Forget-me-not
W. Ppaam
Thud-thud-thud-!!
A dull, thud-like sound accompanied a musty, musty smell. Honestly, I was more concerned about the smell of cigarettes than the actual hit. I must have been hit hard, because I saw kids crouching around me, chewing gum.
"Ah.. Hajin, I haven't been hitting you lately.
"Does your face look a little better?"
" ..not so good, "
As if he'd been waiting, he came again, kicking and kicking like trash on the floor. It felt like I was becoming that trash. As soon as the kicking stopped, he blurted out a few words and the culprit, a cloud of smoke, fell down in front of me.
"Hajin, you know very well who is bothering me.
Seriously! I hate it "
But why do you keep acting like a jerk?
※※※
I wondered how long I'd been hit. It seemed to last quite a while, to the point where I was wondering. The bandages I'd put on that morning were already tattered and had long since fallen off, and the wounds had widened and gotten bigger. Fortunately, thanks to covering my face earlier, the wounds on my face were still intact.
'What should I eat today? Ah, I need to start by treating my wounds again.'
I didn't feel any resentment or anger. I just thought, what should I do next?
'I need to eat bibimbap...'
※※※
Are you okay there?
I had a vague idea why Min Yoongi, the kid who transferred in yesterday, had approached me. It was probably because his face was a mess.
" huh "
Hajin looked slightly flustered by Hajin's short, sharp words, but after adjusting his posture, he asked again with the most seriousness he had ever seen from anyone.
"You... don't look okay at all."
"Um... I'm fine, so don't worry about it."
He spoke timidly, stroking his hair. Hajin didn't particularly like talking to strangers. Yoongi, who'd been talking to him, probably noticed. He pulled a sketchbook out of his desk drawer and, pretending to be invisible, began drawing.
"Why don't you cry when you get hit by kids?
Aren't you upset? "
" huh "
Anger... What was that feeling? I'd never felt that way before, after getting beaten by those kids. I just wanted this to end quickly and go home.
"Oh my~ Yoongi~ Why are you with him?"
And then, out of nowhere, he surreptitiously put his arm around Yoongi's shoulder and looked at Hajin as if he was displeased. That doesn't mean the gaze was unpleasant. It seemed like receiving that gaze was part of the daily routine.
"What are you drawing again? Aren't you bored?"
Here we go again. I'm tired of this behavior of surrounding and harassing others. I tore up the papers Hajin had drawn on and scattered them like dust on the desk.
"Hey you guys, what is this...!!!"
I grabbed Yoongi, who was about to get angry. The kids were a little flustered, and then they took out their anger on Hajin, who they couldn't vent to Yoongi. They tapped her on the head, swore at her, and then, after watching Yoongi's reaction, left the classroom.
"Hey, are you an idiot?!
Why are you getting hit?"
"It has nothing to do with you..."
" what? "
"You were interested in me at first too..
Now you're going to let it go, right? "
He spoke timidly, stroking the ends of his hair.
"Honestly... I feel a little burdened by your interest...
It's annoying... If you're doing this because you're worried about me
You don't have to worry about it.. "
So don't mind me...
Because it won't be good for you either...