"What's the meaning of this?!"
Yoo In Na was the school chairman's daughter. She was known as the left hand of the Elite group's leader, basically because she was always standing on the left side. She acted as the spokesperson of the elites: announcing new sets of rules, calling out students for not adhering, and checking them. She always made sure that everything was done as instructed.
She took a step ahead of the Elite group, she was long-haired and white, a rich man's daughter at first look. With her presence, the student org club members started to tremble with fear but Min Jung's face retained its usual strong expression.
"Are you still taking a photo? Why are you still all frozen? Speak!"
This time Park Jin Joo had spoken. She was short, not so pretty but cute. Many would agree that if she wasn't related to the principal she would have been the bullied-type of a student. But in actuality, she was foul-mouthed and did much of the excessive talks and verbal abuse. Jin Joo was sensitive to negative remarks on her appearance such that a mere mention of this would make her turn against that person.
"It's for the district inter-high school newspaper," the Vice President of the student org club managed to answer.
"I know! Do you think we'll fly here just to meddle with your cheap groupie bonding time?" Jin Joo retorted.
"Ha! Like a sneaky measly cat trying to steal the spotlight behind everybody's back," In Na seconded sharply.
Min Jung snapped at their remarks, "Why? Can't we represent the school? Aren't we, the Student Org Club, elected as representatives by the students?"
"Elected by the students? Yah, How? I don't even remember voting for you. Have you?"
Jin Joo turned to the other Elite students to ask and they all answered no, amused at the idea. Min Jung was taken aback and so she snapped back angrily.
"So? Are you saying that we're not qualified to represent the school? So who does? You?"
All the members of the Student org club looked at Min Jung in surprise, they couldn't believe that she would fight back at the Elites knowing their notoriety in school. Tae Pyung was also surprised as the scene progressed. He personally knew a little about the Elite group, but based on the feeds he got about them and the first confrontation with them today, he knew that they were not a force to be reckoned with.
"If you wanted to represent the school, you should have joined the student election last time," Min Jung continued.
There was a moment of silence as the Elites were also taken aback by her. The Elites had ruled the school for a long time with successive leadership of capable Elites and this was the only time someone tried to question them.
In Na was about to retort angrily when someone suddenly spoke.
The owner of the voice took several steps forward and the Elites moved aside to give her way. Like an unveiling of a curtain, Tae Pyung saw a familiar face. Long hair cupped an oval-shaped face with side-swept bangs flattering her soft looks. She wore a serious expression that came off as Fatale. She had classy grace on her that could go rough any time. An angel's face with a devil's gaze.
He was surprised to see her again but more than that, he was surprised to learn that she was the leader of the Elite students.
"If we had joined the election..."
She stopped a meter's distance from Min Jung and lifted her head, cold eyes caught hers.
"...then, you shouldn't be here now," her voice, both cold and warm, imposing yet calm, provided a deafening silence.
She and Min Jung stood there, both fighting each other's gaze. No one dared to interrupt. They could have stayed a long time weighing each other's stare when a soccer ball rolled and stopped between them.
"Then, why don't we have an election? The group with the most number of student votes will represent the school in the district inter-high newspaper."
The students glanced at the owner of the voice. Yoon Jeong Han smiled.
* * *
"How's the election going?" Jeong Han asked Tae Pyung. They were sitting on the bleachers.
"The club members are experts with the campaign stuff," Tae Pyung replied nonchalantly, still looking at the empty field. Remembering something, Tae Pyung glanced at Jeong Han.
"How about you? I was so surprised when you suggested the election when in the first place you are from the elites."
Jeong Han laughed, his white face shone brighter as the sunlight hit his face. He was the first student, Tae Pyung got to talk to when they were scheduled at the same time in the clinic. He could not forget his remark that day: "I guess I've found my rival." And so the next day, Tae Pyung found out that Jeong Han was the campus heartthrob.
"I'm not fond of drama," Jeong Han replied, shaking his head.
"- but, I was stunned by Min Jung's aggressiveness such that even Ye Jin had to step in. You know, that barely happens." In his three years in the school, it was his first time to see someone talk back to the Elites.
"I told myself, 'Whoah! that's different!'" Jeong Han continued saying.
"She sure was different," Tae Pyung murmured.
But he was referring to this certain person in his mind. A girl with long straight hair with bangs and the night he saw her... down at the park, one night.
Tae Pyung's family had just settled that day on the house they've rented in Dae Gu. The house was a perfect place since it was near the school he would be attending. He decided to take a trip down that night to the school but he found that it was a little farther than what his father claimed.
When he decided to go home, he heard a noise and saw two boys kneeling on the ground. A girl was hitting their heads; one fat boy was under the seesaw terrified.
"Yah! You smelly kids!" the girl said. After giving them a good beating, she leaned on the swing post.
"Bring out the money... Money!"
The two boys immediately searched their pockets.
"Ah, make it fast!" she said impatiently.
She glanced at her watch and kicked the ground, dust slapping the two who were in a hurry to bring out the money from their pockets. They gave it to her. She scared them by threatening a kick and so they hurriedly ran away. When she turned around, Tae Pyung was already five steps in front of her. In a short moment, he was stunned. It was beyond his intention to look at her physical appearance but he did not expect such an innocent and lovely face at all. How could a slim frame like hers physically assault the boys a while ago? How could threatening words come out from her cherry small lips?
Clearing his throat, Tae Pyung said: "How much?... how much money did you get from extorting money from students like you?"
She stared at him and her eyes were clear as spring water. Instead of answering him, she looked at her watch as if she was in a hurry to go somewhere. She turned to the student still hiding on the seesaw and threw the money at him.
"Go! Go and make sure to never show your face again. Understand!" she yelled.
Then she turned to face him and walked in his direction, she stopped before she could reach his side and said in a very low voice:
"Just think you're lucky today," she whispered right around his shoulder, bumping it hard as she went away.
Tae Pyung was stupefied when he figured out the real situation, then he turned to face the student who was getting ready to leave.
"They tried to take my money. Good riddance, Ye Jin-sunbae came," he said.
* * *
The election turned out to be the worst thing that happened to the Student Org Club. It didn't only prove the elite's superiority but also the fact that they were nothing but sore figureheads. As if they already knew they would win, the elite group rejoiced in a calm manner when they got the highest vote while Min Jung and the club members moaned in defeat. One by one the students left the auditorium where the election was held. Before walking away, In Na turned to them and folded her arms in front of her chest.
"If it were me, as an Elite, I wouldn't even consider this poor, cheap election. You should know your place. The war has not yet ended, it has just begun."
Then she left them an evil smile that could last a lifetime.
* * *
The school's News Club member who took their photo expressed his sympathy for the club in not winning the election. He gave the picture as a souvenir instead.
"I really wanted you to win but... we all know that the elites will always have their way."
"Go! If I knew, you voted for them too!" The Vice President snatched the picture from his hand and shooed him away, closing the door.
The atmosphere was gloomy and they were all low in spirit.
"What I worry about the most is what that Hyena (In na) said before she left. She'll surely make our semester a hell!"
That remark made everyone gasp hopelessly. No one seemed to care about the picture so when it was passed to Tae Pyung, he slipped it in a notebook lying on the table.
Wanting to escape the gloomy atmosphere, Tae Pyung went out of the room to get some air. He went down to the third floor where the seniors' rooms were located and as he passed by the hallway, one room at the end of the floor caught his attention. The special section for elite students. His feet led him there and he found himself observing what their class was like, and it was everything one would expect for elites.
His eyes scanned the room and finally found the one he was looking for. Sitting at the last row beside the window, there she was, scribbling in her book.
That image became a fixed idea in his mind. That even in the following day, when the bullying started, he couldn't admit that such a girl was leading a pack of werewolves. He could still remember how everything looked so soft around her, and how she chuckled when the teacher cracked a joke in their class.
Because of the bullying, some members left the club and even close friends maintained a distance from them to avoid the elite group's wrath. From small acts like bumping into them causing them to drop their drinks or foods to making sure that there won't be a table available for the group in the canteen. The elites really meant it when they said that the war had just begun. A losing war.
One interesting and ironic thing was, most of the students who bullied them were not at all part of the elite group. The elites themselves rarely laid a finger on them, instead, they remained on the sidelines laughing and mocking at them.
Tae Pyung wasn't spared from the bullying. While under the shower after playing soccer, his clothes were stolen. He had to stay there for a long time, screaming for help, until someone who happened to pass by, came to save him in this predicament.
"I couldn't stand this anymore!"
Tae Pyung quietly observed Ye Jin the next day.He believed that she could do something. Rarely alone, Ye Jin spent time with her core group. The only time she was not accompanied by some of the elites was after class. When most of the elites waited for an expensive car to fetch them and some in cool motorcycles, Ye Jin used a bicycle instead just like ordinary students.
Tae Pyung decided to use that time. He took his bicycle out of the parking lot and waited for Ye Jin. Being naturally cautious, Tae Pyung usually inspected his bike before riding on it, but before he could do that, Ye Jin suddenly passed by. Taking the chance, he started his bicycle immediately to keep up with her. Little did he know that his bicycle was taken care of by some bullies.
"Ye Jin!"
Tae Pyung called out loudly. Unfortunately, she had her earphones on and was keeping a straight face on the road.
"Yah! Son Ye Jin!"
He shouted while trying to cross the distance between them. When she still didn't notice him, he decided to overtake her, shouting and pantomiming to take her earphones off. Confused, she just squinted her eyes and ignored his request. She even pedaled faster instead. In return, Tae Pyung also pedaled furiously trying to keep his distance.
But then, he found himself unable to control his bicycle anymore.
* * *
Son Ye Jin was bewildered to see a male student on a bike keeping at her pace, asking her to take her earphones off. Being someone who didn't follow orders from just anyone, she simply scoffed at his boldness. She could hear him calling her name faintly as an echo on the song playing on her mp3 player, which was ironically 'Close to You' by Carpenters.
Deciding to ignore him completely, she was about to increase her pace more when she suddenly noticed that his bicycle was swaying ruggedly. Turning her head when he failed to catch up, she saw him fall on the road.
"Aish! Ye Jin! Don't tell me you want to help him?" she said while frowning, deliberating if she should ignore or help him. Despite herself, she turned her bicycle around.
When she finally reached him, she crossed her arms in front of her.
"What's this?!" she snapped. But it was actually just a cold substitute for 'what happened?'
"Please stop bullying our club," Tae Pyung replied to her instead. She lifted an eyebrow after hearing it.
"What?...you're already hurt but you-" She glanced at the bruises on his knuckles and at the graze on his left cheek.
"Compared to the bullying and abuse we get everyday, these are nothing. Stealing someone's clothes while in the shower and leaving just like that, what the hell was that?"
He stood up before her. He was so tall that she was just around his shoulder. His jet black hair was styled like most of the male students, but he was strikingly very handsome in it. The only thing unremarkable was, he looked hapless and sleepless.
"Ah! So you're a member of that club," she said, now putting her hands on her hips. Straightening her back and raising her chin to meet his eyes.
"Your group already won the election, so please stop these childish acts and leave our club alone."
Ye Jin smirked and frowned, then she stared at him straight in the eye.
"When you ignored the elite group and degraded our authority in school, haven't you pondered over its consequences? The elites weren't just any group of friends. Tell me, who was being childish now?"
Tae Pyung was taken aback by her words.
"You did this to yourselves. I can't do anything," she said strictly then darted her eyes somewhere.
"'Fortunately, Ye Jin-sunbae came'... that was what the student in the park exclaimed when you saved him from the bullies that night."
Abruptly, Ye Jin returned his eyes back to his face, now she realized why he looked familiar, he was the boy in the park who mistook her as the one bullying the two boys.
"-I've heard so many things about the elites, about you... bad things... but, that night makes me think otherwise. And that's why I am here. It's not like you can't do anything if you wanted to," he said, maintaining eye contact that could melt even the coldest of hearts.
Ye Jin withdrew from his stare. It's the first time that someone actually approached her, trying to demand something. But she couldn't get herself mad from his impudence, instead, she admired his courage. She shifted her gaze to study his bicycle and saw the cut in its brake wiring.
"So... did the bullies do that?"
* * *
"Aish! I can't take this anymore! I haven't even started the day!"
The club Vice President wailed in agony as soon as he entered the club's boardroom. He was wet and it was easy to guess that he was dumped with a pail of water early in the morning. Each of the members also took a share of the same unfortunate fate and one by one they rattled on about what happened to them.
On the other hand, Jeon Won's mind was not at present.
"So... did the bullies do that?"
Tae Pyung glanced at the obvious intentional cut on his brake's cable wire. He was about to say something when he felt a touch on his face and he jerked in surprise. Ye Jin studied the graze on his face for a short moment but it felt like she was a still frame for him. She brought something out of her pocket, squeezed a small amount of lotion on her pinky finger, and applied it on his left cheek. A sting made him realize that he had a cut on his face, but beyond the pain he felt, his heart beat rapidly because of her closeness. As an ending touch, she put a band-aid with tiara designs on his cut.
"Hand," she demanded, obviously an order.
"It's okay," he said while stuttering. But she didn't accept refusals and so she reached over, took his hand, and treated his bruises too. Stunned, Tae Pyung could only stare at her.
"I think you can still walk," she said, more to herself than to him. Then, without even saying goodbye, she left him. She was already so far away when he realized that he didn't get her answer.
Tae Pyung let out a heavy sigh after remembering what happened yesterday. Other members of the club let out a heavy sigh too.
"That must have hurt," one of the club members commented on his bruise.
He just nodded and touched his cheek. He felt the band-aid in his fingers, it was still the same band-aid yesterday. It gave him a feeling foreign to him, something he wasn't ready to entertain yet.
Abruptly, the door burst open, revealing five elites: two male elites, Jin Joo, In Na, and Ye Jin. Everyone stood up in surprise and Tae Pyung stood up too, more because of Ye Jin's presence. She glanced at him for a moment and looked away. In a stern voice she said:
"I want to talk to the club president."
The members were silent and scared of what was going to happen. The elite group leader, not just an elite member, barged into their club's office and that meant something serious was about to happen.
"Where's the Club President!" Jin Joo screeched with her high tone voice.
"What are you doing here?" Min Jung went out of her built-in office after hearing the commotion in the room. She looked at everyone then lastly at Ye Jin.
"Have you already reflected on your mistake?" In Na spoke this time.
"Mistake? What mistake are you talking about?" Min Jung answered, looking at In Na stubbornly.
"Ha! Really! This brat!" Jin Joo exclaimed which prompted Min Jung to glance at her sternly.
"Ah! Hyungnim! Please forgive us, it was only a misunderstanding from the start."
The club Vice President ran to them and begged for their forgiveness, Min Jung stared at him in disbelief while Tae Pyung understood his action, knowing he had already suffered so much.
"Misunderstanding? Is that so?" In Na asked him, raising her eyebrow.
"Ah, no! It was obviously our ignorance. It was a mistake. We've already reflected on our mistakes. Please forgive us!"
"Vice President!" Min Jung yelled, outraged by what he was saying.
Tae Pyung also didn't want this to happen, the club's pride was at stake. He knew that Min Jung held great pride in their club's name, but on the other hand, he thought that she shouldn't ignore the member's agony and sentiments this time.
Tae Pyung was about to say something when Ye Jin suddenly spoke.
"Starting today, the elites will leave your club alone and the bullying will stop."
The club members froze. Min Jung looked at her in disbelief while Tae Pyung was stunned. The other club members rejoiced and the Vice President bowed thankfully saying thanks again and again. But their partying stopped abruptly when Ye Jin lifted her hand.
"-but... one needs to sacrifice for everyone," she continued saying, making them wonder nervously.
"Wha-what do you mean hyungnim?" the Vice President asked.
"One of you will serve the elites until the end of the semester. And who do you think it will be?" Ye Jin said with one eyebrow up.
She looked at Min Jung.
"The club's president."
The club members gasped in surprise and... relief.