53 Her Story: Part V (1/2)

The day she arrived at her new school she met many people and easily got along with them. She hoped her high school years would be peaceful, and they were. A few days later, school started, no one was prejudiced against her. Since it was a school for children of elites, she become friends with sons and daughters of politicians, doctors and even CEO's. No one asked her who her parents were so, since no one asked, she never mentioned it.

As the weeks went by. Her life in this new school was great. She didn't have to deal with Ji Hyun or Ji Su, and she would never see those bullies ever again. But, she did miss Ji Seok and Woo Yeon and even Mr. Oh.

After a few months, a transfer student appeared, and it was none other than Woo Yeon himself. Ha Eun was missing him and he appeared. They sat next to each other during classes and spent lunch time together. This time, they didn't hide, but it felt like people were slowly separating themselves from her. Even her own roommate suddenly moved to a different room and Ha Eun was left alone.

Although it bothered her a bit, she still had Woo Yeon. They would often have dinner in local restaurants and on their way back to their dorms, they would stop by the arcade. This time, Woo Yeon got her a stuffed pink octopus. Ha Eun on the other hand, was only able to get him a pencil that glowed in the dark.

Once at her dorm, she said goodnight to Woo Yeon but as she turned around to go inside, he grabbed her arm.

”Ha Eun, I'd like to tell you something” he said. Ha Eun's heart almost stopped. Is this what they call a confession? No, she shouldn't jump to conclusions like this. Maybe he just wants to ask her if he can borrow her homework.

They've always had an unspoken attraction towards each other. Woo Yeon was certain of that now. All he had to do was confess and so he did ”Could we hold hands from now on?” he asked her.

He suddenly felt like such a loser. He wanted to confess not say something so lame, but Ha Eun understood. Her cheeks flushed red, she wanted to say yes but she started to panic, she's never had a boyfriend before, would he get tired of her and want to break up? She thought she should have accepted the first guy that confessed to her, that way she'd know what to do now.

”It's alright, you don't need to answer me now” Woo Yeon said. Ha Eun started to panic even more. She made him wait too long! ”My heart is yours, so I'll wait until yours ready to come to me”

Ha Eun thought it was already ready, she just had to say yes. As he left Ha Eun grabbed his shirt. He turned around and Ha Eun said ”Thank you” she bowed and ran to her room. Woo Yeon chuckled, thinking she was cute.

After the confession, Woo Yeon acted like he always did with Ha Eun, as if the confession never happened. It made her feel at ease. He was indeed willing to wait. During lunch, Woo Yeon told her he had to talk to one of the teacher's, so she ended up eating alone. A group of girls approached her and told her they wanted to talk to her.

They arrived in the back of the school and one of the girls suddenly pushed her against the wall. She told Ha Eun ”Stop hanging out with Woo Yeon”

Ha Eun was confused. She's been hanging out with him for a long time. They've been friends for a few years now and they spend every day together.

”No” Ha Eun answered. He was her only friend.

The girl quickly slapped her. It's been a long time since Ha Eun had been slapped. That slap made Ha Eun remember Ji Hyun, any time Ji Su complained about her, Ji Hyun's only action was to slap her. But her slaps were weak, compared to the one's she had received before. The same went to the girl that just slapped her. It didn't even make Ha Eun flinch. She just stared directly at the girl.

”Why did you slap me?” Ha Eun asked her, expressionless. The girl was a bit surprised. She was expecting Ha Eun to cry and beg her to stop. The other girls were surprised by that as well.

”Just stop hanging out with Woo Yeon!” she said loudly.

”Why?” Ha Eun asked ”Give me one good reason as to why I should do that”

”I don't know what games you're playing but we're not falling for them. Woo Yeon got you all figured out and told us to stay away from you” one of them said.

”A bullied orphan who was raised by violent people. With all that violence, you could be violent too. You're just a ticking time bomb waiting to happen” another said.