Pandora's Box | kim mingyu & jeon wonwoo

13

"You had no business saying those things to her, much less humiliating her in front of everyone at school," he scoffed, "sometimes I have a hard time believing you even did such a thing." He shook his head, the disappointment practically oozing off of him. "I have a hard time figuring out why,'" he mumbled, and that last bit seemed to be more for his ears than my own.

I shrugged. "I don't know either," I replied, but the words felt heavy on my tongue, and I was startled to find that it had been a lie. It seemed that I did know, after all.

But before I could dwell on it for too long, Wonwoo was quick to take that as enough of an answer, and suddenly, he stood up. He waved me goodbye and mumbled a goodnight. There seemed to be a lot more on his mind that he was letting on, but honestly, I had so much on my plate, that I didn't have the energy to take Wonwoo's problems on.

Instead, I took my time and got up on my own, and made my home.

The first thing I did once I got to school was head to Nayoung's classroom. I tried asking for her through her classmates instead of coming straight at her, but I found out she hadn't come to school that day. That felt completely out of character for her, and I just knew Nayoung would come to school just to prove that what I had done to her had caused no damage. That's just who she was.t.

It was odd. Back when we had been on good terms, and everything had a hold of their secrets, I didn't like her. Now that we weren't on good terms and I had practically humiliated her in front of everyone at school, it wasn't accurate to say that I disliked her. In truth, not only did I pity her, but I also felt that she generally just wasn't that bad.

She did not deserve what I had done.

Still, to avoid scaring her and her classmates away, I simply nodded at what they said and turned away. Mentally, I apologized to Wonwoo for not being able to clear the air as soon as possible. Mentally, I figured I should apologize to Nayoung as well. And as I turned and made my way to my classroom, all I could do was hope for the best.

"Mingyu! Yah! Mingyu!" Immediately, I turned around to face the gruff voice that had been calling for me and was stunned to find that I was being called over by the gym teacher. I made my way towards him, crossing my fingers that it'd be quick. I was just trying to go home. "You're nice and tall," he said, and then lightly slapped my right arm. "Do me a favor and collect some of the footballs that are littering the field. And when you're done, store them away in the equipment closet. I was going to do it earlier, but I'm swamped with meetings. Once you're done let me know and I got a gift card for you in my office." And with that, my teacher pushed me aside and kept walking. 

I stood there for a second, in shock at what had just occurred. Seokmin and Myungho had long been on their way home, and they probably were far away from the school. I had been delayed because I had searched for Nayoung, but she was nowhere to be found. And if this had been a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn't have hesitated to ask Wonwoo for some help, but after the recent events, I didn't feel comfortable with asking him for anything right now.

Although I far from relished it, I knew that I had to do what had been asked me. Defeated, I turned around and began to make my way to the outside football field, while I passed a bunch of other people making their way home. With every step that I took, my frustration continued to build.

It was a shitty week, all things considered.

I had made it to the outside, and the shack was already approaching. I was a little confused, as I could see no one on the field, but the closer I kept getting, the louder a set of voices were getting. At first, I was set on ignoring it. I ran around the field, picking up sweaty gym jerseys I could only hope the teacher washed eventually. Admittedly, I doubted it. Still, I powered through and tried my best to finish as soon as possible. I figured my uncle wouldn't be too upset if I was a couple of minutes late. It came out of my paycheck, anyway.

By the time I finished, the sun was already starting to set. The sight alone was enough to enrage me. I tried hard to swallow it, and recognize that it just wasn't that deep. I was making my way to the shack carrying a sack on my back filled with gross jerseys and a couple of soccer balls.

I didn't bother putting everything in its designated place (that wasn't part of the job description) and simply set the sack on the floor. As I turned around to close the door and lock up, I began to hear voices. Curious, I walked towards the noise and was surprised to find a group of girls surrounding someone behind the shack.

I strained my neck to try to get a good look, and when I finally did, I immediately stepped back. I pressed my back to the storage building, the cold brick sending chills down my spine and creating goosebumps along my arms. In turn, I almost let out an audible gasp, but before I could I made sure to keep my lips shut tight. I didn't want to find out what would happen if the girls found out I was here.

"You think you're hot shit now, huh?" One of the many girls spat at Nayoung. From the way Nayoung slightly gasped afterward, I presumed that the other girl had gone as far as to shove Nayoung, even if it had only been a little bit.

"Is that why you never bothered to be our friends? No matter how hard we tried? Because you were too busy offering yourself to Mingyu and Wonwoo?" The girls were mocking her, disgustingly so. I wondered if Nayoung truly had been so cold to her peers, and even if she had, did she deserve this? I supposed that with the gossip surrounding her and me, and her and Wonwoo, naturally she would become an enemy of insecure girls. I felt bad about that, as it was something I had failed to consider when I had confronted her.

They continued to attack her. The girls took their turns airing their grievances with Nayoung, the most common reason being that she was cold, rude, a "bitch" and a dozen of other harsh things. Truthfully, it wasn't hard to imagine. The few glimpses I caught of how she acted with the one friend she did have, Nayoung was always degrading her and calling her names. She was polite to me, sure, but that's because she was using me. Nayoung hated the countryside, and she was not afraid of taking it out on her peers. I had figured that it was just Nayoung's nature, and that was their bond. I didn't think much of it. A lot of boys got along like that, even if I wasn't specifically fond of it. 

With the way Nayoung talked to me alone, I knew that she decided when she wanted to be pleasant. To an extent, I always blamed it on her change of environment, and how unsatisfied she was by it. I had not realized it was how she was treating the whole world, and especially those who didn't particularly deserve it.

As the confrontation continued, I figured I had no place listening in. I decided to walk away because really, there was no need for me to be there. Had the girls continued harping on her because of me, I would have considered stepping in.

It was not my situation. On top of that, I didn't think she would appreciate it if I had stepped in to rescue her as if she were some sort of damsel in distress. If I knew her at all, after all the time we had forcefully spent together, she would not. So with a clean conscience and a clear mind, I let myself walk away.

Finally, I head home.