Rumor

  "Homerun!" Jieun exulted as she cheered for Chanyeol who was running from base to base inside the large field. Chanyeol hit the final base and breathed lightly, pulling himself up with a bright smile on his face. The two retreated to the cafe on the same floor and ordered a bunch of sweet eatery, waiting for their food to be served. Chanyeol's complexion had returned to being rosy, and he was the bright boy once more.

"Thank you." he smiled genuinly. Jieun smiled back and ruffled his hair. It was good to see him smiling, it made her happy inside. Jieun glanced to the side and saw a few girls snapping pictures of the two; she assumed they were Chanyeol's fangirls and were snapping saesang shots of him. She shrugged it off and focused back to Chanyeol, unaware of what was going to happen to her..

"I'll get the food." Chanyeol rose from his seat and grabbed the beeping donut. Jieun sat in her spot waiting for Chanyeol. she felt a strange aura, as if everyone in the cafe were staring at her; the familiar sight of gossiping once more. She had gone through this in elementary school, she hated it. "Are you okay?" Chanyeol asked as he returned to the table with a tray full of chocolate melted donuts and sweets.  

 Jieun exhaled slowly and opened her eyes. 

She could still see everyone staring at her, although the whispering seemed to have died down. she felt like she could burst into tears; she put so much effort into escaping the outcast zone, but she felt like it was coming back to her- especially when people would stare at her virulently and whisper amongst themselves. She watched as Chanyeol picked up a sprinkle drizzled donut and took a large bite. 

Although she tried not to care, every single word coming from the distance seemed to ring in her ear and she felt as if she was going paranoid. even the small ticking of the clock was ringing in her ears to the constant grinding of the coffee machine and- "Stop." Jieun hissed and slammed her hands onto the table lightly. little sweat beads formed on her forehead and her eyes were a large mess.

'Are you okay?" Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. "You're really pale.." Jieun nodded and picked up a chocolate syrup donut, stuffing it in . she chewed it silently and let herself fall into the unfathomable memories of her childhood.

-Flashback: 2009-

  Jieun sat at the square table, quietly nibbling her school lunch with her friends surrounding her. the table was silent and nobody really spoke a word. glares exchanged itself as the other girls chomped on their food silently and breathed out sighs that could crash the sky. "Guys," Yoon-Jo, the preferred leader of their group broke the silence. all the girls' attention were on her, waiting for her to say something.

"We should go take sticker photos after school." 

All the girls rejoiced in bliss as the talking resumed and they were busy talking amongst themselves. but Jieun sat at the corner of the table, quietly nibbling onto her food without a single soul to talk to. She always felt so alone in a room full of people. She wasn't sure if these people were really her friends, all she had in mind was to always avoid becoming an outcast.

"Where should we meet..?" Jieun smiled cheerfully and asked Yoon-Jo. 

The growing chatter of the girls died down, followed by an awkward silence that wrapped over her like an itchy wool blanket. Yoon-Jo made a foul expression coated with a fake smile. The foxy smirk never left her face as she opened to talk. "You can meet us infront of the bathroom on the third floor." "Bathroom..?" Jieun questioned. "Yeah, we always make a stop at the bathroom before we go home, if you didn't know." she blinked twice and returned to her chatter.

 Jieun nodded silently and looked down at her food tray. 

Even the small anchovies seemed to be pitying her, she thought. She looked at Yoon-Jo through the corners of her eye. Yoon-Jo was beautiful; at least to Jieun she was. She had a bubbly face that every single boy seemed to love. her glowing eyes seemed to take up half her face as they twinkled brightly at the top of her face. Jieun could even see her own reflection through the shine of her eyes. 

 Yoon-Jo was famous for being a trainee Yoonsol entertainment, the most famous entertainment there was in 2009. She got extremely famous after she applied for a singing audition program and she managed to get into the top 2, although victory slipped out of her hands. "Because it's Yoon-Jo, she can be like that." Jieun thought to herself as Jieun followed her friends dump their finished food trays into the boxes.

 Jieun coughed and trashed her unfinished food into the box as well.

 The school bell buzzed around the building, marking the end of another day. Jieun headed over to the third floor bathroom and waited for Yoon-Jo and her friends to appear. She never dwelled around the third floor, mainly because it was where all the 6th grader boys hung out. Although she was a sixth grader herself, she never really grew attached to boys at that age. 

She leaned against the wall and waited. As the boys walked past in a heap, she could feel their lazer stares penetrating into her head, followed by unpleasant whispers that surrounded her ears. 

"Is she the janitor's daughter or something?"

"Isn't she the nobody in Yoon-Jo's group?"

"It's surprising how she managed to survive in Yoon-Jo's group with that face."

 She heard every single word the boys muttered as they walked past. They laughed it off as if it was nothing, when to Jieun it caused a scar that was irreversible. She felt like breaking down in tears; this was why she hated associating with the boys in her grade. They were just like the girls, boys caused just as much drama as girls in this country. She wiped the small tear bead at the corner of her eyes and exhaled out.

It wasn't the first time; she found herself stupid for still tearing up.

She glanced at the wall clock. another ten minutes had passed but the girls weren't showing up. She was about to leave, when she heard the familiar chatter coming from the other side of the corridor. There came Yoon-Jo and the girls, trailing behind each other. Jieun smiled and waved at them, but they didn't even bother look at her. "Yoon-Jo!" Jieun called out as they reached her.

 But to her surprise, Yoon-Jo brushed Jieun's hand off and bumped into her shoulder.  "Yoon-Jo.." she said weakly.

Yoon-Jo and the girls turned back, staring at Jieun with their arms crossed. Their vexed expression never left her memory. "Do i know you?" she retorted, blinking twice. "Yoon-Jo.. what's wrong.?" "Let's go guys," Yoon-Jo waved. "I dont befriend beggars." she snorted as she glared at Jieun's dull clothes and skipped down the stairs, leaving her flower scent behind. 

 Jieun looked down, trying to hide her tears. She could hear the mocking sneers of the boys and the girls who witnessed the scene, and their painful gossip as they entered her ears and tore her heart into a million pieces. Just a few more months left until elementary graduation,

she became an outcast.

-END-

 "Jieun," Chanyeol waved in her face. Jieun flinched back into reality, frowning at the horrible memory. "Eat some, i'm going to get fat." Chanyeol wiped his hands on the tissue and sipped his mango smoothie, swiping through his phone. Jieun didn't really have an appetite, it wasn't normal to have one after such a flashback. "I'm not hungry." she murmured under her breath and rose from her seat.

 Chanyeol followed her outside the cafe and onto the elevator. 

"Jieun," he placed her hand on her forehead. "are you okay? you're sweating.. alot." "I'm fine," Jieun shook him off. "I'm just having a moment." her voice hummed as she stared at her reflection through the mirrored elevator walls. She felt as if she was looking at the same Lee Jieun six years ago, the outcast Lee Jieun. everyone told her that time would be the perfect medicine, but it never really was.

How was it medicine when it still hurt her so much?

 The two walked along the street filled with mini shops and cafes. Jieun wanted to hide; she felt ashamed of herself. She was embarrassed that she was once an outcast, and she didn't want people to look at her that way. Although she didn't even know anyone in the streets, she felt as they all knew her story and they would laugh at her. "Chanyeol," she pulled his sleeves. He looked down at her diminuitive height with a grin. "Yeah?"

"If there was an outcast at your school, would you laugh and mock them? or would you help them?" Chanyeol was hesitant to answer, but with a soft flinch of the eyebrows, he responded. "To be really honest, i would laugh and mock."

Jieun was silent.

"But not because i think the same way as the bully," he reasoned hurridly. "but because i don't wan to be the next target."

"What do you mean?"

"Bullying in this country," he paused. "It's like a wildfire. the moment you refuse to side with the bully, you become the next victim. there's no way out. I don't want to be an outcast, nobody does. but as depressing as it gets, the reality is this. What's popular always wins. unless everybody magically decides to side with the victim, there's no way out."

"But at least you side with the victim, couldn't you be friends with the victim?"

Chanyeol snorted. "Why did you help me? i never asked for your help." he sighed. "That's what all victims will say. did you think that they would thank you for saving them and cry tears of joy? in our generation, watching is the best choice."

As much as Jieun wanted to rebut, she couldn't argue the truth.

"Jieun," Chanyeol stopped. "Can you wait here for a moment? there's some business i need to take care of." "Sure." Jieun waited under the building that Chanyeol rushed into. She stared into the intersection and saw that more teenage people were appearing with their friends. She stared at the group of girls as they walked past her, huddled together. She had never been on a date with friends like that. Although strangely, she had never really felt jealous of it.

 "Are you Lee Jieun?" she looked up to the dark shadow. she gulped and saw a bunch of girls heaped up before her. Jieun nodded quietly, her head jerking down. The leader of the group pushed her head with her index finger and snorted. "Is sleeping with men your job?" she kicked the table infront of Jieun, her voice rising to a crescendo. Jieun felt angry inside, but she needed to hold it in.

 A group of people had huddled up near Jieun, filming the whole thing with their phones.

"Look," the girl scoffed. "She can't even talk." 

Jieun curtained her face with her hair. The girl crouched down and stared into Jieun's face hidden under her veil of hair. "I don't know who you are or what you're doing with my oppa," the girl hissed. "But stay away from Chanyeol oppa or else." the girl pushed Jieun.

"Or what?" Jieun retorted. "Or what? you're going to beat me up?"

"You know well."

"I'm sorry freshmen, but i can't do that." Jieun crossed her arms. 

"W.hat?" the girl scoffed and crossed her arms. 

"Do you think your oppa will even notice you? he doesn't even know you. why don't you go home and study your algebra?" Jieun snorted and returned back to her seat as if nothing had happened. 

"You," the girl pointed. "Chanyeol oppa's an engaged man. what are you, trying to steal him off the goddess Suzy?" her group snorted and examined her from head to toe. Jieun stood up and made daring steps toward the girl who was backing up. 

"You," she cringed. "do you have proof that they really want to marry each other? have you seen it with your own eyes?"

"Why does it matter?" the girl pushed Jieun back. "the audience only believes what they want to believe."

Jieun slapped the girl.

The girl yanked Jieun's hair and pulled her down to the ground with the help of her friends. before Jieun could make the next move, she was already on the floor protecting herself from the arduous blows that the girls were hitting her with. Through the gaps of their legs, Jieun could see the society filming her and the fight. She looked up to the faces of the girls, before she passed out after a blow on the face.

.  .  .

[Enduring the lonely times - Misaeng Instrumental OST]

Jieun opened her eyes to the hazy blur in her sight. She blinked twice and saw Myungsoo looking down at her with a perturbed expression. Jieun hissed as she supported herself to lean against the bedboard. She was in her room and Myungsoo sat by her bed with a small bowl and a handkerchief. Myungsoo squeezed the water out of the handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Why did you get yourself into that mess?" Myungsoo said restlessly as he sighed heavily. his eyes were painstruck as he looked at her eyes bruised with purple and her lips and her red cut lips. Jieun looked around the room but Chanyeol was nowhere to be seen. "You know you could have been killed Lee Jieun." Myungsoo scolded as he laid Jieun back into bed and placed the handkerchief over her forehead.

Jieun grabbed her phone from the bedstand.

"Don't," Myungsoo stopped her. 

"Why..?" Jieun asked.

"It's better not to look at it."

"Come on Myungsoo, i'll be okay." she slipped the phone from his hand and switched the power button on. 

72 messages

102 incoming calls.

She opened her text messages and to her surprise, her expression hardened.

From: 011-xxxx-xxxx

Is this what they call a ? 

you look like you just came out of a cow's , yet you're trying to steal Suzy's fiance'?

you really are trash aren't you? why don't you just jump off a building?

From 011- 567x-xxxx

Do everyone a favor and keep your face hidden

What have we done to have to see your face all over the web?
even a squid would look better than you, .

at least a squid doesn't steal other people's property.

 A silent tear fell from Jieun's eyes. Myungsoo tried to snatch the phone away but she refused. She the internet and the first headline broke her heart. 

Junior baseball league player Park Chanyeol 

She clicked on the link and fell thousands of the same video of Jieun getting beaten up by those girls. She clicked on the video and watched herself getting trampled on, but what hurt her the most was how not a single person was willing to help her. She scrolled down to the comments but she couldn't go on. She dropped her phone and burst into tears, crying out with all her heart.

 Myungsoo sighed and hugged her.

Myungsoo had finally found a reason why Chanyeol wasn't allowed to have Jieun.

A/N

I hope you guys liked this chapter! I wanted to base this one off the reality of South Korea because there was so many controversies over bullying and i just felt as if i needed to address the issue.. pLUS, my mum and my brother went to Korea yesterday but i had to stay home because i have finals next week. i seriously feel so upset right now i really wanted to go too.. i feel so frustrated i was pouring all my emotions into writing this lol.

If you liked this chapter, please upvote and/or leave a comment.

There's Yoon-Jo for all of us.. you can expect some syndrome in the next chapter!