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― four.
"dohyun, you coming?" the boy glanced behind him, realising that it was his classmate calling for him. he turned back to inha apologetically, but the girl was quick to wave him off, ushering him to hurry before he was late.
"i'm sorry, inha, i'll make it up to you, i promise!" he called out as he jogged over to his classmates. inha sighed, wishing that her and dohyun were in the same year, it was difficult being friends with an upperclassmen, especially since dohyun's final exams were coming up. brushing the thought off, she turned around, surprised to find a familiar figure stood behind her.
"mr kim―"
"yeong inha, my office, now." he ordered, turning around expectantly. "your parents are here to discuss your attendance." inha visibly gulped, her eyes widening as she stared after her teacher who was walking towards the teacher's staff room.
"wait, my parents?" she questioned, following after him. "both of them?" she quietly added in disbelief as they approached his office. mr kim remained silent as he motioned for her to enter the room first. stepping inside, inha felt like the temperature had suddenly dropped, her eyes coming into contact with her father's figure, both her parents' backs turned to her.
"thank you both for coming down despite your busy schedules." mr kim's fake smile seemed to be bought by her parents as they accepted the cups of coffees he offered. with shaky legs, inha carefully walked over, it felt like she was walking on glass shards as each step pained her the closer she got. her mother turned her head, glancing over at her daughter causing inha to flinch, the icy stare making her heart drop into her stomach.
"i wanted to discuss with you inha's attendance," mr kim began, the two parents remaining silent as they turned their attention back to the teacher. inha nervously picked the skin around her nails, trying to inflict a pain strong enough to distract herself from her current situation. she couldn't believe this was happening. shouldn't there be at least some sort of warning before something like this happens?
"yes, actually, we were surprised to hear about that." her father spoke up, taking inha by surprise. "we don't understand how it could be happening since we have her driver drop her off and pick her up." that's because the mornings are spent trying to keep you happy. she thought to herself, clenching her fists. she couldn't believe the innocent act her father was putting on.
"really? but it's happening so frequently," mr kim pointed out. "at least two or three times a week, she's our top student so that's why i wanted to get to the bottom of it instead of punishing her, inha has so much potential." mr kim gloated as if inha was his own daughter. little did he know that this was the worst punishment he could give the girl.
"really?" her father chuckled. "well, inha does have a way with men, don't you sweetheart?" inha's eyes widened as her father grabbed hold of her hand, feigning affection which made her sick to her stomach.
"sorry?" mr kim questioned with furrowed eyebrows.
"ah," her father released her hand, leaning forward with a smile. "inside joke." he explained, grabbing the cup of coffee before taking a sip of the warm beverage.
"right, well," mr kim hesitantly continued, starting to feel discomfort in the room. "i'll let inha off with a warning, but i'd appreciate it as her parents if you could discipline her." her father sent mr kim a bright smile, the words making him giddy with excitement. that was his favourite.
"don't worry, i'll make sure to discipline her very well." he assured, his words taking mr kim by surprise. he could sense that something was wrong, but he kept silent, knowing that mr yeong had provided so much for the school and it's fundings, it would be easy to lose his job if he lost mr yeong as one of their sources of income.
"really, then i'll leave it at that." mr kim laughed. "thank you both for coming in despite such a busy time," mr kim stood up, holding out his hand. "the elections are coming up, right?"
inha's father stared at the hand, knowing that his words had another meaning. if you want these teachers to vote, then you better keep the money flowing. that was how mr yeong took his words. however, with a fake smile, he shook mr kim's hand. "not long left, i'm counting on you all." mr yeong reminded, patting his arm. "then, i'll be on my way," he released his hand, turning to his wife to stand up too. "inha, we'll see you at home." inha flinched as her father ruffled her hair, the parents making their way out of the office.
"you're free to return to class." mr kim brought inha out of her thoughts, motioning for her to leave.
"ah." inha finally snapped out of her daze, nodding her head as she bowed before leaving the office. she didn't get far down the hallway before her legs finally gave way, sliding down to the floor as tears ran down her cheeks, holding a hand to her mouth as she held in her sobs, knowing that it would echo loudly in the empty hallways.
she finally realised, there was no getting out of this. there was no getting anyone's help. she was stuck. there was no one to save her now.
little did she know, someone had witnessed her quiet breakdown.
