save me | jungkook

02,

The library was silent and still. There were only a few students studying in there with piles of books stacked next to them. Areum was one of them. She had piles of books surrounding her and she was already finished with one of the piles. She was hidden in the midst of novels and textbooks. She picked up the next book and skimmed through, noting down what she needed to know.

Next period would be lunch for her.

Areum stretched her arms and massaged her shoulders. The librarian smiled at her and picked up the books she finished reading. Areum mouthed a thank you and went back to reading.

She noted down the important facts that she would need and highlighted them with a bright yellow color. She sighed, slumping down against the chair. Her shoulders were in pain from being so stiff while writing. She checked her watch and saw that there was still twenty minutes left of the period.

As she laid her head down on the textbook, she felt someone playing with the ends of her hair.

She flinched away and sat up straight immediately. Jungkook was right next to her, his hand still up after his action. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you or something," his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Yeah, I'm fine," Areum reassured him emotionlessly. She organized all of her notes together and placed the piles of books aside in a rush.

Areum grabbed her backpack and headed towards the exit. "Wait," someone's hand tightly gripped onto her wrist. Areum widened her eyes in surprise and tried to yank her hand away from him.

Her sleeves slowly rolled up.

"Stop being so persistent. It's not like something bad is going to—" His eyes looked over onto her arm and assessed it. There were small, thin cuts all over her arm. As Jungkook traced them with her index finger, Areum took the chance to jerk her hand away from him.

She rolled her sleeves back down, hiding the cuts on her arm. "Don't touch me," she said sternly and left the library of the school.

Areum headed down an empty hallway and after a few minutes, someone bumped into her. Her notes flew out of her arms and onto the ground. As she was about to pick them, someone shoved her. She fell to the ground harshly, her right arm aching in pain after trying to support the fall. Areum rubbed her elbow and looked up.

It was the girl in her homeroom class and the girl that would constantly bully her almost everyday.

"I-I didn't mean to bump into you," Areum stuttered. She picked up her notes really quickly and stood back up. The girl snickered and said, "of course you did. It's all because of this fat on your belly. You're so fat that everyone has to wait for you to get through the hallway. Maybe you should consider loosing some of that weight, but of course, you would still look fat anyways."

     "But-"

     "But what? Do you see this?" The girl poked at her belly with her finger. "It's even jiggling from a poke of my finger."

Areum stared at her stomach self-consciously. She could see fat bulging out of her body and hanging. For the first time, she opened her eyes and saw the amount of fat on her. My thighs are huge, my belly is drooping down, my cheeks are so chubby, and everything about me is ugly, she thought.

The words were endless and never-ending.

Tears streamed down her face and she quickly wiped them away with the sleeves of her shirt. The girl standing there, rolled her eyes at the scene in front of her. "Oh, and uh, stay away from Jungkook. He's mine," she walked away, her heels click-clacking against the floor.

     Areum walked down the hallway in a depressed mood. Am I really that fat?

     The bell rang and students started to fill the hallways. Some of them didn't bother to look at her while others stared at her with disgusted eyes. She noticed the reactions and looked down, speeding her pace towards the cafeteria. She felt her heart constricting and her breaths shortening. She reached the entrance of the cafeteria, but hesitated to go into the lane for food.

She got her tray of food and sat down in an empty table. Areum poked her food with her fork, slightly unwilling to eat.

She sighed and forced herself to take a bite of the burger. She took small bites, one by one, until the burger slowly disappeared from the tray. She felt guilty about eating so much especially after what the girl had said about her. She looked down at her lap. Stupid fat. She poked at her thigh, wishing it would be skinnier.

Areum picked up her tray and walked towards the garbage can. In almost an instant, she saw someone stick their leg out and trip her. She felt herself falling and her tray flying out of her grasp.

Someone wrapped their arms around her waist and kept her from falling to the ground. Her eyes were shut in fear and after a while, she opened them. Looking up, she saw Jungkook giving her a pitiful smile and he helped her up to her feet. The cafeteria was awfully quiet and Areum could feel the stares from the people around her. She hated attention with a passion. It's what got her into trouble and that's how people started bullying her.

"Oh, and uh, stay away from Jungkook. He's mine."

Areum recalled what the bully had told her. She jerked out of Jungkook's hold and ran out of the cafeteria, half in embarrassment. The lunchroom suddenly bursted into laughter after she had gotten out as if nothing had happened.

As if she was nonexistent.

She ran to the girl's bathroom around the corner and locked herself inside an empty stall. Areum began sobbing quietly to herself.

Make it stop, she pleaded to herself desperately. She blocked her ears with her hands.

Please make everything stop.

     Even just for a second.

~

Check out my "new" instagram account: @bluejeonie cause someone has the name bluejeon already ;-; darn it. Also my YouTube is bluejeon. Nowadays, I've been having some insecurities about the way I look. I can't help but feel that I look ugly and fat. Also I feel like I'm being super stressed out these days. Exams will be coming up soon so if I do not post for two weeks, don't worry. I will still update.

From your author,
Flora Lee ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ