Owning You - A Na Jaemin Fanfic

2. Rage

I sit at my desk, and stare at the new girl standing in front of the classroom.

Miss Han nods kindly at her. "Go ahead, Juda. Introduce yourself."

The girl bites out angrily, "My name is Eun Juda. I am a transfer student from Busan. Thank you for your hospitality." She bows, and stomps away to her seat. Sniggers and guffaws follow her. The school clerk appears at the door. A parent wants to see Miss Han. "I'll be a while," she says. "Do your homework."

Juda has a defiant expression on her face. She scowls at her desk. She is fascinating. I have never seen anyone like her before. The air crackles with tension around her. Me against the world, her eyes flash. The girls are laughing at her, at her hair, her socks, even the length of her skirt. "Is she wearing her mother's skirt?" "No. It's her grandmother's." They burst into a fit of giggles. I smile. She whips up her head, and catches me smiling. Her face fills with rage. It has gone an alarming shade of red. She hates me. Hey, I want to say. Hate those b*tches behind you. I didn't say anything. All I did was smile. But she continues to glare at me so savagely it makes me tired. I look away. Her rage is exhausting. Her face is so brittle with resentment it looks as if it is about to crack. She slams her book savagely. Thump. Thump. Thump. God, I am tired of her. Just shut up, already. Wham. Slam. Bham. Thump. She's tossing things around angrily. She doesn't say a word. Her back is bristling with outrage. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're angry. We got it. She jabs angrily at her exercise book. Her pen slides down. She bends to pick it up, and Heejin kicks it away nonchalantly as she strolls past. "Stop that." Her voice is a low growl. Heejin spins gracefully on her heels. "Did you say something?"

"Yeah," Angry Girl spits.

"Give me back my pen."

"You get it yourself."

"You kicked it. Give me back my pen. Pick it up. Give it to me." She is snarling now, her fists bunched up. Good God, is she going to punch Heejin?

"No. I'm not picking up your damn pen, Charity Girl."

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. Charity Girl."

WHAM!

Heejin's howling, clutching her nose.

Juda just punched her in the face. All hell breaks loose. The girls are surrounding Juda, pulling her hair, slapping her. Everyone else is just standing around, watching in horrified amazement. Me? I'm frozen to my seat. I am terrified. I have never seen such brutality in my life. On TV, yes. But not like this. The howls of pain, the grunts, the vicious slapping of flesh upon flesh. They're pulling at her hair, and she is fighting back, biting back. Biting? Good grief. The door swings open, and some guy runs in. Na Jaemin. Na Jaemin? Yes, it is. In the flesh! He jumps smoothly into the fray, and pushes all the girls away. Four girls? Five. Oh, my goodness. Juda is a mess. She looks like a train ran over her. Twice. Jaemin is yelling. His face is flushed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Five against one? You're a bunch of pathetic bullies, you cows." Whoa. Savage. The girls look ashamed. Not because they beat her up. No, not because of that. It's because he caught them beating her up. He has an arm around her shoulder protectively. She leans into him, sniffling with tears. Before, she was angry. Now, she is just miserable. Lonely. A hapless victim. All that brash toughness has eroded, leaving an aching softness behind. And all because a handsome boy fought off her bullies, and shielded her with his body. He is her paladin. Her shirt is half-pulled out of her waistband, and I can see a bit of her skin. She is really skinny. The hem of her skirt has come undone, and a thin wisp of thread is dangling off one end. There is spit on her hair. Gross.