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Hyeori’s steps were firm, walking through the steps of Jinsung High School, ignoring the gazes of others on her, until she stopped and saw a boy. —Do you know where Wooyoung is? —The girl asked her, hoping that he wouldn’t be an idiot and come out with some comment that was not at all appropriate at that moment.
— I saw him at the gym. — The girl nodded, walking towards the said place, near the place, the girl managed to see the broom that the place’s janitor had left in the hallway, the girl took it, removing the broom before simply leaving the stick in her hand and take the way back to the gym.
Once in the place, the girl could see Wooyoung hitting a punching bag, Hyeori knew that he already knew that she was in the place, the boy had eyes on his back. —Your boyfriend died and you come running to my, little Ri.
The girl clenched the stick in her hands as she looked at him seriously. — I told you to delete the video, remember? — Yes, the video of the great Ahn Sooho being defeated by him had been shared and was now circulating from cell phone to cell phone.
— You told me not to upload it to the Internet… I didn’t, but you never told me not to share it. — The boy laughed before walking towards the girl, she let him get closer, until they were both chest to chest, Hyeori smiled, raising the stick so she could hit him on the head, however, the boy grabbed her wrist with a smile.
— I don’t want to hit you, Hyeori.
— It’s a shame, I do. — The girl nodded, letting out a hiss of pain when the boy pushed her towards some weights that were in her place, making her hit her hip against them.
Wooyoung dropped the stick, throwing it away before walking quickly towards the girl, grabbing her hair to make her look at him, landing the first slap on the girl’s face, she swore she heard him complain when he did it. —Do you really think you have a chance? — Wooyoung said before slamming her head against the wall, this time making her slide against it because she swore he had opened the stitches in her head again. —Your boyfriend had a phrase. — The boy said, as he looked over his shoulder, remembering when the boy had said those words to him. — Don’t get hurt because of a fight… You should listen to him.
— No. — Hyeori murmured, taking the boy’s ankle, he laughed as he watched her almost crawl towards him, with a quick movement, the girl pulled his foot, making him fall to the floor on his face, the girl stood up and she leaned over him, taking the stick that he had thrown before putting it on the boy’s neck, putting enough pressure on his throat to make him rise with it, walking towards some weights, the girl pushed the boy’s face against them, hitting him before making his head hit the ground.
The boy, almost out of breath, hit Hyeori’s stomach a few times, enough for her to lose strength in the wood around his neck, taking her by the wrists to throw her to the ground, he remained on top of her, the girl without losing time took the boy’s headphones, noticing how they had wrapped around his throat, pulling them enough to cut off his airway, he was really choking, asking her to let go, the girl simply pulled them harder. Wooyoung took advantage of the fact that the girl was lighter than him, using the little strength he had to lift her, in one movement, Hyeori’s body crashed again against some weights, making her fall to the ground just like her, some fell to the ground. She moved to the side when she saw the taller’s fist go straight to her face, listening to something crack and a loud cry of pain making her ears hurt.
Wooyoung had broken his knuckles.
The girl took advantage of his distraction to pick up the stick again before hitting it against his back, once, twice, up to five times, hearing him hiss each time the wood hit his body. — Stop!
—Why should I stop? You did it? No… Why should I do it? —The girl said, with a cynical voice hitting, this time, the wood in the boy’s face, making him scream when he felt the splinters bury in his skin. — You took away something I loved, Wooyoung… And you’re going to lose something too — the girl, without thinking, took a weight that had rolled towards her feet between her hands before hitting it against the boy’s foot, knowing that she was going to cause quite serious damage, but not to render it invalid.
He simply couldn’t practice martial arts again without taking too much caution.
— Fuck! — The boy cried, moving away from her when he saw her walking towards him, crawling away from her as she took a step closer to him. — Ri… Hyeori… Hyeori wait! — The boy begged, raising a hand so that she could even hear him. — Ahn Sooho… I… I didn’t do the damage… Bumseok hit him on the head so many times that… Hyeori, I have nothing to do with this anymore…
— Apologize… — The girl said, making him look at her confused.
—I have nothing to do with this! I just did what they asked me!
— Then do as I ask you and apologize… — The boy cried before nodding and putting a hand in front of him for the girl to wait.
— I’m sorry… I’m sorry, fuck, I… I’m sorry, Hyeori. — The girl looked at him, laughing at his words, it didn’t seem like an apology, it seemed like a plea, his crying and panting voice while he trembled made the girl upset. — Hyeori…
— It didn’t sound convincing to me. — With one more movement, the girl this time hit the weight on the boy’s ankle, making sure that this time, he could never set foot in a gym again in his life.
…
Sieun looked worriedly at Hyeori seeing her brown hair with blood in it, he knew that her stitches had not yet completely closed and were now more open than ever. Her clothes were stained with blood as was her forehead, she walked with some difficulty and he could see how she touched her back from time to time and he could swear that it hurt.
But her eyes showed no physical pain at all, they were serious and distant, dark. An image of Hyeori that he never expected to see, not when every time he laid eyes on her she was laughing with Sooho or stroking his hair, when he turned to look at her sometimes she was making some notes and ignoring all the surroundings.
Her eyes had always shown confidence, determination and security, even anger, they shone every time she laughed at something stupid that her boyfriend said or did or when she heard him respond to Sooho, but this time, they showed pain and annoyance, seriousness, and that shine that Sieun liked to see was not there, the Hyeori that he liked to see was not there.
And he highly doubted he would ever be able to see her again.
— You don’t have to do this. — Hyeori said, noticing Sieun grab the fire extinguisher from the wall, although she was grateful that he helped her, she didn’t want to get him into trouble, not when the boy seemed to have a successful life ahead of him.
They had both arrived at school after Sieun had a little fight with Yeongbin. — I do this for Sooho, but I also do it for me… Sooho said something about lines, but I don’t think they ever drew a line with me… Sooho was also my friend Hyeori, and I know what he did was for Bumseok to apologize to me too.
The girl nodded, she wasn’t going to stop him from doing that, she knew how much the boy had suffered at the hands of those two idiots they were after, she had also seen how the boy had opened up to a friendship with Sooho, and she appreciated that, she also knew that he was suffering at that moment, and she wasn’t going to take away his opportunity to get rid of that internal burden he had, so she was going to let him get even, just like they did with Sooho.
The duo entered the classroom, Hyeori was looking for Jeongchan with her eyes, noticing him at the front of the class, however, she would take care of him later, Sieun had asked her to help him, so she would do it.
Everyone’s gaze fell on them, the teacher’s voice called them, however, both of them were so deep in their thoughts that they simply blocked out everything the woman was telling them. Hyeori took a step forward, walking towards Sooho’s locker before stopping when she saw one of the bats from the baseball team that had arrived a few days ago to fight with her boyfriend.
Not paying attention to the sound behind her, she took it, watching as one of the boys fell at her feet, Hyeori raised the bat, ready to hit his head before someone pushes her to the ground, as well as Sieun.
The girl dropped the bat out of inertia, putting her hands to avoid facing the ground, looking up, she could see how a boy was looking at her, raising the bat in his hand while walking a little backwards. —Don’t come close… Stay away! — The girl laughed a little before acting quickly and taking one of the chairs that was in the room and throwing it at him, not to hit him with it, simply to distract him and make him drop the bat, and so she did, Hyeori took advantage that and she quickly took it in her hands, walking towards Jeongchang, however, a pair of arms around her neck made her stop and feel like she was suffocating, watching as Sieun hit the boy she was going to hit with the fire extinguisher.
Hyeori began to feel her head burning, so, moving the bat back, she managed to hit the taller one in the ribs before turning around and looking at him, raising the bat, this time she was able to hit him properly, right in the head, the girl crashed the object with full force that made him unconscious.
However, the problem she had was not with them, it was with the boy who was still sitting in his place as if nothing had happened, just listening to the commotion. He even noticed Hyeori almost fall to the ground because of the blood she was losing from her head, however, she managed to stay on her feet, walking towards Bumseok and standing in front of him.
— I told you… That if something happened to Sooho… I was going to ruin your life Bumseok… — The girl said, noticing him avoiding his gaze, the girl found that annoying, taking his face in her hands and made him look at it. — You know what happened, right?
— Just hit me, Hyeori.
The girl couldn’t help but feel angry when she heard him so calm, so much so that she didn’t have the courage to raise her hand and hit him like she wanted to. — We were friends… Why did you do it? — The girl asked him with a trembling tone of voice, feeling the tears forming again in her eyes.
Bumseok’s small eyes looked at Hyeori’s pretty eyes and in his head he could only hear Sooho’s voice the time he was talking to him about his girlfriend’s eyes, even though she was next to him, laughing, he was still talking about how she looked. He had fallen in love with those eyes that seemed to be two small, perfectly illuminated suns, and for a second, his mind traveled to all the moments he had had with the couple, from going out to eat, pool games, and more things that made the boy impossible. answer the girl who was looking at him waiting for an answer. —… Don’t know.
With that, Hyeori gained enough strength to throw him to the side, making him fall onto some tables and then to the ground, taking the bat in her hands, the girl walked decisively towards him, until Sieun’s hand stopped her. — Hyeori…
— He didn’t stop, Sieun… I asked him, I begged him to do it, not just once… He didn’t care… He beat the shit out of him… He doesn’t deserve my pity… — The girl said, watching as Bumseok turned around complaining of pain.
— Think about what you’re going to risk… Your future, Hyeori, don’t p-
— My future… I had planned my future and Sooho was part of it… Everything I thought, had him… He is no longer there, nor is my future. — The girl said, pushing Sieun, only for him to let go of her, however, the boy managed to take the bat with him, Hyeori did not care, walking towards Bumseok and leaning over him.
— Idiot… Why did you do it? Why did you take him away from me? — The girl asked, on the verge of crying, if he explained to her, maybe she would think about leaving all that, but she wanted to know why he had done that to the boy who was there for him all the time.
— I don’t know either… You… You should understand me, Hyeori.
— Understand you? Understand what? That you’re a fucking coward? What those idiots did to you, to your life, Bumseok…— The girl squeezed her hand in the boy’s white shirt. — Sooho wasn’t to blame for how shitty they made you feel, Sooho almost beat them up for you and… Is that how you repay him?
— He should have let me do it, he should have let me get even… he didn’t have the right to take e-
Hyeori picked up the boy before slamming him onto the floor. He groaned as he felt his skull hit the marble beneath him hard. — And you didn’t have the right either… You didn’t have the right to take it away from me, Bumseok… You didn’t have the right to take it away from me…
— Hyeori… Understand me, please…
The girl already felt dizzy, she could feel how the blood had already traveled half of her head, now running down her cheek. — All the empathy I had, left that night you decided not to accept Sooho’s apology, all the empathy you deserved disappeared the day you let your damn cowardice and fear take away the only thing I had… You don’t deserve empathy, you don’t deserve forgiveness, not mine. — The girl couldn’t stand it anymore, throwing her first punch. — Apologize. — she said, taking the boy’s face, which had a split lip. — Apologize to Sieun, apologize to me… Apologize to Sooho… Apologize, Oh Bumseok…
The boy, swallowing hard, managed to murmur those words that she wish she had heard that night. — I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Sieun, I’m sorry Hyeori… Sooho… I’m sorry for what I did… Please… Forgive me
—No. — The girl said, releasing him before standing next to Sieun, who clenched his fists, his face was red with annoyance, however, he did not have the courage to hit him like Hyeori. — I do not forgive you, and I hope that you know and that you carry with you the burden of conscience, knowing that what happened that night is your fault. — The boy ended up with something that the girl longed to have so much, and even more so, with the person she longed to have it with, he understood why she couldn’t control her anger and take it out on him… Sieun, deep down, loved it, wishing to had that courage.
— I want you to get out of here, out of Seoul, out of Korea, I want you out of here, I told you that if something happened I was going to ruin you, and I’m going to do it, just as your daddy can make me not enter any university, so I can make sure that you are nothing more than a fucking murderer here, so get out, and know something Bumseok… Sooho and Sieun for you, they are more than dead…
But he was weak, a weak boy who had suffered enough.
— I don’t forgive you… I won’t and I hope, Oh Bumseok… That you don’t forgive yourself either, never… Because all of this… It’s your fucking fault.
With that, the girl left the classroom, not caring about the teachers’ calls to her, clashing glances with Bumseok’s father, the girl walked towards him, being stopped by his guards, the girl laughed a little before taking out the paper out of her pocket, noticing how the man pushed the guards away and allowed her to move towards him.
Hyeori, with full intention of hurting him, hit the paper hard on his chest, putting his men on alert. — What is this?
— I’m not worried about going to a reformatory, or what you might do to me, but I’m not going to sign anything that comes from you… Not when this asks me to stay silent, like a coward, like you, like your son… I don’t need your damn money either, I can assure you that I have even more than you…— The man opened his mouth, however, Hyeori continued, silencing him. — Don’t worry, I’m not going to open my mouth, but I never want to see you again in my life, not you or your son, not even your damn secretary… Stay away from me, stay away from Sieun… Stay away from Sooho… Because if you don’t, I’m going to tell everything… And you… — Hyeori looked him up and down as she walked away. — Forget the idea of ever being president.
…
—What is your damn problem!?
That was what greeted her when she entered her house, her body was tired, everything was spinning and she swore she was going to faint at any second, but she didn’t care, not when her father’s hand grabbed her arm tightly to shake her.
—What the fuck is wrong with you Kang Hyeori!? You hit three guys! You threatened a fucking assemblyman! What is your damn problem!? — The girl didn’t answer, she just looked at him, like she always did when he got angry. — What? Answer me damn it! It’s because of that damn good-for-nothing boyfriend of yours, right? Of course, that’s the only thing he’s good for, getting you into fucking trouble as if you were starving like him.
— Shut up. — The girl she said, looking at her father seriously, her fists clenched, her eyes wide in annoyance. — It’s not your business why I did it, just as it was never your business to know what I was doing with my life, so take my boyfriend’s name out of your mouth and go to your lover’s house, where have you been all this time, or am I wrong?
The girl did not even feel the moment when her father’s hand hit her cheek, twice, she just blinked, not feeling much pain, looking at the man with annoyance. — You are damn ungrateful, after everything I have given you, after I decided to marry your mother for the stupid mistake of getting us drunk. I gave you a life worthy of the Kang family!
—What’s a damn life worthy of a Kang to you!? Marry a man ten years older than me just because he’s your fucking partner!? Having to endure the stupidity, beatings, deceit, humiliation of an idiot with an ego bigger than his fortune just because he has money!? Is that a damn decent life for you!? — The girl pushed her father away from her, at that moment, her whole body felt hot, anger was all over her system, so much so that she didn’t even think about who the person she had in front of her. — Do you know what all that sounds like to me? A hell… A hell to which you tied my mother just because you couldn’t control your damn desires as a man… It’s the life that I refuse to have and that I’m not going to accept, not if the man I marry goes to be a damn idiot like you.
The man’s hand slammed into the girl’s cheek again, making her stumble a little this time. — You’re leaving.
— No.
— I’m not asking you if you’re going to leave, I’m ordering you… No damn school in this place is going to accept you if they find out that you’re a fucking troublemaker, so pack your things or you’ll leave this house with only what you’re wearing, Kang Hyeori.
—I lost my scholarship at the university. —This one said, making the man look at her with wide eyes. — I have no reason to leave here.
The man remained silent before laughing angrily at the girl’s words, approaching her threateningly. —Do you think that a damn lost scholarship is going to make you stay here with that damn kid? If I have to marry you to a man who gives you a worthwhile last name, I’m going to do it.
— Go to hell if you think I’m going to marry someone you choose… I’ll stay here. —The girl said, looking at her father seriously, the man sighed at her, releasing her with a push.
— Good, but if you stay here, you get out of this house, you get out of here and you forget that you have parents, you forget who your last name belongs to… Stay and starve to death with that famished kid, that’s what you want so much, right? Do it, Kang Hyeori.
…
Hyeori lowered her cell phone, hanging up on her mother’s call before looking up, seeing Sooho on the stretcher.
The girl had achieved that her mother, as the last favor she would do her, would be able to stain Oh Bumseok’s name throughout Korea. Oh Bumseok wouldn’t be accepted even in the high school where criminals went. Although she knew that she and Sieun would end up the same way, the girl knew that, somehow, she could end her school year somewhere because of her perfect grades.
She didn’t want Sieun to lose even what he liked to do most, studying. She couldn’t afford that, so she decided to move some things, ensuring that he could continue studying, although she wasn’t sure where it would be, she knew that he could definitely study.
— I’m sorry, I’m sorry for crossing the line that way Sooho… — The girl was now sitting in a chair in front of Sooho’s bed, staring at him, she swore that she had become dehydrated because the tears no longer wanted to come out of her eyes.
The girl took Sooho’s hand while looking at his peaceful face, his breathing was slow and heavy, it looked just like when he fell asleep on her legs on the days he accompanied her to study, however, this time she wouldn’t know when he would wake up, or if he even would. —You always liked heroes… Right? — She asked, putting her hand near her mouth, leaving a small kiss on it to see him again. — You were a hero Sooho, my hero… I’m so sorry I wasn’t your heroine.
— I’m sorry. — Sieun’s voice made the girl look at him, sitting next to her, he looked at Sooho before looking at her with guilty eyes. — For all.
— I’m sorry too, Sieun… Me too. — The girl smiled a little, taking his hand as she let him put his head on her shoulder, caressing the boy’s skin with her fingers as she heard him cry with so much feeling that it made a pang in her heart make her put her other hand on the boy’s face, caressing him gently until he finally fell asleep on her chest when she hugged him tightly, but even in his sleep, his feeling of sadness could be felt.
Hyeori knew it, because she also felt that sensation when she was about to close her eyes, which had not been able to rest since the day of the incident.
A hero who was defeated unfairly always causes sadness, and for both boys, Sooho had been a hero, he had always been one.
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