It was a bright, Sunday morning, and the heavy rain yesterday had finally stopped. The employees of the mural-painted coffee shop were lined into two straight rows while they paid their attentionin front of their boss and his companion.

"Everyone, this is Amber, and she'll be working with you all starting today." Chance introduced a nervous-looking Amber to his employees. She took a deep bow.
"It's nice to meet you all. Please take good care of me." she said. The employees bowed in return.
"Amber, this is Hong Ki, and he's the shop's manager. He'll be in charge with your familiarity around here as well as your weekend performances." Chance pointed at a good-looking man with blonde hair. He kindly smiled at Amber. "But since it's your first day here, I'll take the privilege to tour you myself. So, shall we?" he added, then he offered his arm to her with a groom-style way. 

Amber eyed him and chuckled. Then she walked towards the back of the kitchen, ignoring his gesture.

"This, is the dressing room. Here." Chance gave her a piece of white polo with a thin, blue line at its collar and buttons; a blue bowtie; a suspender; and black pants. "I figured out that you'll be uncomfortable with skirts so I gave you the men's uniform instead." he explained.
"You got that right. Thanks." Amber answered.
"I'm curious though," Chance said. "How did you managed to convince Taec?"

Amber furrowed her eyebrows and was lost in deep thought. Then she shrugged. "I don't know myself. I expected him to to shout at me and slit my throat after I asked but all he said was; 'I don't care on whatever you do lesbie, just don't forget your maid and assistant stuffs'". Amber answered, copying Taec's voice. "He's weird, isn't he?"
"Yes.... He's weird." Chance answered, smiling at her.

Then they went at the kitchen while Chance explained how coffee makers were used, he also introduced the customer's favorite orders, thought her how to make an espresso and told stories about his paintings. The day passed by quickly and Amber was really exhausted when she came home before dusk.

"Aggghhh! My head and back hurt!" she complained to herself. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she hastily went inside the rest room and picked Taec's laundry. "I almost forgot to wash his clothes." she said.

So she washed his clothes while she cooked their dinner and studied her report for Sir V. tomorrow. At past 12:00 a.m., she ironed his school uniform while her head dropped every now and then.

The next morning...

"Amber. Did you even slept?!" Torrey demanded as she looked at the doleful-loking Amber whose eyebags were now twice - no thrice - than normal. Amber nodded. "3 hours" she answered gloomily.
"Seriously! That Taec's too much!" Torrey said angrily but Amber shook her head.
"It's not just Taec, but Sir V. as well. His punishment was too heavy, I did not managed to read all three thick books!" she moaned. "I'm doomed later." she added darkly.
 

Just then, Amber's phone rang. *Right. Just what I needed*.

"What?" she answered her phone call rather aggressively.

She felt Taec raising his eyebrows from the other line. "Feisty aren't you?" he answered coldly. "Go here at my school. I need you to search me for something." he said.
"Wha-?!" Amber started but Taec hung up.

Torrey exasperatedly looked at Amber and asked, "What is it that he wants now?"

Amber shook her head again. "I don't know." she said. "I'll be really quick Torrey, sorry!" then she ran out. "And oh! call me before Sir V.'s class!" she called back. Torrey gave an 'OK' sign to her.

After a 10-minute ride, Amber found him leaning at Betty in front of St. Evangeline's entrance gate. She hurriedly approached him.

"What is it now? Tell me, I'll have my first class soon." she said.

Taec nodded his head towards his car. "Search my I.D inside, I think I left it there." he said.
"WHAT?!! You called me to search for your I.D that just happened to be inside your car?!!" Amber said indignantly.
"That's just what I said. Do you have to repeat it again and again??" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Amber threw him a piercing glare and entered his car door. She started searching at the front seats first; at the glove compartment; under the driver's and passenger's seats and at the dashboard. Then she moved at the back seat and searched at the seat's spaces. She then placed her hand underneath and found a piece of paper at the end of it. She took it out and saw not a paper but a photo - a torn photo with a beautiful woman at the left holding hands with an unfamilar man at the right. The yellow edges of the photo brought something in Amber's mind that she can't remember.

Knock! Knock!

Amber looked outside the heavily tinted car window and saw Taec in his muffled voice. "Are you done yet?!" is what she must've guessed based from lip reading. She rolled down the car window. "No." she shortly answered.

Taec opened his mouth but stopped at the sight of what Amber was holding.

"Where did you get that?" he asked sharply.
"What? Oh, this? I saw it under the--" Amber said.
"Give me that!" Taec shouted. He angrily opened the door and went inside the car. Amber backed away several times in surprise.
"What are you doing-?!"
"GIVE ME THAT!" Taec repeated angrily. He collided hard with Amber and now he was on top of her. He desperately reached for the photo at Amber's outstretched right hand.
"Get off me first Taec! Ouch!" Amber cried. Something in Taec's chest was caught on her blouse's button. It was a hook on an I.D. and it's scratching her chest painfully.
"HEY! I thought you couldn't find  your I.D.?!" she angrily asked.

But Taec was not paying attention. He continued the attempt of grabbing the photo back. The ruckus made the car shook. "Give... me.... that....!" he repeated so furiously that Amber got chills.

Meanwhile, students outside the university started paying attention at the shaking car in front of their entrance gate.

"OMO! What are they doing?!" someone hissed at her friend.
"Are they making out?"
"IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL??!"
"Talk about breeding!"
"Who's that girl???? The window's too tinted!"
"Ohhh man! I envy him!"

Heavy whispers started around as every single student looked at the shaking car.

"Ouch Taec! It's hurting me!"
"Give it to me!!!"
"Awwww! Stop! Stop!!!!" Amber screamed in a high pitched tone that everyone mistakened it as a voice of pleasure.

"DID SHE JUST SAID TAEC???!!" a girl with a flat nose screamed in fury.
"That is stealing our prince!!!" a girl with pigtails hissed.
"And she looks like she's having so much FUN!" a girl with a bunch of acne envied.
"Ohoooohhh! She messed with the wrong girls!" a girl with a chin threatened.

Everyone held their breaths as the car stopped shaking. Then seconds after, it started shaking again.

"That's it! That is going down!!!" flat nose angrily said.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Someone approached the Porsche and looked inside. It was Chansung. He looked around at the crowded place and looked back at the car again. Then he pulled an exhausted Taec outside the door, beads of sweat were falling down his face. Everyone gasped. Next, Chansung, removed his uniform and put it around Amber's head first before pulling her out of the car. He put a defensive arm around her, covering her face, while they walked out of the scene.

"Chance? What are you doing?! Why are you covering me with-"
"Stop talking. Or they'll recognize your voice." he said.

Amber shut and they walked farther away from school until they reached an empty lot. From there he removed his uniform around Amber and looked at her seriously.

"The last thing you shouldn't do on our school is to make a scandal. Especially with Taec" he said.
"What scandal?! We're not doing anything!" she said, strucked by what Chance said.
"But it looks like you're doing something." he said. "I know that there's nothing going on, but not everyone thinks the same way like me. Look." he held both of Amber's shoulders. "Taec is the most popular kid in school. It's too high school, I know, but you can't stop girls from admiring a promising heir of Lee Firms and a Bench model, right? He has numerous of fans on campus - and the most devoted ofthem, were out there earlier."
"But we really are not doing anything. It was Taec who got all crazy and grabbed a photo from me!" Amber said.
"I know. It's okay.." Chance answered soothingly. "Wait here, I'll go get something to drink." then he walked out of the parking lot, leaving Amber alone. 

After a few minutes, another footsteps were heard from behind her. Amber looked around expectantly.

"Hey Chance, you're too early -" 

She stopped speaking. Instead of a tall, handsome man, 4 girls in uniforms were standing in front of her, their arms crossed, their lips trembled with fury.

"." flat nose spat.
"What?!" Amber asked angrily.
"And now she's dumb!" acne added.
"What did you say?!" 
"You're a . You're dumb. And now you're deaf?!" pigtails mocked.
"Listen here girls. I don't know who-"
"Of course you don't know. You don't need to know who we are. We just need you to feel what you need." chin cut coldly.

They formed a circle around Amber. Amber on the other hand, looked from one face to another. *What are they doing?!*.

"Doing what you did with our prince was a disgrace!" chin said. She then pulled hardly at Amber's short hair and held on to it. "Long hair or short hair, we'll scalp you alive." she hissed.
"GET OFF ME!" Amber shouted. She slapped her hand hard and looked defiantly at her. "You want a fight? I'll give you one!" she curled her fists and stood in a boxer-stance. "Come and get me!" she dared.

Acne lunged forward but she aimed a punch on her. "Ooops! I'm sorry but I guess your acne won't be too pleased with that." Amber said triumpanthly. But then a pair of arms locked her down from behind, making her unable to use her hands. "GO!" pigtails signaled.

Just like a lightning, chin, flat nose and acne started kicking Amber at her chest, her thighs, and hips. Then they stripped her uniform and tore it down to pieces. Amber shouted angrily and started kicking aimlessly in the air. "GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!!" She trashed so wildly that pigtails was having a hard time to hold her down. When finally she released Amber, Amber punched acne again and kicked pigtails from behind. She spotted chin in front of her and lunged for her but--

PANNNKKKK!!!!

Something crashed into Amber's head from behind. She slowly turned around and saw flat nose holding a flat metal. Blood trickled from her forehead. Amber felt nauseated from its smell. She looked into Flat Nose, whose eyes glinted in malice.

"Our love for Taec is undying. No one should disgrace him like that in front of the school!" she said, looking at Amber full of despise. "You're a and you deserve what you got!!!" she shot. "This will be the last time we'll see each other again.." she raised the flat metal once again. "Goodbye--"
"STOP." a hand flew out of nowhere and stopped her.

Flat nose widened her eyes and looked behind her. "Taec!" she exclaimed, her eyes brightened. "Taec we were so worried about you!" she said in a sweet voice. "That -"
"Who? YOU?" Taec cut coldly. "I don't see a here. I see es. One.. " he pointed at chin, "Two.. three.. and four." he landed last at flat nose. 
"T-taec..." Flat nose answered weakly, her eyes began to water.
"Don't you dare use my first name. We're not even close." he looked at her coldly. Then he took the flat metal from her hand. Flat nose immediately embraced Taec.
"We're... we're just so worried Taec... You don't deserve what happened earlier. That girl was sa disgrace..."
"AMBER!!!" Chance came running forward, his eyes widened with shock at the sight of a blouseless and wounded Amber. He then quickly removed his uniform again and covered it around her. He turned to look at the four girls in pure hatred.
 

Taec pushed Flat nose aside and slapped her hard.

"Did I forgot to mention that I don't mind hitting girls? You dare touch me you filthy bag of toerag?" he said. "Get out of my sight before I do something else with you." he looked dangerously at the four girls. "You let me see your damn faces again, and I'll beat the hell out of you with... a thicker metal." 

Pigtails, -chin, acne and flat nose immediately ran, their tails between their legs. Taec looked at Amber and approached her who was still standing numbly at the center, her eyes dead with emotion.

"Lesbie.." he reached for her but Amber slapped his hand. Without commenting anything, she walked passed him. Chance followed her.
 

He saw her at the end of the lot, leaning beside a junked pile of plywoods. She curled herself and embraced her knees, her head bent down. Chance sat behind her in silence. 

"I'm so weak." Amber said, her voice was obvious of refraining to cry. "I'm so weak". she repeated.
"No. You're not Amber." Chance answered.
"You don't know what you're saying Chance." she looked at him, teary-eyed. "I... I thought I'll be strong when I became like this." she said. "But.. I'm not... I still can't protect myself. Darn it!"

Chance searched Amber's eyes. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Amber gave him a long, searching look and said:

"When I was in grade school, my classmates used to make fun of me everyday. Girls or boys, they're all the same.  I'm not doing anything to them, but they always loved to pick me with practical jokes. I was clumsy. and thin. and weird. There were a lot of times that I don't want to go to school anymore. I cried everyday. I cried every night. I wished something to protect me..."

"..So I started getting interested in boxing. I badly want to punch my classmates's faces.From there I grew distant from girly things. When I started looking like a boy unconsciously, people started to treat me differently. I felt that men are the dominant people on land,you know what I mean? I liked that feeling. When someone was dominant, no one tried to defy them. It was an easy escape, until looking like a boy became a part of me. I embraced myself with my new life.  But why, after all these years, why can't I still protect myself? And with girls?! Above all people?!".

Tears flowed down her cheeks. 

"If there was a part of me that I don't want to feel again, that's being bullied." she said.