(3 YEARS AGO SUMMER JI-JON MIDDLE SCHOOL )
" it's so hot! I really hate summer..." Haera lamented as she let her head drop onto the table in defeat.
The hot sunlight was pouring through the windows as the heat was becoming unbearable for her. Her face was covered in sweat, and she felt completely wiped out by the harsh sun.
"Haera, the teacher said that the swimming lesson will start now. We should get ready." Yeoryeong stated as she finally gained Haera's attention.
"Yes... I will change my uniform...later" Haera replied after a brief pause. She felt exhausted
"Are you okay Eara?" Dan-I asked with worried look as stepped closely to haera
"I'm fine it's just so hot"
"Yeah, it's seem so, let's go now, the swimming teacher will surely get mad"
Haera nodded as she quickly began to gather her uniform and prepare for the imminent swimming lesson.
She goes back to the swimming pool and waits for Yeoryeong and Dan-I
Before long, three girls approach her with a smug attitude.
"Are you Kang Haera?" they asked, raising their eyebrows as they waited for her response.
"Yes, it is me." She replied.
As the girls approached her with a smug attitude, Haera realized they were likely looking to start a fight.
The girl then proceeded to launch into an insulting tirade.
"Are you the girl flirting with the Heavenly King and Jiho? Such a delusional girl. Are you having delusions because you're ranked number 2?" She said mockingly to Haera.
Haera was taken aback and replied to they're insult
"I am not flirting with the Heavenly King and Ji-Ho. I don't have any delusions just because I am ranked number two. And I would appreciate if your gonna congrats me for m. Being rank 2" She said with a soft and polite tone as she maintained her composure as she continued
"also, why do you care so much about if I flirt with them? Are you they're girlfriend to tell me that? So now, I'm asking, who's the delusional one now?" Haera replied with a playful and teasing tone as she continued to maintain control of the situation.
"Oh shut up, you're just jealous of Yeoryeong. I bet you wish you could flirt with the Heavenly King too, but only she has his attention. Maybe you're just jealous and decided to flirt with the other Heavenly king, Jiho, instead?" The third girl chimed in with her own insult towards Haera.
"Haha, are you kidding me?" Haera rebutted, her voice dripping with sarcasm and her cold green eyes giving them all a rather intimidating stare.
"Why would I do such a thing to my best friend?" Haera asked with a smirk and playful tone.
"Plus, our friendship is stronger than you three. To begin with, you should worry about your own friend group before criticizing me. It's more likely that those beside you will betray you than my friendship with Yeoryeong will."
"Y-You!" The girl trembled
"they're just using you like a fool..." she whispered to the girl as the girl glare at her manacing
Haera's taunting tone and statements filled the other girls with an intense sense of anger and frustration.
"You better look in the mirror. See why the Heavenly King isn't interested in you?" Haera finished off her final insult, leaving the other girls with nothing more to say.
Haera's taunting seemed to really trigger the other girls, as they responded with even more anger and frustration.
The girl pointed her fingers towards Haera as they walked backward near the pool, and then suddenly shouted an insult at her.
"You think you're so popular and perfect, huh?! You're nothing without your rich parents, and your beauty and Yeoryeong, all you are is a flirty one!!!"
Haera Looked at them seemed unbothered by the other girl's words, as she responded with a calm voice.
"I don't need my rich parents or my beauty to make me who I am. I am worth more than any of those things. At least I'm not an attention seeker as you are."
The girl's aggression seemed to escalate as she approached Haera with a fierce stare and determination.
"Are you that confident? You're treating us like nothing!" the girl shouted at her, seeming to get more furious and aggressive with each word.
As the girl approached, Haera took another step back. Her eyes narrowed at the girl, but she maintained her composure. However, she took a few more steps back, and was now dangerously close to the pool, still walking backward.
As Haera continued to maintain her composure and stared down the girl with her fierce yet charming and intimidating look, the girl seems to have lost her cool completely.
"Now look at your expression" Haera spoke calmly
"You're affected by my words when your the one started it first. " She told her as the girl pushed her into the pool.
The unexpected push made Haera's arms flail as she tried to save herself, but her sudden panic and fear caused her to lose control.
She couldn't stay afloat, and her head started to slowly sink beneath the water.
She suddenly remembered one incident when she was younger, where she had been bullied by her classmates and shoved into the sea, where she almost drowned.
But suddenly, someone pulled her up from the water, struggling for breath as she slowly opened her eyes and came back to awareness.
"Heuk!!" She was soaking wet with water dripping from every part of her, her clothes clinging to her body and her hair drenched.
As Haera's vision came into focus, she saw the person who pulled her from the waters was Chunyoung. He sat soaking wet on the ground and looked at her with concern.
Haera muttered his name, but before Chunyoung could react, she saw that Yeoryeong and Dan had approached them with worried looks on their faces.
"Haera!" Yeoryeong shouted as she hugged her tightly, crying loudly. Dan-i stood next to them, looking on with a concerned look.
"Are you okay, Haera?" Dan-i asked with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Haera replied, forcing a smile.
"Are you sure? Should we take you to the clinic?" Dan-i asked, worrying that Haera might be hurt. Haera wondered where the other girls who were with her were.
" by the way where's the girls with me?" Haera asked
"They run away." Chunyoung stated, causing Yeoryeong's expression to darken.
"Haera! Tell me, did they do this to you? Do you want revenge?" Yeoryeong demanded, visibly angry.
"No, I don't need that. Let them be." Haera replied calmly, smiling as she looked at Chunyoung again.
"Thank you for saving me, Chunyoung. If you weren't here, I might have died." Haera said with genuine gratitude.
"It's okay. I don't mind..." Chunyoung replied vaguely as he stood up and gave Haera a towel.
"Dry yourself." Haera took the towel and said
"Thanks" to him before he left.
"That girl is a bitch!" Yeoryeong said angrily, causing Haera and Dan-I to look at her.
"Calm down Yeoryeong." Dan-I said, trying to keep the situation under control.
"But they almost killed Haera by drowning her!" Yeoryeong shouted.
"It's really Okay, thanks to God I survived so it's Okay..." Haera replied, smiling softly, showing that she was used to these kind of situations. after all she live in a miserable life..
(FEW DAYS LATER)
"Ahhh, it's so hot..." Haera replied as she wiped sweat from her brow.
"Haera, are you not going to eat lunch with us?" Dan I asked her, concerned.
"No, I don't have the appetite to eat because of the heat, but could you please buy me something cold for me when you return, Dan I?" Haera asked, her voice indicating her fatigue from the weather.
"Sure, Haera. I'll be back." Dan-i said as he turned around and ran away. Haera smiled as she heard him leave, thinking about the scene where Dan-i and Chunyoung became close.
"Ah... I'm waiting for the scene where Dan-i and Chunyoung became close. Maybe tomorrow, they'll meet..." Haera thought, dropping her head to the desk and closing her eyes.
Suddenly without knowing a something cold touch her cheeks
Haera was startled as she felt something cold touch her cheeks.
"C-Cold... It's good you brought cold chocolate mi---" She was about to finish that sentence when Chunyoung spoke up.
"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Eunhyung." She looked confused, wondering what Chunyoung was doing here, and even more so, why he was so close.
"He went to the convenience store with Yeoryeong and Dan-I Instead." Chunyoung says, giving an explanation for why Eunhyung had left.
"Then Why are you here?" Haera asks, obviously confused.
"Because it's hot." Chunyoung replies shortly as he continues to stare at her.
"Oh I see..." Haera fixed her hair, feeling the awkwardness of the situation she doesn't know how to make him leave Or leave in the situation
"Here take it." Chunyoung hands her the chocolate milk.
"Why, Me?" Haera asked with confused voice and point her finger to herself.
"Because I had an extra one, and you're the only one here in the classroom. I didn't know who else I could give this to."
"Ah... Thanks, it's my favorite." Haera smiled as she took a glance at Chunyoung, who was focused on taking his earphones out and putting them on.
'Damn... He's handsome...' Haera thought, admiring his face.
"You want to listen?" Chunyoung offered her a parter of his earphones, she took it and wore it, listening along with him.
As she heard the music playing, she smiled slowly, enjoying the song.
"Xkin Park..." she murmured softly, appreciating the song and the moment.
"You don't like it?" Chunyoung asked as he reached out for the earphones.
Haera suddenly panicked and move away
"No, I like it! I'm also listen to Xkin Park when I want to calm myself!" She shouted, Chunyoung was stunned by her reaction and the awkwardness of the situation
' What was I thinking, I shouldn't have told him! This is so embarrassing!' she look at his reaction suddenly her ear turning pink as Chunyoung smiled gently while looking at her.
'Did he smile? Wait... Is this the scene where Chunyoung and Dan-I get along? Did I just steal that scene... Damn this is a mess...'
///
SHORT EXTRA SCENE
"Haera, what are you listening to?" Haera's mother asked as she was getting ready to cook dinner.
"Xkin Park..." Haera replied, telling her that she was listening to the song.
"Oh, I didn't know that's the kind of song you liked. Is it in your taste?" her mother asked in surprise, wondering if Haera had been hiding her music taste all this time.
'My taste?... In my past life, I don't know what is my taste or my hobby..." Haera told herself, remembering her past life and how she never had time to explore herself or discover her passions.
"I guess Mom, I do like rock Music" Haera said to her mother with a smile, revealing to her mother that she loves rock music
To be Continued