8 Years - ENG VERSION

Chapter 23

JISOO

Four days without Hae-in and I already wanted to go crazy. Haeji looked better than Friday, maybe because it didn't bother me that she said I'm her mother, after all, I was.

On the way to school she told me that now all the girls want to get close to her. I said that it was normal for her since she was with me and Hae-in and that she should treat everyone well, but it would be better to remain friends with whom she already was friend before.

I was with Lisa, in the living room, watching TV when my cell phone rang, I recognized the number as Haeji's school and answered it immediately.

"Miss Kim Jisoo?"

"Yes!"

"We need you to come to school immediately." I frowned and felt a tightness in my chest.

"Is Hae-ji okay?" Lisa glared at me.

"She got into a fight."

"A fight?"

"It would be better for you to come to the school, so we can talk better." The call ended.

"Is Haeji okay? A fight? What's this mean?" Lisa asked. I denied it.

"I don't know... I need to go to school." I say getting up.

"Unnie, wait!" Lisa got up and came after me.

Lisa couldn't get in, so I went alone to the principal's office. Haeji was sitting on a chair facing the principal's desk, her head down.

"Hae-ji..." I crouched down beside her. I turned her face towards me, she refused to look at me, her gaze remained down, her cheeks were wet, her nose was red and there was a scratch that ran from her cheek to her chin. "Are you okay?"

"The other girl is a lot worse, believe me." I stared at the Principal in disbelief. Haeji was a sweet and caring girl, I couldn't imagine her fighting to the point of hurting another child. "She almost broke her classmate's nose."

"What?" I stand up even more in disbelief. "Something happened, she wouldn't do this for no reason."

"Hae-ji, what happened?" I glared at her and she sniffed, not answering anything. The Principal looked back at me. "She doesn't tell us what happened and the girls who were present said that Hae-ji hit first." I took a deep breath. "Miss Kim Jisoo, I am aware of Hae-ji's situation and that you want to adopt her, but raising a child is not easy. I understand that your world is surrounded by luxuries and whatever you want, you get..." I frowned, not understanding what she meant. "But a child's education needs to set limits." Was she saying I wasn't a good mother? "Hae-ji is an exemplary student, she has good grades, and she has never been involved in anything like that. I know the move might be confusing for her, so I'm putting her on hold for ten days." I nodded, I didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry, I'll talk to her about it, and it won't happen again." The principal didn't seem to take me seriously and that pissed me off.

"I need you to sign the letter of suspension." I nodded.

I left the principal's office with Hae-ji in silence, she refused to face me or say anything. Lisa almost went back to school to fight with the kid, but I stopped her, we didn't know what had happened for sure.

At home, I put Hae-ji on the sofa and Lisa went to her room leaving me alone with her. I knelt in front of her, and it pained me to see her look away from me so much.

"Hae-ji, what happened? Did you hit first?" She nodded. "Why?" She just sniffled, the tears rolling down and wetting her face again. Limits, a child's education imposes limits. "I'm sorry, Hae-ji, if you don't tell me what happened, I'll have to punish you." Silence. I took a deep breath, gathering strength. "You aren't allowed to watch BlackPink videos, and we will not watch While You Were Sleeping anymore for one week." She looked up at me, her eyes twinkling with sadness and regret.