Remember me?

Part 5

Two months have passed.
If this were an unrealistically ideal fairy tale, I would already be skinny & pretty. Yeonhee would already get what she deserves & Jimin would already be knocking on my door begging me to date him.
Buutttt.. this is not such story. Real life is harsh, you don't always get the happy ending you thought you'd have.
I've done a lot of interviews but I haven't heard back from most of them. The ones who've called or written back didn't bring any good news.
Today is probably the worst. It's barely 12 pm, yet I've already gotten two rejection emails.
"Huhhh..." I exhale deeply as I get up from my bed.
I stomp heavily to the kitchen & open the fridge.
"Eommaaa, where is the leftover kimchi jjigae from last night? I'm starving." I ask my mom who's washing the dishes as I rummage through the fridge.
"It's finished." My mom replies coldly.
"How can that be? You cooked so much of it for dinner last night." I whine.
"I threw it away, dwaesso?! Can you stop thinking about food all the time & go find a job? You've been lounging around the house & doing nothing. Look at you! You've even gotten a lot fatter than before!" She angrily throws the plate she's washing into the sink & glares at me.
"I- I also want to get a job! But what can I do? The job market is very slow these days!" I yell back.
"Chaeyoung found you a very nice job, but you messed up! I heard about what happened from her mom. Jeez, Hayoon ah, how can you be so useless?! You're such an embarrassment!" Her words stab at my open wound.
"Fine! I'll leave then, if that's what you want!" I hold back the tears that are about to fall & run back to my room to get my phone. Then, I storm out of the front door & dash out of the house. My mom doesn't even stop me.
I wander aimlessly around the neighborhood. Tears stream down my sweaty round face.
Am I really that worthless? Even my mom thinks that I'm such a nuisance.
I don't have anyone to turn to. My 'friends' from high school have left me a long time ago & I haven't gained any new ones due to lack of confidence.
"Oops, sorry." I mutter as I accidentally bump into someone.
"Watch where you're going fatty." The guy clicks his tongue in annoyance & brushes the spot which my shoulder touches.
"S-sorry." I bow at him apologetically, even though his mean remark adds salt to my bleeding heart.
I continue walking & without realizing, my feet bring me to the busy part of the town.
Jeez, how did I get here? I suddenly feel self-conscious of my oily 3-days-haven't-been-washed hair, bare face, & worn-out baggy outfit.
Feeling tired, I sit down at one of the benches on the sidewalk to check my phone. Not even a single missed call.
Even my own parent doesn't care about me anymore.
I sigh & slam my head down onto my knees, sobbing & pitying myself. I must look like a mess to the people passing by, but I don't give a fuck anymore.
A sudden loud cry makes me raise my head & turn towards the source of the noise. A bunch of people are screaming & swarming in front of a tall building. Out of curiosity, I wipe away my tears & walk towards the crowd. They're all holding boards of some sort & cameras.
Then, I see the reason behind their hysteria. It's them. BTS. The band that Jimin is in.
I catch a glimpse of heads rushing towards the black vans by the sidewalk, but that's it. The crowd is too big for me to see anything.
I walk away & am a few meters away from the crowd when suddenly someone bump hard into me from behind making me stumble forward onto the ground.
"Ya! What are you do-" I turn around furiously to scold the person, but my tongue stops mid sentence.
It's that guy from the same group as Jimin. His mask covers half of his face, but I'm sure it's him.
Jung- something. Jungki? Yeah that sounds right.
"I'm so sorry." He gasps in surprise. He then looks behind him, a mob is stampeding towards our direction.
"W-what's going on?" I ask.
"No time to explain. Let's go!" He grabs my hand & pulls me to run along with him.
"W-wait!" I try to stop him but he just keeps running.
After what feels like endless marathon, my legs can't take it anymore. I stop abruptly & fall into a squat.
"S.. St..op.. I can't.. I can't run.. anymore." I mutter in between heavy breaths.
"Are they gone yet?" He pulls down his mask & stretches his neck to look far behind us. To his & my relief, nobody is chasing us now. We're basically alone in this quiet park.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." He immediately releases my hand once he realizes that he's been holding onto it all this time.
He's so handsome with his perfectly chiseled jaws, big round eyes, & kissable lips, but I'm too exhausted to care, so I just fall backwards & lie down on the grass.
"Ya, what are you doing? It's dirty." He looks flustered by my strange action.
"I'm tired. Do you know how hard it is for a person my size to run that fast & that far? I haven't washed my hair in 3 days anyway." I exhale deeply & close my eyes, feeling the cold breeze blowing on my sweat-slicked skin.
"Ieww gross. Ya, get up. What if someone runs you over with a bike or something? I don't want to be blamed for your injuries." He kneels down beside me & tries to pull me up, but I don't budge.
"Don't worry about me. My body will probably do more damage to the bike if any ever runs over me. And stop the 'Ya', I'm most probably older than you." I shoot him an annoyed glance & my response kinda surprises him.
"Do you know who I am?" He opens his eyes wide in astonishment.
"I don't live under a rock. Of course, I know who you are. You're a member of BTS right? Jungki?" I say matter-of-factly.
He stared at me in silence for a moment, then bursts out into a loud laugh.
"Jungki? Hahaha! You're obviously not an army."
"A what? Army? Of course I'm not. My body is bigger than a tank. It would be too easy to target me if I were to join the army."
"No no. Not that army. We call our fans army. You're seriously funny." He says as he continues chuckling.
"Well, thanks. But being funny can't get me anywhere. Good humor is not what the employers look for these days." Feeling rested, I stand up & brush away the grass from my back.
"What do you mean?" He looks at me in confusion.
"Nevermind. Anw, no one's chasing you now. You should go before they find out that you're here. I need to get going too. Nice to meet you, bye." I wave at him & turn towards the opposite direction.
"Wait! What's your name?" He calls out.
"Hyekyo. Song Hyekyo." I lie with a deadpan expression.
"You're shitting me. Like the actress Song Hyekyo?"
"Yeap. Bye Jungki. Good luck finding your way back." I turn around & walk away.
Actually, he's really cute. Pffttt, what's the use? I won't see him ever again. Huhhh.. Now I have to go home & face eomma's lecture.