V O I C E

1.5 R U D E

I strayed from the group, falling behind as they dispersed into their respective classes, but I kept a close eye on Seokmin, so I didn't miss my class.

"Hello again." I heard a deep voice say to my right. I glanced to see who it was and then remembered what I was doing. However, when I looked back to find Seokmin, she and Hyunjin were already gone.

I sighed and turned to the owner of the voice, and it was none other than Felix Lee himself. I waved, and he smirked at me. "I almost forgot, you don't speak. Which of these did you need to get to?" He asked me, creeping up to me in a way I've only seen in movies. I took out my schedule to show him my first class, and his smirk turned into a grin. "Perfect, he's my favourite teacher."

My strange soulmate led me further down the hall and stopped us in front of a classroom. The teacher's name on the door read, "Mr. Wang. " I watched as Felix pushed open the door for me and went up to the teacher. "Sorry sir, one of the new students got lost on her first day, and I was showing her around. Please don't be too harsh on her?" He talked to the man with such a sweet, caring voice. It was almost like he was a completely different person.

"Of course, but don't let it happen again." Mr. Wang scolded me and directed me to a seat in the back. Felix left the room, but not before sending a wink my way.

I wasn't sitting around anyone I knew, so I felt odd in the class, but I had to get used to it eventually. Maybe one of these strangers could be a new friend. 'I wouldn't bet my money on it, but it would be fun to sit back and see what happens anyway.'

I listened to every teacher in my classes ramble on and on about things I'd heard for the past how many years, but when it was finally time for lunch I hopped out of my chair and practically skipped to the cafeteria looking for my friends.

I looked around for what felt like ages but was most likely a minute or two before giving up. Then I realized they were probably in the dorm eating something. I turned to leave, but Felix was blocking my path. He didn't know we were soulmates. Why was he bothering me so much? I raised my eyebrow, and he copied my action with that stupid smirk on his face.

"What? Not happy to see me?" He asked. I rolled my eyes, and he took a step toward me, "I was sent to fetch you for lunch. Everyone is on the front lawn today, and we wanna get to know you and your little boyfriend better."

My face flushed at him, suggesting Hyunjin was my boyfriend, but I still made a disgusted face nonetheless and vigorously shook my head.

"No? You guys seem close, though..." He trailed off, a confused look on his face like he was struggling with some sort of puzzle. "Whatever, everyone's waiting outside for us. Jangmi brought food from her mom's office, so we don't have to worry about that."

I nodded and followed him outside to see a beautiful blanket set out with an array of food on top, and everyone was sitting along the edges. Felix and I sat next to each other between Seungmin and Seokmin.

"Nice of you guys to finally show up!" Jinbeom laughed. I smiled and looked around at what there was to eat, unsure if I could have anything that was set out. "Oh! How rude of us! There are different kinds of sandwiches and a bunch of like side dish snack things, too. Feel free to grab whatever. It'll be a long day if not."

I nodded and started putting stuff on my plate. Whenever I pointed at something, Hyunjin told me what it was right away, just in case I couldn't eat it. After grabbing stuff, Felix snickered.

I turned and gave him a confused look, and he started cracking up. "Do you need him to do everything for you?" He asked after calming down. "I mean, there's a rumor going around that he talks for you. Now he's telling you what to eat? That's crazy."

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, including me. "That was so rude Felix," Jeongin said.

"Yeah, what the fuck?" Jangmi asked.

He threw his hands in the air in a defensive manner. "I'm sorry! It's very Penn and Teller of them. Someone had to bring it up."

Seokmin rolled her eyes, "you couldn't have been nicer about it? You don't know them, you don't know why they're like that."

"I guess..." He mumbled, trailing off to talk to himself. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna go." He said with a slight anger in his tone. He stood up harshly and hesitated before turning around and walking away.

I looked at Hyunjin with a concerned look on my face, and he nodded. I didn't even have to think it for him to know. I stood up and rushed to find Felix. I saw him trail around the building to go to the dorms, so I followed him. So what if I was late for the next class; I wanted to see if he was okay.

I caught up to him while we were still beside the school. I lightly grabbed his arm, and it stopped him. "What?" He asked as he turned. Once he saw me, he shrugged my hand off of him. "What do you want? Did you come to beat me up with no one around cause I said something you didn't like? Just leave me alone!" He shouted at the end, starting to walk away.

I grabbed him once more, shaking my head at him. I tugged on his shirt and pointed back to the group with a pleading look on my face.

"Didn't you hear me? I said leave me alone!" He said it a little softer this time around, but the shake was more aggressive. I stumbled back, and I saw a flash of panic in his eyes before he turned around. I huffed and started to storm back to the group when I heard him huff back.

I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned to look at him. "No, go back to the group. Tell them I'm awful or something like that. None of them like me anyway." He looked down and threw his hands in his pockets. "I am sorry, by the way. Sincerely." Then he walked away.

I watched as he left. I couldn't explain how I was feeling. Angry, confused, and concerned. Why does he think the group hates him?

That thought plagued me for the rest of the day, and before I knew it, I was sitting with Hyunjin in my dorm. "Hyunjin, does the group say anything about Felix?"

"Huh?" He thought for a second. "I mean, they're all upset about what he said today."

"Not about today, have they said anything before?"

He thought about it before looking at me confused. "I don't think so. Why, did you hear something?"

I nodded and turned to him fully. "He said none of them like him. Maybe I'll ask Jangmi about it later."

"Just let me know, okay? I'll see you tomorrow?" I nodded and he left my room. I flopped backward and sighed loud and dramatically.

[chapter part finished: June 4, 2020]

[chapter part edited: August 12, 2023]

Made him less mean and gave him some personality (I think) I'm doing my best pls 🙏 (this was the abuse chapter so it's completely different from before. It used to be titled "B U L L Y")