"Do you need help?"

I turned around, carrying a moderately small box in my hands. "Daehwan, you came." Handing him the box, I turned to grab my backpack.

"That's all you have?" He pointed at my backpack and I nodded. 

"Yeah, I never really had the money to go buy more things for myself. So I only have a few change of clothing." I shrugged as I walked past him and down the stairs. He followed behind.

"You know what, I'm gonna take you shopping."

"I already told you I have no money."

"Then I'll buy your clothes for you. Think of it as a welcome gift." I sighed and gave him a look.

"You don't have to waste your money on me. Come on, let's just go." He shook his head and grabbed my wrist.

"Nope we're going shopping."

I groaned. "Fine, but let's at least put this stuff down first?" He looked at me and frowned.

"This is really all you have? Like, fo reals?" 

"Yes yes-"

He sighed. "You are the luckiest girl in the world to have met me."

I laughed and lightly hit his arm. "Conceited much?" I shook my head. "You sound li-"

"Hey I heard that ugly is finally leaving this place?" I heard some ladies walking down the stairs behind me. They must've not seen me.

"Yeah, and she never payed her rent on time. Poor people like her should just live on the streets. Even that boy that was always with her left. How pathetic." Oh no, that was my landlord. I stopped walking for a bit, feeling a little hurt. I bit my lip before in a deep breath and continuing my way down the stairs. 

The voices kept getting louder.

"Ha, it was funny how he'd always stick up for her. She must've whored for him or something; no one would want to take care of that pieve of . I wonder what she did. I bet my money on she ed her way in."

She's wrong.

"Pfft, no one, not even the thirstiest would want to that . He probably just pitied her and then threw her away after realizing how trashy she is."

Wrong.

"No matter how much anyone pitied her, I don't think anyone would feel enough pity to start defending her. I mean, let's be real. Would you do it? I know I wouldn't. He probably just wanted to toy around with her for a bit before thinking he's got better things to do. They probably met at some strip club, him wasting some money to find his host being her. I wonder what kind of club would even hire a ieace of trash like her though."

Absolutely wrong. I clenched my fist, biting my bottom lip. I knew they thought I was trash but I didn't know they thought that badly of me. What's worse is that Daehwan is listening to all these things.

"Didn't you hear? The thing got fired recently. I wouldn't want that working for me either, no matter if it said it'd work for free. Nuh uh, no way. It'd retract all the customers! I-"

"Anna is a human being, not an object. Please do not refer to her as 'it'." I turned around to see the boy that calls himself Daewan talking to the two ladies and the landlord.

"Daehwan what are you doing?!" I took his hand but he was too strong for me.

"I'm sure you wouldn't like it if you heard someone referring to you as an 'it' would you?" His mouth was smiling but his eyes were glaring.

"Daehwan stop-"

He turned to face one of the ladies I recognized as my next door. "Aren't you the lady that owns the shop down the road? The cute little cande shop? I heard you went through a divorce recently. Hmm, what did they say? That your husband left you for another rich woman?" My former neighbor side eyed the landlord and his wife. They slightly stepped away from her. "Now, you don't like it so much when I expose you, do you?" Daehwan shot a sickly smile. "We would like it to if you didn't spread lies about Anna either." He turned to me and took my wrist. "Let's go."

~

He slammed his-our-apartment door closed and dropped my box onto the sofa. "How could you let them say those things about you?" He looked at me incredulously. "That was horrible. They were saying such terrible things... How can you just listen to that and not say anything? If it were me I would've said something snarky back at them." He huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. 

"Technically, you already said something back to them." I took my box off the sofa and dropped it on my new bed in my new room. He followed me into my room and leaned against the door frame, looking at me as I slung my backpack onto my bedframe.

"And I'm glad I did. You really shouldn't let those things get to you though." He puffed his cheeks out like a chipmunk. I walked up to him and pinched his cheeks.

"That was actually my first time hearing those things. I knew they thought bad of me but I didn't know they thought of me like that." I let go of his cheeks and looked up at him. "Do you now understand why I was at the bridge yesterday?"

"Nope! Because no matter how much crap you receive, I still think you should've stayed strong. That would show them! Someone like you deserves to stay alive." Someone like me? What have I done .-.

I laughed and pushed him out of the doorway. "You talk as if I saved the Earth in my past life."

"Hey! Maybe you did! I wouldn't be surprised if you did, after all, you did meet me in your current life." He spoke as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Psh and now you speak as if you're some kind of God. What are you, Koalemos?" Daehwan blanked, trying to figure out who Koalemos is. I took this chance to escape from my room and into the kitchen.

"Who's Kaolemos?"

I drank water from a cup and looked at him. "Greek God of stupidity."

"Wha- Hey!"

"Aye Daehwan didn't you say you'll be taking me shopping? Let's go let's go~" I dragged him out of the apartment before he could retort.

"I'm not stupid!"

A/n

I might be Koalemos because I ken not write to save my life.