Mean to Me | Im Youngmin

Mean - 17

"Slut!"

"You're not even pretty?"

"Are you happy now? You're ruining friendships!"

"First, Youngmin, now, Donghyun? Who's next, Sewoon?"

Ji-hye feels her hands go numb as she reads the last of the notes left in her locker. She's not one to be affected by mere insults like "slut" or "not pretty" but those which involved Youngmin, Donghyun and even Sewoon now, fucked her up bigtime.

Why? Why is it her fault? How is she ruining their friendship?

She doesn't even know why the three of them never hang out anymore after Youngmin returned. Although curious, she does not dare ask Donghyun why he never speaks of his two friends especially Youngmin.

She draws a deep breath. Athis point, it's not even important to her who's giving her all these hate messages. She's too busy thinking of ways to survive another day in school with Youngmin. "Good thing it's Friday, I don't have to see him for two days," she whispers quietly to herself.

She's surprised to see a pouting Donghyun upon closing her locker that she almost curses out loud.

"Do you want to give me a heart attack?" She asks him.

Donghyun, still wearing a pout, ignores this, and asks her, "Is it me?"

Ji-hye doesn't understand. "What do you mean, 'Is it you'?"

"Is it me you're relieved not to see over the weekend?" He asks like a small kid.

This makes Ji-hye laugh. "What? No!" She pauses for a while to catch her breath. "Why would you think that way?"

"I don't know? Maybe you're tired of seeing my handsome face already?"

Ji-hye bursts into laughter again.

"That's better, you know."

She gives him a confused look.

"The way you're smiling and laughing," Donghyun replies as he taps her head.

However, the smile on her face disappears as she spots someone watching them from afar.
And although her vision is not that bad, she doesn't know what to make of Youngmin's expression.

Ji-hye is relieved that the day is almost over. Now, she only has to get through one more period: gym class. She's thankful the boys and girls got separate classes because she doesn't have to see Youngmin for one more hour today.

She retrieves her gym bag from her locker. She then carefully places her backpack inside after getting her keys and putting them inside her skirt's side pocket. She figures she'll just come back later to get her stuff because it's useless to bring both bags to the locker room.

"Uhm, Ji-hye?" She turns to see Hayoung waiting.

"Are you sure you can stay at the pool today?"

She furrows her eyebrows in response. "Why not, though?"

"I don't know," she then bites her lip. "Wouldn't it hurt?" Hayoung then looks at her legs. This makes Ji-hye feel conscious all of a sudden. She tries to hide them but to no avail.

Before she could even answer, a familiar voice calls.

"Hayoung! We'll be late, let's go!"

Ji-hye doesn't even have to turn around to see who it was. She knows that voice by heart.

Hayoung gives her an apologetic look before mouthing a "See you" and leaving to meet Youngmin.

"I doubt it would hurt as much as this does," she says to herself while clutching her chest.

As her classmates leave for home one by one, Ji-hye sits by the pool alone after their practical exam. She fared well, but this does not make her a bit happy. She sighs as she dips her legs in the water and sways them.

"Aren't you taking a shower yet?" Hayoung, who is among the last to leave, asks her.

Ji-hye shakes her head without looking at the other girl. She can't even bear to look at her own step-sister without feeling lonely.

She decides to stay for a while because it isn't until six in the evening that the indoor pool facilities close. She looks around and sees she's finally alone. She closes her eyes.

All this time, Ji-hye has been fine being by herself. Until Youngmin came and teared through all the high walls she built...

Only to leave her behind without any guard at all.

She sighs before deciding to take a dive, hoping that the water will somehow drown her sad thoughts and feelings away.

An hour later, she decides to finally take a shower. She removes her cap and goggles as she makes her way to the locker room to get her bag.

She opens her designated locker, only to find it empty. Thinking she got the wrong one, she checks the number painted on the door and sees that it is definitely hers.

So where did all her stuff go?

In a panic, she checks all the lockers hoping to see her bag inside any of them. She does this twice before she slumps to the cold, tiled floor in defeat.

She breathes deeply as if to calm herself down.

"Who would have stolen my gym bag when all it has inside is my school uniform?"

Suddenly, she shoots up. She realizes that her school bag is inside her locker and that her phone is inside that bag. She can contact someone to bring her some clothes!

She makes a run for the pool's entrance only to stop midway.

Her keys!

She placed her keys inside her skirt's pocket!

"Fuck!" She suddenly feels all helpless again.

Feeling cold all over but not minding it at all, Ji-hye paces back and forth, thinking of other ways she can go home.

She could probably wait for a little more until the staff comes to close the facilities? Maybe she can ask them for even just a jacket to cover herself up?

Or she could just wait until it's totally dark outside so no one sees that she's only wearing her rashguard and swim shorts?

She slaps her cheek right away after thinking of such a dumb idea. How can she even think of walking the streets wearing only her swimwear? What the fuck has gotten into her?

"Why is this happening to me?" She tries her best not to cry as she makes her way to the pool's entrance, thinking that it's best to stay there so that someone can maybe see her.

She pushes the tinted glass door and steps outside only to be welcomed by a harsh downpour. Of course, it also has to be raining at this moment, as if she wasn't cold enough already.

Losing all hope, she plops herself down one of the concrete steps and hugs her knees closely before burying her face in them. She can't do anything but sigh at the situation. Why does nothing ever go her way? She chokes back her tears.

But all of a sudden, she feels so much warmer as a piece of fabric touches her shivering back.

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Who?

The storm is brewing :c