Chapter 14

A year and a half later…

            “Fight!  Fight!  Fight!”

            The classiest and most esteemed private high schools were not secure from petty school fights.  They had their hierarchies, their popular kids, their angry loners, and even their secret government weapons.  On the outskirts of the campus, at the south courtyard of Whimoon High School, these various types of students circled around students Heo Minseon and Kim Haneul.

            Haneul, with her wavy hair and flawless makeup, gave an arrogant smirk towards Minseon.  Gritting her teeth, Minseon glared back at her.  Since the Comet Academy days, her cheeks had become plump, giving her eyes a constant, adorable squint.  The chilly winter wind hadn’t departed yet, causing her cute cheeks to flush red with every icy breeze.  But even as her deep brown eyes peered over her raised cheekbones, she appeared fierce and furious.

            “What makes you think you can steal someone’s boyfriend, Haneul?”  Minseon’s voice held utter contempt as she spoke.  Her tone never went above a fuming growl, but no one looked eager to irritate her further.

            “I didn’t steal anyone’s boyfriend,” Haneul insisted hastily, carefully pushing her hair back from her face.  “Soonjo made a decision.  Why should you blame me for that?”

            “Minseon-ah…”  Minseon felt a tug on her sleeve and looked back at her shy friend, Youngyoo.  Her timid gaze begged Minseon to calm down and escape this situation, but Minseon only saw more reason to be angry.

            “Youngyoo and Soonjo have been together for four months,” Minseon informed heatedly, turning back to Haneul.  “How could you do this to her?”

            “Like I said, I didn’t do anything,” Haneul sneered.  “Maybe Soonjo just saw a better offer and decided to take it.”

            “How many offers do you make every month, Haneul?”

            The entire crowd gasped at Minseon’s bold words, and Haneul’s eyes opened wide with shock.  She stepped closer to Minseon and grabbed her arm.

            “What did you mean by that, Minseon-ah?” she asked rigidly.  “What do you think I am?”

            “Well, Haneul-ah,” Minseon grinned mischievously, easily shaking her arm free of Haneul’s grasp.  “The whole school knows what you are.”

            “Why, you little…”

            As Haneul tried to grab Minseon again, Minseon took her arm first and pushed her onto the ground.  The crowd became wild, quickly spreading out and making room for the two fighters.  Minseon approached Haneul slowly, her fingers tensely balled up into fists.  Haneul looked up at her with disgust and surprise as she attempted to crawl away. 

            “Where are you going, Haneul-ah?” Minseon asked, suddenly picking Haneul up from the ground.  Taking a firm fistful of hair, Minseon pulled out a few locks of Haneul’s hair extensions, causing her to scream in humiliation.

            “Stop it, Minseon!  You freak!”

            “Say that again, freak!” Minseon yelled, throwing Haneul to the ground once more with greater force.

            “Minseon-ah!”

            Before Minseon could touch Haneul again, two arms wrapped around her from behind, attempting to keep her still.  Minseon wrestled against them, but it was no use.  She was hurriedly pulled out of the eager crowd.

            “Let go of me!”

            “Minseon-ah!” 

            Minseon finally realized who held her hostage, and she sighed angrily.  The crowd looked back at Minjin and Minseon as they headed farther away from the commotion.  Minjin led Minseon into the school and into the girls’ bathroom.

            “Unnie, what are you doing?”

            “I’m trying to keep you out of trouble!” Minjin exclaimed in frustration, pushing Minseon farther into the bathroom.  Her eyes filled with more and more unease as she stared at Minseon.  “You could have really hurt her!”

            “What else am I here for?” Minseon shouted.  She a sink and splashed some water in her own face.  “I can’t do anything else in this place.”

            “We’re here to learn, Minseon-ah,” Minjin explained, her voice shaky with nerves.  “Can’t you try to focus on learning?  You know, you really scared me out there.  For a second, I thought you were going to-”

            “Kill her?”  Minseon glared at Minjin resentfully.  “That’s what you thought I’d do?  I’ve already killed two people, why not kill another one?”

            “Minseon-ah, that’s not what I meant,” Minjin sighed, reaching for Minseon’s hand.

            “Stop it, unnie!” Minseon cried, hitting her hand away.  “I can’t trust you anymore.”

            “Minseon-ah, I still believe in you!”  Minjin put her hand to her forehead and took a deep breath.  “Minseon-ah, you’re not the monster you think you are.  Don’t you remember any of what Ms. Ko told us?”

            “You’re really dense, unnie.”  Minseon began to walk toward the bathroom door.  “There’s no way you’ve pushed the Comet Academy out of your mind.  You’re fooling yourself.”

            “Minseon-ah!  Wait!  Minseon-ah!”

*          *          *

            Sterile aromas and steady ticks and beeps filled the air of Seoul Hospital.  Doctors and nurses constantly scurried back and forth between patients, dealing with medicine and paperwork of all kinds.  Emergency patients were rushed in, recovering patients were discharged.  The employees often worked as robots, detached from the world around them.  How else could they protect themselves from the constant tragedy and heartbreak they faced?

            But on the ninth floor, there existed a wing where few scurried and even fewer spoke.  This wing held those patients who lingered in indefinite unconsciousness, clinging to both life and death with equal strength.  Not many people visited this wing, perhaps to escape the overwhelming sadness that dwelt within it. 

But today, a sixteen year old girl could be spotted sluggishly walking down the main hall.  As she drew nearer to her destination, her spirits drooped lower and lower.  She finally stopped at a doorway and peered into a room.

            Only one patient resided in this room of white walls and glowing beige curtains.  The sun shone brightly through the single window as if there was nothing to be sad about.  A pretty vase of vibrant yellow flowers rested on the patient’s bedside table as he lay sleeping in his bed.  Beside him sat a tired woman resting her head on the side of his bed.  She kept weary eyes closed as she weakly held onto his warm hand.

            “…Unnie?”

            Soomin raised her head up suddenly and looked at Minjin in the doorway.  A gloomy smile made it to her lips, and she rose up from her chair.

            “Minjin-ah,” she grinned, walking over to her.  She wrapped her arms around her and held her a little bit longer than usual.  “Minjin-ah, I’m so happy to see you.”

            “How are you, unnie?” Minjin asked quietly, her eyes still focused on the man in the bed.

            “I’m doing…well.”  Soomin finally let go of Minjin and pulled up a chair from the corner of the room.  “Please, sit down.”

            Minjin watched as Soomin rushed into the restroom to check her hair and makeup.  Though she ignored her request to sit down, Minjin took shaky steps toward the bed and observed the man carefully.  It had only been a month since she visited him last, but he looked thinner and paler than usual.

            “Did Minseon-ah come with you?” Soomin questioned eagerly, returning from the restroom.

            “Not today.”

            “Oh.”  Soomin smiled uncomfortable and sat back down beside the bed.  “That’s okay.”

            Minjin frowned remorsefully.  Minseon hadn’t visited Youngbin nor Soomin for several months now, and Minjin knew Soomin was becoming increasingly worried and miserable.

            Soomin took Youngbin’s hand again and looked at his peaceful face.  “They say he hasn’t gotten any worse since you visited last.  He hasn’t improved at all, though…”

            As tears filled Soomin’s eyes, Minjin walked over to her side of the bed, kneeled down, and wrapped her hands around both Soomin’s and Youngbin’s linked hands.  She leaned against Soomin, and Soomin put her free arm around her shoulder.

            “Minjin-ah, please don’t give up on him,” Soomin pleaded desperately.  “He still needs us.”

            “I won’t give up, unnie,” Minjin promised.  She slowly began to weep as she rested under Soomin’s arm, and every memory and feeling overwhelmed her.

            “Is something going on at school, Minjin-ah?” Soomin asked quietly.

            “I just can’t focus on my studies,” Minjin sniffled.  “I want to move on so badly, but everything just hurts too much.  It feels like none of what we’re learning even matters.  It could never take away the memories.”

            “I understand, Minjin-ah,” Soomin sighed, squeezing her tenderly.  “Are your grades slipping?”

            “I’m failing a few classes.  My other grades are barely passing.  And Minseon-ah is getting into all kinds of trouble.”

            “What’s going on with Minseon-ah?”

            “She can’t escape what she’s learned,” Minjin told hopelessly.  “She’s failing her classes.  She’s getting into fights.  One time a professor tried to talk to her after class, and she nearly knocked him out.  It reminded her of Professor Oh.  She cried that entire day.”

            More tears fell down Soomin’s cheeks as she listened.  She closed her eyes and tried to reply to Minjin, but only broken bits of words fell out of .

            “Unnie…we’re broken,” Minjin sobbed.  “We try to live a normal life, but…A few months ago, a boy I really liked asked me out.  We started dating, and we really liked each other, but then…One day he tried to hug me from behind to surprise me, and…I broke his nose.”

            “Oh no, Minjin-ah,” Soomin whispered, patting her back. 

            “I really liked him,” Minjin cried, attempting to wipe away her abundant tears.  “He was really nice about it, too.  He didn’t tell anyone that I was the one who did it.  He just calmly broke up with me and went on with his life.  But I don’t want to live like that, unnie.  I don’t want to constantly be in fear of hurting the people I love.”

            “Did you love him?”

            “I…I don’t know.”  Minjin rested her head on the bed and took a deep, shaky breath.  “I don’t think we know what love is, unnie.”