Exchange Student || PURINZ

chapter 2

KIM CHAEWON

I entered the bathroom and locked myself in a stall, trying to calm myself down. Then my mind went to Yunjin. I quickly pushed those thoughts away, focusing myself on my breathing.

Eventually after a few minutes, I calmed down and went back to class. I took notes and asked questions when I didn't understand something.

So far so good...

Then lunchtime came. I entered the cafeteria, my eyes immediately scanning the room for Yunjin. That's when I saw a girl. She was slim, had long brunette hair and she was very pretty. She looked like a princess. She had a flock of girls surrounding her.

The girl noticed me and walked over to me. "Hey" she said, looking me up and down. "H-Hi" I say back, obviously super shy when it comes to meeting people. "Are you new around here?" She asks, crossing her arms above her chest, looking me up and down again. "Yeah, I'm an Exchange Student" I say, awkwardly.

"Ah, I see" she says, then turns to her friends. "What's your name?" She asked, turning her attention back to me. "I'm Chaewon, Kim Chaewon" I say, looking down. "Ah, well I'm Jang Wonyoung" She says, then puts her hand out. I shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you Wonyoung" I say, with a soft friendly smile. She turns back to her friends.

Her friend said something I quite can't make out then they all laugh. Then she turns her attention back to me again. "I'll see you around, Kim" she says with a slight attitude, then walks away with her friends. I felt... weird. I didn't know how to describe it. I sat down at an empty table, then I heard footsteps coming near me. I looked up to see Yunjin walking towards me. "Hey Chae" she says with a smile, then sits across from me.

"Hi" I say, giving her a soft smile. "Hey, sorry I'm late, I was in the bathroom" she says. "Oh" I say. Then Yunjin notices my change, I know she can tell something is wrong.

"Hey, you ok?" She says, looking concerned. I was still feeling a bit insecure about the encounter i had with Wonyoung and my panic attack in first period. "Yeah, I'm fine" I reassure. "No your not, something's up" I say. "Ok, I ran into the girl today" I say, and that makes Yunjin raise her eyebrow.

"A girl? Who?" She asks, confused. "She said her name was Wonyoung" I say. And then Yunjin's expression changes from confusion, to anger and disgust. I raise my eyebrow, confused by her expression. "What's wrong?" I ask. "Wonyoung is a stuck up spoiled brat" she says, glaring at Wonyoung. Which only raises my confusion.

"I'm confused..." I say. "Wonyoung is the popular girl, she's pretty and rich, she always hangs out with her friend group and they call themselves IVE" Yunjin says. I nod in response and Yunjin continues. "Wonyoung is a bitch towards anyone and everyone, she always looks down on people" Yunjin says, her hands clutched into fists, her knuckles turned white. She was angry, my guess is she hated Wonyoung. "You hate her... Don't you" I say quietly. "I don't just hate her, I hate her guts" she says.

I nod. "Listen, Chaewon, Wonyoung is bad news, don't follow her lead, it won't be worth it" Yunjin says, looking generally worried. I nod. "Ok, I won't but I think she doesn't like me very much, her friend said something to her, and they glanced at me, then they all laughed and she walked away" I say, which makes Yunjin more angry. "That bitch..." she growls, clutching her fists harder, so hard that her knuckles turned ghost white.

I just decide to stay quiet, that whole lunch, we both ate silently.

__

Yunjin opened the door to her house, dropping her bag in the floor. "Ugh, school is the worst!" She complains, collapsing on the couch. I quietly sit at the kitchen counter with my school bag, opening it up and taking out my stuff to do homework.

My back is facing Yunjin, then I hear footsteps. I look beside me to see Yunjin standing there confused. "You're doing homework?" She asks, like she's never seen someone willingly do homework before. "Yeah" I say, turning back to the assignment. "Why?" She asks, leaning against the counter. "Because it counts for a grade" I say.

"Wow, never seen someone do homework willingly before" She says, heading into the kitchen and grabbing the orange juice from in the fridge. She grabs two glasses. "Do you want some orange juice while you do homework?" She asks. "Sure" I reply, still focused on my homework.

She pours a glass and sets it down near me, then she takes a sip of her own. Before grabbing her bag and sitting across from me. "What are you doin?" I ask, looking up from my homework. "Same thing you're doing" she replies, then gets started on her homework.

We both do our homework in silence.