The boy next door

Part 18

I breathed heavily as I stood on the weighing machine. Please be at least fifty. The game is the day after tomorrow. I have to play it. 'Good Hyerin. Your weight is fifty one kgs. You might be able to leave tomorrow,' Allison smiled as I jumped in joy.  'Looks like you are not going to miss me when you leave,' she smiled again. 'No no. I promise to come see you when I leave.'

'This is it, right?' oppa asked as he brought in my suitcase into the house. 'Yep,' I replied. 'Gosh I missed you so much. This house was empty without you,' he said and came to hug me as I did too. 'Guess what?' I squealed as soon as I called Haneul. 'What?' she answered. 'I am going to go to school from tomorrow,' I said again. 'No way. Yes!! You are coming back. Everyone missed you. Especially Felix,' she started laughing. I choked on my own saliva as I asked her, 'Felix?' 'Yes Felix. He had no competition. He also had no one to disturb.' Oh so she meant that sarcastically. 

I rode to school the next morning, with the morning air hitting my face. It was very pleasant and it calmed me down. 'Heya,' Haneul greeted me at the school gate as I hugged her.  Everything was the same. The place, the atmosphere, the same groups of people who always stayed together. Except the gazes of the people on me. They seemed so....intense. Then they started murmuring. About me of course as only I had just entered. 'What is happening?' Haneul whispered into my ear. 'Nah, they are just probably wondering why I was gone for a week,' I whispered back. We thought that was true until our phones started chiming with notifications. 

'Let me check,' Haneul said as she took out her phone . She had a calm face in the beginning but it soon changed into something else. Her eyes widened as she looked at me, fear visible in her eyes. 'What?' I asked worriedly. 'Promise me you won't take it seriously. Whoever did this doesn't know the full story. You might want to take a look at this,' she said as she passed me her phone. It was Twitter which was opened. The school page. It had a chubby picture of me which was obviously edited. The caption was worse, 'Choi Hyerin. New girl who used to look like that but starved herself to look what she looks as now. Stay away from her, she may manipulate you to do the same thing.' 

My blood boiled as I clutched the phone in my hand. 'Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. I am still your friend, I won't leave you alright?' Haneul said as she patted my back. But consolation was far from what I wanted now. There was only one person who knew about this except for the teachers and Haneul. The same person who I saved. The same douchebag who only thinks about himself. Lee Felix. 

'I'll be back,' I said as I left Haneul at the playground and made my way into the school. The stares grew longer and the murmurs became even more audible. A group of girls soon stood in front of me as the boys cleared. 'Look what we have here. Chubby  dubby Hyerin,' the girl mimicked a laugh. 'Move,' I clearly said. They were getting on my nerves so bad. 'Huh? Are you threatening us?'  the girl's voice grew more serious but I was far from concerned. I needed to get to Felix anyhow. By any means. 

'Move. Give me fifteen minutes. I'll be back,' I said as I kept a straight face. 'Why should we believe you?' she asked again. 'Because this chubby girl does not lie,' I whispered into her ear and walked past her. 'Yah! If you are not here in ten minutes. Remember, that's the last day you live,' she screamed as I made my way up the rooftop. 

And there he was. Sitting, as if he did not give a damn about the world. 'You, you piece of shit. I know you hate me, but ruining me like this? I did not think you would stoop that low,' I said to him, my voice slightly about average range. He kept his book aside and looked straight at me. 'What are you talking about?' he asked me, confusion on his face.  All lies. Pathetic. 'You seriously weren't the one who did this?' I asked as I showed him my phone screen. His eyes widened as he saw everything. 

'Why would you think that?' he asked me again. 'The only reason being that no one knew about this except Haneul, the teachers and you yourself. Haneul wouldn't. The teachers have far more important jobs to do. That leaves with you. You did this. How would you feel if someone disclosed your condition to the whole school? Would you be glad? Oh right now everyone knows. It isn't a big deal anyway,' I mimicked him as tears fell down.  He clearly did not know what to say as I stood there, trying to take in my tears which would not stop falling. 

'Yah!' the girls entered the rooftop loudly. They soon stopped on their tracks as they noticed me with Felix. 'You told us you would come in ten minutes?' she asked again, this time her voice a bit more calm. 'Great. You caused this,' I said to Felix as I walked away. He clearly understood what was going to happen. He was really the one to cause it. 

'Get your hands away from me,' I said as the girls took hold of me and put me in a room. They tied my legs to a chair with only my hands in movement. 'What the hell are you all sick people doing?' I screamed but they just smirked in response. 'Don't worry. We are not going to bully you. We just wanted to give you a little treat,' one of them said as she removed the cloth from the table and it showed huge amounts of food. 'Finish it,' the girl smirked again. 'How can I possibly finish that?' I asked as a tear fell again. 'That's your problem. Pretty sure you ate much more than this before. Eat,' she said as she pushed a few fries into my mouth. Another bunch of tears fell as I munched on those.

The girls took out their phones and began recording while laughing. Suddenly, someone barged through the door which made the girls gasp. Someone I did not expect to be here. Lee Felix. He came in with his cold expression again but it soon softened as he noticed me. 'Delete those,' Felix said in his excessively deep voice. 'But oppa--.' 'Delete those,' he said again but this time, more angrier. 'Whatever,' the girls said as they left. Felix looked at me and quickly removed the ties from my legs as I stood up, more tears falling. 

That's when he pulled me into a hug. And I hugged him back.