ch. 27

"the true light that came like destiny."

-light

"you never fail to amaze me, ms. park."

mrs. hwang leans back on her chair with her arms support her head, a satisfied smile pulling on her lips. her gaze never leaves the figure before as they bow to her as a sign of gratitude for the compliment.

"do you think i am ready for friday?" eunbi asks quietly.

"honey, you are more than ready." this earns a small grin from her student.

the woman stands up from her seat and gently pats the girl with a contented expression plastered on her face. "now then, remember that you have rehearsal tomorrow and you need to follow the plan we made."

understanding her reminders, she nods before collecting her belongings and bidding her vocal instructor goodbye. she steps out of the classroom, glancing to both sides of the hallway, before she begins her way to the outside.

it has been a few hours since school has ended, so she doesn't expect anyone to be around as she passes the classrooms. when she arrives at the practice rooms, the girl is taken back at the sudden sound of cluttered notes from a piano. one of the doors fling open and a body is pushed out of the room, followed by three standing figures.

immediately, the vocalist rushes to the fallen person's aid and recognizes them as one of her classmates: jeon hana.

"hana-ssi, are you okay?" she asks as she checks her exposed arms and her delicate face for any injuries. "are you hurt anywhere?"

"i'm okay," she says with a painful smile. "it was just a push, that's all."

"i cannot believe that a flunkie from class f think they have the audacity to take priority over a practice room."

the pinkish blonde scoffs at the name she was bestowed and looks over her classmate's shoulder to see three male students towering over them, all of them wearing red. laughing at the sight of the two female students sprawled on the floor, one of them kneels to their level with a smirk.

"oh look, another flunkie." he taunts, receiving more laughter from his friends. "how does it feel being where you guys belong?"

"leave her alone." the injured girl tries to move her assistance away from her, not wanting to involve her in this affair. "she has nothing to do with this."

but being the one who can't hold her tongue, the brunette pretends to take a moment to ponder about her experience so far. "you know, it's actually pretty great. at least it's not getting into my head like some assholes from class a."

and she flashes him an innocent smile.

feeling the collar of her grey shirt being yanked on, eunbi's face becomes a few inches away from the stranger. she can practically feel the heat of his anger touching her skin, a reaction that she expected.

"what did you say?"

she shrugs. "what? i thought we were giving each other names based on our class level: flunkie for class f and asshole for class a. did you want me to call you guys asshats instead-"

"aren't you that girl who got suspended because you beat up siyeon?" one of the guys in the back notices.

"and what if i am?" she raises an eyebrow, unimpressed by his description of her. "if you want, i can give your asses a nice whooping like how i did to her."

the guy who is holding her shirt outlines her facial features and takes in every single detail. "you're a feisty one, i like you. why did you fight siyeon for that yunho dude when you can have me?"

"the fuck?" she glances to her sides with a scowl on her face. "why would i want you with that amount of ugliness written all over you? get away from me."

with a strong push and a forceful kick, eunbi is able to escape his grasp and grabs hana's wrist while the male shouts in pain. they both stand up as they back away from the group with their hands out in front of them as a sign to not get closer to them.

unexpectedly, his friends begin laughing at how weak their companion is, pointing at him in a mockingly way, instead of assisting him. "minsu got insulted and kicked by a girl!"

this angers the male once again, his face blooming in red as one of his eyes twitches with irritation. unconsciously, his hands come to his red sweater's sleeves and pull them up until his elbows are visible while he grits his teeth.

the 'minsu' guy scrunches his eyebrows together and his breathing becomes faster than before. "this bitch really had the guts to touch me."

when his friends notice his peculiar behavior, they immediately hold him back in an arm lock as the angry male flails his legs in the air.

"calm down minsu-ah!" one of them consoles. "we don't want to get in trouble because you beat up some girls from class f."

"they're not worth our time," the other adds, cold sweat breaking through his skin. "they're just a waste of talent."

abruptly, eunbi takes a few steps toward the boys with her hands on her hips, clearly unhappy after hearing the last words of the statement. "excuse me?"

"i'm sorry to break it to you, but that girl on the floor is actually a big baby." the group breaks into laughter as they recall the memories of hearing hana singing. "she's always crying in the practice rooms."

"shut up." the victim growls. "she doesn't need to know about this."

minsu pretends to be taken back at her rebuking attitude, his eyes widening a little, before rolling his eyes. "oh please, what i'm saying is true. your singing is so bad that even you know it yourself. you think that practice will help, but it never will."

gritting her teeth together, the female student stifles her tears from falling down her cheeks by avoiding eye contact with the girl beside her. a desire to plug her ears builds within her and her eyes scrunch in embarrassment.

he needs to shut up, hana repeats to herself. he needs to shut up!

and he does.

infuriated by minsu's comment, eunbi marches toward the guy with balled fists and throws a powerful punch to the jaw. her face is colored in red and her eyes are burning with hatred as she packs in another punch.

the pinkish blonde, being shocked by the sight of this, runs over to her classmate and drags her away from the injured guy. "eunbi-ssi, calm down!"

"i'm not done with him!" the enraged female bellows, swinging her arms around. "he had the audacity to not only insult class f, but also you!"

those words that slipped from her mouth makes the girl go to ease.

minsu, on the other hand, has been stripped from his pride and horror is written all over his face as he cups his face; he has never been in so much pain before. his friends, frightened of the girl, pick up their companion on the floor and drag him away from the scene.

"that's right, you pussies!" she yells as she watches them flee. "just wait until the showcase comes around and let's see which class level has the flunkies!"

when they are out of her sight, she finally relaxes and embraces the exhaustion that follows after the rush of adrenaline. her classmate. although still shocked by witnessing her violent behavior, hana gently lays her classmate down on the floor so she can rest, her chest slowly rising up and down.

the sound the echoing footsteps disappear from her ears makes the tired girl smile with victory as she sprawls her body on the cool ground. "man, those douche bags are so dumb."

trying not to be awkward, the victim gets onto the floor and bows to eunbi, full of gratitude. "thank you so much eunbi-ssi."

"ah, it was nothing." she waves her hand to dismiss her unnecessary action before she rolls onto her stomach to make eye contact with her classmate. "those guys deserved what was coming."

something wet falls onto her hands, so hana lifts her head from the ground and touches her face.

she's crying.

she wipes her eyes numerous times to stop herself from sobbing, but for some reason, the tears continue to drip down on her cheeks. before she knew it, she was breaking down completely in front of someone she barely knew.

eunbi frantically scrambles onto her knees when she discerns the familiar sound. "oh no, please don't cry."

the brunette scoots herself closer to her classmate and engulfs her in a reassuring embrace, rocking the pinkish blonde side-to-side. she can feel her grey sweater absorb the girl's tears as she strokes her hair in a comforting manner.

"don't let their words get into your head," eunbi soothes. "they don't understand what you have been going through."

it is ironic how such an aggressive girl who has no fear of hurting someone can be polite and caring at this moment, but having someone there for her is something hana has always desired.

a smile pulls on her lips.

these two may not know it yet...

but this was the start of a new friendship.