I laid on the floor of the warehouse for what felt like forever, still in shock about what had happened.
I felt defeated and dejected.
I couldn't believe it was real. I couldn't believe that idols turned out to be so evil. So vindictive. So violent.
'I can't believe people worship them.'
I'm sure all their fans thought they were angels. They were dead wrong.
I pushed myself up to a seated position, staring down at my legs. I was covered in a thick, drying layer of egg and flour.
'Disgusting.'
I tried to rub some of it off, all in vein, until giving up.
'Why bother.'
I felt ugly either way, with or without the wasted food all over me. My body ached all over, from the pelting of eggs and punching and kicking that I endured.
'I have to go home.'
I got shakily to my feet, stumbling a bit. Slowly I walked out of the warehouse, the memory of what I had just endured replaying through my mind with every step I took. But I didn't want it to weigh me down, so I kept walking until I stood at the entrance of the warehouse. My eyes widened once I looked outside, seeing that it was already dark out.
'How long did I lay there?'
How much time did I waste wallowing?
Clearly a lot.
I exhaled a deep sigh, starting the walk of shame home. There was no way I could hail a taxi in this state. So, with each embarrassing step, I walked to the dorm. My head was hung low and I kept to myself.
Those that passed turned to stare at me. Because after all, I was quite the sight to see.
I was a girl who looked like she was ready to be fried like chicken.
They probably thought I was insane.
I felt insane.
"Look at her." I heard a woman whisper to her friend as they avoided me on the street.
"Disgusting."
I was going to turn and say something, but I just couldn't find the energy to bite back.
The downside about South Korea was that, because of the high population density, there really were no "back streets" and private alleys I could take for a more discreet getaway. Every street was usually busy, especially at night, so I had to walk home and be embarrassed for the second time today.
The third would be having to explain this to the guys later.
'I just shouldn't go home.' I considered going to my mom's house instead.
But I would have to explain the situation to her too.
Absentmindedly, I trudged through the streets. And before I knew it, I was standing outside of the dorm.
I stared up at the tall building, debating whether or not to go in. My throat was tight and I held back tears as I looked up at the apartment.
I didn't want them to see me like this. But still, I had to go home. I needed to shower.
The ride up the elevator was stifling. I knew that the idols who had bullied me were now long gone, but the effects of their attack still lingered. I knew that they were probably at home, replaying the video they took over and over again for laughs.
A video I wanted to destroy more than anything else.
The elevator stopped at our floor and I walked out slowly, coming to stand in front of the door. I stared at it, my hands shaking and throat becoming more dry and tight. I lifted my hand slowly to enter the code.
'This is going to be so embarrassing.'
The door unlocked and I turned the knob to open it. Inside I could hear the guys all laughing about something. They always seemed to be having fun.
But here I came, like a wreaking ball, to ruin that good mood.
I closed the door behind me, kicking off my dirty shoes, standing frozen at the entrance.
Shownu noticed me first. He passed by the entrance and turned to greet me with a smile before his face fell and his eyes widened. He was speechless.
"What's wrong?" Wonho asked, coming to investigate. He looked at Shownu for a second and then followed Shownu's gaze to me. Wonho's eyes widened in shock too. But that shock quickly turned to anger, "What happened?" He yelled.
"What's going on?" The others asked, convening at that spot to look at the spectacle that was me.
All the while I stared at my feet, thoroughly mortified.
I felt two hands grip onto my shoulders, a tall person looming over me.
"Are you okay?" Shownu asked in a low voice, a comforting force in the chaos. The boys behind him were all ready to raise hell.
I nodded quickly, wanting to hide my feelings. But the tears that started to fall from my eyes betrayed me. Before I knew it, I was a sobbing mess. All of the emotions of the day finally coming to a head.
Shownu pulled me into a hug, I felt like I was being hugged by a giant teddy bear.
The room seemed to fall silent when everyone noticed I was crying. This was the first time I had cried in front of them, which was honestly a monumentous occasion. I wasn't the kind of person that cried easy. Nonetheless, I stood there sobbing for quiet a while until I found the strength to pull away wordlessly. Shownu looked down at me worriedly, pushing messy hair out of my face. I looked at the front of his shirt to see it was now covered in flour and egg too.
This was the second shirt of his that was ruined because of me.
"Get her some water." Shownu said as he led me to the couch and sat me down.
Wonho sat on the other side of me, Shownu sitting on my right. Changkyun ran off to get water as everyone gathered around. They were probably curious about what happened, waiting for me to speak. Hyungwon seemed the most straight-faced, but I wondered if that was how he looked when he was angry. Kihyun took a hold of my hand, trying to comfort me.
"What happened?" Shownu asked softly.
Changkyun handed me the water and I sipped it, my face still covered in flour. I cringed and put the glass down, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. But that just covered my lips in more flour.
There really was no winning today.
"I was..." I said, staring down at the dirtied water, "...tricked."
They gasped, leaning in closer to hear my story.
"By who?" Jooheon pressed.
"Well..." I decided to start from the beginning, "I started receiving text messages from an unknown number a couple of days ago..." I trailed off, trying to figure out what to tell them. "And they were threatening me, saying if I didn't meet up with them, alone, that they'd tell everyone a secret of mine..."
"So that's why you said your mom was in the hospital?" Shownu asked.
I nodded before continuing, "I didn't want you guys to get hurt. So I came up with a lie and I went."
"Oh, so you thought the secret was about us?" Changkyun asked.
'Yeah, that works. Let's go with that.'
I nodded enthusiastically, thinking it was best to let them believe I was hiding our crushes instead of my involvement with the FBI. It turns out that Bulldok was lying the whole time. They didn't know anything about me, they were just trying to lure me out alone.
How could I have been so naive?
"And when I went to meet them..." I said, my voice breaking a bit. I was still shaken. No one had ever bullied me like this before. I guess idols really knew how to take bullying to the next level. "It was... Bulldok."
"I knew it! I should have done something about them from the beginning!" Wonho seethed next to me.
"But it wasn't just them." I added, looking around to see everyone was equally as mad as Wonho. "There were at least twenty or thirty other idols there too. They all joined in. All of them."
Hyungwon got to his feet, letting out a string of curse words as he paced the room.
"Calm down." Minhyuk said. "There's no use getting angry."
"We should have been there!" Hyungwon yelled. "Jiyeon is getting hurt because of us!"
"It's my job." I said weakly. "I should be able to take this..."
Hyungwon huffed before disappearing into his bedroom. He was very angry. And I was angry too, but I was past that. Now I was just sad.
"Why are people like this?" I sighed.
"Well..." Kihyun trailed off, "Imagine if you had everything in the world. The looks. The talent. The fans. What would you do for fun?"
"Mind my own business and stay in my lane." I muttered, laughing a bit for the first time today.
"A lot of idols like to bully people." Shownu said softly. "It's because they have nothing else better to do for fun. Most of them have to do deal with a lot of stress and critiques from their agencies, keeping up with weight goals and constantly being belittled by those above them. So they take it out on others."
"Like me." I muttered.
Wonho nodded sadly.
"Don't go out alone anymore, okay?" Shownu said, taking my free hand and squeezing it softly. I looked up into his soft face, seeing he was worried about me.
"I won't."
I had learned my lesson. I wouldn't be pranked so easily next time.