Your Name

9| "I just love P'Yin."

THREE WEEKS LATER

╰┈➤𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐏𝐎𝐕*ೃ༄

With a skip in my step, I made my way to the bustling cafeteria, a delightful array of junk food in my hands. I had just received my salary yesterday, so of course I wanted to treat my beloved P'Yin to something. The anticipation painted a wide grin across my face as I excitedly tried to find P'Yin.

However, my joyful expression was abruptly wiped away when P'Fourth unexpectedly snatched the plastic bag from my grasp. "Aww, what did you buy for Yin today, huh nerd?" P'Fourth muttered, his voice laced with a hint of mischief as he peered inside the bag. P'Yin's friends gathered around, their curiosity piqued.

"P'Fourth! Give it back to me!" I said, reaching out to reclaim what was rightfully mine but before I could even make a move, P'Krist forcefully shoved my shoulder, sending me stumbling close to the ground.

"Are you a girl or what?" P'Krist asked with a chuckle, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I mean, I just gave you a little push and you almost fell over, huh?" His words elicited laughter from the people gathered around us, further fueling their amusement at my expense.

I straightened myself and squared my shoulders. "You...you all are bad people. I-I don't like all of you," I said but my words met with an even louder chorus of laughter.

P'Fourth with a harshness that matched his tone, slung his arm around me, the grip on my shoulder tightening painfully. "Oh, poor thing," he sneered. "We are Yin's best friends, you know. So, should you learn to like us too?" His smirk only added insult to injury as I winced, my expression betraying the discomfort caused by his forceful grasp.

"I only love P'Yin. You all are bad people," I said and P'Jimmy pushed his index finger on my forehead harshly.

"Who's the bad one here, huh?" P'Jimmy seethed. "Do you realize you are talking to your senior, you idiot?"

"Such a stupid—" Before P'Jimmy pushed my forehead again, P'Earth suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pushed P'Jimmy harshly, then pulling me protectively towards him.

"You guys bully a junior, huh?" P'Earth said, looking at them angrily.

"Aww, come on, Earth, we are just playing around. It's all in good fun, right, War?" P'Fourth interjected, flashing a mischievous grin in my direction. "You are his boyfriend or what? People kept talking about you always being with this gay lately," he added, a corner of his lips turned up as he looked at P'Earth.

"It bothers you who I am to him? You two think it's acceptable to bully a younger student, huh?" P'Earth's voice seethed with anger.

P'Fourth's jaw tightened, his gaze fixed on P'Earth as he angrily tossed my plastic bag filled with junk food onto the ground. "Let's go, Krist, Jimmy," he snapped and the three of them turned away, walking off together.

As P'Earth scanned our surroundings, it seemed as though everyone around us suddenly became engrossed in their own business, purposefully ignoring the altercation. P'Earth then stepped forward, gathering all the scattered items from the fallen bag.

"Are you okay, War?" He asked softly and I adjusted my glasses, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude.

"I'm okay, phi," I replied. "Thank you and sorry for bothering you, phi."

P'Earth's eyes showed concern as he gently placed the collected items back into the bag. "You don't have to thank me, nong. We are friends and friends look out for each other," he reassured me, offering a warm smile.

"Friends? You want to be my friend?" I questioned, a mixture of surprise and curiosity evident in my voice.

The idea of someone willingly wanting to be my friend was foreign to me. Over the years, I had often wondered why it seemed so difficult for people to connect with me. Was it my appearance, my perceived ugliness that pushed them away? Or perhaps it was my naive behavior, my innocence that made others hesitate? And then there were those who only sought friendship with me because they saw an opportunity to take advantage of my accommodating nature.