34 – Bullying
Put on the school uniform and prepare for school. When I leave the house, Lee Jin-ah is waiting for me.
“The weather is nice today, so let’s go for a walk!”
“..Yes”
Certainly the sky is clear today, and the air is cool. The weather is perfect for walking without thinking.
Maybe it’s because Mirae High School is located in a place with nice mountains and good water, so the scenery you can see while walking is quite nice.
The distance from Lee Jin-ah’s house to the school is 15 minutes on foot. While walking through the school, I never saw students coming to school.
Of course, Mirae High School is a school located deep in Gangwon-do, and dormitories are basically provided.
Well… Although there are some students like Lee Jin-ah who don’t sleep in her dormitory and go to school from their own houses.
In most cases, parents or drivers will pick you up and drop you off in front of the school.
It’s not common to buy a house near here and walk to school.
“Shall we go hand in hand?”
“…?”
“I want to walk hand in hand, don’t you like it?”
Lee Jin-ah looks at me and smiles. She never refuses me
Take her hand. Soft and fluffy. It’s white, thin, and again- soft. She is carefully holding Lee Jin-ah’s hand.
-Hee hee…
Keep on wriggling in my hand. Lee Jin-ah’s hand wiggled. What’s so good about it?
I can’t seem to control the burst of laughter. Looking at this, she looks like an ordinary girl.
“Hey, Yoo Seon-ah. I’m sorry I stabbed you with a fork…”
Lee Jin-ah caressed my bandaged hand. She did, but she hurt me. That’s pretty much what she was thinking.
I really don’t know what Jina Lee is thinking. … She made a hole in her hand, and she seemed like she would shed her tears at any moment … Why are her eyes like that?
“…I won’t hurt you anymore. I was wrong. I won’t do that again. So… Should Yoo Seon be nice to me too?
This morning was delicious! Yoo Seon-ah Let’s make it with me tomorrow..? Me, these days I cook. Because I’m learning hard. If the two of us work together, we will surely be able to make toast that tastes better than today!”
“…”
“Yoo Seon-ah, what are we going to do after school over there? Ah! Yoo Seon-i has to organize all the luggage in the dormitory. When are we going to do that again..?”
-Udangtang.
I heard a noise, so I turned my head to see what had happened. Sportsman.
The boy who beat me halfway in the dormitory started to run away from Lee Jin-ah in an unsightly manner.
I wonder if he did well or not. Did he discipline me because he really had a sense of justice, or because he didn’t have a girl like Lee Jin-ah by his side? Did her jealousy bother me?
I don’t know. Probably, I will not know the sincerity of that sportsman in the future. In fact, I don’t even want to know.
But one thing I can know is that if Lee Jin-ah is next to me, it’s important that those guys don’t harm me.
Until yesterday, who would bother me…? I started worrying about getting beaten up, but then I realized how good it is that no one cares about me.
I enter the classroom with Lee Jin-ah.
As soon as I open the classroom door, all eyes in it are focused on me.
“Yoo Seon-ah, class starts! Open the book!!”
Jinah Lee takes out a book from her bag. When you look at her like this, she looks like a normal high school student. Why… Did you do that to me?
Lee Jin-ah’s way of thinking was somehow different from that of ordinary people.
“Ah, Yoo Seon-ah, after our class, you and I will go to the library and study again! Don’t worry, I’ll be by your side to teach you well! Yoo Seon-ah is good at what he does! Will he be able to do well?”
He puts his hand on top of mine. And put on a pod.
“I want you to answer me. Yoo Seon-ah! Since before… You haven’t answered that… Yoo Seon-ah?”
Lee Jin-ah’s voice sank heavily.
There is no light in the eyes. The already quiet atmosphere in the classroom began to freeze.
The storm is coming soon. I can feel the uneasy look in your eyes, not knowing what will happen.
It’s only been about two months since she entered school. At this school, no one could stop Lee Jin-ah from running wild like a broken locomotive.
“I like it very much! I will study hard”
“Wow-that sounds like fun”
Lee Jin-ah’s voice, which had sunk heavily, began to rise high into the sky again. However, the atmosphere in this classroom is still icy. In this place where everything was frozen, only Lee Jin-ah was talking freely.
The successor to the Future Group. And she is the granddaughter of the Future Foundation. In this school, the only person who can control Lee Jin-ah, who wields omnipotent power, is ‘I’. She can keep the peace in this classroom if she looks at Lee Jin-ah and says her actions and her words that Lee Jin-ah wants.
He said he didn’t care what I was thinking. She just needs to pretend to be friendly and like her on the outside. Because Lee Jin-ah seemed satisfied with that.
“Yoo Seon-ah, you have to study hard here to go to the same university as me”
“Huh..?”
“Hate it?”
“No, I really like it! Wow… Going to university with Jin again…”
“We are going to a university abroad! We are going to a university very far away in Europe!”
Her breath is choking.
I will continue to keep an eye on Lee Jin-ah and talk, but am I offended by one of her actions? Or should she be concerned about not offending her?
“You know what? During our vacation, let’s see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and… The Colosseum and see a lot of interesting things! It’ll be fun if we hang out and study together for four years. Isn’t it…?!”
“…That’s nice”
Lee Jin-ah’s head rests naturally on my shoulder. The wind blowing through her window made her Jin-ah Lee’s brown hair flutter.
… Like it or not, Lee Jin-ah just closed her eyes and stayed still. She seems to be thinking deeply about something. Or maybe she’s simply enjoying this moment with me.
Jinah Lee holds my hand wrapped in her bandage.
“Yoo Seon-ah. But I have something to ask you.”
“Hmm, what is it…?”
“Why don’t you go around wearing the clothes I bought for you at home..?”
“Huh..?”
Wasn’t that over? I didn’t know what to say to her…
Her hair turns white. Come to think of it, my closet is still full of the clothes Yoojung bought for me.
Where are all the clothes Jinah Lee bought her? Are you still in my dorm room? And since I always wear only my school uniform, I can’t think of wearing plain clothes… I had no idea.
“No, that… I’m still in the dormitory. I haven’t moved my luggage!!!! That’s why I haven’t packed everything yet! That’s why!”
Exaggerated accent. Her heart feels like it’s about to explode She pours out the words that are in her head.
“Ehh… Is that so..?”
Lee Jin-ah’s eyes narrow.
“You really didn’t intend to wear it, did you?”
Cold sweat runs down her back.
“…That… I can’t afford it. Jin-ah, I’m always with you, how can I go to the dormitory and find clothes…”
“Then… I need a little help?”
“What… What…”
“I’ll help you move your luggage, it’s too much to carry alone. Isn’t it?”
I don’t know what or how it helps. But if I refuse, I don’t know what will happen next. When Lee Jin-ah speaks, I cannot refuse.
2)
I came back home with Jinah Lee after school. There were large boxes in the garden in front of the house.
“Yoo Seon-ah! From now on, we’ll wear pajamas as well.. Yes! Yes, let’s go around like that..! hehehe- Yoo Seon-ah, is there any color you want to wear?”?
I heard Lee Jin-ah’s voice from behind. My back felt itchy as if my face was rubbing against me.
“Hey, these have a lot of holes and weird stains on them. What do I do?”
“Throw it in the bin!”
The men in black suits were holding a lot of things in their arms. … The clothes Yoojung bought me.
-Swipe swish
I put the clothes Yu-jeong bought me into the drum in the corner of the garden. Feeling very anxious. I shouldn’t be asking questions like this, but I couldn’t hold back and opened my mouth.
“Hey…Hey…What the hell are you trying to do…?”
“Ah.. This…? I have to burn it all”
“Uh…? Uh uh…”
“Look at this, Yoo Seon-ah. These are all torn and frayed… They look like rags. Can I wear something like this?”
Jinah Lee picked up my clothes in her drum with her fingers and lifted them up. Apparently… I crawled on all fours like a dog for days and got beaten up by other kids. So, some of the clothes are torn and some are torn…
It is May now. The weather is warm, but there’s no way I’m wearing something like a fluffy hoodie. Apparently, it was only in the closet… The clothes Lee Jin-ah lifted had dirty stains on them and were torn here and there.
As if someone deliberately tore it north-north with a sharp object.
-I hope Yoo Seon will think a lot about me while looking at this outfit…! The future high school will be very difficult and lonely… But I hope you will remember that I am always cheering you on from far away while looking at the clothes I bought for you.
“Huh…? Uh uh…Wait…Wait…”
– The smell of oil.
“…I… I’ll take care of it! I can handle it…! Just put it in a drum and burn it…”
-Tak.
As soon as the flames flying in a parabolic arc enter the drum
– Hwareuk!
Fireworks rise. Every time the tongue-like flame of an animal moves, the clothes in it, all the precious memories, emotions, and memories there… Turn into black smoke and go up to the sky.