The sigh came deep from the very depths of my soul as I tucked my hair behind my ear. Before I walked out the door, I looked in the mirror one last time to make sure I had properly hidden the choppy, shorter strands of hair. I sighed again, this time not as strong. Bullies.

It had happened to me again, except this time it was physical. Usually it was just the normal verbal torture - words that I had gotten used to and could ignore. Yesterday, however, someone decided to chang things up and took it to the next level. As a result, I ended up with one small chunk of hair in the front shorter than all the rest.

Since my mom doesn't know about the bullies, I haven't yet gotten a hair cut to smooth out my new "bangs". I didn't want to worry my mother or make her overreact, so I hadn't told her what was going on at school. So far I haven't been able to think of a good excuse for my changed appearance. I must admit that I am grateful the chunk of hair is in the front, because that makes it easier to hide.

Why was everyone picking on me anyway? The only plausible reason for it starting is that I came from a big city and had not yet been accustomed to the small town life at that time. Though I can't deny the fact that I gave them plenty of reason to continue       picking on me. Trust me, one orange can go a long way. By the time I was through with my "revenge", the whole cafeteria had to be repainted and I came home with quite a few detentions. I'm just lucky they didn't call my home.

Anyway, today when I got to school, everyone was whispering and staring my way. Another rumor must have been sent around. Then again, it could've been the hundreds of tiny paper balls that spewed out of my locker just now. Probably both, but either way, it didn't really matter. I didn't have time to think about it (even i I wanted to) because my main bully and his friends had just spotted me and were heading my way.

"Not today," I said out loud as I ran out the doors behind me and dashed to the football field. My heart was beating fast with the fear of what they would do when they caught me, and my brain raced with detailed images of what could happen. Lucky for me, their possibilities were endless since they just so happened to be on the football team.

Just as I stepped onto the soft grass, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I fell - frightened out of my wits. Coming up behind me I heard shouts of "Yes!" and "Way to go!", but I didn't feel anyone trying to hurt me. Looking up warily, all I saw was a strong, yet gentle-looking back. Then, my captor looked down at me with soft eyes that I had seen before in quite a few of my happiest memories.

The mysterious figure turned back around to face the jocks and he must've said something becuase they all turned pale and walked away. I only barely noticed this though, because I was too busy trying to think of where I had seen those eyes before.

As soon as my captor-turned-savior faced me again, I knew. Bang Minsoo.

To the rest of the school, he was CAP. The tough, silent boy that no one dares mess with. The one that everybody wants on their side. The one that everyone admires. The one that all the girls fell for. The one that couldn't care less what other people thought of him. The one that looked broken like he was hiding some kind of past pain. The one that I now recognized to be my childhood friend.

He had moved away from the city where we had lived when I was seven. Did I miss him? You have no idea. Even in the city I hadn't had any friends besdes him, so I was torn apart when he left. I almost snuck away from home to follow him when he left, but my parents had caught me and forced me to stay. I cried day and night for weeks once he was gone. I threw tanrums and was sensitive to everything.

A month after he left, I stopped feeling. All my emotions vanished and I wandered around like a ghost. Not completely here, but not anywhere else either. I was in a daze with the shock of losing him, and it wasn't until five years later that I even began to open up once more. However even then, it was just barely.

Of course even I thought it was ridiculous that I couldn't get over my loss even after ten years, but the truth is that I wasn't only mourning his loss. That may have been what triggered my depression, but the real cause was the realization that I was alone. I had never had to think about it when Minsoo had been with me, but I was an outcast at school. There were no kids in my neighborhood wiling to befriend me, and in fact, everyone just tended to avoid me.

I couldn't understand why I was treated so differently even though I was just a normal kid looking for a sense of belonging like everyone else. Minsoo had been my only true friend. My only friend at all, actually. He was the one that gave me that sense of belonging when all others ignored me.

Anyway, when I turned seventeen, my parents had finally had enough of my lack of emotion, and we moved to a small town away from my memories. However, my memories must have hated the idea of being left behind, because here was Minsoo standing in front of me right now. Ten years later, a new town miles away, and I have found my dearest (only) childhood friend.

It wasn't until he reached down that I realized I was still on the ground. Cautiously reaching up, I took his hand gently as though he was threatening to disappear again any moment. Minsoo pulled me off the ground and then gave me a sad smile.

"Take care," he said before turning around and leaving me.

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A/n: Yeah... it kinda leaves off unfinished, doesn't it? Oh well ^^ I just found this story thing I had to write for school a couple years ago and thought "Hm...that would make a good actual story..." so I rewrote it and added a few things here and there...and maybe created a whole new ending xD

Hope you enjoyed it :) I know I had fun writing it! If you liked this, you might want to check out my other story that I'm in the process of writing ^^ this was kind of just a break from that one. LINK: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/88720/the-music-box-changjo-supernatural