“Wounds?” Yonghwa echoed. “What wounds?”

Seohyun opened , about to tell Yonghwa more. She so badly wanted to tell him how he hurt her. How he hurt her so much that her heart ached at the thought of it till today. She hadn’t told anyone, not even Yoona, and she hasn’t managed to.

She was almost ready to pour out her heart to him, but realized that she couldn’t.

“It’s nothing.” She smiled. “Let’s just say that I was a fan of his and he disappointed me really badly. Come on; let’s try to make our way back. Madame Jung must be worried.”

*

Flashback

(Seohyun is 15, Kyuhyun is 17)

Seohyun kept her head down as she made her way to the Principal’s office. All around her, she could hear whispers and felt stares and fingers pointed at her. It was like a walk of shame, only much more worse.

She knocked onto the door, anxiously waiting. A part of her wanted to walk away, but she had to do this, if she wanted to provide Hana with the best.

“Come in.” The principal’s voice boomed, and Seohyun’s hands trembled as she twisted the doorknob. This is it, she thought.

“Annyeonghaseyo.” She bowed politely. “I came to hand in this.”

She forced herself to make her way to his desk and handed him the envelope that was now all crumpled from her clutching it too hard.

“What’s this?” The principal’s brows furrowed as she took a look at it.

Letter For Dropping Out Of School

He looked at Seohyun, clearly demanding an explanation, but of course he saw this coming. How could he miss the news that was all over the internet and papers? Tycoon Seo Kang Joon bankrupt. Wife of Seo Kang Joon dies. Seo Kang Joon flees Korea, abandoning his two daughters.

“I’m sure you know the state that I’m in right now.” Seohyun swallowed. “I’m….an orphan. My parents aren’t around any longer, and I have no money for school fees.”

The Principal’s heart softened. “There’s always a way, Joohyun.” He said. “We have scholarships and stuff- you’re a bright student and you should have no problem getting those. You still can study.”

Seohyun shook her head. “I have debts to pay, and a sister to provide for. She has to go to school. Even if I don’t go, she HAS to.” She tried to keep the tears back from pouring out. “She’s too young to deserve this.”

The Principal stayed quiet, clearly having nothing to say.

“So, I would like to drop out from school so that I can earn some money.” Seohyun smiled. “To pay off my debts. Thank you for everything.”

She quickly went out of the office, in case the principal said any more that may make her change her mind. She didn’t want to change her mind any longer; she was determined. It was now her responsibility to provide for Hana.

At least she didn’t have to go through this alone. She had Yoona, as well as Kyuhyun.

“HYUN!”

Seohyun looked up to find Yoona running towards her. Yoona grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth, saying, “You dropped out? Why?!”

“Let go of me,” Seohyun winced. Yoona sighed in frustration, dropping her hands. “Why didn’t you discuss with me?”

“Because I knew that you would say no.” Seohyun smiled.

“There you go again, smiling like that.” Yoona muttered. “You’re jjang. Really.”

Seohyun laughed, this time genuinely. “Don’t worry! Even if we can’t see each other in school anymore, we can still meet up outside. Well, providing that you’re free. You’ve been getting more and more CF deals lately.”

“Yeah, I never thought that I could make it up to this point. I’ve been really busy lately.” Yoona smiled sadly. “I’ll still make time for you, no matter how busy I am.”

“Promise?” Seohyun grinned.

“Promise.” Yoona smiled, and leaned over to give her a hug. “Stay strong, okay?”

Seohyun nodded, tears forming in her eyes. “I’ve got to go look for Kyuhyun now. He said that he would pick me up.”

Yoona nodded. “Kyuhyun’s been really busy too. I heard that he was getting ready for his debut. He has done even more CFs than me!”

“That’s because he started earlier than you, idiot.”

“I will get up to his level someday.” Yoona huffed. “You better get going. It’s not good to keep celebrity waiting.”

“Aren’t you a celebrity too?” Seohyun smirked. “Okay, bye!”

She sighed as she walked down the corridor, leading to the carpark. This would be her last time ever walking past the classrooms and the labs and the garden….

Stop thinking about it, she chided herself. Life could be tougher than this.

Seohyun looked around the carpark, scanning her eyes for the black Mercedes that Kyuhyun recently bought for himself on his CF debut day. It had been such a wonderful day and she was truly happy for his success. The public knew of their relationship then but they didn’t really care because he was still a rookie and had not yet made his debut in the entertainment industry, but lately, she had been seeing hate letters in her mailbox…..

Whatever. I have a boyfriend that truly loves and cares for me and that’s all that matters. Seohyun smiled as she spotted the car and made her way there.

As she slowly approached the car from the side, she wondered if she had recognized the wrong car. There were two people in the car and it looked like they were…kissing.

It’s not the right car, she thought, and walked over to the front to pass through, after all, they were so engrossed that they didn’t even notice her…

Seohyun recognized the girl. It was her classmate, Hyomin. She remembered how Hyomin had lately been bragging about how she had a celebrity boyfriend and how it would totally surprise everyone if they knew who her boyfriend was….Seohyun didn’t care much, but she was now curious. Was he THAT handsome as Hyomin claimed he was? She described him as ‘a gift from God’ which Seohyun found absolutely ridiculous, as a Christian.

She squinted to catch a glimpse of his face as he looked up. Her heart went cold as they made eye contact.

Sitting in the car, making out with her classmate was Cho Kyuhyun. Her boyfriend.

*