"Hyeon-Ju!" Ms. Park exclaims, crouching down to help the girl sit up.
Hyeon-Ju doesn't look like the Hyeon-Ju I know. Blood is splattered all over her uniform, the strands of her hair sticking out in all directions, but the most distinct part of her appearance isn't what she looks like at all but rather... her smell.
"She smells like..." I trail off.
"Rotting corpse." Nam-Ra finishes.
Within seconds, I rush over to help Ms. Park steady our classmate.
"Hyeon-Ju, who did this to you?" Ms. Park asks, frantic.
"The science teacher." Her voice is raspy. "He locked me up in the science lab. He grabbed me and locked me up."
"Lee Byeong-Chan did this to you?"
"Yes."
Several whispers errupt from the classroom.
"We have to take her to the clinic."
"I'll carry her." Su-Hyeok volunteers in a heartbeat, lifting Hyeon-Ju on his back.
"Nam-Ra, watch over the class, please."
"I'll come with you." I can see Su-Hyeok about to protest, but Hyeon-Ju starts to thrash around, so I help Su-Hyeok keep her still. "You'll need more hands."
On-Jo and I-Sak volunteer to go as well. We rush towards the clinic, unaware of how much noise Hyeon-Ju was making. Several students from other classrooms try to peek through the doors, curious about the commotion that is happening in the hallway.
Su-Hyeok lays Hyeon-Ju on the bed as soon as we reach the clinic. The nurse rushes towards us, demanding to know what happened.
"He kept injecting me with something." Hyeon-Ju cries.
"Do you know what it was?"
"I don't know." She snaps. "I'm going to kill them all!"
Hyeon-Ju starts thrashing around so much, we all had to help keep her down on the bed as the nurse injects something in her. On-Jo jumps back when Hyeon-Ju attempts to bite her.
"Are you alright?" I ask, grabbing On-Jo's hand. I start to inspect her wound, but thankfully it's just a small scratch.
"Yeah, I'm- LOOK OUT!"
On-Jo pushes me aside when Hyeon-Ju lunges at me. I hiss, feeling a sting of pain on my forearm as I collide with the edge of the headboard. I ignore it, focusing on helping I-Sak detain Hyeon-Ju.
"Are you hurt?" Su-Hyeok asks with a gentle voice.
I shake my head. "Let's focus on Hyeon-Ju for now."
Once she's settled down, the nurse leaves to call an ambulance.
Ms. Park glances at us one by one. "This should stay between us, understood? I-Sak, please tell your classmates."
I-Sak nods and leaves the clinic, just as the nurse informs us that the ambulance is on its way.
On-Jo's dad is frantic when he learns On-Jo got hurt trying to detain her classmate. Once On-Jo's wound is properly dressed, On-Jo, Su-Hyeok and I make our way back to the classroom.
I feel a sudden jolt of pain on my forearm, but I ignore it, the current events still fresh on my mind.
"On-Jo," Su-Hyeok begins. "When you said you had to tell me something, can you tell me now?" He pats the back of his head nervously. "I have basketball practice after lunch, you see..."
I look between Su-Hyeok and On-Jo, deciding it's best if I go first.
"Um, I think I'll head back first."
Wow, talk about de ja vu.
I release a breath of relief once they're out of earshot. I silently pray everything goes well for On-Jo.
I yelp in pain when I feel someone brush pass me. "Yah! Lee Cheong-San!"
Cheong-San turns around, surprised to see me. "Tokki, where's On-Jo? I heard she got hurt-"
"Down there with Su-Hyeok." Was all I was able to say.
An uncomfortable feeling washes over me, and in a panicked state, I leave before Cheong-San can call out to me.
Is this what jealousy feels like? But... why would I be jealous? On-Jo is my friend.
"Aish." I huff in frustration, ruffling my hair. "Stupid feelings. Stupid Cheong-San."
I'm bombarded with questions as soon as I enter the classroom.
"Is it true? Was Hyeon-Ju really biting people?" Dae-Su walks up to my face, making me feel uncomfortable.
"Hey, back off." Wu-Jin lightly pushes Dae-Su away from me. "You're taking up her personal space. That's not cool at all."
I smile gratefully at Wu-Jin. "Yes, it's true. We don't know why, but Ms. Park asked us to tell you to keep this a secret for now, so let's respect her wishes, alright?"
The class nods in understanding.
As I start to make my way back to my seat, another jolt of pain runs up my arm.
"Yah, you're bleeding."
I stare at the blood stain on my uniform, completely out of it.
I can feel someone grab my hand and lift my arm up.
"Aish, why are you always so clumsy?" Wu-Jin ruffles his hair in annoyance before pulling me with him.
He grabs his backpack and takes out a small pouch filled with alcohol, cotton and bandages.
"Roll your sleeves up." He says, pouring a small amount of alcohol on a piece of cotton. He starts to dab it on my wound, making me hiss in pain.
"Ouch, you didn't even feel that on your way up here?" By now Gyeong-Su's attention is focused on us.
I shake my head. "I was too busy worrying about Hyeon-Ju."
"Typical." Gyeong-Su sighs. "You and Bare-Su are so much alike, you know. Always putting other people's needs above your own." He flicks my forehead. "Cheong-San will not like that."
I pout. "I don't care what he likes or dislikes."
Wu-Jin smiles softly, mind still focused on bandaging my hand.
"Wu-Jin-ah," He looks at me. "Why do you have bandages with you?"
His smile widens. "Because, I noticed you always you injur yourself... here in school, when we play games outside. I thought this would be better than bringing you to the clinic all the time. You should really stop hanging out with Dae-Su and I, you know."
"Not going to happen." I straighten my back. "So, you brought this for me?"
Wu-Jin nods, avoiding my stare.
"Oh, Cheong-San, Bare-Su, you're back." Dae-Su greets them.
I refuse to look at them, choosing to focus my gaze on the way Wu-Jin carefully finishes wrapping the bandage around my forearm. The scratch itself isn't that deep, but it's long. I must've hit my hand on the headboard while I was trying to avoid Hyeon-Ju's bites.
"What happened?" Cheong-San asks with slight panic in his tone.
"I guess I hurt myself trying to avoid Hyeon-Ju." I reply curtly.
Ah, shoot. This is so awkward.
"Why didn't you tell us? We could've asked On-Jo's dad to patch you up too." Su-Hyeok says.
I shrug, retrieving my hand from Wu-Jin's hold. I inspect his work. "I didn't notice it until Wu-Jin saw my arm bleeding. Fuck, it's going to be hard to play volleyball in this state." I meet Wu-Jin's shy gaze and motion for him to come closer. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion but does what he is told. I wrap my arms around him, muttering a soft "Thank you."
He clears his throat and mutters a "You're welcome." once I release him.
The bell rings, signalling lunch break. "Ah, right on time. I'm hungry."
I look around the classroom and smile once I spot On-Jo and I-Sak. They wave me over and I happily join them.
Not once did I look back to see the look of hurt and worry in both Cheong-San and Su-Hyeok's eyes.
an. omggg, over 700 reads absgsfefsfswrs you guys are the best! ♥︎ thank you once again for all your lovely feedback. i'm able to update frequently since i'm currently on break. but hopefully i'll still be able to update frequently once my break is over !! i'm honestly having so much fun writing this story (i say this as i'm watching tiktok videos of son sang-yeon lol) ♥︎
bby ♥︎