[ Author's Note: This chapter contains some topics on bullying and suicide. You may skip this chapter if you are not comfortable with this topic. ]
Suho
"May I ask you a question before I tell you about my story?", I hesitantly asked, looking everywhere but her.
"Sure...", She answered nonchalantly.
"Why did you choose to study at Yerim High School despite knowing that this high school has a ridiculous system? Did your parents forced you?", I asked out of curiosity, perhaps this thought had been lingering on my mind since the first time seeing her walking through the school's hall.
Just why? Why out of all high school did she choose to study here? The thoughts of her being selected as the victim of the year scared me the most. I remember running down to the management office, rummaging through the metallic drawers for her folder. Sighing in relief when I discovered that she had been listed as one of the top students back at Merchiston High School which is her former high school.
Hana tilted her head and mumbled, "My father told me that Yerim High School is one of the top high schools in Seoul. I don't think much about it at first, my father frequently advised me during breakfast to be focus on my studies and maintain my perfect score for the monthly tests", She take a deep breath as I remain silent.
Didn't her parents tell her about this? They should know about this right?
"School's staff, classmates, and also seniors approach me to give me a warning. The same warning all over again about you and the EXO members. I thought that the EXOs are just like those typical bad boys that think they can rule the entire school, outsmart the school's rules, and are just plain stupid", she murmured.
"But, I was wrong. This is more than what I thought. The students started to whisper to each other about The Victim of The Year and the school's tradition. I have been asking myself a lot of questions for the past 4 weeks. What is happening? What do the other students know, that I did not know", she questioned, staring at me in a mixture of confusion and frustration.
I cleared my throat, and asked her, "Your, parents did not tell you anything about the school's tradition?", squinting my eyes.
She gasped as soon as it hits her, "Impossible...They won't do it", She whispered slowly, shifting her gaze to the ground.
"Parent should be fully aware and informed about the school's tradition, the school's management even forced the parents to sign a consent letter about the-", Hana quickly held her head up and looked at me in disbelief.
"Are you sure?", She asked.
"Yes", I answered, nodding my head to confirm it. "Then why?", She whispered with a hint of sadness in her tone.
"Maybe, they have a reason behind it", I comforted her, "Yeah...", She mumbled.
The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze, Hana was sitting beside me, with her shoulder slumped down. The silence surrounded us, "Enough about me, what is your story?", Hana asked, trying to lift the mood.
I raised my head up and take the longest breath, I smiled but I'm filled with nothing but bitterness.
"Have you ever wondered why do every school are so eager to have talented students? Why do most schools divide students based on their grades? Every school has their own stupid system, but Yerim High School, they took a different turn. Every year, Yerim High School will only produce excellent graduates with perfect scores in every aspect. Even though the student gets a 99% during a test, you will be asked to repeat the test in a matter of days. If you failed to do so, your name will be added to the list. This is how Yerim High School encourages its students. They introduced a system that forces the students to push themselves beyond their limits", I stopped, reaching my hand out to loosen the school's necktie that suddenly felt suffocating around my neck.
"The list, do you mean The Victim of The Year list?", Hana asked, her eyebrows furrowed, forming a thin line. I nodded my head as a reply.
"The school will choose the best top-12 students to be the school representative, they are responsible to bring back trophies for every competition that the school sent them to compete. They were expected to get 100% in every test, they are technically the school's pride and joy", I paused, clenching my hand in a grip.
"They are known as EXO. They played the biggest role in this school's corrupted system. They are the ones who will be responsible for the list, they have the freedom to alter it, thus that explains why all of the other students feared them. The worst part about this group is, they will be the ones who did all of the dreadful things, even if they did not sign up for it...", I murmured.
"I come from a wealthy family, so it is a normal thing for my parents to planned out my future ahead of me. My father once told me that, I will only bring embarrassment to the Kim's family if I did not continue my study at Yerim High School especially when most of my rich relatives studied there before", I let out a faint chuckled as Hana listened in silence.
"My parents and I thought that I will be just like my other relatives. The lucky one. They managed to get through Yerim High School by maintaining their good grades for every subject and be involved in every school event. By doing so, their name won't be added to The Victim of The Year list, they did not have any discipline problem and thus they can live as a normal high school kid-", I said, as I heaved a sigh.
"Out of three hundred 1st year student who had a better achievement than me, I never thought that will be selected as one of the members. I never wish to be one", I groaned.
"Last year, the cycle repeated. 12 senior members of EXO graduated thus new members will be selected to replace them. When the principal announced the new members line up, and my name was called out. My world shattered. My father tried to bribe the school to remove me from the group, but they declined the offer. Since then, my relationship with my family turned sour", I explained, as my vision started to get blurry.
I feel tears wetting my eyes, thanks to her sitting quite far from me, I can cover my tracks as long as I don't make a noise. "What is the objective behind this tradition?", Hana asked.
I scoffed, "To encourage the student to study and compete with one another. At the same time, the school told us that this can also help them to cope with student's discipline problems." I shrugged, not being able to find the logic behind the school's reasoning.
"It doesn't make sense", Hana shook her head in disbelief. I sighed, still avoiding her stare. She suddenly called my name and asked, "If you don't mind, may I ask, what happen to the victim last year?"
My breath hitched, as her question keep on replaying on my mind like a broken stereo.
What happened to the victim last year...
___
Third Person Point of View \ [ A year ago]
"Hyung, I think he had enough for today", Suho stated standing at the back of the room.
Jongin huffed, "Don't stop", he commanded.
"Please stop", the person cried in pain as Kris kept on kicking him in the stomach as hard as he can. "Don't stop", Jongin smirked.
After half an hour, all of the members left the room in silence. Leaving behind Ahn Bo Gum, the victim of the year, laying on the ground surrounded by his own pool of blood.
"We overdid it again", Lay murmured. The members walked down the hall, it was dead silent. The students shivered in fear, bowing their heads in respect as the members walked past them.
"Ah! My boys!", The principal voice bombarded through the hallway. The members quickly stopped and turned around to face the principal. "Still unable to get used to it?", the principal snobbishly asked, as all of the new members remained silent. "Cheer up, You guys will get used to it later", the principal chuckled.
___
I tried my best to write this chapter. Thus it takes me four days to complete it. I re-wrote this chapter more than 10 times, not being able to find the correct sentences to explain the school's system.
Are you confused with this chapter? do leave me a message here, if you are unable to grasp the idea for this chapter.
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