VISUAL [CEW] ✔️

[ 04 ]

F O U R
THIRD PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW

"DUDE... WHAT THE FUCK? I brought you banana bread and milk. You didn't even say thanks." Jihoon whined, taking a seat in the cafeteria. Woojin narrowed his eyes, "Bitch... you literally just returned what she gave you." Hyerin nodded spastically, putting her returned banana bread and milk into his tray. "Manh-i meog-eo, bitch. (Eat a lot, bitch.)" She muttered out loud, giving him a sarcastic smile while she received a glare from Jihoon and all the girls staring him down. Woojin chuckled lightly, "Haha... bitch." He repeated, poking out his tongue at his friend across the table. A few seconds after that, the chairs next to Jihoon and Woojin were pulled back. "You guys act like children." Hyerin had just plopped a piece of pickled radish before taking a glance to the owner of the voice. It was Jinwoo and the other five members of Astro. With her mouth full, she watched the whole cafeteria go quiet. She could easily hear what people were whispering about.

"Mwoya? (What's going on?)"

"Astro is sitting with two of Wanna One's members."

"Man.. Hyerin's so lucky? Kang Daniel is her cousin, those two are her best friends and now Astro's sitting with her?"

"Well, obviously. Look how pretty she is."

"Shut up, Seojae. I saw the trio talking to Jinwoo and Myungjun yesterday in class."

"Maybe their friends?"

"Maybe we're in deep shit?" She mumbled to herself, Jihoon and Woojin nodded to the quiet question. Jinwoo placed his tray down, "You don't mind us sitting with you, do you Hyerin-ah?" She closed her eyes for one second, she suppressed her signature sarcastic smile and forced a small smile. "Of course not." She clenched her teeth, watching the other five members sit down out of the corner of her eye. She rested her left cheek in her hand, using her right to pick up some the soup of her kimchi jjigae with a spoon. "So we heard someone isn't too fond of Eunwoo." Woojin and Hyerin flickered their eyes to Jihoon, giving the 'I-told-you-so' type of look. The redhead glared at his two friends, taking a quick glance at Eunwoo, who was smiling so wide his eyes had indeed turned into crescents.

"Look Jihoon, is this revenge for not getting into the group? Or are you actually worried about losing your visual placement in your class? Because that is so childish yet competitive of you. Like come on, be serious here. We're seniors now." Minhyuk laughed quietly, a few quiet snickers erupted in the air. Hyerin calmly put down her metal chopsticks, her tongue swiping her bottom lip while a small scoff escaped her mouth. "You were right, Woojin. The only thing these people survive of is popularity, looks and money. Whatever the reason is for not joining your group, the reason he doesn't want people like Eunwoo in our class is because you guys take everything else from people despite having everything. Every other guy in the school has to suffer because all the girls are after you. They can't even be friends with someone without being compared to you or being up to your standard. What sick fucking world we live in."

• • •

Hyerin got to her apartment complex, arriving at the mailboxes to check for any mail. As she opened mailbox 303, some movers passed by her, carrying boxes towards the elevator. She grabbed the few letters and walked into the elevator as well. "Annyeonghasyeo. (Hello.)" She bowed to the two older men. They nodded their head in acknowledgment. "Which floor are you going to? I'm going to level three." The short one of the duo answered, "So are we!" Hyerin pressed the level three button, "There's only two apartments on that level. Is all this for room 303?" She queried, blinking at the boxes which actually couldn't be for her family. "Oh, no, no. This is for 304. Your family is going to have some neighbors after a while. I mean, hasn't room 304 been empty for years." She nodded in agreement, "It has. The sound of neighbors sounds exciting. Do you know who they are?" The duo shook their head as the elevator stopped. "We just got told to be very careful with the furniture because the family is very rich."

Hyerin nodded slowly, "Ahh... I see. Well, I hope you take care. Annyeonghikaseyo. (Please stay well.)" She bowed before opening the keypad to her family's home. "Eomma! (Mom!) I'm home!" Hyerin yelled as she walked in enthusiastically. "You're decently early today. Did you finish studying?" Her mother asked, after looking at the clock which read seven o'clock in the evening. Hyerin bobbed her head in agreement, removing her bag off her back. "Did you hear about the new neighbors?" Her mother queried once again, watching her daughter go into her room to change into comfy clothing. The aroma of her mother's classic spicy japchae filled the house. "I did. I was in the elevator with the people who were moving their stuff into there. According to them, the owners are really rich." She helped set out the table, putting three plates and three pairs of chopsticks on the able along with three bowls for the rice.

"Jeongmallo? (Really?) I wonder why they moved into such a middle-class neighborhood, if I'm being honest. Oh! Can you call your sister for dinner?" Hyerin nodded, opening the door to the fourteen-year-old's bedroom. "Yah, Hyesoo-ah. Stop talking to your boyfriend and come from dinner." Hyesoo rolled her eyes, bidding goodbye to her boyfriend. "Why do you always ruin the fun, unnie? (Older sister.)" In return, Hyerin gave a sarcastic smile. But it was crazy wasn't it? How Hyerin has never had a boyfriend or her first kiss. But her younger sister had already experienced all of that. She feared that Hyesoo would do more at this young age. "Did you know we've got neighbors now?" Hyesoo blinked in surprise, "Really? I wonder who they are. That place has been empty for years. They must've been desperate to find a place. Although this complex isn't bad. It's has a 4.3 rating." Hyerin agreed with her dongsaeng (younger sibling), the terrace here was seriously pretty.

"You know, I met the owners today in the morning. They have two sons. I haven't seen them though. But now that you've mentioned that they're rich... I think they have a personal driver and a butler. Probably not." Hyerin let out a sigh, "It must be nice to never worry about money."