The day she arrived at her new school she met many people and easily got along with them. She hoped her high school years would be peaceful, and they were. A few days later, school started, no one was prejudiced against her. Since it was a school for children of elites, she become friends with sons and daughters of politicians, doctors and even CEO's. No one asked her who her parents were so, since no one asked, she never mentioned it.
As the weeks went by. Her life in this new school was great. She didn't have to deal with Ji Hyun or Ji Su, and she would never see those bullies ever again. But, she did miss Ji Seok and Woo Yeon and even Mr. Oh.
After a few months, a transfer student appeared, and it was none other than Woo Yeon himself. Ha Eun was missing him and he appeared. They sat next to each other during classes and spent lunch time together. This time, they didn't hide, but it felt like people were slowly separating themselves from her. Even her own roommate suddenly moved to a different room and Ha Eun was left alone.
Although it bothered her a bit, she still had Woo Yeon. They would often have dinner in local restaurants and on their way back to their dorms, they would stop by the arcade. This time, Woo Yeon got her a stuffed pink octopus. Ha Eun on the other hand, was only able to get him a pencil that glowed in the dark.
Once at her dorm, she said goodnight to Woo Yeon but as she turned around to go inside, he grabbed her arm.
"Ha Eun, I'd like to tell you something" he said. Ha Eun's heart almost stopped. Is this what they call a confession? No, she shouldn't jump to conclusions like this. Maybe he just wants to ask her if he can borrow her homework.
They've always had an unspoken attraction towards each other. Woo Yeon was certain of that now. All he had to do was confess and so he did "Could we hold hands from now on?" he asked her.
He suddenly felt like such a loser. He wanted to confess not say something so lame, but Ha Eun understood. Her cheeks flushed red, she wanted to say yes but she started to panic, she's never had a boyfriend before, would he get tired of her and want to break up? She thought she should have accepted the first guy that confessed to her, that way she'd know what to do now.
"It's alright, you don't need to answer me now" Woo Yeon said. Ha Eun started to panic even more. She made him wait too long! "My heart is yours, so I'll wait until yours ready to come to me"
Ha Eun thought it was already ready, she just had to say yes. As he left Ha Eun grabbed his shirt. He turned around and Ha Eun said "Thank you" she bowed and ran to her room. Woo Yeon chuckled, thinking she was cute.
After the confession, Woo Yeon acted like he always did with Ha Eun, as if the confession never happened. It made her feel at ease. He was indeed willing to wait. During lunch, Woo Yeon told her he had to talk to one of the teacher's, so she ended up eating alone. A group of girls approached her and told her they wanted to talk to her.
They arrived in the back of the school and one of the girls suddenly pushed her against the wall. She told Ha Eun "Stop hanging out with Woo Yeon"
Ha Eun was confused. She's been hanging out with him for a long time. They've been friends for a few years now and they spend every day together.
"No" Ha Eun answered. He was her only friend.
The girl quickly slapped her. It's been a long time since Ha Eun had been slapped. That slap made Ha Eun remember Ji Hyun, any time Ji Su complained about her, Ji Hyun's only action was to slap her. But her slaps were weak, compared to the one's she had received before. The same went to the girl that just slapped her. It didn't even make Ha Eun flinch. She just stared directly at the girl.
"Why did you slap me?" Ha Eun asked her, expressionless. The girl was a bit surprised. She was expecting Ha Eun to cry and beg her to stop. The other girls were surprised by that as well.
"Just stop hanging out with Woo Yeon!" she said loudly.
"Why?" Ha Eun asked "Give me one good reason as to why I should do that"
"I don't know what games you're playing but we're not falling for them. Woo Yeon got you all figured out and told us to stay away from you" one of them said.
"A bullied orphan who was raised by violent people. With all that violence, you could be violent too. You're just a ticking time bomb waiting to happen" another said.
Ha Eun was shocked by these news. Did Woo Yeon really say those things about her? No…he likes her, why would he make people stay away from her? Ha Eun placed her hands into fists. She couldn't believe the nonsense they were saying.
"Woo Yeon wouldn't do that" Ha Eun yelled. The girls were surprised by her outburst. One of them laughed and then the others joined her.
"Looks like Woo Yeon was right. She is violent" the girl smiled at her "Hold her arms. Let's teach her a lesson"
Woo Yeon was walking by, going to get clean water when he saw some girls huddled up around Ha Eun.
"Hey!" he yelled. The girls looked in horror as Woo Yeon threw dirty water at them. They quickly ran away. He rushed to Ha Eun's side, placing his hands on her face, looking to see if they had done anything to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked her. Then Ha Eun made eye contact with him. He couldn't quite explain the expression. It was a mixture of fear, anger and confusion. An expression he's never seen on her face before. What did they say to her?
Ha Eun took his hands off her face and said, "I'm okay" She walked past him and made her way to the school gates. Woo Yeon, worried, ran after her.
"Where are you going?" he said but she wouldn't talk "I'll go with you, just wait a second" he grabbed her by the wrist, but she quickly pulled it away from his grasp.
"I'll be back soon. Just take notes for me" Ha Eun said. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, but she did, and she smiled back.
….
She ran out of the school and headed back home. Not Mr. Oh's house, she headed to the place where she once lived. She had enough pocket money to get on trains and get cabs. She need to be away from all of this.
Once she arrived at Daegu, it was already dark. She decided to go to the restaurant bar where Bong Soo used to go and where her friends were.
She arrived and saw the boys. They all looked at her surprised but ran towards her with open arms. They were a bit mad that she didn't say goodbye when she left, but they were happy that she was doing okay.
She told them she was adopted by Mr. Oh and she was moved to Seoul. She told them he was the CEO of a company which made them all say 'whoa'
"Our Ha Eun is a chaebol!" the bartender said excitedly.
"Wow, we're friends with a chaebol" another guy said.
When they guys asked her what company Mr. Oh ran, she realized she had no idea what the company was about, which made the guys laugh. She's been living with the man for 3 years, yet she never asked what type of company he ran.
"Wait. Shouldn't you be in Seoul?" the bartender asked. The guys looked at her shocked.
"Did you run away?" they asked her. Ha Eun thought about it.
"I wouldn't say, run away, more like going on a trip, without telling anyone where I'm going" she said. The guys laughed. They knew she had nowhere to go so the bartender offered her to stay in the room upstairs. She accepted his offer.