You blew a shaky breath as you stood outside the door to the Chairman's Office. Your knees were shaking and your palms were wet from sweat. You gave another nervous sigh before raising your knuckle to knock. The door opened however before you could even knock.
"Song Joo Ri-sshi, please come in," Maru, you remembered, greeted you and ushered you inside. It seemed he already knew you were outside.
Right. Monster instincts.
The room was surprisingly empty, but Maru led you to another door inside the office. He knocked on the door twice before opening it, revealing what seemed to be a conference room. You peered anxiously before hesitantly stepping inside. About a dozen heads turned to you as you stood by the door, not quite sure of what to do.
"Ah, Song Joo Ri-sshi. Welcome," the chairman greeted you. He was seated at the edge of a long rectangular table and motioned for you to take the seat opposite his. You scanned the faces of the other people who were there. The first person you saw was Suho, who was giving you a comforting smile. There were also Coach Yunho, your history teacher Mr. Bae, and most of the PE faculty among other teachers whose face you recognized but didn't really know personally. There were also a couple of people whom you had only seen today.
"Annyeong haseyo," you bowed, your voice sounding unnaturally small. You proceeded to the seat that the chairman indicated and sat uncomfortably.
"How are you doing?" The chairman asked. It had been a long time since you've last seen him and you barely recognized him today. He looked so decent in his gray suit compared to his strange appearance during your previous encounters with him. Of course he must have dressed up properly for today's meeting, you thought, and somehow, it made you feel nervous, wondering if his personality changes along with his image. It was a comforting thought that the chairman wasn't like other teachers who always seemed critical and intimidating. Today, however, he looked fairly serious, and for the first time you actually saw him as the school's chairman. He looked genuinely concerned though when he asked you how you were doing, which you took as a good sign.
"I'm...alright, I guess," you answered.
"And what happened to your nose?" one of the teachers asked.
"I...I got it during the PE match yesterday," you answered uncomfortably.
"How is it?"
"It's very painful but it's not broken," you answered.
"Hah! That is nothing compared to what happened to my son!"
Your eyes fixed on a middle-aged woman who was sitting among the teachers. She was wearing somewhat luxurious clothes, and her neck, as well as her wrists, fingers and ears, were adorned with costly looking jewels. She had her hands curled in a fist while her mouth quivered as she pressed them into a thin line. The man beside her placed a comforting hand over her shoulder.
"By the way, Song Joo Ri-sshi, these are Mr. & Mrs. Lee, Lee Hee Jun-sshi's parents," the chairman introduced.
Your eyes grew wide, and you somehow panicked a little as you bowed and gave a muffled 'annyeong haseyo'. Mrs. Lee grunted an irritated 'hmf' and didn't even bother to hide her distaste. You silently hoped that it wasn't exactly directed at you, and just comforted yourself with the thought that she's only upset with what happened to her son. Mr. Lee on the other hand, responded with the slightest of nod, but his expression wasn't the least bit comforting either. It seemed like they already went to see their son earlier. And by the looks of it, they are very upset about it.
Well who wouldn't be? Their son almost got beaten to death. More like infuriated is a better term to describe them right now.
"Song Joo Ri-sshi, tell us what happened at the games yesterday," Mr. Bae instructed.
"Ne. Uh, we had interclass tennis championship. The opposing teams were drawn by lots, and so I and my partner had Lee Hee Jun team as our opponent," you started.
"Your partner was Park Chanyeol, right?"
"Ne," you answered. From the corner of your eye, you saw Mrs. Lee literally hissing at you at the mention of Chanyeol's name.
"So what happened next?"
"The game was quite normal at first, but later it got heated between Chanyeol and Lee Hee Jun."
"Lee Hee Jun said that Park Chanyeol was deliberately trying to hit him with the ball through his returns. Is that true?"
"I...," you trailed off and hesitated between telling them the truth or not. You knew that Chanyeol was indeed purposefully hitting Hee Jun with his returns. But you knew that telling them the truth would probably put Chanyeol in a very bad postion. However, you also didn't want to lie, and you were not good at lying in the first place. Besides, there was a reason why Chanyeol acted that way. "Yes," you finally mumbled.
"Yes?" A board member verified.
"Hah! These despicable little rascals!" Mrs. Lee fumed.
"Please calm down first Mrs. Lee," the chairman said. Her husband pulled her back to her seat. She slumped down and glared daggers your way.
"Yes? So Park Chanyeol did try to hit Lee Hee Jun first with his returns, is that right?" Another teacher verified.
"Yes. But Chanyeol only did it because he was very angry at Lee Hee Jun that time," you immediately explained.
"He was angry? Why, did the two have a fight before the game?" Another teacher asked.
"No, but he was angry because Lee Hee Jun has been bullying me –"
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Lee spat.
"It's true Mrs. Lee. Your son has been bullying me for a while now," you insisted.
"And why would my son do that?!"
"Mrs. Lee, please let her finish," the chairman said.
"Song Joo Ri-sshi, if Lee Hee Jun has been bullying you, why didn't you report it? You could have reported it to our office and we could have helped you with that matter," Suho said.
"Obviously because she's lying," Mrs. Lee said.
"No. I didn't report it because I didn't want to cause more trouble. If I reported him and his friends, I was afraid that it would only anger them more and would only result to more bullying. And I was hoping that they'll eventually get tired of me if I just decide to ignore them," you told them.
"So if it's true that my son is indeed bullying you, what motive would he have?" It was Mr. Lee who asked. He was way calmer than his wife, though his calmness didn't conceal his displeasure and disbelief in you.
"It started during my first monster classes. It was Monster Essentials period then, and everyone was practicing Level 1 and Level 2 transformations. Lee Hee Jun accidentally transformed to Level 3. I wasn't used to seeing monsters yet, and I was shocked and a little scared so I had to throw up in the restroom. When the class ended, he confronted me. He was angry because he thought I got disgusted at his monster form –"
"Mweoya? You think our race is disgusting?!"
"No, Mrs. Lee. Well, yes, at first –"
"MWEOYA?! Ah jinjja, this little –"
"But it was only out of shock. It was my first time seeing someone in his complete monster form. I grew up not knowing that monsters existed; and seeing him like that scared me. But I did not mean to insult him or anything," you explained.
"So what did he do to you? You said he was angry," another teacher asked.
"He pushed me, and told me that a Class D like me has no right to look down on him. He threatened me that he could easily tear me to pieces if he wanted to, but Lu Han saw us and told him to leave me alone."
"Lu Han? He's also a member of the soccer team, right?"
"Ne."
"Alright, go on."
"After that incident, he has been bothering me, but he had only been annoying me and calling me names so I decided to just ignore everything. But just this Monday, I was not feeling well when he and his friends annoyed me so I lost my temper and answered back. He got angry. He and his friends dragged me to the back of the school –"
"Ah, jinjja? Where?" Coach Yunho asked, shocked.
"At the old storage room at the back of the main building," you answered.
"What did they do?" Coach Yunho asked, concern written all over his face.
"Lee Hee Jun was pushing me against the wall while his friends surrounded us. He was saying something then but I was already too scared to pay attention, and he was choking me –"
"Lies!" Mrs. Lee hissed. "It's your friends who are violent! Did you see what happened to my son?! Don't reverse the story!"
"I'm not lying Mrs. Lee. I know this must be difficult for you to believe but it's true. The soccer team knew about it that's why they were angry at him," you told her and looked at everyone in the room. "That's the reason why Chanyeol was so angry that time. And when I got hit by Lee Hee Jun's return and the fight broke out, that must have triggered their anger more. I know what they did might have been too much, but it's not true that they are violent. They just were just trying to avenge and protect me."
You met eyes with Suho and he was giving you a comforting smile.
"I can't believe that I'm listening to this! She is clearly making all these up! My Hee Jun is not like that!"
"I'm telling the truth. I even have a bruise when he was dragging me," you said and showed them your bruise. "I tried to not to tell anyone about it. But when we were about to play yesterday, that was the first time they saw my bruise that's why he was so angry."
"You're saying you got that from Lee Hee Jun?" Mr. Bae asked suspiciously.
"Ne."
"This, Song Joo-Ri-sshi, is your medical records from the school doctor. We obtained copies of everyone who was involved to determine your injuries," he said and started reading from one of the sheets, "Patient name, Song Joo Ri. External laceration at the bridge of the nose. Nose cartilage injury, resulting to excessive internal bleeding, but the bone is not broken. A large bruise is also present on the patient's right wrist, but the bruise is already a few days old. Patient says she incurred it from getting her hand caught by a door. Already provided appropriate medications and patient is advised to rest for the rest of the week," he finished and stared at you contemptuously.
Everyone gave you questioning stares, except perhaps for Suho, as they waited for you to explain.
"Haha! See? I told you this child is lying. She's only making all these stories up," Mrs. Lee said as she gave you a mocking look.
"No," you said. "I...I only said that to Doctor Jung because I didn't want to start another trouble. What happened at the games was a very big mess already. I was afraid that telling the truth about my bruise would only make matters worse," you explained.
"Lies! All lies!" Mrs. Lee snorted.
"I'm telling the truth. You can even ask Lu Han about it. He was there both times when Lee Hee Jun was harassing me," you implored.
"That Lu Han again? Isn't it a little suspicious that that person is always there whenever my son is allegedly harassing you? And isn't he also in the soccer team? For all we know all of you are just making these all up to help your good-for-nothing friends! I should have expected that nothing good can ever come out from a worthless Class D!" Mrs. Lee hollered.
"Mrs. Lee, please don't judge her just because of her Class. Monster Classes don't define a person's character," Suho told her.
"Class D's are all the same, and she just proved it! And you, the teachers told me that you are also a part of the soccer club? " Mrs. Lee asked maliciously. "Why, you kids are just scheming to put the blame on my son!"
"Yes, I am part of the soccer club Mrs. Lee. But, I am here as a Student Council Representative, and because of that, I assure you that I come here unbiased," Suho said. Though he said it calmly, his jaw was twitching in agitation.
"Ridiculous! Why are we even wasting our time here? Why are we even still listening to her? We have enough proof already that she's just a pathetic little liar!" Mrs. Lee said, refusing to listen.
"Mrs. Lee, please calm down first. But you know, Song Joo Ri-sshi, she has a point. How are we supposed to believe you when your statements and medical record tell us different things?" A board member asked.
"I...I'm sorry I lied to Doctor Jung, and I regret it. If I had known this would happen then I would have just told him the truth, regardless of how much trouble I'll be in," you said.
"Ah, jinjja," Mrs. Lee scoffed.
"But you must believe me. I'm telling you the truth," you continued and ignored Mrs. Lee.
"Ya! When will you stop lying? This insolent little girl! I will never believe whatever it is that you have to say! It is already clear to me that you'll say nothing but lies. Is that how your mother brought you up?! Well what did I expect for a class D like you? You must have learned it from her."
"My mother has nothing to do with this!" You yelled and stood in your seat. Your hands were clenched into fists as you glared at her disbelievingly. Everyone was shocked at your sudden outburst and were staring at you with wide eyes. "Yes, I may have lied in that medical record but that was only to keep me and your son from getting into more trouble! Whether you believe me or not, I don't care but don't include my mother in this! Don't judge her just because you have a problem with me because you have no idea how much she went through for me!"
"Mweo?" Mrs. Lee said in shock. "Have you lost your mind?! How dare you talk like that to me like that –"
"I don't know what you and other peoples' problems are with monsters in my Class," you continued, cutting her off, "but let me tell you this, my mother raised me properly, at least more appropriately than how you raised your ill-bred son who knows nothing but to bully those who are weaker than him!"
"MWEO?!" She raged and also stood up.
"Enough!" The chairman said. "Song Joo Ri-sshi, you too Mrs. Lee, please take your seats."
You didn't move and just continued to stare angrily at her and she was also doing the same.
You felt tears starting to form in your eyes, and you bit your lip to keep yourself from crying.
How dare you say that about my mom?!
"Song Joo Ri-sshi, Mrs. Lee, please," the chairman said again.
"Hah! I've had enough of this! My son's condition is evidence enough that those wicked kids are the ones in the wrong!" Mrs. Lee hollered and stomped towards the door. She stopped right in front of it and turned to you. "You! Remember this! I'll make sure to make you pay for what you and your friends did to my son. And you will regret talking to me like that today!" She went out and didn't even bother to close the door behind her. You just continued to glare after her.
"I will go and talk with her. Please excuse me," Mr. Lee bowed and stood up. He gave you a cold look that you couldn't quite understand before going after his wife.
"Let me also talk with them, chairman," a board member bowed and left to go after the Lees.
You gave a loud sigh as you tried to take hold of your emotions. You have never felt so angry before that it felt like your heart was going to explode.
"Song Joo Ri-sshi," the chairman called your attention. You looked at him and took your seat. The moment you did, you realized that you were trembling.
Suho threw you a worried look. You looked away and just focused on anything other than the faces of the people around you who were now looking at you with different expressions.
"I guess, we are done here. Thank you for coming, Song Joo Ri-sshi. You may go back to your dorm now," the chairman told you.
"Ne," you said and made a slight bow before going out.
Your knees were still trembling, and you wondered if you could make it out of the office without collapsing. Fortunately you did, and were shocked to see Lu Han, D.O., Chen and Sehun waiting by the hallway.
"Joo Ri-ya, how did it go?" Sehun asked but immediately hushed when he saw your face.
"Joo Ri, gwaenchana?" Chen asked.
You only bit your lip to keep yourself from crying.
"Joo Ri," Suho said who had appeared beside you, "Oh, you're here," he said when he saw the others.
"Hyung, how did it go?" D.O. asked.
"Pretty intense," Suho answered.
"We saw a woman stomping out a while ago. Was that Lee Hee Jun's mother?" Chen asked.
"Yes," Suho answered.
"What happened?" Lu Han asked.
"It's a long story," Suho replied. "Don't you have classes?"
"We're on self-study because Bae-sonsaengnim is here," Lu Han answered.
"I snuck out of class," Sehun said.
"What?" Suho exclaimed.
"I saw the hyungs through the window when they were coming here. I wanted to come here too to see what's happening."
"Joo Ri, go back to the dorm and rest. You need it," Suho told you and patted your shoulder.
"Ne," you answered.
"Oh, get well soon Joo Ri. See you around," Sehun said.
"Yeah, see you around," you answered half-heartedly as you slowly walked away.
"Ya! Dung!" Someone shouted when you got outside the building. They were girls from Moon class and they were now walking towards you. You only stared at them but didn't bother to give any response.
"You bitch!" One of them yelled as she pushed you. "How dare you get Kai and Chanyeol into trouble? Huh?!" She yelled as she pushed you again.
"You disgusting piece of junk!" Another one yelled as she also pushed you. This time, you lost your balance and fell to the ground. You were not in a good mood and you wanted to fight back but your body feels so tired that you were not able to do anything.
"What are you doing?" You heard someone say and you looked up to see Tao approaching your group. He seemed like he had just come from the cafeteria since he had a can of coke and sandwich in hand.
"Tao-sshi," one of the girls muttered. Tao never talks to anyone other than Kris, and they were surprised that he was actually talking to them.
"What are you doing?" He asked again as he stopped among you.
"We were just teaching her a lesson," one of them answered hesitantly.
"You shouldn't be doing this," he said.
"But Tao-sshi, this girl has been causing so much trouble. And please don't concern yourself with her. She's only a class D," she answered.
"That doesn't give you the right to do this! Leave!" He told them. The coldness in his voice made them leave without hesitation. He held all his purchases in one hand while he lent you his other hand.
"Thanks," you murmured as you took it and slowly stood up.
"Gwaenchana?" He asked.
"Ne," you answered, but it came out as a whisper. Before you knew it, your tears already started falling. You immediately wiped it away.
"Joo Ri-sshi," Tao muttered uneasily.
"Sorry. Please don't mind me," you told him as you kept wiping the tears you've been trying to hold in since a while ago.
He looked at you uneasily, looking a little lost. "Do you want to go somewhere quiet where no one can see you?" He finally asked. You looked at him for a while and nodded in the middle of crying.
"Follow me," he said and started walking. You silently followed after him. The two of you reached the track and field and you entered one of the buildings there. He turned the lights on, revealing what seems to be a practice space for fighting. You guessed that it must be the Martial Arts Club's headquarters because of all the gloves, punching bags, and other training equipment there.
You sat in one corner and cried more openly now. You would have been embarrassed because Tao was there, but right now, you didn't really care. Your chest felt too tight because of too many emotions and you just wanted to let it all out.
Finally, you felt a little better after a while, and only then were you reminded of Tao's presence in that room with you. He had been so quiet the whole time that you almost forgot that he was there.
"Sorry for troubling you Tao-sshi," you told him while sniffing.
"It's alright," he said.
"Omo! Don't you have class?" You exclaimed, having just remembered that it was still class hours.
"Don't worry. We are on self-study because our teacher had a meeting," he told you in his strange accent.
"Oh," you muttered and remembered that he was also in the same class as Luhan, D.O., and Chen.
"Do you feel better now?" He asked.
"Yes, thanks."
"Your nose, it's very swollen," he remarked.
"Yeah. My friends told me it looks like I grew an onion," you laughed in the midst of sniffing. "But it's not broken though."
"That's good. I was angry when that guy hit you. I could tell that he did it intentionally. Women are very precious and vulnerable. Men shouldn't hurt them. They should be cared for and respected."
"You're a nice person, Tao-sshi," you told him.
"Before, when I saw your shoes at the trash, I saw what the others wrote on that paper," he confessed. You stared at him in surprise. "Were those girls earlier the ones who did it?"
"Honestly, I don't know," you answered. "Too many people here hate me, so I really can't tell who did what," you told him and just tried to laugh everything off.
"Is that why you were crying?" He asked innocently.
"Oh, no," you laughed. "I wasn't crying because of that. It's just that...some people are just too cruel. They easily judge others even though they don't know them. In the human world, people judge in terms of money. If you're poor, you're inferior and useless. If you're rich, you're special and important. But even in the monster world, it's still the same. No, it's much worse, because you're not judged based on what you have, but on what you are. And they don't only judge you, but also those who are around you. It's just...," you clenched your teeth as another tear was threateningly about to fall. "It's not my fault I'm class D. I don't even know why they should hate me so much when I didn't do anything to them."
"Here," Tao said as he handed you something. You looked at it and saw that they were punching gloves. You stared at him inquiringly. "It will help you feel better," he said.
You hesitated but decided to take them anyway. You wore them while Tao helped to tighten them on your hands. He then strapped two punching pads on his hands and held them up in front of you.
"Punch," he said.
"O-okay," you said hesitantly and threw a light punch.
"Punch harder. It's too weak," he said.
You punched again but it was no better than the first one.
"Think of them, those people you were talking about. Those people who were judging you and the important people in your life," he told you.
Your face scrunched, and you threw another punch. It was more powerful this time, but it was still a little weak because you were worried that you might accidentally hit him.
"Harder," he told you.
You gave another punch. This time, you didn't hold back.
"Harder," he said.
You punched again with both fists. Tao caught both punches easily.
"Harder," he urged.
"Ha!" You yelled as you threw another set of punches.
"Harder," Tao said more loudly.
"Ha! HA! HA! HA!" You yelled as you threw more punches. You didn't stop and continued punching like crazy with all you got, all the while thinking of Lee Hee Jun, his mother, Bitch Queen, and everyone else who ever messed with you.
Tao on the other hand, stopped talking and just let you punch as much as you want.
"HAAA!" You yelled as you threw one last punch. You breathed heavily and just let your knuckle stay on the punching pad. You finally stood straight after a while. Beads of sweat trickled from your forehead down to your neck. You looked at Tao.
"Good job," he smiled.
"Thank you Tao-sshi," you smiled back, truly feeling a lot better.
Class hours finally ended and Tao had to go back to get his bag from his classroom while you also needed to go back to the dorms. Tao offered to walk you until the school gates to make sure that no one dares to trouble you again today.
When you passed by the Administration building however, you saw Suho and the others gathered together. Everyone looked serious and seemed to be discussing something important. You told Tao that you were gonna join them and thanked him for all his help today.
"Guys," you called out as you approached them.
"Joo Ri!" Sehun said in surprise. "I thought you already went back to the dorm."
"No, I went somewhere first. I was heading back when I saw you all here. What's up?"
"Joo Ri," Suho said looking really serious that it made you feel really nervous.
"What?" You asked when he didn't continue.
"The meeting ended a while ago. The board has finally made a decision," he said. You gulped as you felt your heartbeat go faster.
"And?" You asked.
"They're expelling Kai and Chanyeol."