Amber froze, wincing as some shitty student started to bad mouth her. Seriously? Her brows furrowed as she resisted the urge to glare at the said student. It was better if she ignored them. Anything she said in her defence would simply be more evidence for them to insult her very being.
She'd learnt from a young age that it took two hands to clap. If she didn't make a sound, eventually they would get bored and move on.
Even if their words did hurt more than physical attacks on her person.
I pity her so much, I'm pretty sure nobody is going to pair up with her.
She clenched her jaws, dropping her notebook into her tote bag and keeping her stationary. Screw them Amber. She told herself. They were not worth her time.
One of the guys might. Look at her breasts, they're so big she looks like a prostitute.
She inhaled sharply, a smile flickering across her lips as she rolled her eyes. Seriously? Just because her boobs were bigger than theirs? They weren't even that big. She continued, moving and pretending as if she hadn't heard them. What she didn't realise was that JieMi had stopped moving, stoic at her side.
Nah, I doubt it. Well, she's so ugly that my eyes hurt just by looking at her.
Bitch. Amber scoffed to herself quietly. The reply was even more poisonous and scathing.
You know what? I bet her soulmate doesn't even want her.
Her breath hitched at the person's words. Eyes wide as she stared at her hands, they were frozen stuck and refusing to move.
I bet the reason why she's here is because whoever he is. He doesn't want her and so she's left to feed on us, like a parasite.
A fucking loser.
More laughter. Her heart thundering in her chest, loud in her mind. She exhaled, wondering why her hands shook. She wondered why those words rang in her head over and over again like a gong.
It replayed again and again, more painful than whatever the professor had said. Those words from the professor had stung but these words hurt. They tore into her chest, flaming arrows that burned and flared, melting her insides with corrosive poison.
The truth always hurt more than anything else. Because unlike the previous comments from her teacher which Amber could laugh off, the words of her classmates were the same words that Amber's mind, insidious and dark, repeated to her over and over again.
She was someone a soulmate would not want. Someone a famous person did not yearn for. Someone who would chase after their shadows forever. A parasite. A loser.
"Take that back!" JieMi's voice was somehow sharp in the noise of the hall.
His voice rang, crystal clear in the room and it echoed around them. Amber whipped her head back, staring at her soulmate. He was poised, his muscles tensed. He was furious, so furious that even Amber was afraid. JieMi was not the kind to get pissed off easily. She'd never seen that look, that rage on his face before.
"I said take that back!" He bellowed, this time louder than before.
He wasn't the type to raise his voice like this and hearing him like this now. It scared her. It scared everyone. The girls before him paled, their eyes wide as they trembled unable to comprehend why JieMi was so angry. Amber's mind told her that her bullies included a new model and a rookie singer eager to get into the A-list.
"Apologise to her!" JieMi snapped, his honey voice dragging and changing into a deep growl thick with his anger. The usually sweet and sultry tune of his voice had transformed into something that smouldered, something that tore and bit.
They remained quiet, stuck in stunned silence.
"FUCKING APOLOGISE!" He snarled, throwing his chair back to step forward.
His voice. It was thick with his emotions. Emotions that burned everything in its path like wildfire and his eyes... Amber stared at him, mouth agape. Those dark browns were pitch black, cold and unwavering in his heat. His fists were clenched so hard that his knuckles had turned white. His body was tensed, every muscle tight with his fury. He looked ready, ready to throw a fist into their face.
And they seemed to know that, like prey in the path of a predator.
"S-s-sorry. Sorry." The girls bowed to Amber, once, twice for good measure.
Then they scampered off quickly, running out of the hall. The lecture theatre was silent as the students watched the two of them warily. Amber stared at her soulmate, wondering when his back had started to look so big to her.
When had he seemed so...so...
"I'm pairing with you," he spoke, his voice quiet this time. Soft. Solemn. Sad.
"Pardon?" She asked.
"The project." He turned to look at her, his eyes patient as he watched her. "Let's be teammates."
"You're joking right?" Amber raised a brow, a snort escaping her lips at the incredulous situation. She placed her hand on her hips, raising a brow at him as she spoke. She was a little bewildered, surprised that he had gone out of his way to talk back against her bullies.
She was not sure if speaking up to them was a good idea even for someone like him because he might just end up as another target for their vicious words. She was pretty sure those girls would be hissing behind her back, talking about how she slept her way into JieMi's good graces. But there was no doubt that his actions would lay them off her back for a while and for that Amber was thankful.
"No, I'm not," JieMi replied softly, he tapped into his phone and raised it to her.
Amber blinked, her eyes combing over his phone, barely registering the survey form. His phone was the latest, biggest and most expensive version, of course, nothing like her own cracked device.
"Type in your ID to confirm," he said nonchalantly, nodding towards his phone.
She raised an eyebrow, taking it from him, gingerly avoiding touching his fingers. She hastily keyed in her information so that the survey would register her name. She watched as the screen flashed revealing the happy green symbol of confirmation. Her own phone dinged in response.
Photography Project: JieMi Wang and Ambrosia Momo Pei
He was completely serious.
"But what about your girlfriend?" Amber gaped at him, pocketing her phone. He plucked his own from her fingers, exiting the survey quickly. "Won't she get angry?" She pressed, her voice spiking in her shock. "You know, with a girlfriend who demands coffee the moment she wants it, I don't think she'll be very happy..."
Her voice trailed off, the words stuck in her throat when she caught a small glimpse of his face. His expression had faltered at her words and a look of something flickered over his face.
It was an odd twisted expression, of hardened features and— she couldn't explain it. Amber's heart twisted, pinching a little at the sight. It just didn't suit her soulmate. That look on his face.
He should always be proud, stupid and happy. JieMi shook his head, tossing his hair to the side and the expression melted away before she could decipher it.
"It's fine. She'll understand," JieMi snapped, his voice gruff. Would she really? Amber's eyes flickered to the back of the lecture hall, trying to find Ha-Eun. "Just take it as my apology."
JieMi's voice pulled her away from her search. He was looking at her with a tic in his brow, annoyance clear on his face. He shrugged, leaning against the desk languidly as he watched her with those pretty eyes.
"I'm only doing this once okay?" He stated, lightly slamming his palm on the desk. "I don't just pair up with people randomly. No need to pull my GPA down," he sniffed, his eyes sizing her up.
"Hey! I'm good at what I do, okay?" Amber snapped back, glowering at him.