His Cinderella | Choi Soobin

Seventeen ♚

TW // Sexual assault

|| HYEWON ||

The next morning, Hanjin woke me up by sobbing loudly on the phone.

She was calling Soobin, begging for forgiveness at the break of dawn. Her thunderous sobs filled up the entire house, waking up everyone. But I guess it worked, because at breakfast Hanjin while smiling brightly at everyone.

"Guess what?" Hanjin smirks to mom, despite it being around 8 in the morning. She does have a lot of energy, you'd think I'd be used to it by now. But surprisingly, I'm not.

Hanjin doesn't let mom speak, interrupting her before she can answer. "Soobin and I made up, so we're going down to Gimpo to ride in his yacht. A bunch of his friends will be there, too." She says excitingly, shoving a mouthful of food into her mouth. "Take me there at 3 o'clock, mom."

"Oh honey, I don't think I can drive you. I have an important meeting at the office..." Mom gloomily says, trying to put as much empathy into her voice as possible. I lower my head, already knowing what's going to happen next.

"B-But... I have to go! What will Soobin think?!" Hanjin quivers her bottom lip, her eyes becoming watery as she starts to breathe heavily. She slams her hands onto the table. "YOU'RE THE WORST MOM EVER!"

That's all she screams before running away upstairs to her room, not forgetting to slam the door as hard as she can first. Mom is quick to run after her, leaving just Aaron, his kids, and me at the table.

Aaron looks around awkwardly. "Um, does anyone want some more maple syrup...?"

~

It was Monday at school, and I walk into the full classroom. Just as I walked in, the bell rang loudly in everyone's ears. I take my seat in my chair as Mr. Lim walks into the room after me. "Good morning students!"

The students welcome him cheerfully, which causes a smile on his face. "Hey, Miyoung! Where's your blazer?" Mr. Lim shouts to a girl named Miyoung, who sat near the second row. She wasn't wearing her blazer, and the buttons on her blouse were loose.

"Hmm, although I like what I'm seeing..." He whispers closer to her, causing her to giggle. "...I can't allow a dress code violation in my class. Go to the principal's office, please." Miyoung runs away from the classroom, a smile obvious on her face.

"Okay students, let's just watch a movie today." Mr. Lim sits down on his chair, placing his feet on the desk. My fellow classmates erupt in cheers as I'm left cursing under my breath. He always plays stupid films instead of actually ever teaching us. I'm so tired of these incorrect films from the 1980s, they never give correct information.

The film turns on and most students usually spend the time going on their phones, napping peacefully, or talking with each other. I tried my best to focus on the film, but my mind kept on focusing on something else.

The way Soobin defended me yesterday. I know I'm not supposed to eavesdrop, but I swear it was on accident! The weirdest part was that I heard Soobin and Hanjin talking about me. Usually, I don't mind if people speak about me behind my back. But it was different this time because Soobin wasn't talking trash about me.

For once, it wasn't someone getting mad at me. It was someone getting mad at Hanjin. And I love Hanjin, so I usually don't mind if someone puts the blame on me instead of her. It's not like it's her fault for that happening. But yesterday, I felt happy that Soobin actually saw how I wasn't guilty.

After a painfully boring class, I grab my bags and pack my books. Unfortunately, I happened to be the last one in the classroom. I usually don't mind on a regular basis but Mr. Lim is a creep and I don't want to be alone with him.

I try to make my way out, but of course, he stopped me. "Ms. Ahn?"

I grit my teeth, forcing a smile as I turn around stiffly to meet his eyes. He gets up, slowly walking towards me. "I saw that during class you seemed to be a little occupied with your thoughts during my lesson, hmm?"

My eyes almost rolled right then, but I had to stop them from doing so. Is he actually being serious? Unlike every other student in this class, I actually tried to pay attention to the film and try to understand the information being shared in it. And did he just call it a 'lesson'? Mother fucker, you didn't even teach anything! For it to be a lesson, you actually have to do your job as a teacher and teach instead of sitting your fat ass-

Okay, maybe I'm getting carried away. But you get the point. "Sorry, sir."

Mr. Lim starts to get dangerously close to me. My breath hitches as he lifts up my chin with his hand, making me make eye contact with him. "Maybe I should give you a punishment." He whispers seductively. Get away from me, coffee-breath.

The next thing I know, he started leaning in close. My eyes widen as my fight-or-flight kicks in. I didn't know what to do, so I ended up lifting my knee and gabbing it into his groin, sending him backwards before he could touch me anywhere. He groins as his back hits against his desk.

"You bitch!" He curses out, falling to the floor. I was afraid he was going to hurt me even more, so the next thing that I do is leave him in the classroom, running for my life through the halls.

I ran and ran until I reached the first floor, where I was practically out of breath. I need to tell someone what Mr. Lim just did to me. What if he ends up doing it to another student? What if he already has? I need to do something, quick.

To my luck, I saw a familiar face walking out of the school with her eyes glued to her phone. I run-up to her. Thankfully, she was by herself. "H-Hanjin, I need to tell you something serious."

She doesn't look up from her phone, only humming in response. I look at her, irritated. "Please Hanjin, this is important. It's about Mr. Lim." Her head lifts up at the mention of the teacher. "What happened?" She asks, placing her phone in her pocket.

We walk side-by-side together. Hanjin actually looks slightly worried now. "I was in the classroom and everyone else was gone. And then Mr. Lim tried to k-kiss me!" I say quietly in her ear, making sure no one heard.

"Seriously? That's it?" She deadpans. My mouth slightly hangs at her response as I stop walking. "What do you mean 'that's it'? He tried to kiss a student! You're not worried about that?" I ask, honestly bewildered.

"Did you at least kiss him back?" She asks. I shake my head in disbelief. "No! I kneed him in the dick before he could do anything to me, thank god." I say to her.

She scoffs. "Wow, you're really an idiot."

"What?"

She turns to face me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Don't you get it, Hyewon? Mr. Lim does that with all of the female students that he teaches. Do you really think that Kim Miyoung is actually getting straight A's because she studies? No! She's sleeping with him. Every girl in his class has at least once."

She had Mr. Lim last year, which probably meant she had done that too. I shake the thought off. Hanjin continues walking after that ridiculously stupid thing came out of her mouth. "That's what I called a missed opportunity on your part. You could've taken the chance to raise your grades."

I had just about had it. Doesn't she understand?! Mr. Lim is being romantic with people half his age! And no one seems to care except for me. Why has nobody brought this up to the school yet? "I have to tell the principal."

"You can't!" Hanjin shouts. Now she seemed actually scared. "What if they make us retake all of our exams?! I'll fail all of them! No, you can't, Hyewon! J-Just don't be selfish for once and actually think about my wellbeing!"

"That's seriously what you care about?" I ask. Hanjin was trying to control me, and usually, I let it happen. But today, I had enough of her AND Mr. Lim. "You're seriously a bitch, Hanjin. Go fuck yourself."

That was the last thing I said to her before walking ahead of her, leaving her behind. I don't care what Hanjin commands me to not do, I'm telling the principal what's happening with Mr. Lim and that's final.