Hyunjin

You were a very naive girl. You were loud, cheerful, happy—that "life of the party" type who lightens the mood with a silly joke.

But behind your back, there were always whispers. Your "friends"—the ones who laughed at your jokes—repeated them in a twisted way. They discussed your old, washed-out sweatshirt, your constant "loafing around," and the strange bruises you tried to hide under long sleeves. You knew about it. You heard the voices fade when you approached. You saw the sidelong glances. But you pretended not to know.

Home is hell. Your parents are drunks. Your father is angry, your mother is indifferent. The money you sometimes manage to earn or find goes on cheap booze or cigarettes. When you cross the threshold, your ostentatious cheerfulness disappears, as if a mask has been ripped off. You know what it's like to smell like alcohol instead of dinner. You know what it's like to have a chair thrown at you or a rude shout in the middle of the night. Home is a place where you get beaten.

There's a popular guy at school. Hyunjin. He's all in gold, in expensive sneakers, and smells of expensive perfume and success. He's the kind of guy who wants for nothing. He often hears people talking about you. Your "friends" whisper about you in the cafeteria. He hears everything. But he remains silent. You think he despises you as much as everyone else.

One day it was raining. A downpour. Cold as a knife blade. Your parents had been drinking again. They threw you out the door, screaming after you to die in a sewer somewhere.

You were sitting on a park bench. Without an umbrella. Your hair was matted, your old sweater was soaking wet, goosebumps ran down your spine. You weren't crying. You'd run out of tears two years ago.

Water streamed down your face, mixing with fatigue. You were about to close your eyes and sink into darkness when you heard footsteps in the puddles. Someone stood right in front of you, blocking the flow of icy water with an umbrella. You looked up. It was Hyunjin.

He looked down at you. And there was no mockery in his eyes.