Yuri left the classroom, her face flushed with anger. The horrible stench emitting from her clothes made her stomach churn in disgust. She could still hear their howling laughter ringing in her ears as she stomped along the empty hallway.

It was insensitive.

It was sickening.

It was humiliating.

It was the last straw.

Ahn Yuri was a transfer student. She had transferred to Anyang High School in the middle of the year because her father had decided to move to Seoul, for better job prospects. But this was not why she was made fun of. The school was the worst neighbourhood school her father could afford for at the moment. The students in Anyang High are constantly looking for new targets to pick on. And it was specifically transfer students.

Not that Yuri could blame her father, their old house was pretty much run down and cramped. Now that they have a better roof over their head and a more stable life, Yuri could not ask for anything more. Not even when she is in the worst school in Seoul. 

She sighed heavily as her eyebrows leaned in to meet each other, forming a frown on her face. Her class had placed a y trap near the door just for her so that when Yuri enters the classroom, a bucket of floor mixed with rotten eggs will spill all over her. *I don't mind getting bullied every second, but why must they ruin my uniform? Uniforms are so expensive these days...* Yuri bit her lip as she thought of how to explain to her father for a new uniform. 

Yuri spotted a toilet up front and charged towards it, the overwhelming smell clouding her senses, that she thought she could've fainted at that moment. A figure appeared from the toilet and Yuri widened her eyes as she mustered all the strength in her body to come to a halt. Unfortunately, her legs did not coordinate well with her mind as she crashed head on with a hard body.

Stumbling a few steps back, she rubbed her eyes with fingers to get a better look at who she had recklessly bumped into in her horrible state. That light brown hair, deep double lids, sharp nose, cherry lips… She can recognize them anywhere.

“C-Chanhee?” Yuri stammered. His pristine white uniform was now stained with flour and eggs thanks to her. His expression, however was still calm and serene, like the incident hadn’t happened in front of him.

“Do I know you?” He cocked his head to the side in confusion, placing his hands into his pockets.

*No, but I’ve known you since forever.* Yuri cleared and shook her head as her cheeks turned into a light shade of pink. “Look, I’m really sorry for ruining your shirt. I didn’t mean it.” She stared into his mesmerising dark brown eyes as she apologized sincerely.

Instead of flaring up, Chanhee laughed and held up a hand. “No worries, I have a spare uniform in my locker. How about you? You look like a mess.” He widened his eyes at what he said before adding, “No offence though.”

Yuri wished the ground would split into two and eat her up, so that she didn’t have to go through this. *Why oh why must I bump into him of all people!* Letting out a heavy sigh, she spoke, “Lucky you. I certainly do not have an extra uniform.”

“Aren’t you gonna buy a new one?” Chanhee asked again. This time, he began to take in how she really looked like. *Considering that it’s impossible for her to fall into a pond of flour and rotten eggs, I’m guessing she’s that new target?*

“That’s the thing… I have no money.” Yuri felt her face burn up as she muttered silently, her ears turning red. In a second, she stood up straight, wanting to get out of this awkward situation as soon as possible. “You know what? I would love to continue chatting but this conversation is going nowhere so excuse me, while I clean up.” With that, Yuri trudged to the ladies, brushing past him ever so slightly.

Chanhee chuckled to himself. *That was an interesting one. No one has ever managed to stay in Anyang High for so long after getting bullied. And I can’t believe I said I had an extra uniform. Where did that even come from? My locker is basically forgotten.* He paused as he thought over her words.

“That’s the thing… I have no money.”

“Guess I have some good deeds to do.” Chanhee shrugged as he strolled to the school’s book shop instead of his class. Surprisingly, he didn’t mind helping this new transfer student. Even though countless students had gone through all these, never once did he helped any, including his ex-classmate, who was one of them.

“Can I have a set of the female uniform?” The bookshop lady stared at him from head to toe, as if she didn’t hear what he said. That was when Chanhee realized, his uniform was dirty as well and he almost cowered under her scrutinizing gaze.

“Sorry? Do you mean male uniform?” She asked again, emphasizing on the ‘male’.

“I want a set of female uniform and male uniform. Please hurry.” He almost rolled his eyes at her questioning gaze. *Just get me my uniforms woman. Stop looking at me like I’m a gay or something.*

“Here you go. That will be 50,000 won.” She handed Chanhee two bags, separating the female and male uniforms. He paid for it and left the bookshop swiftly, as the smell from his shirt was beginning to be more prominent.

*15 minutes to lunch break. I gotta hurry.* Chanhee quickened his pace while glancing at his black leather watch. When he had finally reached the toilets, he placed the bag with the female uniform in front of the ladies and smiled. *Hope you get through today like how you did for the other days.*

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Yuri slumped against the cold tiled walls in exasperation. How long more was she going to endure all this bull? She had finally gotten her hair fixed but her uniform was still the problem. Her thoughts travelled back to the incident previously and couldn’t help but to let out a soft squeal.

“He talked to me! He talked to me!” Yuri placed her hands together against her chest and sighed dreamily.

She can still remember that day, when she had first seen him from afar. It was in the hall, when the principal had to make an announcement. Yuri’s eyes gazed around and a boy, with his light coloured hair, stood out from the rest. His great looks did not go unnoticed of course. She swooned as his friends made a joke and his eyes lit up, as he responded it with a hearty laugh. He seemed to radiate so much positive energy that the ends of her lips tugged upwards unconsciously. She felt warmth just by looking at him, despite all the cold treatment she has received from everyone else. That was when, she had a tiny little crush on Lee Chanhee.

It was basically impossible to get close to him since they were from different classes. Furthermore, Yuri had realized that he was one of the most sought for males in the school. That dampened her spirits further, until today. Today she finally had a chance to hear his voice. That sweet melodic voice that took over the evil mocking laughter that was ringing in her mind previously. She wanted to hear it again.

Waking up from her daydream, she shook her head. *Yuri, it will never happen. Wake up. He will never have eyes for you.* She lightly patted her cheeks and took in a deep breath. *Ahn Yuri, let’s get through the second half of the day. Fighting!* She did a fist pump in the air and laughed to herself at her silliness.

She swung the pink door open and a brown paper bag was on the ground. *Did someone leave this here?* The brown paper bag looked more and more suspicious the more she thought about it. *It can’t be another prank… Right?* It couldn’t help but pique her interest and Yuri ended up opening the bag.

Yuri held it at arm’s length and shut her eyes for any incoming food that was going to splat on her face. After a few seconds, nothing happened. Surprise was evident on her face but it soon morphed into one of disbelief. A slight sheen of tears appeared in her eyes as she reached into the bag to pull out the clean new set of uniform. *Who…?*

The school bell rang once, signaling that lunch was in 5 minutes. Yuri scurried into the ladies once again, and changed into the new uniform. It was the first time someone had been nice to her ever since her time here. She felt touched at this simple action. Walking out of the cubicle, she threw her ruined uniform into the bin and dusted her hands.

*It is Chanhee, right?* She grinned as she smoothed out the creases on the previously folded blouse.

*Thank you. Thank you so much for helping me.*