Chapter LIII – I’m Not Alone

“Gosh! I feel so much better now. Thanks. . .” Sophie smiled at Ari and Yeona, unpacking her lunch as she sat on the bench in the school courtyard.

“I can’t believe that it’s still such a prominent topic even after a full week has passed,” Ari let out a sigh as she referred to the suspension that Arthur was involved in.

“Compared to their daily drama, it’s to be expected,” Yeona pointed out.

The two met Yeona a little over a month ago at a bookstore. Yeona browsed fantasy light novels that recently piqued Sophie’s interest. Noticing the same school uniforms, the conversation sparked naturally. It truly was by chance that the three met. Though she knew Sophie was Arthur’s younger sister, she didn’t initially consider befriending her because of it. It was only when the two started hanging out regularly that she began hoping to use that friendship to get closer to Arthur, while still holding her dear even if things didn’t work out the way she hoped.

Sophie remained clueless about Yeona and Arthur knowing each other beforehand. Arthur kept his word about keeping what happened on the school trip a secret. However, this also meant that there were things that Yeona knew about Sophie that she couldn’t share. For example that she was aware of Sophie being bullied, but couldn’t do anything about it, or when she saw Sophie crying at the hospital before the two even officially met.

“Still, I didn’t think it would affect me. . .” Sophie complained but appeared not too stressed about it as she smiled the entire time. “I’m just shocked by how many people keep asking me for details. It’s like they think I was there personally.”

Her school life changed immensely ever since the fight. She gained a reputation that she didn’t expect to have. Arthur was officially branded as a troublemaker along with Max, a reputation that she doubted they’d have. Tjay on the other hand already had that title since the first day of school a year ago. These rumors made approaching Sophie a bit harder since some would be intimidated. It was the same for Hana who had an older brother known for causing trouble, but unlike Sophie, she embraced it to the fullest. He was the major reason behind her overblown ego which deflated the moment her brother lost.

“That’s just how it is,” Ari commented while taking a bite of her homemade lunch, kimchi fried rice. “Family reputation is important. However, Oppa’s reputation has gotten a little bit better recently.”

“Better?” Sophie asked.

“Well, it’s better than people constantly mentioning his potential suicide attempt among other things,” Ari clarified.

“I wish people would stop. Do they not understand the weight behind the idea of suicide?” Yeona spoke with a lowered tone as she averted her gaze, the topic was a little too relatable.

“You okay?” Sophie glanced towards Yeona.

“Oh, yeah. . .” she smiled back at the two. “Don’t mind me. Besides, shouldn’t I be asking you that? Your Oppa is the target of such rumors.”

“Blah, let rumors be rumors. Can’t do much about it,” Sophie stretched her arms up before looking up at the clear blue sky. “I just didn’t wanna listen to it all day. Besides, with summer around the corner, we’ll be drama free soon!”

“True,” Yeona smiled leaning back into the bench. “Then I’ll finally have enough time to catch up on all my reading! What about you guys?”

“Speaking of drama. . . You read the script I’ve sent you two days ago?” Ari looked at Sophie expecting the obvious answer.

“Script?” she looked puzzled. “Ah! Right. . . Heh. . .”

“Damn, she really does have truth written all over her face,” Yeona chuckled with one hand covering her mouth.

“I do not!” Sophie protested with a bright smile.

“So you didn’t read it?” Ari crossed her arms and sighed.

“I. . . Ugh,” she kept stuttering. “No. . .”

“Well, nothing we can do about it now,” Ari began giggling along with Yeona.

“By the way, I never asked you before, but what club are you a part of?” Sophie turned to Yeona.

“I never told you, did I?” she slowly settled down. “Music club.”

“What do you play?” Ari asked.

“Guitar, but I also sing.”

“That’s cool!” Sophie looked brimming with excitement. “Then you have to go to karaoke with us.”

“Sure, it sounds like fun.”

“How about we do that after the finals. . .” Ari said while shaking her head, she was officially the responsible one out of the three.

Sophie huffed but she couldn’t fight Ari’s reasonable request.

The girls sat around during the rest of the break before heading back to class, chatting about random topics like what they’d do during the upcoming summer break.

“Ugh. . . Math is next,” Sophie complained.

“I’m gonna enjoy chilling during Korean,” Yeona commented as she wasn’t their classmate.

“Lucky. . .” Ari dreaded math as well.

“I’ll talk to you girls later then,” Yeona waved goodbye at the two before rushing off.

“So. . .” Ari looked over at Sophie. “Wanna come over to my place and study tonight?”

“Probably. I’ll just have to check with Grandpa,” she said stopping herself in front of the classroom. “You go in, I’ll be right back.”

“Hmm?” Ari looked at her confused.

“Just gotta run to the bathroom,” she chuckled before splitting up.

Ari watched as Sophie disappeared among the students returning to class, making the hallway quite tightly packed. Taking a deep breath, she sighed before jumping in place as she felt a cold breeze caress her neck.

“Aaa!” she yelled, turning to see Irene who couldn’t help but chortle as she blew into Ari’s neck playfully. “Irene!”

“I swear you two are adorable,” Irene teased, referencing Ari and Sophie, who often have similar innocent reactions.

“That scared me,” Ari took a deep breath holding onto her chest. “What are you doing here?”

“Am I unwanted?” she pouted.

“What? No,” Ari got flustered.

“As I said, adorable,” Irene smirked playfully.

While her teasing was quite light compared to what she does when Arthur is involved, it still provoked quite the reaction.

“But for real, class is about to start. Do you need anything?” she asked trying to calm down.

“Right,” she smiled appearing more focused. “I came to ask Sophie a favor, but I see I just missed her.”

“She went to the bathroom, I bet she’ll be right back.”

“Thanks, I’ll just wait up.”

Splashing water in her face, Sophie looked in the mirror. She hasn’t been sleeping that well recently due to studying until late hours. Occasionally, she’d ask Arthur for help, but she didn’t wish to disturb him too much.

Sophie found herself alone in the bathroom, a sight all too familiar. There were many bad memories that she relived whenever she entered. However, if she was going to spend three years in J High, she couldn’t allow those memories to disturb her school life.

Hana kept her distance. Her reputation plummeted after she became a bit tamer. It even gave courage to others to resist her bullying. Even Dal-Rae who was her closest friend had given up on socializing with her at school. However, rumors were claiming that the two still see each other on occasion.

“I should head back to class. . .” Sophie mumbled turning to the bathroom door.

Before she could leave, the door opened before her, and Hana along with her two minions walked into the bathroom.

Great, now I’ve gained the ability to summon the devil itself simply by remembering her. . .

Sophie watched as Hana approached. Even if the meeting was unintentional, it was unpleasant to say the least. Hana glared at Sophie as soon as she entered, hinting at the amount of animosity she held towards her.

“Well, well. . . Isn’t this a fated reunion,” Hana pointed out.

“More like a wicked curse,” Sophie’s tongue was sharp, refusing to back down. “Stalking me again?”

Unlike last time, Hana had no leverage over her. She regained her confidence and was heavily inspired by Don who managed to step up to Yong Tae. Even if most would consider Hana to be a pebble compared to Tae who would be a mountain in comparison, everyone had their demons to face.

Truthfully, she felt as if she couldn’t back down. If she did, then she’d have to accept defeat, and all the negative emotions that she managed to overcome would come bearing down upon her.

“I heard your Oppa got suspended,” she smirked viciously. “Too bad they didn’t expel him.”

“I’m sure you’d like that,” Sophie crossed her arms, unafraid of what Hana might do.

“You grew quite the mouth on you. Little cat learned how to bare its fangs? Maybe the protection you gained temporarily dulled your senses,” Hana got into Sophie’s face, but Sophie didn’t flinch this time around. “Do you realize that your Oppa is no longer here to defend you?”

“Neither is yours,” Sophie referenced the fact that it was just them in the bathroom.

“Well, I guess that doesn’t matter,” Hana leaned in but swiftly turned towards the sink, turning on the water and washing her face.

Sophie remained wary knowing that Hana was up to no good.

I can’t just leave. . . Her puppets are blocking the door. I doubt they’ll want to miss the class, so maybe I can just delay them long enough without causing anything.

“Hana. . .” Sophie sighed. “While I’m still puzzled as to why you did what you did, I can’t find it in myself to stay angry over it. So how about we settle this like mature adults and let bygones be bygones?”

Sophie truly wanted to leave it in the past. While she could never be friends with Hana, she didn’t wish to hold in her anger. Forgiving wasn’t impossible, but forgetting was. As long as she understood that, Sophie was confident that she could get over her issues with Hana.

“Bygones be bygones?” Hana stopped the water and looked at the mirror, her gaze focused on Sophie. “Want us to kiss and make up? Are you some sort of a perverted creep as well?”

“Hana, I’m being serious,” Sophie crossed her arms. “Let’s say we keep this up until the end of the year. Do you think we can continue like this for two more? I’m offering a peaceful resolution.”

“You do love acting like a saint, don’t you?” Hana lowered her voice. “You think that dark prince of yours can keep you safe at all times?”

“Dark prince?” Sophie chuckled failing to keep her composure at the sound of Hana’s irritating voice. “Guess that would make me a princess. Something that you’d never be. . .”

Well, now I've done it. . . Hopefully the bell rings soon.

The two exchanged a deadly glare.

“So, you’ve finally decided to show your true colors?” Hana grinned. “As a princess, you should make sure to keep your chastity, but I’m sure you already lost yours a long time ago. Sadly I failed to prove that you’re nothing more than used goods the last time.”

Sophie gritted her teeth, trying not to allow the cheap trash-talk to get to her.

I can't with this anymore. . . Guess this is my limit.

“Ah-In, Chija, why do you girls even follow this trashy bitch that does nothing but use cheap words? If she wasn't hiding behind you two and her brother, she'd be a nobody.”

The two girls were stunned by Sophie’s provocation. There was no way Hana wasn’t going to react and Sophie was ready for it.

Turning quickly, Hana raised her left hand and went to slap Sophie with all her might. However, Sophie was the more athletic of the two, managing to grab her wrist which forced the two into sluggish grappling. Neither of them knew how to fight, so it ended up being nothing more than them shoving each other around while grunting and kicking mindlessly.

Her minions kept watching, unsure as to what to do. While they wished to help Hana out, the fear of what Jeon Sung-Ho, Hana’s brother, said to them had left them frozen in place. Both clearly recalled him threatening all three that if they were to ever touch Sophie again, they’d get beaten up by him personally. Hana on the other hand disregarded her brother’s warning and went for it anyway. She couldn’t afford to miss such an opportunity.

“What are you two doing, help me!” Hana yelled out as both Sophie and she have fallen to the ground.

“Get off me!” Sophie yelled back, unwilling to back down.

Sophie’s biggest fear was that the three would gang up on her together. She had no idea that the two would stand back and watch.

The bell finally rang as all the students were now in class. It was only a matter of time before Ari would come looking for her, so all Sophie had to do was hold on. However, her fight with Hana was halted sooner than expected as the bathroom door slammed open.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Irene stood at the door with her arms crossed and her voice low yet commanding.

The two girls by the door acted like they did since the very beginning, tame and quiet.

“Irene, get out of here!” Sophie yelled out worried that the two would jump her.

“What are you two doing standing around, stop he-” Hana yelled, but before she could finish the sentence Irene ran towards her and kicked Hana in the stomach.

She used her left leg which was her dominant. The force behind the kick was strong enough to send her tumbling to the side.

“He said he doesn’t hit women, so I guess it’s up to me then,” Irene sighed and looked down at Sophie as she laid on her back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. . .” she mumbled accepting Irene’s hand to get back on her feet.

Hana was coughing from pain. Unlike the four of them who lacked any fighting skill, Irene was a talented kicker who trained for almost a dozen years.

“Ari told me you went to the bathroom so I patiently waited, but it turns out you were busy,” she glanced over her to check for injuries.

Luckily, their fight wasn’t serious enough to cause even a bruising on Sophie’s skin.

“Had an encounter with the devil,” Sophie glanced over at Hana.

“You little. . .” Hana slowly sat back up, the kick not being enough to keep her down but strong enough to make it hard for her to stand.

“I suggest you calm down or I’ll kick you again.”

“You think you can just do whatever you want because of your last name?” Hana smirked. “Didn’t know that you were such a troublemaker as well. Guess the students ought to know what kind of person you really are. Trash really does pile up together.”

“You can’t be serious. . .” Sophie looked dumbfounded by Hana’s meaningless comment. “After all you pulled, you think people would believe you?”

“That kick will leave a mark,” she laughed cynically. "That's all the proof I need."

“Are you mentally ill?” Irene asked kicking the wall right next to Hana’s head which visibly shook her. “If you wanna tell them, go right ahead. If you so much as think of touching a hair on Sophie’s head or any of her friends, I’ll make sure to get you expelled from school.”

“Irene, let’s go. . . There’s no point in wasting words on her,” Sophie grabbed Irene by the hand gently.

Irene felt Sophie’s soft hands trembling. Though she was acting tough, Sophie was afraid of what might’ve happened as that was her first real fight.

“Alright. . .” she sighed as she turned towards the exit, walking with Sophie by her side. “What about you two?”

“We didn’t do anything. . .” Chija said with a lowered and submissive tone.

“Whatever. . .” Irene mumbled, leaving the bathroom.

Once in the hallway, Sophie finally took a deep breath and exhaled in relief.

“That was stressful!” she yelled out in a whispering tone. “Fuck, we missed class.”

It was the first time Sophie openly cursed in front of Irene that she could remember which made her chuckle.

“Never mind the class, I’ll tell uncle what happened so he’ll understand and justify our absence.”

“You can’t tell him,” Sophie stopped her in place.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want this to spread more than it needs to,” Sophie kept whispering but was shocked to see Ari running down the hallway. “Ari?”

“Sophie! Where were you?” she was already winded on top of being stressed, even though the distance she ran was negligible.

“She ran into trouble with some girl from the bathroom, I don’t know if she mentioned her name. . .” Irene explained.

“Did Hana do something to you again?” she kept panicking.

“Calm down,” she tried to ease Ari into it. “As you can see I’m fine. So take a deep breath.”

“Again?” Irene looked at Sophie with her arms crossed, she was never told what had happened before she arrived. “I guessed this wasn’t the first time, but did she hurt you before?”

Sophie sighed knowing that there was no point in hiding it. However, it was a long story that she didn’t feel like sharing in the hallway.

“Ari, return to class. . .” Sophie said with a soothing tone. “I’m with Irene so I’ll be fine. Don’t miss class cuz of me.”

“Are you not coming?” Ari asked confusedly.

“I’m not letting her go back to class after that,” Irene placed her hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “We’re gonna have a little chat and then discuss what to do. Alright?”

The two girls nodded but under the condition that Sophie would tell Ari everything later at night. Sophie also requested that Ari took her stuff with her if possible which she agreed to without hesitation.

Before reporting anything to her uncle, Irene took Sophie to a nearby park. With drinks in hand, Sophie explained everything that had happened up until that point. The explanation shocked Irene to the point where she was fuming with anger. Seeing Irene’s reaction made Sophie laugh which confused Irene.

“What’s so funny?” Irene raised an eyebrow at her.

“You two are one of the same,” she kept chortling and smiling winsomely. “To think that you might even have a scarier gaze than him after finding out the truth.”

“You mean Arthur?”

“Yeah. . . As I said, if it weren’t for him, I think I’d still be rolled up in my blankets and hid in my room,” she finally settled down.

“I can’t even imagine what you went through. . . Why did you not report this to the police?”

“Nothing happened in the end.”

“That’s not an excuse!” Irene was bursting out.

“Calm down, please. . .” Sophie smiled softly, knowing that Irene’s outburst is for her sake.

“Sorry. . .” she sighed, slowly letting the tension dissipate.

“Yes, I should report what happened to me. However, that would cause my family even more distress than it already has to deal with. You know our situation fairly well. Our father died, and our mother abandoned us. Grandpa is the only one taking care of us and he already works long hours in his old age. Not to mention that Arthur just woke up from his accident. . . I think you get the picture.”

“Yeah, I do,” Irene whispered, placing a hand over her face. “It’s just infuriating.”

“It is. However, things are different now,” she said calmly knowing she faced her fear. “Not only do I have an amazing Oppa that has my back, but I’ve made plenty of new friends like you. To think that Don even risked his life to save Ari and me from something horrifying. I’m not alone.”

Her words sparked a tearful reaction out of Irene, but she managed to keep her composure.

“You’ll never be alone again,” she said hugging Sophie tightly. “I’ll make sure to nag you to death. I’ll even dare share a bed with you again, and even if you kick me I won’t leave your side,” her own comment made her chuckle, as well as Sophie.

“Maybe a little privacy wouldn’t hurt?”

“No!” Irene yelled out as the two burst into laughter.

After a while, the two had finally settled down.

“Can your uncle really take care of the fact that I’ve missed a class?” Sophie sighed thinking about how troubling that might be.

“Don’t worry about it. However, I’ll tell him what happened today.”

“If you do that won’t it just start more trouble?” Sophie asked confused, thinking that Irene understood why she couldn’t say anything.

“I’ll make sure that he doesn’t act on it out of respect for you, but I do want him aware of the trouble that occurred so he isn’t caught off guard if Hana tries anything.”

Sophie thought for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Alright,” she whispered. “If you think it’s for the best, I’ll believe in your decision.”

Thus the two sat at the park and discussed the scene that unfolded, making sure to cover all ground and prepare a story that Irene was going to share with her Uncle. Sophie and Irene both contemplated if they should share what happened with Arthur, but both felt uncomfortable with the idea of keeping a secret from him since their relationship with him was based on being truthful to begin with. Sophie took the responsibility of telling him the truth. All she hoped for however was that the trouble with Hana had finally come to an end.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.