The Girl In The Painting (ON HIATUS) (Hyetomi/Chaetomi)

Angel

     While making some notes, I accidentally mispelled a word so I looked behind me to grab my correction tape but while doing so, my bag fell. As I was getting it, I saw another hand reaching for it too. I looked up, only to meet the eyes of the person who made me suffer for so many years. Seeing her hold my bag brought back so many painful memories.

     I saw her pick up my bag as it fell from my chair. She was my friend, the only one actually, so I expected that she'd give it to me but before getting it from her, I looked at her and saw something different in her eyes. Chaewon unnie no longer smiled at me like how she usually does but she smiled like she was ready to do something bad. She was smirking.

     Before I knew it, she threw my bag to another person, it was the boy who always made fun of me. I was shocked with what she did and he obviously did too but then he smiled, just like Chaewon did. He then called threw it to another classmate when I was about to get it from him.

     I was afraid that the food I had inside which I prepared for me and Chaewon unnie would be spilled all over my notebooks and paper.

     They laughed while I kept on chasing for my bag, back and forth, they threw it around the room as they laughed. The laugh that hurt me the most was the one who I thought was my friend.

     I looked around, hoping someone would help me, but it was either they were having fun watching me suffer or they were afraid to be involved in this mess so they chose to ignore me. I only got my bag after class, when it was near the trash bin, all stained and dirty.

     I thought that it would be the worst that they could do but I was wrong, it was only just starting.

      Like usual, after our quiz, we would exchange papers. As I was about to exchange with Chaewon unnie, she turned her back on me and exchanged with other students. I looked for another person I could exchange with but it was hard because I can't speak. When one finally decided to exchange with me, I saw her hesitate, when I looked at the direction she was looking at, I saw Chaewon unnie warning her so she didn't do it.

     After a while though, she decided to exchange with me. I thought that she was my friend again but then after my paper was returned, I saw everything marked wrong, my answers were all changed into the wrong one.

     The correction liquid situation was the worst. She sat next to me for a while, before I knew it, I felt my hair getting wet. I saw her laughing as she put correction ink on my hair using a brush, painting on my hair like it was her masterpiece. I couldn't tell her to stop. I couldn't breathe. She called my other classmates and they laughed at me too as they crowded over us two. The only thing I could do was cry as she filled mg hair with the correction liquid.

     "Hitomi!", I felt someone said as she slapped me. Nako, Minjoo and Yuri were looking at me worriedly

     "You hit her too hard!", I saw Yuri say to Nako.

     "Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I swear. I swear, Hitomi.", Nako held both of my cheeks and made me look at her. I don't know if it's because of her slap or it's because of how close her face is, but my face is getting redder.

     "I was panicking. Are you alright? I looked at you and called you but you just sat there, frozen. You were staring into space and I could see tears falling. What happened?", Nako said. I looked at my bag and saw that it was next to me again.

     "You can tell me, Hitomi. I already told you that I'm here, right? We're your friends right?", Nako asked me. I could only nod as a response.

     "What's wrong?", Minjoo asked me.

     This was the problem, every time someone was there to listen, even if I wanted to, I couldn't say anything. When I need comfort, I can't tell people. When someone asks me the problem, I can only nod or shake my head.