Array
(
[text] =>
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“I’m looking at you the way I always do.”
“No, you’re not.” Hyeori complained, setting her little muffin aside. She leaned back in her chair while Sieun kept staring at her. “I’m sorry, okay? But she started it.”
“Hyeori… You’ve never gone so far as to hit someone before.”
She lowered her gaze, her hands fidgeting as she avoided looking at the boy with bright eyes. “It’s just that… She made me so mad, Sieun-ah…”
“I get it, but… Remember what Sooho used to say…”
“Don’t cross the line… I know…” she muttered, nodding like a little kid. “I won’t do it again, I… I’ll control myself better.” She looked up at him, noticing his eyes looked dull, almost tired, which made her lean in and touch his cheeks. “You haven’t been able to sleep again, have you, baby?”
“Of course I have…”
“… Uh-huh, don’t lie to your mom.” she teased, giving his cheek a gentle pinch. “Let’s stop by a pharmacy later, I’ll get you some magnesium.”
“Magnesium?”
“It’ll help you sleep.” She nodded, reaching for her muffin again, but the sudden slam of the door made her jump. Sieun didn’t flinch, but she did, turning to look at the boy with the big nose who had just walked in.
“Seo Juntae!”
Hyeori looked around, she had no idea who this Juntae was, but it seemed like he was in trouble.
“Where is that idiot?”
She followed the direction the other students were pointing and saw a boy slowly getting up from where he’d been lying on his desk. Her eyes scanned him-short legs, small back, trembling even though he wasn’t moving at all.
“Juntae, come here.”
Hyeori watched the scene closely. The tall boy-she didn’t know his name-was slowly approaching Juntae’s desk. Juntae stood up after a moment. For some reason, Hyeori felt the urge to get up too.
His small eyes, his gaze fixed on the floor, the way he seemed to search for comfort in his own thoughts, his slightly trembling body-it all made her feel like this boy hadn’t really done anything wrong.
Still, she didn’t move, didn’t make a sound, just watched every detail. When the taller boy kicked Juntae into the wall, Hyeori’s legs moved on their own, but Sieun, who was also paying attention, made her sit back down.
The collective “oh” from the class made her frown, especially when the small boy stood up, hands raised defensively, causing a stir. She thought maybe he had a reason, maybe he knew how to fight back, but when he got hit once, twice, up to seven times, she winced.
“You look great! Come on, hit me!”
Hyeori’s eyes stayed glued to the trembling boy as the taller one started kicking him. In her mind, that scene replayed-the one that had haunted her for almost two years.
“How dare you say my name!?”
“Who do you think you are!?”
“So, I’m beneath you!?”
The sound of the kicks, the groans from Juntae-they were the same sounds that kept her up at night, the same ones that had come from Sooho’s throat with every blow, the same position her boyfriend had been in before his body couldn’t take it anymore.
Hyeori suddenly felt her throat tighten, her hands shaking uncontrollably, her lips trembling, her eyes burning, but she couldn’t look away. Suddenly, the whole place changed-she was back in that gym, watching as the only person she’d ever had was taken from her.
Bile rose in her throat, and if she hadn’t seen Sieun stand up, she probably would have thrown up right there.
“Don’t cross the line…”
Hyeori stood up, looking at the boy still lying on the floor. With slow but steady steps, she approached him, hearing the big guy talking in that weird tone of his.
Carefully, she knelt in front of Juntae, gently taking his face in her hands. “Are you okay?” she asked, watching his eyes open and meet hers. She smiled, pulling a small tissue from her pocket to clean his nose, which was bleeding a little. “I’m going to put a bit of pressure on it, okay?”
The younger boy nodded, letting her help him sit up properly before another round of “oh”s rippled through the room. Hyeori glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see Sieun get punched in the face by the tall boy.
“Sieun…” she called, getting his attention as he stood up again, positioning himself in front of the boy like he was asking to be punched again.
The other boy looked at her, raising his eyebrows before pointing at Sieun and then at her, laughing mockingly. “What? Aren’t you a sissy? Wow…” He looked at her again. “Wait… Aren’t you the one who killed your boyfriend?”
What did he say?
… Hyeori frowned, slowly standing up as she stared at him, hearing the murmurs her action caused. “What did you say?”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad. Please don’t kill me…” Hyoman laughed, putting his hands together. “Yah, you have pretty eyes, you won’t break anything if I stare too much, right?”
Hyeori walked up to him, an innocent smile on her face before her fist landed on his cheek, making him stumble and fall to his knees a bit away from Sieun, who stepped aside. The laughter from the other boys made Hyoman frustrated; he got up and kicked the lockers at the back of the room.
“Yah.” the girl called. Sieun’s eyes widened as he saw her tilt her head, almost provoking him. The look in her eyes had changed completely-her usually bright eyes now dark, brows furrowed, eyelids sharp. “You call someone a sissy and then take it out on things instead of the person who humiliated you? Maybe you should rethink your definition of sissy… Or who’s really the sissy here.”
Again, the “oh”s only made Hyoman turn around, but this time Sieun rushed to her, standing in front of her tense body, stopping Hyoman, who got angrier, grabbing Sieun by the collar and raising his fist. “Yah, stop getting between me and this bitch!”
Just as the punch was about to land on Sieun’s face, a loud shout drew everyone’s attention. Hyeori saw a boy in a blue hoodie-she knew him a little, they shared a class-step in, trying to calm things down.
She gave Hyoman one last look before turning away, seeing Juntae still holding the tissue to his nose. Once again, the girl’s sweet tone and bright eyes greeted him. “It’s okay, it stopped bleeding.”
“Let’s go to the nurse’s office,” Sieun said, handing him his glasses, which Juntae took gratefully. Hyeori helped the boy up, supporting his back because he seemed a bit dizzy.
“Can you walk? You can hold my hand if you want,” she offered, just holding out her hand. The younger boy shook his head, thanking her and starting to walk beside her, until a voice stopped them.
“Hey, I wasn’t expecting a bow, but a thank you…”
“Thank you,” Sieun replied, his voice serious and firm, like it always was, though of course, the reason for it had changed. Hyeori gave the boy one last look before walking with Juntae, discreetly holding onto his jacket because she felt he might collapse at any moment.
As they were going down the stairs, the boy veered into a small locked room, prompting Hyeori to grab Sieun’s arm to stop him.
“What are you doing? Let’s go to the nurse…”
“Oh, no… We can’t go to the nurse…” he said, his voice a little shaky, but actually quite soft. When they saw him go into the small room, they followed, finding a space filled with anime posters, manga, books, and all sorts of things.
.Hyeori watched as the boy brought a small first aid kit to the table before sitting down and pulling out some ointments. “We can’t go to the nurse because if she finds out, Hyoman will beat us up again… He gets really mad.”
Hyeori felt a pang in her stomach at the thought that, for the boy, this was just normal. Even though she didn’t see it that way. It wasn’t normal to get beaten up just for existing.
The girl took a cotton swab with some ointment, thanking the boy. “It’s fucidin, it’s an antibiotic. If you think it might get infected, use fucidin.”
Hyeori looked at Sieun, who met her gaze, and didn’t resist as she took his face and gently applied the ointment to his wound, careful not to hurt him more. “Ah, Hyeori…”
“Stop whining, nonna isn’t even hurting you,” she said, finishing up as Juntae giggled.
“Why did you do that?” Sieun asked. “Why did you return the phones?”
“Newton’s third law,” Juntae replied, and Hyeori looked at him, confused. “Every good action creates a good reaction.”
“Is that the third law?” she asked, looking at Sieun. “Isn’t it about forces in opposite directions?”
The boy nodded, not looking at her, just staring at Juntae like he was an idiot before adding, “That’s not what it means.”
Suddenly, the door opened. Hyeori moved a bit closer to Sieun, holding his arm as three boys entered, calling for Juntae, one of them speaking in Japanese. Sieun and Hyeori watched them for a few seconds, as if analyzing everything.
They’re not Japanese, so why on earth are they speaking Japanese?
Hyeori smiled a little-it was funny hearing them talk like anime characters.
Sieun took her hand, pulling her out of the room, leaving the three boys chatting in Japanese with the boy in glasses. “He’s cute,” she said, stopping in front of Sieun, who stared at her like he wanted to say something. “Is something wrong?”
“Hyeori… Are you still going to therapy sessions?” he asked, genuinely concerned, though his face didn’t really show it.
“Why do you ask? You don’t want to go anymore, right? Ah, the psychologist is kind of…”
“I’m asking because I’m worried,” he said, making her raise her eyebrows. “What happened today… It’s not like you.”
She frowned suddenly, her eyes leaving Sieun’s to settle on the wall beside them, that lump returning to her throat. “See you, Sieun-ah,” she said, fists clenched as she turned and walked down the stairs toward her classroom.
* * *
Hyeori carried a small pack of sweet buns and a vanilla milk in her hand, walking behind the school because she’d heard that’s where that boy usually hung out.
HyunTak. Go HyunTak.
She wanted to thank him for stopping what happened with that boy. Hyoman. She didn’t know if he’d appreciate it, but she hoped he wouldn’t turn her down.
She walked slowly, stopping when she heard voices near the basketball team room. “…Yeah, when they came here a year ago, Hyoman touched Hyeori inappropriately.”
“Yeah, I heard the problem between Hyoman and Sieun last year was because of that.”
“That’s why she was moved to another class too.”
“But who is she? She’s in my class…” She tightened her grip when she heard that voice-it sounded familiar. “They say she killed someone.”
“Ah, I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard she broke a guy’s ankle.”
“With a dumbbell, she just hit him and-crack!”
“He was an MMA hopeful.”
“Ah, those two, they’re legends. One almost left a guy without a foot and the other stabbed someone… Awesome…”
She decided not to listen anymore, heading to the room, knocking before opening the door and seeing it empty. She stepped inside, looking around-there were lots of things, trophies, framed certificates, jerseys, even team photos.
“What are you doing here?”
Hyeori turned when she heard a deep voice, her eyes meeting the boy she was looking for, who stared at her, his eyelids lifting when he saw those golden eyes fixed on him. “Ah, sorry for coming in like this, I knocked but… No one answered.”
The boy nodded, saying nothing, still looking at those bright eyes that watched him a little shyly, making him nervous as she approached.
“This is for you,” she said. “I don’t know if you like it, but I tried not to bring anything too sweet, just in case.” Hyeori held out the treats, and he finally looked away from her eyes, glancing down at what she was holding.
“And this?”
“Ah, it’s to thank you,” she murmured. “You stopped Hyoman, and… Well, sometimes just a ‘thank you’ isn’t enough.”
“It is if you mean it sincerely.”
Hyeori smiled at his small smile, her fingers fidgeting as she looked down. “My most sincere act is feeding people,” she revealed, looking back up at him. His eyes widened slightly when their gazes met again. “A lot of people say your stomach is your second brain… But I think it’s your second heart, so if it’s grateful, then it means more than words.”
[text_hash] => 5e7d83e9
)