I nervously walked into the dimly lit hospital room. I could see Haneul's figure laying down in bed. When he looked up and saw me, he tried to sit up, though it obviously was requiring great effort.

Pushing my nervousness down and hoping he wouldn't be able to notice it, I stared at him. Finally, after many attempts, I sighed.

"Don't sit up on account of me."

He stared at me but said nothing as he finally managed to get himself into a seated position. His head was wrapped in bandages, and I gulped as my eyes landed on his neck. It was covered in bruises. He seemed to notice where my eyes had landed. He reached over to the table beside his bed and picked up a notebook. He scribbled in it for a moment, then reached out to hand it to me. I looked down and my eyes narrowed at the words on it.

Your little boyfriend will be sorry.

I looked back up at him as I thrust the notebook back at him. "I'm not here about him."

His brow furrowed. He began writing again, then passed the notebook back.

Then what the fuck do you want?

"I want to know why," I said handing back the notebook again. "Why do you keep doing this to me, Haneul? Why have you made my life hell for two years? What did I ever do to you?"

The notebook was splayed across his lap and he gripped his pen tightly. The look in his eyes suggested a sort of inner turmoil. Eventually, he didn't write anything; just looked up at me with narrowed eyes.

I sighed. "If you can give me an answer, I won't press charges."

That got his attention. He began to write again. He then handed the notebook to me with a smirk.

There wasn't enough evidence before. What makes you think there will be this time?

"Four eye-witness statements, and mine to boot."

His eyes flashed as I tossed the notebook onto his lap. He seemed to consider my words.

Circumstantial.

"And security tapes in the hallway. They caught you grabbing me and shoving me into the restroom obviously against my will. Then you were seen briefly in the doorway before Daeun was thrown violently into the wall across the hall."

His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly in surprise. He shook his head. I nodded mine.

"Yes, Haneul. You'd be going down. Like I said, though, I won't press charges if you one: give me the answers I want and two: stay the hell away from me and my loved ones for the rest of your miserable life."

He stared at me before scribbling furiously in the notebook again.

What do you want to know?

"I already told you. Why? Why all of this pain and torture? Why all of those rumors? Why me?"

He stared at the notebook, obviously avoiding my eyes. He didn't want to tell me, but he knew he couldn't win. Finally, he sighed and began writing.

I waited with bated breath, hoping he was writing what I'd wanted and needed to know for so long. I couldn't keep my hands from shaking when he eventually handed the notebook back to me and I took it.

I loved you. And you never cared. You would pay attention to me in passing, but it was never enough. You were always too caught up with your group of stupid friends to notice how much I cared about you. You're beautiful, you know that? You always caught my eye. But I never caught yours. And it made me angry. So I decided that if I couldn't have you, no one would. I'd make it to where no one would even want you. And it worked. You're a laughing stock now. And I'm satisfied with that.

My heart began racing. If it hadn't been for the last five sentences, I might have felt slightly sorry for him. But instead, rage began to run through my veins.

"Why didn't you just say something?" I spat.

He reached for the notebook. Once again, I simply tossed it at him.

Would it have made a difference?

"Of course it would have."

His eyes widened as he observed me with disbelief.

But

I saw the word before he could write anything else.

"But nothing, Haneul. You're an attractive guy, and you always seemed very sweet back then. If you had said something, maybe I'd have given you a chance."

He suddenly hung his head in defeat. I simply watched him, not wanting to say any more until he did. After a few moments, he picked up his pen again.

Why did you pay so much attention to new kid when he started at our school?

"Because he was all alone," I said with frustration. "He seemed sad. I just wanted to be his friend. I didn't expect to fall in love with him." Haneul flinched. "That wasn't my intention. I paid attention to him simply because I didn't want him to be lonely."

I was lonely.

I stared at his words.

Back then, before I joined the basketball team. I was lonely. You never tried to befriend me.

"How could I have known? You barely spoke to me. Even if I wouldn't have liked you back, did you not think you could have gained a friend in me?"

I didn't want to be your friend. I wanted to be more than that.

"And that's why you were destined to never have me. Haneul, love doesn't just happen. You have to get to know a person first. You never even tried to get to know me."

He hung his head again. Then, after writing more and handing me the notebook again, I stared at his words, shocked.

Would you believe me if I said I was sorry?

I finally looked up at him after a few long moments. I looked directly into his eyes as I ripped the pages he'd written on out of the notebook. One last time, I tossed it back at him.

"No."

He stared at me, his mouth agape.

"Thank you for giving me the answers I wanted. As promised, I won't press charges. But if you pursue any against Yoongi, know this: he's already lawyered up. And that evidence I mentioned earlier...his lawyer already has copies of it all. And I think these..." I held up the papers. "will be a great addition to that. So, if you expect him to get the harshest punishment possible, you're sorely mistaken. And if all of this evidence gets exposed in court - which it will - they can choose to pursue charges against you, even if I don't."

His eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

"You've fucked yourself, Haneul. And all because you just chose to never talk to me back then. Tell me now, was it worth it?"

Before he could answer, I turned on my heel and walked out of his room. After I'd slammed the door shut, I looked up into Yoongi's eyes. He'd stood outside the whole time, making sure I would be okay.

"You're amazing, Nabi," he said. "I'm so proud of you."

"I'm pretty proud of myself, too."