He was different, he was ill. People thought he was weird. Before knowing him, Cha Jinhee was indifferent. She was an ordinary girl who just wanted to live the ideal, drama-free years of high school without having to mind other people's business. Wh...
A/N: This is a double update, make sure to read the previous chapter first so you won't get confused :) Happy reading!
!TRIGGER WARNING!: description of bullying and physical abuse
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Four years ago...
"Two-faced little crap! Take your mask off and fight us!"
Thirteen-year-old Wooseok was thrown into a bush with a single hard blow to his jaw. He grimaced in pain as he felt sharp twigs scrape his skin, not deep enough to leave open wounds, but the lines left on his scrawny arms eventually turned bright red. Three bigger boys towered over him, kicking and stepping on his small body every time he tried to get back up.
"Playing weak? Did you forget what you did yesterday?!" One of the boys pointed at the dark bruise on his own cheekbone.
"I-I'm sorry..." Little Wooseok began to cry. "I'm sorry."
"Your 'sorry' won't erase this bruise and get me out of trouble!!"
Wooseok cried louder in pain as the boys wreaked their anger upon him, blow by blow, kick by kick, until his senses became numb and what he could feel was only the dull pain in his chest, feeling full and suffocated there. They stopped only when they no longer had the energy to beat him up any further. He was left alone and unable to move.
"Why..." The petite boy sobbed. "Why, Wooshin?"
Out of nowhere, a pair of soft hands grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the bush. A pretty face of a girl came into his blurry field of sight.
"Are you okay??"
Young Wooseok was quick to get lost in the unfamiliar teary brown eyes that were blinking behind a big pair of round glasses. She was definitely a nerd, just like Wooseok himself. Apart from those glasses, her uniform was perfectly neat, and her hair was also neatly braided into low pigtails that rested on her narrow shoulders. She had rosy baby cheeks and plump lips that reminded Wooseok of cute little chicks.
"I-I'm so sorry I didn't stop them! I was scared, I-I... I'm bullied too. What's... your name?"
Wooseok blinked and gulped. His tears had completely stopped. "K-Kim... Kim Wooseok."
"Kim Wooseok? I'm Son Doyeon. Let's go, you're bleeding!"
That was how Wooseok met his first love.
They were both freshmen, just in different classes. Since that day, though, they spent time together whenever they could; having lunch together, studying together, hiding in the library together, getting bullied together. The first time Wooseok told Doyeon about Wooshin, she immediately announced, "I'll study hard to be a psychiatrist, so I can help you heal!"
Wooseok was young and clueless about love, but he knew for sure that this girl was his soulmate, whom he couldn't afford to lose. That was not the case for Wooshin, though. The girl might be Wooseok's first love, but after getting to know her too, his alter would rather consider her as his one and only friend whom he had to protect. Perhaps it just wasn't Wooshin's time yet to experience such romantic feeling for the first time.
