He Started It by Hitting on Me

You

I had stayed quiet for a few days without anyone questioning me. Sometimes some of my friends would look at me for a moment but wouldn't bother to say anything. I didn't need the attention from them. I didn't need anything right now. My mind had been clouded with several thoughts about Hea Won and the hospital incident. And every time I thought about it, my insides would curl uncomfortably.
That girl.
Haneul.
That ruthless girl that's been luring in these past few months just waiting to attack, she had made my life completely and totally miserable.
And she succeeded.
I still don't have a clue as to why she did it, and it makes me frustrated. I couldn't really fit the puzzle pieces together because nothing could make sense. Right now I think Haneul did it for no reason at all, except for one thing: revenge. Why she had gotten back at me? I do not know for sure. However, I do know that she wanted vengeance; otherwise this thing she pulled would be called ridiculous. It still could be called ridiculous, but I would need more information to prove that.
Ever since Haneul made that shocking revelation, I hadn't seen her since. I was on the lookout for my friends and myself. I now knew she could do anything to us, whether it be an attack or a murder attempt. And I wanted neither of those.
You could say I went a bit lunatic for a while. Being quiet and looking around constantly with a slightly frightened expression isn't exactly normal. I knew Haneul was seeing this whole thing, and she was pleased with what she was getting.
I was alone. No one knew what I was feeling, no one questioned me-I was on my own for the time being. It was only I who felt the urge to look over my shoulder when everything was quiet. It's not that I don't mind, because I don't. I didn't want any of the others to know what was going on. Maybe it was selfish, maybe it was something else, but I didn't want any more trouble caused. If any of my friends got hurt, or, God forbid, was killed by that psychopath I'd go crazier than when Hea Won died. I needed to keep this to myself.
But what if that's what Haneul wanted? What if she wanted me to say nothing, so she could target any one of the people in the group? What will I do then? She hasn't done anything now but maybe that's what she's planning. After all, this is what she had done before.
There was a day when everything became to come together. It was a scorching Thursday in June and we were getting out of the school to go home for the day. Everyone had something to say or said nothing at all. It was the same thing everyday: Key, Onew and Taemin in one constantly talking group, Minho and Yanna in one silent group, while Jonghyun was alone. Usually he would be with Key and the others, but he walked on his own. I didn't ignore the fact he was oddly closer to me than the other guys and girl. He didn't speak of anything, though.
I don't think it should be a surprise Haneul decided to join us by surprising most of us. She was hit with insults and yells from Key and Taemin, and a "You scared the out of me" from Onew. Minho and Yanna jumped a bit from her popping up, but then waved almost timidly. Jonghyun groaned audibly and went on walking faster than before, however; Haneul had caught him in her hold and had her arms around him the whole time we were walking.
It was disgusting.
"Why are you here?" Jonghyun grumbled as he tried to get away from her grasp. Haneul smiled innocently and widely as she could.
"To see you guys, of course! And I missed you~" she said as she buried her face in his back. I rolled my eyes and looked away, thinking it was stupid how she put up this act. I was getting rather pissed off with how well she was acting around them. Maybe this is how she fooled me. Or like how she said, I was being "dense" or "slow". Maybe I am dense. It was making sense with all I haven't been seeing that was so obvious.
"Yah, Haneul, you should let go of me. This feels uncomfortable," Jonghyun commented. Haneul shook her head and held onto him tighter.
"Ani~ I don't want to," she whined a bit, her cheeks squishing against his backside. Again with this? Ugh. Jonghyun tried to slap her arms away but to no avail; she was like super glue. For a few minutes he had tried to get her off him, but failed and gave up, knowing it just wouldn't work. And so, for the time until we had got to the way to Jonghyun's house, Haneul walked behind Jonghyun with her arms around him from the back. They wobbled like penguins.
I had ignored them for the whole time, wiping my head of any sweat that accumulated. We began to break off in groups: Key and Taemin in one, Minho and Yanna in another, and Onew went with Jonghyun to hang around his house. When Jonghyun had to go, he tried once again to get Haneul off his back. He struggled, for I heard the grunts he was making. "Let go of me, Haneul," Jonghyun demanded, lightly punching her arms. Though his actions were soft, his face was red and annoyed. They spent a few more minutes with this, until Onew threatened to bite her arms. He almost did, if it weren't for Haneul pulling back quickly. I almost smiled for what Onew was going to do and began to walk away, not wanting to stay for her.
But that won't happen, now, will it? I had expected for me to make it home safely, but you'd be an idiot to think that. The footsteps behind me were barely heard for a while, but the intuitive side of me came and I looked over my shoulder. And there she was, standing tall and cocky. I stopped walking and turned around to face her. Going home isn't an option anymore.
Haneul stared at me for an awfully long time, though it was probably a minute or so. I did the same as I tried to search for some kind of emotion in her eyes, yet I couldn't find anything. After a prolonged minute, Haneul's mouth opened. "Do you know why I killed her?" she asked almost quietly, and there was no emotion in her voice as well. It was a solemn question meant for me. I didn't reply. She took that as a gesture to keep going. "I did it to get back at you," she replied to her own question.
So I was right.
"Do you want to know the reason why I got back at you?" she asked with the same tone from before. "You killed him."
I furrowed my brow. "...Killed who?" I asked, speaking for the first time in days.
"Joon." The name had my heart flip over in fear.
"You know him?"
"He was my brother."
Another unexpected revelation. "He was your...brother? But I-I mean, well-I never heard of you," I admitted, remembering the times I was with Joon, those weird-happy times before I knew he was -crazed. He never did say he had a sister...or did he...
Haneul almost chuckled, her mouth in a thin line. "Of course he wouldn't. He was so completely in love with you he forgot about his family. He was crazy about you...then you got him into jail."
"He wanted from me, nothing else. He didn't love me," I retorted back, anger rising in the pit of my stomach. The sun had my forehead almost drenched in perspiration.
"He was completely head over heels for you. He did everything he could for you, but you- you had him risk his life because you were so afraid of nothing," she hissed.
"You didn't know your brother like I did. He would drag me to vacant rooms to harass me. Don't you think I have a reason to feel what I feel?" I asked, my stomach boiling with several emotions. Who was she to tell me this?
"That was just a way of showing how much he loved you-"
"Do you hear yourself? If you liked someone, would you do the same as your brother?" I almost yelled.
Obviously Haneul had nothing to respond to that so she gave out a short sigh as she looked at the ground. "Your boyfriend should have died as well," she said.
"Whom are you talking about...?" I asked, a bit confused.
"Your beloved Jonghyun. God, how friggin' dense can you get? That pathetic human being killed Joon oppa," she snapped.
I felt an overwhelming feeling of rage take over the boiling pot in my stomach. "He's not pathetic," I mumbled, glowering at her.
Haneul scoffed, saying, "Says the girl who's pathetic herself. You know, you guys do go well together, both pathetic and slow to everything around you. It's a shame you're too coward to tell him how you feel. You all are cowards, aren't you?"
I felt my fists clench tightly. "I thought you liked him," I growled.
"That was just an act. Everything was an act made for you and the others. I did well, didn't I?" Haneul chuckled darkly, looking up at the sky. "By the way, Mi Young, how jealous were you when I was hugging your pathetic lover?"
"Shut up!" I yelled, the anger taking over completely.
"Jonghyun isn't really that attractive anyways...I don't know why you'd kill Joon oppa when he was much better...well, I could see how you can never take the advantage of keeping the good things around you. First Joon oppa, then Hea Won...sad, isn't it?" she said, sighing.
"You didn't have to kill her. He died because he was taking things too far."
"No, he died because that threw him out a ing window!" Haneul barked. Haneul shook her head. "All these people you call friends are certainly feeble in every way."
And the fury exploded almost too quickly. "You have no right to talk about them that way," I snarled as I went straight for her throat. She was ready as well, as she struggled to get me off her. She pushed me off her, and then gave a swift punch to my cheek. I felt the stinging process quickly, and I knew there would a mark after a while. I grabbed the arm and held her steady as I gave one punch back. She stumbled back but came towards me, her leg sticking out to strike me. I dodged it, as well as the other punches and kicks she tried to throw at me. However, she hit me on the head to get me a bit woozy for a second and had taken advantage of that situation.
For a while she kept beating me up, a few punches here and there, and a few bruises finding a way to cover my complexion. She had put her knee up and thrust it against my stomach. I bent over as I gave out a small "oof". I got back up again, only to be hit by Haneul again.
"You're worthless, Mi Young. You give up the good things in life for nothing special, no one really loves you-I bet Jonghyun just pities you. You may be smart, but you really have nothing to live for. You should just die right here and now. It would be less of a mess God has to clean up." Haneul's fist found a way to my shoulder blade. "Without you, life would have been easier for people. Hea Won wouldn't have had to die, and Key and her would have been fine." Another punch went my way. "Remember when Key was stabbed? Oh yes, that person was I. Remember the car that almost ran you over in spring vacation? That was I as well. And yet, you still couldn't find out anything."
Haneul stopped throwing punches at me and grabbed my chin with force. I was panting heavily as I felt the metal taste of blood in my mouth. I stared into her hate-filled orbs. She put on a mocking expression of pity. She shook her head slightly as she clicked her tongue. "Poor Mi Young. You think you're special, don't you, with the special treatment you get from everybody..." she leaned in closer to my face, exerting more pressure as she held onto my chin.
"That just means you're a pathetic little nobody."
I leaned closer into her face as I glared. " you," I spat angrily. She gave out a light snort and pushed me away as she let go of my chin. I had a small moment to wipe the blood from my face. As she came back towards me, I punched her right on the nose. She staggered a few steps back while holding onto her nose. When she let go, her snout appeared to be red but nothing severe. I tried to hit her every opportunity I got. Sometimes I punched her; sometimes she dodged. She started to look a bit swollen, though, and that's where I was headed.
All the irritation, displeasure, hurt, annoyance, and rage became to come out at once as it found its way to my fists. My fists found their way to Haneul. Every time her words would come in my mind, I'd hit her harder. She was getting weaker and I was becoming stronger. When she had fell to the floor because of a punch I swung at her, I felt the desire to kick her head. Just once good kick and she'd be dead. I hesitated for a second, but no more than that. Before I could have brought my leg back to swing at her, police sirens began wailing about.
I looked up from Haneul and to where the police lights were. They were heading straight towards us, meaning some person around this neighborhood had witnessed this scene. I stayed completely still as I was shocked and couldn't operate a move. I heard Haneul move below my feet and when I looked down, I saw her wanting to grab my leg. I was going to kick her this time, I really was. But I inched away and let her hand fall on the concrete. By the time that happened, the police cars stopped and out came the uniformed men and women alike, dragging us with handcuffs and into the car. They took us in separate cars, though, and that was all I needed for less violence.
I heard a policeman saying a code into his walkie-talkie, and before I knew it, I was finding myself drifting off into a short-lived dream. It was of nothing.