Dull [Book III]

Unfair

Monday was a dreadful morning. It always had been, but it was extra dreadful for Soojung.

She found everything hard to do with only one hand useful and the cast was starting to burden her. Even more so, the fact that she was alone inside her apartment made it difficult for her to cope, especially with the morning shower and wearing her uniform.

Soojung had to remove the sling and wear her blouse and cardigan over the cast and bandages, only to put it back again after everything. With so much work, she was pissed off early in the morning and decided to just ditch breakfast so she could go to school already.

If preparing to go out was a pain in the neck, riding a bus to school was worse. She waited for more than twenty minutes for one that wasn't filled to the doors, and had to endure the struggle of being an injured person inside a packed vehicle. Everyone kept bumping against her shoulder and she kept cursing under her breath, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it.

The whole ride to school reminded her why she started driving. Soojung missed her beloved motorbike.

Of course, the bus didn't drop her off right in front of the school. The stop was about five minutes away from the gates and Soojung was cussing endlessly until she was inside. She never lost her intimidating aura. Even with one part of her body temporarily dysfunctional, she could still give a good strike to anyone who messes with her shit.

Perhaps it was really just the aura, but Soojung felt like she was being watched as soon as she stepped foot on her assigned floor. Lifting her head up, her eyes met a few girls here and there, whispering among themselves while glancing at her.

Soojung was actually used to it, hearing gossip about her from the Uppers because she didn't belong there... or so they thought. She ignored the sound and went straight to her homeroom, disappointed to not find the very person she was subconsciously rooting for.

"How's the shoulder?" Minah asked the moment Soojung sat down on her spot. She smiled a little and shrugged.

"If nothing fails, the cast can be removed on Friday. I'll be going back to the hospital so they can take a look at it."

Minah nodded with a teasing grin. "That was a pretty high fall. I thought you were going to break your neck."

"You'd want that, don't you?" Soojung scoffed and shook her head, but Minah remained smiling as she turned to her.

"Not really, no." Minah answered. "I mean, you're an asshole and all... but I guess we both are."

"Are you trying to be friends with me?" Soojung raised an eyebrow and laughed after, trying to read the meaning behind Minah's mean smirks. She was right though, and Soojung appreciated how Minah was dropping subtle hints on how they could be friends instead of just class seatmates. After all, she was one of the very few who never judged her for being inside the second section's homeroom.

"In your dreams." Minah uttered.

It was only a few minutes later until Teacher Yijae arrived and Soojung turned around to see the back. There was still no Lay and for some reason, she started to get worried.

When the eleven o'clock bell rang, Soojung stood up and hurriedly walked out the homeroom to meet her friends. She caught them on the way to the cafeteria and tapped Hyorim on the shoulder a little, smiling when she turned around and eyed her cast.

The girls still had a few scratches but they were already healed and so was Seunghyun's wound on the head, making it all the more miserable for her who had to wear the cast for a whole week.

They entered the double doors and walked to their usual spot, and only then did Soojung notice that Jiyong wasn't with them. The worry she was feeling earlier became worse and she asked everyone where he might be, but the only answer she ever got was that he probably wouldn't come to school today.