My Beautiful Love

Love Shot

Aera's POV

I hung up the phone on Baekhyun and fell onto my bed facing up. I stared into the ceiling as I wondered why I lied to him about everything. When he asked, "Are you okay?" I wanted to say no. When he said, "You sound sick," I wanted to tell him that I was from being poured ice-cold water on. When he asked why I didn't pick up the phone earlier, I wanted to say that I was held back to get beaten up again and when he asked if someone had beaten me up, I wanted to say so badly, "Yes, your "girlfriend" did". Yet; I lied. Every single word that came out of my mouth crumbled my heart little by little. The fact that I couldn't find comfort in my best friend and the closest person to me now makes me feel like we've unintentionally grown apart. I wanted to hug him at school today and tell him everything that Se Na did to me. I wanted him to embrace me and tell me that he would protect me again. But, I couldn't bring myself to. Why? Because I love him too much, to be the cause of failure for his plan to take revenge against Se Na.

It was the third day of the week, the third day of Se Na's torment. I wanted to tell my teacher about her and her friends but, she threatened to tell everyone that I was an orphan. I don't know how but she managed to find out about my sisters' deaths and that my parents left us. I didn't really care about people knowing that I was an orphan. I cared about people belittling my sisters for being irresponsible by leaving me, which was exactly what Se Na said. If Se Na could say such a thing, imagine what her followers would say? They would add on and even spread rumours about them. They would never leave the dead alone because all they would want to do, is watch my loved ones and I suffer.

I entered the classroom even more bruised than yesterday. I glanced towards Baekhyun's direction and saw that he had a worried expression on his face after looking at me. I wasn't surprised. He saw me all bruised yesterday but today was worse. My lips had dry blood while my arms were full of nail prints. I went to my seat and heard people gossiping about me once again. I couldn't care less. I took out my textbook for Biology and started reading before the teacher arrived.

The bell rang, indicating that it was recess. I waited till everyone left the classroom before heading to the washroom. As I made my way there, I heard voices from an empty classroom. The door was slightly ajar so I quietly peeked through the gap. To my horror, a girl was being pushed and pulled by the hair by a few other girls. She was begging them to let her go and was apologising for not doing their homework. "Do you really think a "sorry" is enough?" I heard a voice which I never expected to hear again. I couldn't believe that Se Na was bullying others to do her bidding. I thought she was only mean to me. I heard the girl apologise again, adding that she really had a family issue and couldn't complete any of the bullies' homework. However, Se Na was heartless. Merciless even. She began slapping the girl and the others joined in. That was the last straw. I pushed open the door and ran into the scene. I pushed all of those cruel jerks away and bent down to the girl's level to ask if she was alright. I could see that she was shocked but I just hugged her and said, "It's okay, I'm here now. You don't have to be afraid of these idiots."

"What did you just call us? Wow, Cho Aera. Has beating you not been enough? Should we embarrass you in front of the whole school too? You should mind your own business instead of trying to stand up for others." I turned to face Se Na and spit out, "Do whatever you want. I won't let anyone else be a victim of your stupid doings. I'm reporting you to the teacher." With that, I grabbed the girl's hand and ran out of the classroom. Once we reached a place where we knew we were safe, I let go of her and asked if she was okay. She nodded and thanked me. She also mentioned about how nobody had ever stood up to those assholes before. I chuckled. I didn't care if nobody stood up for me. But if someone was in danger in front of my eyes, I would stand up for them no matter what. I was reminded of the time Baekhyun saved me from a perpetrator. I guess he was the one who taught me that lesson. To never ignore anyone vulnerable.