12 Painting a Target on a Bully (2/2)
”What? Yeo Ri was?!” Min Chae gaped. It seemed like the incident traumatised Yeo Ri more than she thought. ”Park Jin Ae, you crazy b*tch—” Min Chae accidentally cursed Park Jin Ae out loud.
”So you know what happened?” Gun's face darkened but he maintained his neutral tone.
”Ah? Yeah... there's this crazy b*tch called Park Jin Ae who keeps picking on Yeo Ri lately. It's usually just verbal insults and petty pranks, but yesterday, that b*tch crossed the line. She purposely tripped Yeo Ri in the cafeteria. I didn't know what happened because I wasn't there with her but according to Jang Mi, it wasn't good. You know how Yeo Ri is; she wouldn't tell us if she's hurting.”
”I see...” Gun narrowed his eyes. ”Thanks for telling me.”
”No sweat. How's Yeo Ri?”
”Sleeping, I think. She's taking a day off today.”
”Oh, okay...” Min Chae wilted at his words. She was going to be all alone at achool without her best friend for the whole day. It was already hard enough to see her outside of school, but now she couldn't even do that thanks to Park Jin Ae, Min Chae grudgingly thought.
”Ah, that's right. This Park Jin Ae... do you know why she's picking on Yeo Ri? And what else has she done? Anything physical?”
”Something about stealing her boyfriend or another... which isn't true! Gun-oppa, you should know, right? Yeo Ri isn't that kind of person. She's too sweet and innocent. Besides, she already has Gun-oppa with her! And Hyuk...-oppa too... I guess?” Min Chae easily blabbed to Gun about the matter. She knew that Yeo Ri probably didn't have the heart to badmouth others, so she took on the task herself. ”As for the things she's done... pushing, pulling her arm, purposely running into her, spreading false gossip... the usual.”
”'The usual'? Does this sort of thing happen a lot?!” Gun widened his eyes. Judging by Min Chae's words, it was clear that this wasn't the first time it happened.
Min Chae, noticing her blunder, panicked. ”Ah, that's not it, um, uh...”
”Tell me right now.” Gun used a threatening tone, pressing for answers.
”That... Gun-oppa, Yeo Ri told me to keep it a secret, but since she entered middle school, a lot of girls have been outcasting her.” Min Chae opened up uneasily. ”As for bullies... Park Jin Ae is probably the third one? Before this there was a senior, and before that was this other girl...”
”...”
”And... anyways!” Min Chae shouted. ”I dealt with them the best I could, and if you want the details, you should be asking Yeo Ri directly instead of me. I wasn't in the same class as her last year, after all.”
”...Got it. Thanks, Min Chae-ah.” Gun pursed his lips. ”Can you send me a picture of Park Jin Ae later?”
”A picture? Sure! I'll send one to you right now.”
Moments later, a picture was forwarded to him through text.
”Thanks again, Min Chae-ah. Bye.”
”Okay, bye! Tell Yeo Ri to get well soon for me.”
”Okay.”
After getting the info that he wanted, Gun hung up. He decided that he would deal with the girl later, after school.