Dull [Book III]

Thank You

Wednesday was the first day of the week when Soojung went to school again, thanks to her two-day suspension. Her mind was blank and so was her expression, her eyes, her heart... like the life had been sucked out of her and all that was left was a moving body.

Soojung felt empty.

Her feet brought her straight to the disciplinary office the moment she stepped into the gates, only because she was instructed to. Soojung could simply attend her classes and just ditch the meeting, but she didn't have anything better to do anyway. And so, she sat down with a poker face and tried to focus on the words said to her.

"I sincerely hope you have learned your lesson after being suspended." The woman behind the desk stated with a sigh. Soojung could only nod. "Assaulting a fellow student is a huge offense and you did it to three. If this thing happens again, you will be suspended for a week and next to that, you'll be expelled from this school."

They deserved it, Soojung thought. They fucking deserved it.

"Miss Chae Soojung, are you listening to me?"

She straightened up on her seat and nodded again. "Yes, ma'am, I am. And I perfectly understand."

"Excellent." The woman smiled, just as the first period bell rang. "I'll give you a hall pass so you won't get in trouble after this. Go straight to class."

She stood and picked her bag up, going out of the office as she swung it back and forth. Soojung took her own sweet time treading the corridors and stairs, honestly not in the mood to attend to anything anymore.

For two whole days, she had herself locked inside her flat, answering to no one. Dohee had knocked a few times and called her phone, even sent her a message to see if she was still alive in there. She responded with an "I'm fine" and nothing else just to assure the older girl, and Dohee made sure she knew who took her home on Saturday night.

She didn't think too much about Lay helping her get home as the only thing she could really recall was Minah downing shots until she was shitfaced. Soojung would thank him when she got the chance and not ask about anything; not about her letting the alcohol get to her head and not about the weird stuff she probably did while she was intoxicated.

Jiyong tried to contact her both on phone and online but she never responded. She knew he was getting worried with her not speaking to anybody, but she just didn't have to heart to talk to him for the past few days. It was this strange voice invading her head, for some reason telling her that she was being unfair to her boyfriend even though she hadn't done anything wrong.

None of her friends attempted to reach her, not even Sunyoung. Soojung understood that as a cool-off thing, like getting the heat and tension off their heads for a couple of days and not speaking to each other.

When she arrived in front of her homeroom, Soojung contemplated whether or not to come in. The issue of the delinquent inside the second section was still in the air and now that she was back, she wasn't sure if showing her face again was the right thing to do.

Taking a deep breath in, Soojung held the doorknob and heard a chorus of words, probably a novel they were discussing in English and Literature. She closed her eyes for a moment and bit her lip, pulse racing at the thought of seeing her classmates again.

"Courage, Chae Soojung." She mumbled to herself. "You can skate down from high ramps, you can face these assholes. Courage... you have plenty."

And so, she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

Teacher Yijae's huge smile melted for a second at the sight of her by the door, but she quickly regained her composure and gestured for Soojung to come in. Although feeling awkward, she stepped into the room and approached the woman by the desk, fist closing tightly that it crumpled the hall pass she had in an instant.