Snow Flower (TAEUN)

Forgotten Nightmare

Naeun found herself at sixteen years of age again.

"Naeun-ah," a familiar voice called behind her. 

Her heart leaped as a smile formed on her rosy lips, "Oppa!" and ran towards him. His wide warm arms caught her as he spun her around.

"Miss me, Kitten?" he purred.

She nodded her head, "Very much," before giving her Oppa a peck on the lips. Naeun and L had been dating over the last six months, in secret. With the school's strict rules regarding relationship and PDA, it was difficult for her to spend time with him. L was pretty infamous at school too, so keeping their relationship at low profile from their family and friends was challenging as well. 

They normally arrive to school much earlier than most students to spend some quality time together cuddling and kissing before going their separate ways as they were in different classes,  Naeun didn't dare to go out on dates after school or during the weekends, afraid that her mother might find out, or if someone from their school spotted them. So, her secret boyfriend came up with the idea of meeting each other every morning before the assembly started.

Many would never believe that the most introverted girl was secretly dating the school's hottest, baddest, most playful boy. Everybody saw him as a bully but not Naeun. She saw beyond that. To her, Myungsoo was also a fun and supportive boyfriend. He understood her when no one could, was there for her when her mother couldn't. He filled the hole in her heart that her father left. Sure, she had Eunji, but even she could never fully comprehend the pain of having a parent abandoning their child. Myungsoo did, and he'd been her cheerleader and comforter.

Naeun was in the midst of her fall semester when her class had received a transfer student from a school in Busan. Being the class leader, it was her duty to show him around the school. To her surprise, she and the new kid got along very well.

A little too well in Myungsoo's eyes.

For the first time in his life, he felt jealous and protective of Naeun. These feelings were harmless as flies at first. Naeun even found it loveable, which was how he got his nickname, L. As strange and lame as the nickname was, Myungsoo wore that title with pride, telling his friends to address him as L. He didn't tell them why, of course, but they didn't question him either unless they wanted a knockout from him. 

Then the unthinkable happened: Naeun's first secret admirer, but L knew right away who it was from. He tore the letter before Naeun could read it.

"Myungsoo!" she scolded him. Her anger had surprised him before angering him.

"What? You're not supposed to be reading anyone else's love letters or gifts other than mine."

Naeun calmed herself down before replying to L, "It's called basic courtesy, Oppa." She spotted a small box of Ferrero Rocher and a little teddy bear holding a heart. Again, L grabbed them before she could.

"Oppa! Give them back!"

"No!" he yelled. It was the first time L had raised his voice at Naeun. He walked to the nearest trash bin and dumped them in there.

"Oppa!" She tried to dig her hand in the trash bin, but L stopped her, pulling her wrist  out of the it. She winced from the pain in her wrist.

"Oppa, stop, you're hurting me," she said.

"Not until you promise me you won't dig your arms in to find them."

Naeun lost her patience. She tried pulling her wrist back, but L's grip was too firm. The hallway where they stood was empty, so no one was around to bear witness.