Room 508 - Purinz

Chapter 8 - The War Repair Effort

Chaewon did her best to still her breathing, pressing hard at her eyes with the back of her hands. She couldn't do this right now. Not while her friends were still in trouble. Her hands shook as she pressed the button to call the elevator, trying hard to ignore the lingering feeling of Yunjin's hands on her waist, her breath on her lips. The elevator opened with a soft ding. Chaewon took a deep breath and entered, calming her nerves. She was going to fix this.

Chaewon could quietly hear voices as soon as the doors opened to the lobby. A few feet from her, near the mailroom door, a sharp looking blonde woman was apparently very upset with Yunjin's boss.

"You told me she was being lenient, Siwon." The women said angrily.

"She is! I swear!" Siwon defended, his palms up.

"Does that look like leniency to you?" She growled, jabbing toward the mailroom.

"I have proof! There's a girl who says she's been complaining to Yunjin all semester about the noise from 507, but I checked and Yunjin never filed any reports about it-" As if Chaewon wasn't already guilty, this revelation nearly made her sick. Yunjin had been keeping her from getting in trouble all semester.

"These kids are from 507, you imbecile," she snapped. "Your information is outdated and useless."

"No, only one of them is. There's this girl that I've seen Yunjin talking to, I think that she's-" Siwon trailed off as a group of students entered loudly, tossing a football. Immediately, he noticed Chaewon, looking almost alarmed. The woman followed his gaze to where Chaewon stood.

"Can I help you?" She asked, visibly irritated.

"I think so," Chaewon said, taking another breath as she stepped toward them. "I live in room 507," If looks could kill, Siwon would've been buried by the glare the woman gave him. "And this is all just one big misunderstanding."

The tension in the mailroom was palpable. Chaewon had entered and joined her friends, having been told she'd had to plead her case with the dean of discipline. Junhan sat in one corner of the room with his head in his hands, quietly rocking himself back and forth. He hadn't even looked up when Chaewon came in. Sunoo sat not too far away along the wall, looking completely bewildered with an arm slung over Eunchae's shoulders. Yena and Minju were in the middle of the floor, lying on their backs, and Sakura had secluded herself to the far corner. With each passing moment, she felt closer to crying. How could it all have gone so wrong?

"So I guess she turned on you, too, huh?" Sakura called bitterly from across the room. Chaewon had no idea what to say to that. Yunjin hadn't turned on her, she just hadn't helped. She was doing her job. Involuntarily, Chaewon let out a dry sob. If Yunjin hadn't betrayed her, why did all of this hurt so much?

"Are you kidding me?" Eunchae snapped at Sakura, shrugging her brother's arm away as she got to her feet. She joined Chaewon against the wall, giving her a sympathetic rub on the shoulder.

"What?"

"You're the one who invited him!" Eunchae snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Junhan, even though it was obvious who she meant. He didn't look up.

"Oh," Sakura chuckled darkly as she stood. "So you're saying this is my fault?" She asked, slowly crossing the room.

"He shouldn't have been here," Chaewon said quietly, trying to still her breathing. "You should know he can't control himself."

"He said he was over it! Everything was finally going alright!" Sakura shouted, glancing over to where Junhan still sat, yet to acknowledge the conversation going on about him.

"And you believed him?" Chaewon asked. Eunchae cocked an eyebrow as if to concur.

"Yeah." Sakura breathed. "I did." She frowned, glancing over to Junhan again.