forever yours, Veronica

eight

"what happened?" i heard a deep familiar voice ask

"i'm not sure, i think she got on a fight," the school nurse answered

"with whom?"

i heard nothing but footsteps getting near me after

"who did this to you?" he whispered

"oh," he said and i heard footsteps again, this time, getting away

i can't manage to open my eyes up

after a minute i felt someone poking my nose

then my cheek

i groaned "stop it,"

"woah," he said

and i've managed to open up my eyes

"Jaehyun," are the first words that came out my mouth "what are you doing here?"

"you look awful," he said, not answering my question

"i know,"

"what happened to your face?" this time, he asked

i sigh, "nothing,"

"so you have bruises, but nothing happened?" he said sarcastically

i threw him a glare, "i fell down the stairs"

"so you had a fight with the stairs?"

i rolled my eyes and turned my back at him, facing the wall, "Jaehyun, go home already, it's getting late,"

"not unless you tell me what happened, Veronica. i'm your friend, remember? you can tell me everything," he protested

"nothing, Jaehyun, nothing happened. please go home. it will be dangerous if you walk in the dark. your parents might be looking for you already,"

"i'll leave with you,"

"Jaehyun, you should head home already, okay? i'll be fine,"

"your parents might be also looking for you already. i'll take you home, i have a car,"

i froze

when i head home already, i'll end up getting beaten up again, by my dad

i said nothing but threw him a toothless smile, and shook my head no

"fine. if that's what you want. i guess i'll just see you tomorrow?" he sighed, defeated

i nodded, "okay. please head home safe,"

he nodded back, "give me your number so you can call me if you need to talk. here's mine," he grabbed my phone beside me and started to press his number

he smiled and placed it back, "i guess i'll head home now, are you sure you're okay?"

"yes, thank you. drive safely," i smiled back and waved at him

then he left

‹•.•›

i thanked the nurse and walked out the school

it's already 7:09pm

i took my time walking home, not wanting to reach it because i'll get welcomed by my dad's fist

walking, i rethink of what i did hours ago, that's not you, Roni. what happened to you

what if tomorrow everyone will start whispering about me, what if i get hit again, what if people start looking at me as a war freak.

no, i was just standing up for myself. i did the right thing, right? but what if i crossed the line and didn't keep track of my words

"excuse me," someone called, making me snap out if my thoughts

i stopped my track and turned around

it's a guy

"hi i'm Jungwoo. Kim Jungwoo,"

"oh- uhm- hi i'm Veronica Sanchez,"

"i know," he smiled "are you feeling better?"

i smiled and nodded

"do we know each other?" i asked, in a low tone

"that's a negative. do you mind going to the cafè with me for a while?"

who is he

"w-why?" i asked, backing off

"don't worry! are you scared? please don't be. i just want to at least pay you back for what you did earlier. thank you for standing up for us- the ones who get abused by him," he smiled sweetly, his eyes disappearing