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Everyone on this planet was rotten and so was I. Probably even more than most other people. I had to fight for everything that was good in my life and it made me the person that I was now: Cold, bitter, anxious.
'' You and Nia were friends, right? ''
I wanted to say no, but the truth was too complicated to explain and the teacher didn't care enough to listen. Nobody did. People stopped caring when it was no longer convenient for them. It was a part of human nature.
I slowly raised my head and looked at the teacher that stopped me in the school hallway. My expression remained blank and I showed no intention of taking the box that she was holding in her hands. Her smile turned sour and she nervously added: '' We collected these things from Nia's locker. We tried to call her mother and ask her to come pick them up, but she isn't answering her phone... Can you take her valuables to her family? ''
The teacher didn't wait for an answer and I wasn't brave enough to speak up. She flashed me another insincere smile and pushed the box with Nia's things in my hands. She seemed relieved once she finally got rid of it, as if an invisible weight was lifted off her shoulders.
I felt nauseous just at the thought of holding Nia's things in my hands. The objects that were once a part of her daily life, seemed to suddenly weigh a thousand pounds. My gaze traveled over her collection of pink lip glosses, a half-empty bottle of cheap glittery perfume and colorful magazines about Japanese street fashion.
A terrible idea was threatening to consume my head - to just throw the box away and try to forget about everything again - but before I could act up on it, I got distracted by another teacher. I haven't seen Kim Taehyung since that day when it was raining and he was smoking cigarettes on the window sill of his office, but that image was still freshly imprinted in the back of my head. He looked beautiful in the rain and he looked beautiful in the sunlight.
I tried to turn around and run away, but I was too slow.
'' Too late, I saw already saw you! '' he called out after me. His face was serious and his dark eyes were carefully watching me. His cold and distant attitude once again reminded me of mine. Looking at him was like looking in a mirror and I had yet to decide if it was a good or a bad thing. '' I haven't seen you in the last couple of days. Is this school really that big or are you purposely trying to avoid me? Whatever. You look different from the last time that we talked. ''
I'm in pain.
'' You look more alive. Did you get a good night of sleep? ''
I stared at him with my signature stoic expression and his face also remained stern, unchanging. I was about to ask him why he even approached me, but I got interrupted by the school bell. He muttered something about how he had to get to class and quickly walked past me. Once again, our conversation ended with many things that I didn't get to say.
