√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

four.

    
     The cafeteria was always a place of noise and drama. But it was also a place of food, so Nari put up with the rest.

     As she grabbed her tray and made her way down the lunch line with Jisoo, excited murmurs started to rise. Nari looked up at the doors, and sure enough, there were the new kids.

     Quickly, she looked back down at her food, picking up the tray and walking over to her usual spot. Nari grabbed up her chopsticks and scored a piece of meat, bringing it to her mouth. The motion stopped when she saw who started to sit down across from her.

     Now, Nari and Jisoo weren't popular in the least. Always last to be picked, always looked down upon. So when the school saw Hwang Hyunjin sit with her at lunch on his first day, an uproar was to be expected.

     The boy and his friends, however, were completely unconcerned with the strange looks their table was receiving. They all took out their tableware and began eating.

     Nari stared at them in shock. She had told Hyunjin she would show him around, but that didn't mean he had to sit with her! "Why are you sitting here? It will make you look bad," she hissed. Amused, Jisung glanced at her.

     "It's impossible for us to look bad, so what is there to worry about?" he laughed, sticking some kimchi in his curved mouth.

     With a groan, she shook her head. "You know that isn't what I mean."

     Unperturbed, Seungmin raised his eyebrows. "Is it wrong to sit anywhere we want? What's wrong with this table?"

     Opening her mouth, Nari paused. She closed her lips and pressed them into a thin line. "Fine. But trust me, after today you won't want to sit here again."

     The boys all shrugged and finished their food. When they had, they stood and walked away, not even offering a goodbye. Jisoo, who had been silent the entire time, wrenched her head towards Nari.

     "What was that??" she gasped, her mouth puckering like a fish's. Nari scratched her head.

     "I don't really know."

     The girls finished lunch and Jisoo left to go to her locker. Nari walked back to her homeroom to get her bag inbetween classes.

     The lights were off, so she quietly opened and shut the door, making her way to her desk and feeling around for her backpack. One of her fingers hooked on a strap and she hauled it up and onto her shoulder.

     She turned to leave, but was shoved back, her face stinging from a sharp blow. Tears of pain and dread welled up in her big eyes as her three regular tormentors drew closer. They were some of the school's most popular, rich girls. Sora, Minji, and Yerin.

   In desperation, she tried to back up, but Yerin's rough hands closed around arms, stopping her. The "leader" of the three, Sora, spoke.

     "Have fun with those boys today, Nari?" she sneered mockingly. Minji gripped her arm and harshly yanked her to the ground. "They seem to like you a lot."

     Nari held in a cry of pain as Sora's heeled foot slammed into her side. Her head was knocked back by Yerin, causing her to see stars. Sora's foot hit the same spot, and this time the poor girl did cry out.

     Her wrist was enclosed with bruising force and Nari whimpered. She could feel the air moving as Minji's hand slapped her face once, twice, three times. The wetness of her tears made the pain worse.

     She was pushed again as the girls laughed. "There are four of them. How could you get all of their attention? Although, I wouldn't put it past you to take them all at once, you dirty - "