Miss No Label

   C H A P T E R   T H R E E   

POV:

       The bell signalling for the end of my first day at the university took its cue. The last period class was English. Bad thing was, Kang Jiyoung, Park Jiyeon and Yoon Bomi were my classmates. Good thing was, I can say that I am well-off confident with English. Having lived in San Francisco for about three years when my father used to work there, I adapted well with the language. At the start of the class, the professor asked us to say something about ourselves in English. He complimented me for a fluently done speech. I wanted to scoff, smirk and grin with evil intentions to the three girls, yet my self-esteem and my manners told me not to. 

       Hurriedly getting off from the classroom, down the corridors and out the gate, I wanted to avoid further encounters with the those girls I despise. Plus, I had to catch the bus home. The bus stop was already full when I arrived. That was exactly what I expected. It was the first day of classes after all. A few minutes passed, and the bus finally arrived. Everyone cowded to the entrance, trying to come first in entering. And there I was, at the very middle of the crowd. I tried to catch my breath, yet I felt suffocated. It was like a survival of the fittest. The last thing I wanted was to faint or fall down right then and there, so I tried to get some air. I took one small step, but bang! Just like that, I lost my balance and for the hundreth time in my nineteen years, I fell down again. Eyes were on me, but not a single hand offered some help. At that very moment, I wanted to melt and thought it would be better if the ground swallowed me alive. 

       I tried standing up, but people were still crowding. A stupid man forced himself forward and stepped on my foot. I almost cried in pain. I tried standing up again, only to feel some force help me redeem myself. I looked up to who it was and immediately recognized the face.

       "Zhang Yixing?!" I said. Without saying anything or expressing some kind of emotion on his face, he pulled me out of the crowd by grabbing my wrist. He walked on fast strides, without realizing that I was in pain because of my foot.

       "Was that the second? Or the infinite time?" he asked, still with no expression.

       I crossed my eyebrows and looked at him. "What?"

       "It seems like you always fall whenever I see you." he said, making me feel like a total mess. This time, he smirked. "No need to be embarrassed, Miss Jung. Chill."

       I can sense a proud air-head aura. "Perhaps because you're a bad luck to me." I snapped with full annoyance and ice cold stare. You see, I have always been a professional in being cold at people.

       "Bad luck?" He scoffed. "I guess not. I think I deserve some 'thank you' after what I did."

       "Well, thank you for your help, Mr. Zhang, but if you see my face flat on the ground next time, you can just pretend like you don't see me. I won't bother at all." That was not me speaking. It was my pride and my ego.

       He rolled his eyes, and I knew our encounter was not up to something good, so I decided to walk away. I wanted to walk like a normal person, but it was not that easy. I felt like my bones at my foot would give up anytime, so I started limping. With just a few steps, I almost fell down again. I did not know if I was lucky or not, but a pair of hands prevented me from another fall. It was Yixing's.

       "Stupid." He uttered in mandarin. Unknown to him, I understood that word. 

       "I'm not stupid." I told him, trying to brush him off.

       He smirked. "You know mandarin, Miss Jung?"

       "Not really." I said. "But I know that word, and to be frank with you, there's a lot more that I know."

       "Before anything else, why don't you cease being so stubborn?" He raised an eyebrow. "Take a seat." That sounded like a military demand.

       I pretended not to hear him and walked my way out. My pride was satisfied that he did not insist any longer and let me walk away from him. My foot, however, wanted some immediate help. It could have been swollen. I was walking with slow limps, and saw Yixing walk past me, not even looking at my direction. I decided to stop to prevent further damage to my foot. Five minutes have passed, and still, there was no bus yet. Just then, I felt somebody lift me off the ground. 

       "Hey, put me down!" I screamed. Zhang Yixing carried me to a bench and let me take a seat. 

       "Don't say a word." He commanded.

       I crossed my eyebrows and breathed deeply. "Who are you to demand that from me?"

       WIthout a reply to my question, he grabbed my injured foor and placed some medicine to it. It was then that I realized that the five minutes were spent going to a pharmacy and buying medicine for me. My manners did not allow me to mock him any further.

       "Avoid moving that foot overnight." He said dryly. "Take this." He handed me the remaining medicine he bought.

       "You did not need to do that." I said, feeling guilty for being rude to him.

       "As your bad luck, I felt the need to do that." He ambiguously said, making me feel even more guilty.

       "Sorry, Yixing." I said. "And thanks."

       He smirked. I wondered if he was bipolar or something. "No need for that. Now, take a cab home."

       "The bus will be here in a while." I replied.

       "Cab." There went his one-word demand that sounded scary.

       Truth is, I really wanted to get home as soon as possible especially with my injured foot, but my budget did not allow me.  I shook my head. "The bus will do. I'm not a glass miniature, remember? I won't break."

      Stubborn and insistent as he was, he stopped a cab and carried me in. I had no other choice, but oblige. He himself got in and closed the door immediately. 

       "Where?" He asked.

       "I'll get off." I told him.

       "Address." He demanded. His one-word statements really were scary.

       Instead of answering him, I was more concerned of my budget. I took out my wallet only to find an amount exact for only a bus fare. 

       "I'll pay." He said.

       "Take this." I handed him my money. "I'll pay you once I get enough." 

       He shrugged the money back at me and sighed. "Miss Jung, your address."

       "Thanks, Yixing." I said as I got off the cab. "I'll pay you, I promise."

       He rolled his eyes. "If that's what you want."

       Just as I was about to enter our gate, my mother and my six-year old brother Yoogeun, came out with big bags with them. Shocked as I was, my mouth hung open. It was exactly what I feared about going home. My thoughts were confirmed with the way my mother's eyes looked at me. Home no longer existed.

       "Noona." Yoogeun pointed at Yixing. "Who is he?"

       I almost forgot about Yixing. "Oh!" I flinched. "Zhang Yixing, a classmate in the university." I turned to Yixing and regretted making him see my grave situation. "The cab is waiting. Thanks for the help, Yixing."

       "What happened?" He asked.

       "Nothing." I replied.

       "Annyeong, Yixing-hyung!" The innocent brother of mine greeted him.

       "You should go now, Yixing." I insisted.

       My mother was quiet for a while, but being the hospitable person that she was, she turned to Yixing as well. "I see you're my daughter's new friend. Aigoo. I apologize that we could not accomodate you for now. I hope we can do so in the future."

       "It's okay, ahjumma." Yixing replied. "Pardon me if I ask. I don't mean to intrude, but what happened?"

       "Please, Yixing. The cab is waiting." I told him.

       "Some bad men said we can no longer stay at home." Yoogeun said, being an honest child that he is.

       "Do you have a place to stay?" Yixing asked me.

       "Yes." I lied. "You should go now, Yixing. Please."

       Seeing deperate eyes from me, he set off finally. "I'll get going now, ahjumma." 

       Left with no other choice, we went off to stay with my aunt who lived a few blocks away. I was in big trouble. First, it was adjacent to Jiyoung's house. Second, my aunt disliked me from the start. I don't know why, but she just looks at me like she was disgusted. 

       "Aigoo. This house is too small for four people. You must be thankful to have a sister like me to accomodate you. Why do you live such a troublesome life? You give me headache." Auntie told my mom, loud enough for me and even Yoogeun to hear. I seriously wanted to get mad at her at that time. 

       Before sleeping, I made my decision. I did not want to be the reason for the thick atmosphere with my aunt and I hate thinking that the next thing that might happen was giving up school. Thinking about it made me want to puke.

       "Omma." I started. "I better get a dorm nearer the school." 

       "Why?" My mother was shocked.

       "I just thought it would be better than traveling everyday. That way, I can just walk to school. I am also planning to get some parttime job anyway. I actually  found a cheap dorm around. I can perhaps start there... maybe... tomorrow." I lied. I wanted to cry, yet I stopped myself. My mother worried for me enough already. I wanted to be the strong one this time.

» author's note

Thanks to my subbies.

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