Notice (again): Feel free to skip if you feel uncomfortable from reading some parts :) The flashback will end in the next chapter :)
Yeonjun never thought of leaving the school to prove to anyone that he's not guilty. Taemin is still alive, recovering from his injuries from that fall. His life becomes hellish as his world turned different from the joy that he felt when he used to be the role model, almost perfect student that students admire.
The bright surrounding that he experiences in the school completely disappeared. His day is greeted with chattering students. Some would still look at him with so much disgust and anger. Then, some students would physically hurt him.
His days won't end without getting some bruise and wound on his body and his heart.
Lea is the only one who believes in him, but she can't do anything to save him. Lea accepted the fact that Yeonjun sees her as a sister and a close friend. She tried to convince Soohyun that he didn't do it and that Yeonjun just confronted Taemin when he found out that Taemin harassed her. Sadly, Soohyun never believes in those, and he also broke his friendship with Lea for defending Yeonjun.
After 2 months, Taemin came back to school. He recovered faster when his parents brought him to the best surgeon abroad. It's a miracle that his parents never came to school to confront Yeonjun. The first thing that he did is to talk to their school principal and school guidance. Taemin decided to ask the school principal to not kick Yeonjun out of the school and that he will not sue Yeonjun for his so-called frustrated murder. Taemin attended the classes as nothing happened.
Everyone hated Yeonjun more, thinking that Taemin is too nice to let him off. Yeonjun is getting tired of living this kind of life, plus his parents are already dead when he was young, so he has nobody who can help him.
While Yeonjun is alone on the rooftop, someone went beside him.
"I'm sorry Yeonjun, you don't deserve everyone's treatment of you. M-maybe if I never said anything to you that resulted in that confrontation, maybe your life is still at peace. I can't believe that Taemin is a horrible person who can turn the situation in favor of him." Lea is blaming herself for everything.
Yeonjun carefully caressed Lea's back when he saw that she is crying. "You're the victim here, so you did nothing wrong, Lea. I'm sorry if I can't do anything to get the justice that you deserve. Thank you for staying, even if everyone turned their back against me."
"I feel bad for not able to stay in your side all of the time. I transferred to another school 2 weeks ago, and I can't even defend you from those people who are cursing you."
"You never treated me like shit, so you don't have to feel bad because you never change. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not alone.
"I also came here to tell you that I contacted a lawyer for the case that I'm going to file against Taemin when he reached the legal age. I'm going to prepare everything, together with my younger brother, who is willing to support us in this battle." There are remaining 2 years before they turn into the legal age.
"Are you serious? His family is powerful, so it's dangerous!" Yeonjun feels worried for her.
"Yes, I'm going to sue him for harassing me and for defamation against you. I still have plenty of time before dropping the bomb that can ruin his future that he has to pay." Lea's serious look made Yeonjun feel how brave she is.
"I want to help because I don't want other people to experience how cruel he is." Yeonjun flashes a smile at the woman, who never left his side.
Yeonjun realizes that there's still hope, and Lea is his symbol of hope.
Sadly, he never knew that it is his last time to see Lea.
After one week, he saw the news that became the talk of the town. Two teenagers were hit by an over speeding car in Marleyan Street. One of them died, while one of them is in a coma. The red car has no plate number, and the CCTV in that street is not working. Yeonjun broke down alone on the rooftop, where he last saw and talked to her. He never expected that Lea will die, and Kai, his younger brother will be in danger. His gut feeling is telling him that Taemin's family is responsible for her death.
His world crumbled again from the death of his last friend, the only one who cares until the end. Yeonjun can't focus on his studies anymore, and he often comes to Lea's grave to cry until he gets tired.
"I should have died instead of you. You still have a long way in the future, and I don't want your family to suffer for losing you. Even your innocent brother got hurt because of me." He can't help but cry again.
Lea's death feels like his last hope was take away from him. "I'm sorry for not being able to give the justice that you deserve. I'm sorry if I failed to protect you." He broke down in tears, and once again, he has no one who can comfort him at this moment.
He left when the sky turns completely dark. His eyes are tired, and his bangs are covering his swollen eyes. He felt like he was jolted awake when he saw a familiar person swaying in the alley, clearly intoxicated by alcohol.
Rage pulsed through his veins when his eyes met with Taemin's slurring stare. His hands are trembling, and it feels like his body wanted to move on its own to beat Taemin. Yeonjun grabbed the drunk man's collar, slamming him in the wall with a thud.
Yeonjun loses his control, and he is beating him up until Taemin bleeds. "I know that you're responsible for Lea's death! Why do you have to drag her into this misery? You're the worst!
Yeonjun's mind is too occupied in anger to notice that his words made Taemin slightly sober. Those words that Taemin never wanted to hear from anyone drive him out of his mind. "Stop! You pathetic loser! How dare you!" He tried to escape from Yeonjun's tight grip, but he is too dizzy.
"Lea never wanted to love me back, and she hates me to hell because of you. That makes her a loser that deserves to disappear from this world before she could do anything harmful to ruin my life! Her body and pussy tastes so damn good, but it won't change the fact that her mind is infected because of your fucking existence! And. I. Hate. It! He yells like a mad man from the mental hospital.
Taemin tried to hit Yeonjun back, but he failed.
"Fuck you! I'm glad that she never fell for an asshole like you!" Yeonjun vented out his anger on him. He also felt his eyes stinging from tears upon remembering Lea, his kind and irreplaceable friend. Lea won't be able to live for her dreams, and it's all because of the person they treated as a friend.
He stopped when he saw that the beaten-up Taemin is on the verge of passing out. "You can't even land a single punch to me. You're such a weak loser who enjoys being on your parents' coattails. You're just using your family's influence to manipulate everything in your favor. You never let anyone see how lonely and how horrible your attitude is. You're the biggest loser that I've met, Kang Taemin. I will leave everything to the rule of karma, and you have to pay for everything that you did to your victims."
Yeonjun left, felt quite relieved that he lets out what he wanted to say to Taemin. He didn't plan to beat him up to death because he believes that seeking revenge is not the solution.
~~~
In the next few days, his health is slowly deteriorating. He is thin, with dark circles under his eyes, and his sleepless nights are filled with nightmares.
"Get out of here!"
"You can never fool us! Role model student, my ass! Even the stray dogs are better than you!"
"You piece of shit! You should have never been born!"
"Die, you murderer!"
"Your friends are experiencing misfortunes because of you!"
"Taemin almost died, and now Lea is completely gone because of you!"
"Kill yourself, you disgusting freak!"
No one realizes how words can be sharper than any weapons. Yeonjun's heart feels numb from being used to the pain. The nasty scars and purplish bruises from his white skin feel nothing to him. He is suffering too much to endure any physical type of pain.
No one dared to help him, not even the authorities of the school. Everyone is afraid of causing a misunderstanding or any actions against the student from an influential family, Kang Taemin.
His academic performance is poor. He was kicked out of all of the organizations that he had joined before. He lost his passion for singing and his favorite, dancing.
He lost everything, and he didn't know what he should live for.
He is tired of defending himself, and he is tired of hoping.
Yeonjun is walking on the overpass, looking on the highway full of vehicles below. The wind is blowing on his face, and he let his tears pour down when he saw that he's alone.
Maybe he's used to the pain, but it still hurts for him. Everything is too much, and the pain that he's experiencing feels endless. Sometimes, he can't help but think of suicidal thoughts.
"I bet everyone will celebrate if I die." Yeonjun thought.
"Happy birthday, Yeonjun, my friend."
Yeonjun flinched in that familiar voice. He wipes the tears on his face, facing the person that he never wanted to see.
............