Defending Hye Jin would had made Jin Ki even madder so he thought of soothing Hye Jin’s heart through messages instead.

He smiled, looking up by the window when he sensed Jin Ki pulling him to a hug. “I am so ing sorry. I thought you were safe.”

“I am.” Taemin offered a smile, as he pushed Jin Ki to look at his face. “I was, but then, I thought I was fine and I wondered behind. I didn’t see the bully coming.”

“It’s my fault; I shouldn’t have let you befriend her.” Jin Ki seemed dead serious about it.

“Having her as a friend is the best thing I ever had.” Taemin said with a smile. “Don’t blame her for other people’s did and thoughts. She can’t control how people react around her.”

“But…” Taemin rested his hand on his brother’s mouth.

“Don’t. I know deep inside me that it kills her slowly.” Taemin admitted as he caressed Jin Ki’s cheek. “She is hurt, and guilty about it. I know. I could see it through her seriousness.”

Jin Ki just nodded it off as they reached the school. Surprisingly, the new school gave them similar classes and schedule as the old one, so Hye Jin ended up with Taemin in the same class. They got in, the same time. Taemin was first to introduce himself.

“Hi. I’m Lee Taemin, I’m fourteen. Please take care of me.” Hye Jin sensed a movement, and looked up to notice someone she didn’t expect to see who was the bully, but then she realized that the kid she accidently killed was from this school. The teacher coughed and Hye Jin bowed. “I’m Choi Hye Jin. Please take care of me.”

Taemin sat by the kid’s side, right next to the windows, with Hye Jin behind him, as they did in the last class. It took her a second to notice that Taemin didn’t recognize the kid beside him. The first day went smooth, as Hye Jin and Taemin told their teachers that they were paired for assignments in their previous school and handed them instead of the assignments the said teachers gave to their class.

Meanwhile, Jin Ki was restless about Taemin and Hye Jin studying together, but as he noticed Taemin laughing at something Key said, he sighed in sudden relief. Suddenly, as Jin Ki stood by Taemin’s side, Hye Jin showed up. “Taemin, if you are still interested in learning self-defense technics, there is a club in the school. They will have a meeting in few minutes.”

“I want you to teach me.” Taemin pouted, earning a small smile from Hye Jin who looked up to meet Jin Ki hateful gazes.

“I can’t.” Hye Jin stepped back, looking down. “I did much damage now. I’m sorry but we can’t be friends, not after what happened to you because of me.” Taemin was about to object but Jin Ki’s hand on his shoulder froze him. “Take care of yourself.” She winked to him and stepped back, leaving Taemin in pure confusion. The kid walked just in time to see the scene and watch as Hye Jin took a spot to curl, alone.

He observed as Hye Jin pulled her legs closer, and hid her face between her knees, when boys showed up. “Hey! That our spot.” They kicked her bag,  “ off” she looked up shocked before picking it up, as she stood. She put it nicely, as the kids sat in their spot when she faced them.

“What?” One of them dared her when she gave the tree the best kick she could manage just above their heads. They stood, pushing her harshly, while she kept her smirk. She didn’t hear what they said but she needed to feel pain. She needed to feel human for once. They kicked her and punched her, while she kept her smirk. Despite everything, her body was made of 60% human skin and human muscles, so they didn’t truly notice how firm her body was until they faced the tree that fell without them noticing.

She laughed at the public and the bullies shocked look, and walked away, wiping from a mixture of blood and saliva. “Don’t with me.” She said looking straight into the kid’s eyes. She wanted to impress him, deliberately. She bumped at him, making him step back, and they shared a look. She picked her bag and went to the night classes, ignoring Taemin’s eyes on her.

“Did you see that?” Key asked them, shocked.

“She broke a tree with a kick.” Minho said with a tone that let out his admiration.

“She said she trained for so long on different martial arts, and promised to teach me.” Taemin said, looking up to Jin Ki’s expressionless face. “Hyung…”

“No. It’s over between you both.” Jin Ki said, glaring at Taemin. “And keep it this way.”

Taemin didn’t want to go against his hyung’s orders but couldn’t break off his friendship with her either. “Noona.” She didn’t move. “I know it hurts.” She sat up and glared at him.

“It hurts to see how stupid you are, Taemin. I am no more your friend, why can’t you just off?” She hissed in anger. “Leave me alone.” She said that loudly enough for the classroom to freeze.

“I won’t.” Taemin held her hand, making her facial expression squeeze into pure pain. “I won’t leave you because you are still my best friend, and my sister.” They looked at each other. “and I never give up on family no matter how ed up my relationship with them is.” She closed her eyes, lowering her head, when his arms encircled her. “It was never your fault, Noona, and as you said, I am not dead, just broken. I’ll get fixed soon, just… I need you.”

She pushed him softly before running out of the class. H sighed as he sat in his seat before noticing the side profile of the kid in front of him. It would be the biggest joke of the history if he said he didn’t recognize the kid. Who can forget someone who him? He offered a smile when the kid looked at him, which earned him a frown, a blush, and a sigh from the said kid.

Taemin planned his revenge so simply: being nice to the man enough to raise his guilt. He hoped it would work. Suddenly girls stood in front of him. “Stop staring at Jongin oppa!” One of them said.

“Oh? I was staring? I’m sorry I didn’t notice.” Taemin bowed his head to them when they slapped it. It didn’t hurt much but he was still hit.

“Work that stupid head of yours, , and keep your dirty hands away from him.” Taemin smirked at it, as he noticed the kid’s eyes on him. “What are you laughing at?” They slapped him, and he kept chuckling.

“Dirty hands… if mine are dirty, then the one who dirtied them is even dirtier. Right?” They looked at him, both disgusted and shocked. “Besides, I think that your Jongin Oppa can speak of himself, and I am not interested on his kind.” Hye Jin got in right then. “She is. Hye Jin Noona is the kind of personalities I would love to date.” She blushed badly as she sat up and he leaned to caress her face. “You cried? I never saw you crying.”

“I can’t cry.” She admitted. “But I can do it, here.” She took his hand and rested it up her heart, only to make Taemin feel heartbeats. He smiled and leaned to kiss her cheek. “Taemin…”

“Don’t cry, Noona. I told you I never blamed you for what happened, and in fact, I can’t bring myself to hate the bully either.” Taemin said loudly as he noticed that the girls left and he was side by side with a shocked Jongin. “If he was strong enough, he would have accepted his best friend’s fate instead of hurting people around in order of easing his pain.” He looked at Jongin for a second. “We all lost someone we love; I lost mom in a car accident too but I never blamed people for her loss.”

“Your mother did?” Hye Jin noticed Taemin and the kid’s interaction and understood it very well. Taemin had known it for so long. Taemin nodded before looking up.

“I was in the car that night when she died. I saw it with my own eyes.” Taemin admitted, his tears falling. “I lived and she died, right there, in front of my eyes.”

Taemin’s voice cracked and Hye Jin caressed his face. “Let’s change the topic. Let’s go out and have some fun.” Taemin nodded and pulled her out of the classroom when Jin Ki showed up.

“I told you to not speak or get near my brother.” He angrily pushed her away.

“Hyung! I want her to be in my life, ok? Stop pushing her away.” Taemin said as he got in between them. Hye Jin shook her head as she held his shoulder, squeezed it softly and left the area, sad. “Stop hurting her, Hyung.”

“Taemin, I am doing it for your own good.” Jin Ki tried to hold Taemin back from following Hye Jin.

“But, did you ever thought of her? I don’t think so, because if you did, you would have noticed how much she loves you.” Hye Jin wasn’t that far so she heard it. Love? She loves him? Jin Ki was shocked as well. “Yes, Hyung. We all noticed it except you both. She loves you and her might to protect me is mostly because of you. She protects me for you…”

Jin Ki shook his head and walked away, leaving Taemin with Key and Jonghyun. “Let’s go and take something to eat for dinner.” Key offered and Taemin nodded following them. Jin Ki soon found Hye Jin outside of the building, in the backyard. She stood in the middle of the cold, shaking due to her fears and pain. She realized that Taemin was correct about that. She was in love with Jin Ki the same way the characters loved their beloved ones but loving a human was the last thing she expected

“I can’t.”

His words made her look back to Jin Ki and nodded. “I know.”

“I can’t push you away.” He spoke as if he never heard her. “I can’t push you out of my life because…” Jin Ki looked away and sighed deeply at his unspoken words. “The only women in our lives, Taemin’s and mine, hurt us so badly, they wounded us, destroyed us, so I can’t… I can’t let you in for that.”

“I don’t get it.” She said facing him. “You don’t want me in your life, and you don’t want me out of it.”

He shook his head. “I don’t get it either.” She chuckled at it and stepped closer.

“Jin Ki… I’m sorry for Taemin.” She said, as she tried to touch him, only to back off. “I’m sorry for everything and… I can’t either.” He looked at her, both shocked and hurt. “I have a reason, specific and clear, to not let myself fall in love with anybody… so I can’t let you get in my life. However, I can’t step away… you mean so much to me.” She took off a wrist band from her pocket and gave it to him. “I gave Taemin a similar one… Please, keep it. It will be like I’m there with you.”

He didn’t have time to say anything since she ran away so fast, leaving him with a confused look. “What is the reason of not being able to love?”