

                As she made her way to the infirmary, she turned a corner hastily and yet again, bumped into another person. However, it unfolded differently than the one that happened that morning.The impact was hard enough to knock her off balance and she fell backwards. Her eyes squeezed shut and she anticipated the fall that never came. She felt herself floating, hovering low above the ground. A pair of arms was wrapped securely around her waist. Slowly, she peeked open an eye. Both of them shot wide open, startled by the close proximity of her saviour.

                "Are you okay?" Jin Young managed to whisper. It took him every muscle in his body to not lean forward and close the tiny gap between their lips. A slight blush rose on her cheeks and he chuckled inwardly.

                "Um, yeah, thank you," Ella bowed in thanks after he set her upright. An awkward silence hung around them as they both looked elsewhere, avoiding each other's glances. "Uh, thanks again for saving me there. I owe you one. Anyway, I've got to go," she nodded her head and turned to leave. Jin Young reached out to stop her, grabbing a hold of her injured wrist. A jolt of pain shot up her arm and she instinctively pulled back, a hiss of pain escaping from her lips. She turned away, gently cradling her injury. Her eyes watered, threatening to spill over. Jin Young's expression grew cold.

                "Ella, what happened?" he took a step forward. Ella took a step away, hiding her arm. "Let me see it." She turned away from his outstretched arms and glanced back.

                "It's nothing," she croaked, "I just fell down in P.E, that's all." Her voice quivered, unstable from the throbbing pain pulsing through her arm. Jin Young's eyebrows pinched together.

                "Okay. Now tell me the truth."

                "What do you mean? That's what happened," she avoided looking at him, knowing her eyes would give her away.

                "Don't lie to me, Ella. I know that's not what happened because we have P.E. last block together," he turned her to face him, grabbing hold of her good arm. "Now tell me what really happened." She looked away. "Tell me, please." A hint of desperation was in his pleas and she cracked.

                "I fell down the stairs." Jin Young raised an eyebrow at her. He knew she was clumsy, but falling down the stairs wasn't her thing. She was more of a 'trip over nothing' or 'walk into walls' type of girl, not a ‘fall down stairs’ one.

                "Was it 'fall down the stairs', or 'pushed down the stairs'?" Ella frowned. 'How did he know?' she thought. She couldn't burden him with her problems, so she opened to spew out another one of her lies. "Think carefully before you speak. I don't like liars and will reprimand them by any means necessary," he gave her a serious look. She shut . Somehow his threat seemed to be suggesting more than just a lecture.

                "I was pushed," she mumbled.

                "What?" he exclaimed, rubbing his ears. Did he hear wrong? "You were pushed?! Where?"

                "East wing stairs." He shut his eyes, attempting to suppress is rising anger.

                "How many flights?" he asked in a low voice. Ella hesitated. "How many flights?" he asked again, his voice rising a little bit.

                "Half," she whispered. A wave of relief washed over him. Half a flight was better than a whole at least.

                "Let me see your arm," he reached for her. She stepped back instinctively. He gave her a reassuring look. "Trust me." He carefully took her wrist. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying out in pain. He slowly slid her uniform sleeve up and was shocked by what was revealed. A sickly purple and black bruise marbled around her swollen wrist, signs indicating she had held out her hand to break her fall. However, it didn't stop there. Further up, a large red patch covered her elbow. Jin Young winced. He carefully pulled her sleeve back down and let out a ragged breath. Quietly, he led her to the direction of the office. Puzzled, she opened to speak, but decided against it.

                In the shadows of an empty classroom, someone was relaying all that had just happened through the phone.

                'Choi Ella. That was the last straw. I've given you too much freedom. Now, it's time to teach you the biggest lesson of your life and that's never to mess with me, Kim Haneul.'

--

                "Now, how did this happen exactly?" the doctor examined Ella's swollen wrist and ankle. The two students exchanged a wary glance, sharing a silent conversation.

                'You have to tell him!'

                'I can't.'

                'And why not? They pushed you down the stairs!'

                'They'll get in trouble if I say anything.'

                'Well then, they deserve it!'

                'But that's not nice...'

                'What they did to you wasn't nice!!' Jin Young turned away and pulled the doctor aside, ignoring Ella's silent retaliations. She sighed in defeat and lay quietly on the bed. Soft words were exchanged between the two men and Ella zoned out. She grew bored and her eyes wandered around the plain, white room. There was nothing interesting to look at, so she ended up counting the ceiling panels. On her fifth time recounting, the doctor spoke up and broke her concentration.

                "Well, this kind young man just explained to me what happened. You should be more careful next time, Miss. Choi. Anyway, your results from the x-ray should be ready now. I'll be back with your charts in a bit," he bowed to her and Jin Young then exited the room.

                "He said he'll cast up your ankle and wrist after we look at the x-rays. We should be back by P.E," Jin Young sat down on the chair, resting his legs for the first time since they arrived at the hospital an hour ago.

                "You didn't tell him," she noted. He looked at her and nodded his head. "Thank you..."

                "Even though my conscience told me to tell him, your voice in my head kept nagging," he rolled his eyes at her. Ella giggled at that.

                "My voice is in your head?"

                "Yup, and it's just as annoying as you are in reality," he grumbled at her. She couldn't help but laugh, even though it was an insult more than anything else. "Anyway, the doc suspects you've twisted your ankle. There is a big possibility that you've broken your wrist and badly bruised your elbow. If it shows up broken on the x-ray, then you have to have it in the cast for a month, maybe longer."

                "Thank you. I don't see why you're being so nice to me. I'm just your slave," she smiled gratefully at him. His heartbeat increased and he struggled to keep the blush from showing on his face. It amazed and bothered him how such small gestures from her could take such a big affect on him. 'Breath, Jin. She's your best friend's girlfriend. Where is the guy?' he wondered. Just as he reached for his phone, there was a light knock on the door.

                "Okay, here are your results," he the light and hung the photos onto the light box, illuminating the negative photos. "So, it is just as I had suspected. As you can see here, you've sprained your ankle. Nothing a little physiotherapy can fix. Now, here's the tricky part. It's clear that you've injured your elbow, but it's worse than it looks. Do you see that little white speck there? Right next to the joint? That right there is a bone shard. It must've splintered off when you hit the floor and lodged itself between the muscle and joint. We have to surgically remove that before we can cast up your arm. Because you are a minor, we need parental consent before doing anything. I strongly recommend you come back within this week to get it out before any more problems arise from it. For now, we're going to temporarily wrap your arm and put it in a sling,” he brought over a tray to her bed an placed onto the table next to it. "This isn't going to hurt one bit."

--

                "Not going to hurt one bit?! Wah that hurt a lot," Ella sniffled and cradled her bandaged arm. She limped out the hospital on her one crutch towards the taxi parked outside. Jin Young walked close by with his arms out, ready to catch her if she fell.

                "If everything hurts so much, why didn't you just take the stupid wheelchair? It would make your life, and my life, so much easier," he reached out as she stumbled. Ella regained her balance and continued forward.

                "The only reason why I didn't take it was because people who see me struggling, which would be a highly plausible situation, would feel obligated to help be out. I don't want to be a burden," she brushed him off when he tried to help her into the cab. He closed the door exasperatedly and got into the other seat.

                "Where to, son?"

                "Tae Mun High, Ahjusshi."

--

                The school was empty outside when the cab pulled into the parking lot. For a lunch break at Tae Mun, it was quiet, too quiet. The duo slowly approached the seemingly vacant grounds and headed to the cafeteria. The familiar hustle and bustle of the lunchroom emanated from behind the closed double doors. However, the noise ceased the second the two entered the room. Hundreds of pairs of eyes settled on them and the room grew silent.

                "Um, what's going on?" Ella whispered as quietly as she could. A cough echoed from somewhere in the room. Jin Young shrugged his shoulders and glanced around at the mass of students. None of them looked away, their expressions completely blank. He couldn't read their faces and instinctively took a step forward, slightly blocking Ella from the crowd.

                Footsteps sounded from the center of the cafeteria and slowly made its way to the entrance. The students smoothly moved out of the way, clearing a path and regrouping like a choreographed dance. Ella frowned as the steps finally approached them, revealing her sister. Students in the front lines separated, letting her pass through with her minions. No one dared breathe, too afraid to interrupt Haneul.

                "Seems like Min Ah didn't do enough damage since you're still here," Haneul sneered, shooting a quick glare at Min Ah who bowed her head in shame. "I'd expected you to come back from the nurse earlier, but it seems Jin Young took you to the hospital instead. Anyway, I was going to teach you a lesson, but I had to wait. You made me wait longer than I had to, step-sister dear," she glowered darkly at Ella.

                Gasps emitted from the crowd. Jin Young stiffened at her words, slowly turning to Ella with a confused look. Ella stared wide eyed at Haneul, floored by what had just happened. After so many threats and warnings to keep their sibling relationship a secret, Ella never expected Haneul to reveal it herself, and in front of the entire school for that matter. 'What is she planning to do?' Ella trembled slightly.

                "Since you've wasted precious time going to the hospital, meet me outside in the courtyard after school. Be there, or else," she walked out the cafeteria, making sure to bump Ella's shoulder hard as she walked out. The bell rang, ending the lunch break on a heavy note.

//

[MC Tales: So, that brings us to the present time in the courtyard.]

//

                Ella slowly made her way towards the front of the school. Unlike any regular day, she was able to get through the hallways without having to wrestle through giant mobs of students heading home. They had all stayed in their classes or stood off to the sides, watching her as she passed by, heading to her doom. She stumbled out the front doors and into the courtyard. The center court was clear, a ring of students circled around the perimeter, watching. Ella limped passed the wall of bodies and stood in the center across from her sister. The opening from which she had walked through slowly merged back together, trapping the sisters in a ring.

                "So, we end this once and for all."

                "What is there to end?"

                "You don't know? Wow, clueless as ever. I don't know how many chances I've given you to back off and stay out of my spotlight, but today was the last straw. You took away the one thing I've always wanted and for that, you will pay," Haneul kicked Ella's crutch away. Without the support, she tottered back and forth, trying to balance on her good leg. By then, the crowd had all pulled out their cameras and were filming everything. Some laughed at her weakened state while others held their breaths, anticipating her fall. Miraculously, she was able to stay upright, but her success was short lived when Haneul stepped forward and shoved her to the ground. Naturally, Ella held out her free arm and stopped her fall. Her palms scrapped against the gravel, beads of blood dripped from her new wounds.

                "Ah, that hurts," Ella mumbled. "Unnie, what did I do wrong? Please, tell me so that I can fix it."

                "Stay away from Jin Young."

                "What?"

                "Stay away from him. You can own the school, you can do whatever you want; all I want from you is to leave him alone."

                "I can't do that though." Haneul's expression grew dark. The crowd began to murmur with disbelief. Only one question was going through their minds: What was Ella thinking?

                "What do you mean you can't?" Ella looked down at her bloody palms. She couldn't possibly tell her sister that she was his slave, although, it wouldn't be a surprise if she already knew.

                "I can't because we have a contract."

                "A contract? What kind of contract?"

                "I can't say..."

                "And why's that?"

                "It's personal." Her ambiguous answer angered Haneul. She listed different contracts in her mind and was convinced that Ella had made him sign a contract, forcing him to be her boyfriend or something more.

                ‘Guess she's not as innocent as she puts off to be,' Haneul was seething with anger. She took a step forward, hovering dangerously above Ella.

                "You do not know who you just messed with. I thought you'd get the hint and back off, but you're a persistent one, aren't you? I wasn't lying when I said I'd make your life a living hell."

                "I'm sorry I made you upset, although I'm not sure what for. Let's not do anything rash and talk this through in a calm, civil manner."

                "I'm sick and tired of being second best. Today is the end of you, Ella."

                "You better think twice before you hit her, Haneul-sshi," Jin Young pushed through the barricade of bodies. Ella waved him away, frantically trying to get him to leave.

                (This isn't your fight. Please, don't provoke her anymore,) Ella silently mouthed her pleas to him. He ignored her and took more steps until he was right in front of Haneul, blocking Ella. Jealously flickered across her eyes. 'Why is he protecting her? He should be on my side. The Kingka should be with the queenka. That's the status quo,' she lowered her arm and glared at him.

                "Step down, Jin Young. This is between me and my step sister," she tried to push him away, but he stood his ground.

                "I'm not moving. Ella is my friend and I hate standing on the sidelines watching you bully her." Haneul's jaw dropped with surprise.

                "Watching me? You should be helping me! What kind of Kingka are you? You betray your role and mess with the hierarchy of this school. Because of you, I have to deal with commoners who think they can talk to me since you've mingled with her!" Haneul exploded. Her face turned red with anger. Jin Young stayed indifferent, his blank expression made it hard for others to read him.

                "Stop this, Haneul. Before you do something you'll regret."

                "Stop? Do something I'll regret? Please, I've been waiting to bash in her face ever since her bastard of a father seduced my mother. We were fine before they showed up," Haneul spat at Ella, "I won't regret any of this." The malice in her voice pierced Ella's heart. She hadn't known her sister had felt this way about her, about their family. With much difficulty, she pushed herself off the ground and stood up as best she could.

                "Do you really hate us that much?"

                "Oh, more than you know. At first, I liked step father because he paid attention to me. Now, he doesn't even give me a second glance and always criticizes me, comparing everything I do to his 'oh-so-perfect-daughter, Ella'. I hate him just as much as I hate you." Ella's lip trembled and tears began to form. Haneul laughed incredulously. "Is this really such a shock to you? Did you honestly think I liked you? Wow, so naive," she scoffed and walked around Jin Young. He moved to stop her, but was suddenly surrounded by Haneul's followers. "Ella, Ella, Ella, what am I going to do with you? Embarrass you? Beat you senseless? Drop you in a lake?" she stood dangerously close behind Ella, her step sister's cheek with her sharp, manicured nail. "You know what? I think a beating will do."

                "W-what?"

                "A word of advice, drop the innocent act. You won't get far in life being a nice girl. They never win," Haneul raised her hand and brought it down with all her strength. Ella shut her eyes, anticipating a hit that never came.

--

                "I didn't expect you guys to be back so soon. What happened?" the doctor tied up the last few stitches and set down his tools.

                "Well, you see, her crazy step sister is possessive and has convinced herself that I am her property. But, because I am closer to Ella, she went all ape on her and attacked her. I stepped in and saved the day, of course," Jin Young smirked, but immediately cried out in pain when the doctor dabbed some disinfectant on his scrapped forearm.

                'Just when he sounded like a nice guy defending me, he had to gloat,' Ella thought, shaking her head lightly.

                "Okay, you're all patched up. Now, I want her to come back later this week, not tomorrow, okay?" the trio laughed and exited the room. The two of them, now both injured, hobbled out of the hospital and into the waiting cab outside.

                The ride home was silent, too silent. Questions tugged at Ella's tongue and she bit down to stop herself from speaking. There was a chance that she would ruin the rare good moment between the two. Her curiosity winning for the nth time in her life, she succumbed and asked him her question.

                "Jin Young-sshi, why did you save me back there? Why didn't you just let her hit me like that time during dodge ball? You didn't intervene then, why did you today?" she frowned in confusion.

                "Well, because I couldn't just let her hit you?"

                "You did before."

                "Well, that was before I...Never mind."

                "Before what?"

                "It's nothing."

                "It's obviously something. You can't start a sentence, stop halfway, and expect me to believe that it's nothing," she turned and tried to look at him. Either there was something extremely interesting outside, or he was avoiding her gaze. She was leaning towards the latter. "Tell me. Please?" He looked at her once and knew why Sandeul always gave in to her puppy eyes.

                "Fine," he sighed, "I'll tell you." She leaned in, curious of his reason. He stayed quiet for a couple of minutes and she thought he was going to back down, but he opened his mouth and spoke. "I didn't stop her before because......because I didn't consider you as a friend in the beginning. Usually, I don't let friends get hurt and stand on the sidelines watching it. If anyone close to me is threatened, I would do anything in my power to stop it from happening. Better it happen to me than them," his voice grew quieter with his explanation and Ella had to lean in closer to hear him.

                "Oh, I see," she sat back. A moment of silence graced them as they both looked out the window, watching the trees and people whipping by outside. "So, you think I'm your friend, huh?" she hid her smirk. He continued looking out the window, his ears turning red with embarrassment.

                "Um, yeah, but slave comes first before friend. Just to be clear, you are still under my slave contract. Don't get your hopes up or anything," he mumbled. They stayed silent throughout the ride back to their homes. Jin Young got off first and paid for the cab ride, giving some extra money so that the driver could take Ella the rest of the way home. The driver pulled into the driveway, getting out of the car to open her door and help her out. After several minutes of awkward struggling, they successfully got her out of the car with her belongings.

                "Thanks for the help, Ahjusshi," she attempted to bow, only to stumble on her bound leg. He steadied her and shook his head.

                "No problem. It's my pleasure. Just some advice, keep that boy close. Although he seems like a jerk, he really does care for you."

                "Oh, I think you've been mistaken. I have a boyfriend already," Ella flushed.

                "Sorry. You seemed close. And he called you his slave, thought it was some pet name or something. Kids these days have been giving each other some really weird names," he frowned, mumbling incoherently about his wife and nicknames. Ella laughed softly and bowed her head. She hobbled towards the house, the driver's words still lingering in her mind.

Hey everybody, how's it going? I've finally been able to update~~ It's only the second week of the new term for me, so everything is a bit chill. Although, I'm watching a full autopsy video in my Forensic Anthropology class tomorrow....let the heeby jeebies begin. 

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It sort of flows better than most of my chapters do LOL. It's mostly edited, but I'm sure there are mistakes~~

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-