After School With You

Episode 1: What we keep to ourselves

Miae felt her heart sink as she overheard the whispers coming from the classroom next door. "She looks so silly standing next to Cheol," one of them snickered. "He looks like a dad taking care of his daughter," another added, laughter trailing behind their words.

Despite her usual confidence, the comments stung Miae deeply. She had always been shorter than most and had faced bullying because of it, but she prided herself on not letting it get to her. She didn't like wasting time and energy on bullies. However, this time was different. This time, she was trying her best to catch Cheol's attention.

She had spent her monthly allowance on new clothes and had been using her mother's makeup. But his reactions had been disappointing. He didn't compliment her the way Jisu did; instead, he seemed angry and weirded out by her attempts to look more mature. Commenting on her makeup by saying she looked like she had been punched made her feel even worse. He didn't seem to care about the changes she had made, or if he did, he didn't show it. Now, after hearing those comments, she felt silly and hurt for even trying. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to disappear. As the thought left her mind, she heard the classroom door open. Her eyes shot up to meet his. His expression was confused and concerned as he stared at her sitting on the floor. Cheol stood tall, his violet-colored eyes looking down at her with a mix of worry and bewilderment. Miae's heart beat fast as she watched his eyes; and she couldn't help but feel a flutter of nervousness under his gaze.

"No," Miae thought. "He heard them!" Her face turned hot with embarrassment at the fact that he had been there to hear the others speaking badly of her. Her eyes threatened to spill tears as she stood up and quickly ran past him. She could hear his confused calls for her as she raced down the hall.

She ran into the teachers' office and, with her eyes hidden by her hair, quickly thought of an excuse to go home. She ran out of the building, moving fast, keeping her head low, and pleading that no one see her or try to stop her. As she ran, she tugged at the hair bands in her short dark hair, pulling at the hair accessories she had spent way too long picking out. "None of it matters anymore", she thought as she aggressively rubbed off the lipstick she had been wearing with the back of her hand. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She didn't want to be seen as a child when standing next to Cheol. She wanted people to say they looked good together, and she tried so hard. "But, why do I want that so badly?" Miae pushed the thought away, raced into her house, went straight to her room, and dove onto her bed. She didn't want to think about it anymore and wanted the day to end. She buried her face into her pillow as her mom yelled that dinner would be ready soon.

Miae sat up. Her face and hair a mess from crying. She took off her newly bought clothes and kicked them into a pile. She wadded up the pile and shoved the clothes into the back of her dresser drawer, forcing it shut.