* Please note that this article is a fabrication based on a creative work. *
*Please note that there is profanity.*
"When I saw it, it was him."
" me too. "
"There's no one else to do it with."
The kids were all engrossed in the discussion, starting with me. I fiddled with my bandaged finger, saying nothing. The kids all looked displeased as I watched.
" .. Are you saying that to me after I said that in the bathroom?"
" ... ... "
"In the end, it's all my fault again haha."
"Why is it because of you, is it wrong for you to say the right thing?"
"Yeah, they were wrong."
I started to blame myself for causing trouble for the other kids, and the kids embraced me, unable to raise my head. The warm hands stroking my back made me feel like crying, but I had to get to class anyway, so I returned to my seat.
I wasn't in the mood for class, so as soon as the bell rang, I collapsed on my seat. Though I couldn't sleep, I kept my eyes tightly shut. Today, for once, the kids didn't say anything to me, and I heard them tell each subject teacher I was sick.
I lay face down with my eyes closed, and before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep. When I opened them, no one was in the classroom. Looking at the clock, it seemed to be lunchtime, and my favorite bread and chocolate milk were placed on my desk. Next to it, in a handwriting that looked like it was written by a child, was a note telling me to eat it.
I took a bite of bread with a smile, then sipped chocolate milk and gazed out the window. Perhaps because it was lunchtime, no one was on the playground, and as I was about to take a bite of bread while taking in the school scenery, someone slapped my hand.
The bread in my hand fell to the floor, and he snatched the chocolate milk from my other hand and poured it on my head.
"Is it good?"
" ... ... "
"You were in the bathroom last timeFucking hell"We got screwed. That's why we're a little pissed."
"It's true that we did what happened to you, and I was the one who put the blade in this morning."
The three people I had encountered in the bathroom last time were standing in front of me with their arms linked, and an empty milk carton was rolling around on the floor.
"You did, right? I told you not to be so nosy behind my back. That's why you're doing this in front of me."
"Why aren't you saying anything? Look me in the eye and shout at me like you did back then."
"Are you scared?"
One of the three kicked my chair, and I fell to the floor, hitting my elbow on the chair. I grimaced in pain and rubbed my elbow with my hand.
The girl standing in the middle bent down, lowered herself to my level, and grabbed my hair, forcing me to meet her gaze. Unlike the last time I saw her, she was wearing heavy makeup and smelled faintly of cigarettes. She noticed my shaking pupils and burst into laughter.
"You don't even have parents, so don't be a bother. The only people I know are your older brother and five friends."
".. Don't let your brother and the kids out of that dirty mouth."
At my words, the child burst into laughter, threw the hair he was holding onto to the floor, said something, and left the class.
"Just shut up and live. If you show off and get caught, you'll lose."
I sighed, raised my upper body, and brushed the dust off my palms. My hair was damp and my uniform felt uncomfortable, and I tried to change into my gym clothes, but they were already soaking wet.
Just then someone came into the class and I cried out inwardly that I was doomed when I heard their voices calling my name.
"Yoon Yeo-ju!"
" Shit, that's what those kids did. "
"I'm fine. Can I borrow your gym clothes?"
"Oh, wait a minute."
The kids helped me up, and I borrowed a gym uniform from Seung-kwan, who was relatively small. Taking advantage of the lunch break, I quickly went to the bathroom and changed. My wet hair felt a bit uncomfortable, but I had to dry it.
"Put your clothes here and dry them with this."
Seokmin, who had a paper bag, asked me to put my uniform in it, and Wonwoo handed me a towel I used for exercise. While I rubbed the side of my head with the towel, Soonyoung diligently dried the back of my head.
The other kids cleaned up the trash on the floor and everyone sat around me.
"It was my fault for leaving you alone."
"Hey, you saw their faces. Are they them?"
"Yeah, that's right..."
" under-. "
There was no solution to the problem, and everyone was just lost in thought.
"Don't worry, heroine. We'll protect you."
On the way home after school.
The kids were all heading home together, offering to take me. Since tomorrow was the weekend anyway, they said they didn't mind being late, but I insisted they stay up all night.
"You shouldn't go out alone, especially late at night."
"Okay~ How many times do I have to say this?"
"I'm afraid something might happen, so if I really have to go out, I'll contact anyone."
"Okay, okay, I understand. Everyone, be careful on your way in!"
Even after arriving at the front door, the kids' nagging continued, so I said goodbye and went inside. Looking out the window, I saw they hadn't gone home yet, so I smiled and changed my clothes.
After putting the wet school uniform and Seungkwan's gym uniform in the washing machine, I lay down on the bed.
Then, I dozed off for a moment, and it was pitch dark outside. I looked at my phone and saw it was already past 11. I also had a text from Soonyoung, so I checked, thinking she might be nagging me again. I wondered if contacting her via KakaoTalk was that urgent, and when I saw the text, I was a little surprised.
Young-i.
- Hey, heroine, can we meet for a bit? I'll wait for you at the playground in front of my house.
I wondered what was wrong when he called me by my name instead of my nickname, and when I checked the time he sent the text, it was almost 30 minutes later, so I ran out in a panic.
The playground was right in front of our house, so we arrived quickly. When I entered the playground, there was no one there, so I tried to call Sunyoung. However, no matter how much I searched my pockets, my phone was nowhere to be found. Only then did I remember I'd forgotten to bring it with me in my haste. As I turned to head back inside, I heard footsteps behind me.
I thought it was Sunyoung, so I turned around and called Sunyoung's name. In an instant, my Sia became dark and I lost consciousness after being hit in the head with something blunt.
-
At that moment, they couldn't sleep, worried about Yeoju. Sunyoung was searching for her lost cell phone. She couldn't find it, even after going back to school and retracing her steps. So, she tangled her hair and headed toward Yeoju's house.
I went to the house to see if the female protagonist was there, but no matter how many times I knocked, she didn't come out. I thought she was sleeping, so I quietly entered the password and went inside.
Despite the empty house, the lights were brightly lit. Entering Yeoju's room, no one was there. Yeoju's cell phone lay on the bed, and Soonyoung's eyes were drawn to the twinkling light.
The kids were sending KakaoTalk messages, and the group chat was filled with worry about Yeoju. The number 1 kept appearing on Soonyoung's phone, as she couldn't bring herself to read it. Soonyoung was sending KakaoTalk messages to Yeoju's phone.
After sending a KakaoTalk message, I waited for the kids and held on to Yeoju's phone tightly. I saw a familiar name and a questionable message in the notification window.
Young-i
- Hey, heroine, can we meet for a bit? I'll wait for you at the playground in front of my house.
Looking at the time, it was the same time that Soonyoung was looking for her lost phone. She frowned and left the house in a hurry. She called Wonwoo on Yeoju's phone, and Wonwoo seemed to be running towards Yeoju's house, making a lot of wind noise.
"I found it. Those bastards took my phone."
- what?
"I sent a text message to the female lead on my phone, telling her to come out. So she thought it was me and went out."
- Shit...
"I'll find it first, so you tell the kids. I said I'd wait at the playground in front of Yeoju's house, so look around there.
- Oh, okay.
Sunyoung hung up the phone, put her phone in her pocket, and started looking for Yeoju.
-
When I opened my eyes, I saw a deserted alley. Before me were the girls and several boys in uniforms from other schools. I'd been lying on the floor for so long that my body was tingling. I struggled to get up, but my legs gave out, and I collapsed immediately.
"You crazy guys..."
"Pfft- Oppa, look at that little brat talking."
"So you came to me to ask me to kill that one guy?"
"That's true, and I like you too~"
"Ha- One of them will be easily finished, so you guys go."
"Can't you watch from our side?"
"If you don't go, I won't see you again. Go."
"Oh, I get it.. I have to kill him for sure!"
The three men who had been glaring at me left the alley, and before me, I saw the signatures of four men smoking cigarettes. One of them, his cigarette pressed against the front of his shoe, sighed, and approached me, and I flinched in fear.
"What did you do wrong to get entangled with them?"
"I heard it's a man's problem. She's pretty. That's why men are attracted to her."
"I have no intention of hitting a girl like you, so just go."
"... N, yes..?"
One of them crouched down in front of me, lifted my chin, and met my eyes, but he didn't seem all that intimidating. He had a tattoo on his arm, but it didn't look that big, and he didn't smell like cigarettes.
"They're more persistent than you think, so be careful."
"We're also avoiding them, lol."
They didn't seem like such bad people, and I struggled to get up. After a few steps, my legs gave out and I nearly collapsed, but the man in front of me caught me. I was about to thank them when I heard the women screaming.
Looking ahead, I saw the three girls who had just exited the alleyway, with Soonyoung, Wonwoo, and Seungkwan holding their hair in their hands, and I was looking at them with my eyes wide open.
"Get your hands on it!"
At that moment, the man who had been holding me back groaned and fell to the floor, and Min-gyu stood in front of me. Min-gyu kicked the man and then wrapped his arms around my shoulders and hugged me.
He was confused as to what was happening, and the man who had been kicked got up from his seat in anger, but when he saw the children, he was unable to say anything.
"With you Kwon Soon-young..."
"Brother! Do something about us!"
"You, why didn't you tell me that those guys were them!"
"Those guys are famous punks at your school..!"
The men lashed out at the girls, who let go of the girl's hair and shoved it at the men. I couldn't believe my ears at the thugs' cries, and the men stamped their feet in panic.
"If you see me one more time, I'll be dead."
"Oh, no..."
"You guys, stop it. I didn't get hit by those guys."
" .. what? "
"Yeah! We didn't even touch it, we really didn't do anything."
" .. Really?"
"Oh, so send it."
The kids nodded at my words, and at Wonwoo's one word, the men said they understood and took the girls out of the alley.
"If any of you harass him, I won't let it go."
I was being carried home on Min-gyu's back. I wasn't tired, but I leaned against him and closed my eyes. The kids were silent. I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask them, but I held back for now and decided to go home and ask them.
When I got home, my brother hadn't arrived yet. Soonyoung had called him earlier to explain the situation. He said he'd be home right away, but I felt like he was wasting his studying time because of me, so I barely managed to convince him to listen to me and tell him it was okay.
We all sat down on the bed together and I asked them what I had been wondering about earlier.
"What are you talking about, you punk?"
"We're not like that at all. That's just what they call us."
"That's right, I told them off for stealing money from someone last time, and they've been doing that to each other ever since."
" really? "
"Yeah! Really."
I couldn't imagine those kids being thugs, given that they'd been scolded for extorting money. I understood, believing their words. The kids told me to rest and left the room.
As I lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, I heard cheers and sighs from outside, followed by the sound of the front door. Then the door opened and Min-gyu came into my room.
" what..? "
"I'm glad you're with me today haha."
"Am I okay? I'm fine."
"I just want to be with you, so go to sleep."
"Hahaha but I can't sleep."
Min-gyu pulled a chair next to me, and when I said I couldn't sleep, he suggested we chat.
I thought we'd have nothing to say, but we communicated better than I expected, and we chatted about this and that. Then, Min-gyu cautiously opened his mouth, and I hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding.
"But... I have a question. Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"When you were young... I want to hear that story."
" ah... "
"Can you tell me?"
"Haha, of course."