Chapter Three

Chapter Three

We then walk back out of the art hall, still having a chat about art club entries and how I was ‘*sooo*’ good at drawing. There was laughter; lots of it. And I didn’t want it to end. This was the first time I’ve ever had an enjoyable day at school; the first time I’ve done or felt any of these.

As we walked further into the hallway, I then see a group of 4 – 5 men standing at the other side. It was Pil-do and his friends, I was sure of that. I could hear his voice throughout their horrible laughter, as it was deep and strong, unlike the rest of them. Anyone would know that voice. Except one…which is Hyeong Joon. He’s still new, so he doesn’t know what goes on…

Immediately, I come into an abrupt halt, stopping Hyeong Joon in his tracks along with me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. My gaze then slowly shifts to his, and he could tell that there was a frightened expression that played on my face. It’d just gotten too obvious.

“We…need to take another route,” I say, still not explaining to him what was wrong.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I don’t want to put you in danger,” I said sternly. “I know it might not seem like much, but the group at the end of the hall…they always try to come at me. And it’s not like I’m afraid of them. I’m just…burnt out by them…” Again, he looks at me with a specific gaze that I just can’t make out, yet it’s still readable.

“But…you shouldn’t be,” he finally said. “You shouldn’t care about what others think of you. All it would do is just destroy you. You should just…ignore them. That way’s faster anyway…So all you have to do is not mind them and simply walk past, alright?”

“…Yeah,” I muttered. Again, that sweet smile plays on his lips and he makes a gesture with his hand, holding it open as though he wanted me to hold it. Slowly, I slide my hand into his and he grabs it tightly, our fingers interlocked as our knuckles slowly reddened. Immediately, he walks up to the group and swiftly passes through them in a breeze.

Anxiety had started kicking in the closer we got to them, yet Hyeong Joon seemed fearless; confident, almost. It was like he could deal with anything, whether it was death, or if it were abuse. Yet right when we walked through their little “crowd,” it felt as though nothing happened. It was almost as if the anxiety had completely gone, and it was like we just walked through an empty hallway.

“See,” he said to me in a whisper. “that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I tried to put up a smile, but I could still hear the group talking about me from behind. I know I was told that I shouldn’t mind it…but I can’t help it. Their remarks were just too unbearable to ignore.

“Guys, look,” the first guy said. “Looks like Yungsoo has already gotten close to the new kid, eh?” The others then let out a haughty laugh, as if they were know-it-alls.

“That’s the problem with him. He gets too clingy sometimes,” the second guy said.

“Nah, that’s completely a lie,” Pil-do said. “Literally, just this morning, he didn’t give me the ₩20,000 I asked for! That is most definitely not clingy.”

“He didn’t give you the money?” some guy in his friend group said. Yet all their words started to become this muffled voice that I just couldn’t make out. I wanted to ignore them as well as I could, yet it didn’t seem to work too well.

“Don’t mind them,” Hyeong Joon whispered to me. “They’re just these selfish bastards who thinks what they want to think.” Still, I can’t manage to find a reply. I just want to stay silent. Who are they to talk about me like that?

The both of us walk back out, still hand in hand. Sure, I might’ve had an enjoyable time in there, yet I still can’t get over the fact that Pil-do was still in. He should’ve though. It was already late, and he would have to be at home by then. It was like he knew I would be in late today; as though everything was planned.

“I’m sorry you had to got through those kids,” I tell him.

“Why should you apologize?” he asked me in return.

“Because it was my fault that you had to see them,” I said. “It was me who suggested to go to the art room last…which led to meeting them…”

“It’s not your fault,” he said as he patted my back. “you didn’t know they were going to be here.” He pauses for a while, taking a deep breath out. “Shall we go home now?”

“Yeah…” I said. Yet I didn’t want to go home that soon. I hated home more than school, in fact. My dad was always abusive to me…and it was like he never cared about me either. Before, he did... He was actually a great father that time…Then mother died. That’s when everything changed. He started getting drunk all the time…and when he’d get home, I’d always get a bottle struck at me right to the face.

I don’t even know how many scars I got from it. All I do know was that I once got a scar right at the top of my head, which was where a shard of glass completely stabbed through. I don’t even know how I survived that, but I guess it was because I took the glass out immediately and patched it up before I started over bleeding.

All of this happened in the past; almost 3 years ago. It’s nothing I should be worrying about at the moment. Past memories should just be left behind. You can’t go back to them anymore.

“What direction are you headed to?” Hyeong Joon asked.

“This way,” I said, pointing to my right. “I’m taking the bus back home.”

“Oh, same!” he exclaimed. “Shall we go together then?”

“Yeah, sure.” We both then walk together to the bus stop in complete silence. I guess we just didn’t have much to say, did we? Yet I couldn’t stand this silence we had anymore. I had to say something, otherwise it would just conclude into an incredibly awkward walk back home.

“So…” I start, breaking our unbearable silence. “when did you move here?”

“Oh, I moved into town last week,” he told me. “I’ve been pretty busy with housework, so I didn’t have much time to enroll into a school.”

“You enrolled yourself into this school?” I ask.

“Yeah…My parents provided me the money, but I just don’t live with them.”

“So you moved all the way here by yourself?”

“Yep.” And those very words got me in disbelief.

How could someone at such a young age live alone like this? I thought to myself.

“Don’t you find it lonely living all alone like that?” I ask.

“Nah, not really…because I’ve got you now!”

“…me?”

“Yeah!” he exclaimed. And just then, we had

also just reached the bus stop. “We’re friends now, aren’t we?” he asked, holding out a hand to me indicating for a handshake.

“Yeah, I guess you can say that,” I said, shaking his hand as I do. Just then, the bus had arrived at our stop, which was our signal to go. We both immediately tried to find a seat to net each other, which was at the back window seat. The bus rides were always incredibly long, so I knew we were going to be there for a while. This gave me the chance to get to know Hyeong Joon more.

I took the seat next to the window, while he took the empty seat right next to me. The bus had already started driving and the ride was bumpy. Yet the constant rocking that the bus made had gotten me tired, and I could feel my eyelids slowly getting heavier.

Hyeong Joon takes a brief glance at me, then back to his phone. “You tired?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said in return, “I’ve had a long day…”

“I get it. If you want you can sleep. I’ll wake you up when we reach.”

“Okay, remember that my stop is 12 stops from now.”

“Got it,” he said as he gave me a little salute. Slowly, my eyes start to close and my head leans onto his shoulder by accident. But at that point, I didn’t even have the energy to move away. He wouldn’t mind, would he?

Though my eyes were shut, I could still tell what was going on around me. I felt his hand slowly caress the top of my head, throwing his arm around my shoulder as five fingers run through my hair softly. Suddenly, the caressing stopped, and he seemed to have gone completely still. “Yungsoo?” he asked. “Are you still awake?”

“yeah…” I said, my voice sounding tired and drowsy.

“Well if you’re comfortable telling me this…may I ask where you got this scar at the top of your head from?”

“Ah, that…” I muttered as my eyes softly opened. “it…was my dad who did that. He smashed a bottle onto my head a few years ago…all because he just drank too much that day.”

“Well that’s just unpleasant,” he said in a disappointed tone. He stayed silent for a while, yet I didn’t even dare to break it. I hardly even uttered a word, and slowly, I start to drift back to sleep. Again, I feel his fingers run through my hair softly, and the caressing of his thumb against my head. “I’ll let you sleep now…” he muttered to what seemed like himself.

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