016

Chapter sixteen

"Are you not coming to lunch?" Jiwon asks me

"Sorry, I have to study" I admit

"You also have to eat, plus you're getting straight A's" She points out

"But I'm barely reaching the A" I begin to highlight the important things in my book

"You're like top of the class?"

"Still, I have to keep it up"

"Haerin, what's going on with you? You've been studying flat out since Monday, you won't come out and you aren't replying to my texts" She takes a seat beside me

"My charger broke, and I have to study"

"Eating is more important"

"Not to my parents" I mutter, eyes still glued to the book on my desk

"Are you coming?" She asks

I just shake my head in response and she nods

"I'll bring you something back though"

"Thank you" I smile as she leaves the classroom

I spot Heeseung walk in, "I can't make it today" I speak up, not looking at him

"What?" He questions

"I can't do that thing we have today"

"Why not?"

"I have to study"

"You're a straight A student, how much smarter can you get?"

"If I want to get into Yonsei University, they want multiple 100%, not just barely reaching an A"

He walks over and looks in my bag, pulling out one of my past exams

"Ninety two percent" He slams it on the table but i push it over so I can read the book

"How much better can you get?"

"I need to get one hundred" I glance up at him for a second

"Is that why you haven't been hanging out with anyone? You're spending every hour of the day studying?" He questions

"That's right" I confirm his theory

"That isn't a life Haerin, I mean when are you actually going to live?" He scoffs

"Once I get into Yonsei"

"You know they probably won't want try ha—" I cut him off with a loud voice

"Can you just stop?! I need to get 100% on this exam today, I need to, if I don't my parents are going to kill me, especially my dad, so please just stop questioning me and let me do what I need to!" I accidentally reveal to much that I would have wanted

"Your parents? They're making you do this? They obviously don't care about you then"

"Yes they do! That's why they are doing this! They just want the best for me!" I defend

"And at least my parents are fucking involved in how I do in school and care about how I do in life, I have never once seen yours at home, and they obviously don't care since you're always beaten up, I mean surely if they did care then they would've made sure you stopped going to that fighting thing!" I snap

"You're a fucking bitch you know that?"

"Just because you're stressing over a grade, which doesn't define your whole life, doesn't mean you get to comment on mine, you know nothing, so stop fucking acting like it"

"You're acting like you know everything about my life!"

"Oh so what, how much do I know?" He asks, his tone settling

"As much as everybody else!"

"So everyone knows about the night before you transferred to this school, the way you were about to jump from the roof of a fucking building?!" He raises his voice again

"Or maybe about this" He grabs my arm and twists it around to show my scars on my wrist

"Or maybe this" He moves my hair to reveal the scar on my forehead

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tears stream down my face

"I'm telling you what I know, and it's sure as hell a lot more than everyone else" He lets go off my arm

"You have no right— to bring all this up" My voice breaks as I push him out of the way and run out of the classroom in tears

"Haerin wait!" He calls out to me but I ignore him as my tears begin to blur my vision, I run into the bathroom and hide in a stall

"Man entering girls bathroom, I promise I'm not a wierdo!" Heeseung voice fills my ears and I cover my mouth, trying to silence my sobs

Then there's a knock on my stall

"Haerin, I know it's you" He begins

"There's no one else in here"

"Please just let me apologise" His tone is sincere, like he actually means what he is saying

"Leave me alone Heeseung" I choke out as the salty tears run into my mouth, giving it a salty taste

"I'm sorry, I should've never mentioned any of that, that's clearly something that no one should bring up, I'm so sorry" I notice him sitting down at the stall door

"But I can read you like a book and it's really getting to me, I know almost everything about you and I don't know why, we aren't even friends"

"Why did you stop me?" I suddenly ask

"W-what?"

"Why didn't you let me jump, why did you have to stop me?"

"That's not the way out" He responds

"And I'm sure you're glad that I did, you wouldn't have met Jiwon, or Ni-Ki"

"You wouldn't have realised that you can stand up for yourself, even if it's just towards me"

"Why were you up there?" I suddenly remember, why was he there?

"I—" He begins but stops himself and I can hear him sniffle

Is he crying?

"It doesn't matter, what matters is that I was there, I mean I would've never met the girl who had the balls to talk back to me, I wouodve never met the girl who makes me wonder, I would've never met the girl who leaves me confused every single day"

I stand up and unlock the stall, opening it, he turns to look at my quickly and gets up to his feet

"I am so sorry, Haerin"

"We don't have to get along but I promise I will never bring up anything like that again or tell anyone"

"Go back to normal" I suggest

"Not friends, never getting along, just the same as it was before"

"I can do that" He slightly smiles

"Every Wednesday once I get 100% on every exam again"

"Okay" He nods not wanting to argue anymore

"Now can you get out? This is the girls bathroom you know?" I point to the door

"That's the Haerin I don't like" He chuckles and turns around and walks to the door, but before he leaves, he says one more thing

"I'm glad I saved you that day"

I have an idea for chapter 20 but idk how to get them to that stage agtwr this whole ass argument

-K