Chapter 4 - The Final Hope

‘The cla*s got a transfer student today. A tiny, badly tanned girl with no style. It’s almost like she absorbed all the sunlight in the world. Everything about her looks poor. The teacher said she is a brilliant kid, but she doesn’t look like one. She looks more like an idiot who can’t stop smiling. Darn it, her seat is next to mine. This is not a good start to the year. Well, it’s never been good anyway, but it feels like it’s going to get worse, somehow…’ Muyeol read the first page of his diary. It was a habit now.

He flipped to a blank page, wanting to pen down today’s diary entry.

‘My prediction that sh*tty Yoon would bring me bad luck was right. I heard my step-brother is going to live with us. I was aware I had a step-brother, but I never expected I’d have to live with him. The change won’t be drastic, but still, things will become complicated. sh*tty Yoon was more than enough, and now there’s this problem too.’

Constant rustling pulled his attention away. Muyeol frowned, the noise driving him crazy. He snapped his diary shut. It was sh*tty Yoon; she was being annoying again.

Muyeol had always been alone, not having to sit beside anyone before. And now, all of a sudden, he was stuck with a deskmate because the seat next to his was the only empty one,

“Hi. I’m Yoon Yiyoung. Nice to meet you.”

People often said ignorance made people bold, and it applied perfectly in Yoon Yiyoung’s case. On her first day at school, all her cla*smates had observed closely. Her shirt was devoid of any famous brand’s logo, so they immediately concluded that she wasn’t as wealthy as them. The newcomer had stepped into a place brimming with kids from elite, wealthy families. Clearly, she was oblivious to what was going on.

And that wasn’t all. She clearly had no idea what kind of person Muyeol was. With a height of 5.6 feet at the age of 13, he already stood out among his peers. But it wasn’t just that. His eyes were much different than his fellow students. They were as sharp as knives, carrying an endless darkness within them. They were filled with sorrow.

Everyone avoided him, except the naive Yiyoung. On the first day, it was understandable, she probably needed time to adjust. But even after 10 days pa*sed, Yiyoung still didn’t seem to comprehend what was going on.

“Let me know if you need any help.”

On her very first day, she had made such a ridiculous comment. She had been consistently loud since then, trying too hard to fit into this new place. She even brought a shopping bag with her this morning, and it left Muyeol nervous.

Muyeol glowered at her fiercely. No one else dared to look him in the eyes because of his vicious glare, but Yiyoung wasn’t even fazed by it. She seemed completely at ease.

Yiyoung wrote furiously, her whole body shaking as she put her all effort into it. Her desk quaked everytime she penned something down, making the shopping bag she kept by her side rustle even louder. The bag was filled with candies. They looked cheap, as if she had personally wrapped each piece.

Muyeol’s lips curled up into a sneer. ‘Damn, it’s White Day. She might as well be planning to distribute the candies to the whole school.’

That annoying sound of the bag shaking filled his ears again. Perhaps it wasn’t as bothersome for others, but it irritated Muyeol to no end. He liked silence, and the comfort it brought him. He felt calm and peaceful when it was quiet, which was why he preferred not having a desk mate. The rustling continued, and Muyeol clenched his fists in frustration. But he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Oh my gosh!” Yiyoung screamed. She twisted her neck to look at Muyeol, eyes widened with shock. He had abruptly wrapped his arms around her neck and put her in a headlock.

The rest of the cla*s gawked at them. But Muyeol ignored their stares. He looked right into her eyes, not blinking even once. “Can you please be quiet?” he asked.

Yiyoung gulped as she stared at Muyeol. She was surprised to finally hear him talk. ‘How can a 6th grader stay silent all the time?’ Yiyoung thought. But Muyeol was always quiet. He barely talked.

“Why aren’t you answering?” Muyeol glared at her, urging her to quickly answer him.

“What a relief! I thought you—”

“That shopping bag. Get rid of it,” Muyeol cut her off.

“You must be sensitive to sound,” Yiyoung whispered. Her tone might have been calm, but her heart sure wasn’t. She could sense his anger from the way he was breathing. Her heart was pounding so loudly, it was as if it was a giant drum.

Her head was still locked in his arms, but Yiyoung didn’t avoid his glare.

‘He could have just asked,’ she thought at first. But then, the more she pondered over it, the more upset she got, and her eyes flashed with anger.

Muyeol scoffed. He could feel her heartbeat furiously as she stared at him. He put more strength in his arms, choking her slightly from behind.

“If you want me to get rid of the shopping bag, you have to let me go first,” Yiyoung said with a scowl on her face. Muyeol shoved her aside, and Yiyoung immediately set the bag hanging on the side of her desk on the ground.

Muyeol finally felt at peace. He was relieved that the direct confrontation worked, and happy that she moved the bag right away.

Suddenly, Muyeol felt someone’s eyes on him. He turned around to find out who was looking at him, and found Yiyoung. She was staring at him intently, not even avoiding his eyes when he caught her. ‘What’s wrong?’ Muyeol wondered, a frown on his face.

sh*tty Yoon abruptly burst into laughter like a madman and raised her middle finger high up in the air. Muyeol couldn’t believe his eyes, but he didn’t turn away. ‘Is she out of her mind?’ 

Muyeol wasn’t mistaken. She was undoubtedly flipping him off. And that made Muyeol boil with rage. But the bell for lunch break rang just in time, and it saved her life.

“Have a nice lunch, everyone! You have music cla*s for the 5th period, so you can go directly to the music room after lunch,” the teacher instructed.

“Okay, teacher!” the students chorused. 

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, Yiyoung grabbed her shopping bag and left the cla*sroom. Muyeol scornfully observed her absurd actions.

“There’s no way sh*tty Yoon is a normal person. Leaving aside the rude gesture she just made at me, she doesn’t even know what people think of her. Who would want to have those trashy, cheap candies? The student who transferred in March, Yoon Yiyoung, would never be able to fit in the cla*s with her unbranded shirt,” Muyeol whispered to himself, left all alone in the cla*s, “She better not look at the trash cans later…”