Areum POV
Knock, knock.
I waited outside a door with a gift in my hands. About a minute after waiting, the door opened and I saw Jeongin in the doorway. He cocked his head when he saw me. Then, he realized what today was. He let me in and told me that his hyung was still asleep. Nodding, I put the gift on the dining table, telling him that I would be leaving. With a frown, he asked why I had to go and why I could not wait for Woojin to wake up. Shrugging, I explained that I needed to go home to see my cousins. Understandingly, he nodded and let me leave. But not before he gave me a surprise hug.
Once I got back to my apartment building, I ran up the stairs to my floor. Nine flights of stairs... what torture. Heading down the hallway, I noticed the neighbours that I had often seen at night, never during the day. There were two of them. They watched as I slowed my steps once I saw who they were. One of them looked me up and down then went back to putting in the pin for his house. He opened his door and walked inside, while the other stood outside watching me. I got to my door. Apartment 903. Pressing the buttons on my door, I glanced out the corner of my eye to see my neighbour watching.
"You aren't going to say hi?"
"Hi," I stated with a weak smile. As I did, I opened the door and walked in, not looking at them.
I did not mean to be rude. However, from what I heard from Jihoon, I did not really want to interact. Unfortunately, I actually knew who were my neighbours. It had been about a month since I moved in but I never got to see them. Little did I know, I was actually seeing them almost every day. As I went to my room to change into shorts and an oversized sweater, I got a few texts.
Seo Changbin
Hey, what was that about?
Kang Areum
Nothing.
Seo Changbin
Mad at me? Or Minho?
Kang Areum
No.
Seo Changbin
Don't give me those one-word answers.
That's how I know something's wrong.
Kang Areum
Nothing is wrong.
I put down my phone and sighed. My mind went back to the day that Jihoon had helped me get my luggage to my apartment. He had looked at apartment 905 and I had questioned him. He never told me why, until just a few days ago.
"They used to bully me." He had said. "They stopped after they joined a good group of people, but they used to."
After a few minutes of sitting on my bed and thinking of how I was supposed to face my neighbours, I decided that I could get some fresh air instead. Out on my balcony. The usual routine, open the curtain, then the sliding door, and then the net to get out of the balcony. Step out, use the sandals that I had left there; stand by the rail and watch whatever I could. This time, the routine was disrupted. Just as I had gotten to the rail-
"Kang Areum!" A voice called out.
My head turned to my right where I saw Changbin standing at the rail closest to my balcony. His brow was raised and he ushered me over. Reluctantly, I stepped over to him. He looked me up and down. Probably thinking that the oversized sweater and shorts were "too revealing for my legs."
"Yes...?" I said unsteadily.
"What was that about?" He got right to the point.
"What was what about?" I said, trying to stall.
"You walked into your apartment with a simple 'hi' as if you wanted nothing to do with me." He replied. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No." My words were concise and short. No need to say more than what needs to be said.
"What happened." He demanded an answer out of my attitude.
"You want to know what happened?" I said maybe a little too much with an attitude.
"Yes!" He exclaimed. "Why are you being like this to me!"
"How am I supposed to act to the people who bullied my cousin?!" I expressed my anger through my tone and words. "You tell me, what am I supposed to be like to someone who hurt my cousin?"
My eyes finally looked up to see a shocked Changbin and a somehow chill Minho coming up to the rail. I shook my head and looked at them, excusing myself, and leaving, shutting my balcony door as tears ran down my cheeks.
~*~
Areum POV
A week went by and it was still awkward with Changbin, Minho and I. Lunchtimes were spent with us on opposite sides of the tables. Hallways were walked avoiding each other. Meetups were either skipped out on or awkwardly done. This lasted another week. Until Jihoon decided to tell me something that I could not believe.
"Noona." He said. "They said sorry."
"Who did?" I looked up from my phone.
"My bullies."
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I dunno why I wrote this, but I did, hope you like it though.
Is this story too boring? I hope not. Please show your support if you do enjoy the story!
Update 5/22/2020: Since I have so many people supporting my book (THANK YOU) I will be doing the shout outs in chapters that came before when the shout outs started. Thank you <3
Thank you Parkjiminw01 for supporting my book!
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Before I'm Gone | Stray Kids FF
Fanfiction{Completed} Kang Areum is the new kid in her school. She finds herself befriending a few guys. They become her best friends. They become the people that she can always count on. She was happy with them, always. Until she was not. Areum had lost all...
