𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲

chapter 1

A/N: Welcome! I'm really excited to share this story with you all because it's something I've been working really hard on for a while, so I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think of it :)
This is a more of a prologue? I guess, and just a little note that anything in italics is either a flashback or a thought. Now, let's get started!! <3

WARNING: Bullying
Also, as mentioned in the description, there will be a recurring mention of a long-term illness (leukaemia) throughout this story, so please keep that in mind.

"Mum, I can get the last few. Don't worry!" you call out to your mother once you place another box in the hallway of your new home, not wanting her to do any heavy lifting. You help her get inside and sit her down on the sofa in the living room, before making your way back outside to get the last few boxes.

You bow politely to the man who had driven the two of you to your new place in the moving truck, thanking him one more time before taking the rest of your things inside.

You immediately start taking your mother's boxes to her room. The man who had driven the truck had been kind enough to help you get the heavier pieces of furniture into the apartment, so almost everything had already been set up - all you have to do now is get the smaller boxes into your bedrooms.

"You can rest, it's fine," you tell your mother as you help her into bed right after putting the covers on for her - sorting her bed out had been your first task after bringing your things upstairs, because you knew the move must've really tired her out.

You make sure she's comfortable and immediately get to work, unpacking and organising all of her things before heading back to the hallway and getting your own boxes to do the same. You bring the final box into your room and set it down on the desk, sitting down at the edge of your bed with a tired sigh.

You look around at your empty room, staring at each of the crisp white walls and empty shelves.
Maybe things will be different this time, you think to yourself. You have a clean slate now, a chance to start fresh.

You whimper at the pain that shoots up your back as you're harshly shoved backwards, feeling your back hit the lockers behind you. You slide down the wall and fall to the ground, having lost the feeling in your legs, clenching your fists when you hear camera shutters and laughter throughout the hallway.

Looking up from where you are on the floor, you notice a crowd beginning to form and feel your body start to tremble as humiliation boils up inside you. They're all recording and watching your misery in amusement.

You're looking down at the ground in defeat, your arms and legs bright red and stinging from the scorching hot coffee that had been poured on you just minutes before. From your peripheral vision you see a person make their way towards you slowly, panic rising in your body when they stop directly in front of you, before leaning down until they're crouching to your level. You know who it is, but you don't look up.

"Why?" you whisper, your words only audible to him since he's right in front to you, "Why do you hate me? Why do you bully me so much?" you ask. You just stare at the name tag on his blazer while you wait for a response. The name Lee Hyunwoo is all you can see in your line of vision, as if mocking you.

He doesn't speak for a few moments, instead just reaching a hand out towards you. He places a finger under your chin and roughly pulls it up so you're looking at him, your eyes finally meeting his. Hyunwoo's eyes search your face for a few moments, before he finally speaks.
"Because," he looks back into your eyes and his expression suddenly morphs into a smirk, "it's fun."

You spent pretty much your entire high school life being bullied. At first it started small; people making little jokes about you, name calling here and there. But over time it became much, much worse.

You would often go home with food in your hair and clothes, bruises on your skin, or rips in your uniform. You eventually had to learn how to sew, just so you could fix all of your clothes whenever they got ripped without your mother knowing. You tried your best to hide your injuries or clean yourself up before going straight to the hospital each day to visit your sick mother, not wanting her to worry about you.

You're an only child, you never really had any friends, and your father died when you were very young. The only person you have is your mother, and it's just been the two of you for as long as you can remember. She loves you very dearly, as do you.

What hurt the most was that you never fully knew why you were bullied. You were kind to people, you offered help to your classmates in lessons when they looked like they were struggling, you opened doors for others, and you said good morning to your peers every day without fail. You always tried your hardest to be the best person you could possibly be towards others, but all you got in return were insults and hits thrown at you.

All you know is that the second you joined, you had somehow managed to get on the bad side of the popular kids at your school, and so started the never ending misery which happened to be your school life - things had only gone downhill from there.

Your mother was diagnosed with leukaemia a few years ago, just when you were about to start high school, and had constantly been in and out of hospital since then. You spent most of your time either at school or at the hospital with her, only going back home briefly each day - either to shower or to bring her some home-cooked food.

Sleeping beside her bed or on the sofa in her hospital room became the norm for you, and it also became your study space. Luckily, you were somehow still able to keep your grades high despite everything you were going through, having been one of the top students in your year group for most of your school life.

Since then your mother has gotten much better, and has been in remission for a little under eight months now. She's out of the hospital too, still on bedrest most of the time, but at least she's in the comfort of her own home.

Her body is still quite weak, some of the long-term effects of her health issues being that she gets fatigued easily and has headaches quite often. You always do your best to take care of your mother as much as you can.

You never told your mother what was going on at school, especially because your classmates used to bully you for not having a father and for having a mother who was sick. You and your mother had always been really close, almost like best friends, and you always told her everything. But not this. You didn't want her to feel guilty for being unwell, it wasn't her fault.

It wasn't until you had gone home one day - with visible bruises on your face and arms, your hair all over the place from having it tugged, and coffee split all over your clothes - that you finally mustered up the courage to tell her that you were being bullied. You couldn't take it anymore, and just cried to her as you explained everything you had gone through for the past few years.

She immediately just up and left with you as soon as you told her, moving to a different town and transferring you to a new school without any hesitation, so that you could start fresh - you will always be grateful towards her for that.

You shake your head when you realise how much your mind is drifting, trying to clear your head of all the negative thoughts and memories that are rushing to the surface.
"No," you take in a shaky breath, "this move will be good for me," you tell yourself, before getting up and starting to unpack your things.

You order some delivery food for yourself and your mother once you're done organising your room, and after eating you decide to head out for a bit. You need to buy some groceries since your kitchen is completely empty - you figured it would also be a good opportunity to explore the neighbourhood a little more, and also to greet your new neighbours.

You knew that the apartment you were moving into was on the bottom floor and that there was another apartment above your own, so you decided to buy some treats on the drive to your new home to give yourself a chance to introduce yourself.

You initially intended to do so the day after moving in, but the two of you had settled in much earlier than expected - it was still afternoon by this point - so you decide to use the opportunity to let your mother rest for a while and also explore your new home a little. After telling her where you're going, you head out to greet your new neighbours with a box of cakes in your hand.