– SEOUL, CAMPUS, RECREATION AREA –

   Today my head and right cheek ached for three hours while I was in class. Cupcake threw two water bottles, that had were unfortunately full, at me after Liv and Mina left the Cafeteria and I had to take water bottles to CandyCupcake. Liv and Mina were telling me to report this to my boss, but they're K-Pop idols I'm just an assistant they have more advantage over me and I can be easily replaced. I plan on taking the interview today. I hope it goes well.

  My phone rings two times, I look for my phone in my backpack and read the messages.

#TEXT MESSAGE#

  Jeonmin. 🤗

  Annyeong, Isa. On my way to work, see you later at K-Star. 😄

 
  #TEXT MESSAGE#

  Unknown

  Hey, it's me the guy with the black surgical mask that helps you clean up after work.

  Jeonmin is soo sweet. Wait, who's? No way.   I thought.

  I quickly unlock my phone and go to messages.

  | MESSAGES |

  •You

   Who are you?

  •Unknown

  If you want to know meet me at K-Star, in room #13 at the usual time. I just want to talk with you, Isa.

  •You

  How do you know my name? I've never told you.

  •You

  How do I know this isn't a scam?

  •You

  Hello?

  I wait to see if he replies, but nothing. I put my phone back on my backpack.

  I don't think it's good for me to meet that guy, I don't know who he is and what if he plans on killing me for not saying thank you for all the times he helps me clean?

  Maybe he's handsome? Now that I think about it, what if he's a K-pop idol from the building? Well I don't think so because they don't pay those guys or gals to clean. Just to sing, dance and do loads of aegyo. Which aegyo is to simply be cute for the fans and audience.

  It's probably just a prank the CandyCupcake girls made, I don't want to get in trouble with my boss I shouldn't go. Al though those girls usually leave early, way more early than me so I don't think this might be a prank made by them. It just might be for real.

  I run towards Liv when I spot her and hug her for a second.  –"Hello, Liv!"

  "You can't be more childish, can't you girl." Says Liv smiling.

 
  I pretend to be calm and completely normal, still I feel her gaze through my eyes like she's reading my mind. Liv is always like that, not that is bad but when I don't want her to know something she still knows someway or another, sooner or later. She knows Mina and me too well even if it's only been a few months since we met. I don't want her to worry anymore about those girls and not to mention those texts I just got from that guy. But my acting is terrible, or at least that's what I've been told and believe me I know myself my acting is not even worth for a cameo in a series, I don't think I can even be an extra in a movie.

  "Why are you nervous Izzy?" Asks Liv suspiciously. She still doesn't take her eyes off me. Sometimes it feels like Liv kind of like my mom. It's not bad that she cares about me, I mean I am technically younger than her, but even Mina who is the maknae, which means youngest person in a group, is really protective. They have lived here longer than I have, Liv's been living here since she started colleague and Mina was born in Busan, South Korea. I'm new, so that's the main reason why.

  "Oh, don't worry I'm just feeling stressed today I've got lots of things to do that's all." I assure her.

 
  She suddenly seems more calm, I still think she knows I'm hiding something but doesn't want to ask. I guess. Liv notices my cheek and quickly inspects it. Again.  –"Feeling any better?"

 
  I smile.  –"Yes, thanks to you guys that always baby me." I joke.

  "Report this. Don't let it get worse Izzy." Says Liv.

  "Okay, okay." I say a bit annoyed.

  The bells ring. Liv's got classes. I got my job.

  "I've got to go Izzy, hope it goes well at work and please just report that." Says Liv and walks away to her next classroom.

  I go to meet Dae-Suk at the main gate where the bus will pick us up and take us to the K-Star Talent Building. That's the usual, everyday even on the weekends. Dae-Suk and I talk about our jobs and our classes. Then he talks about how Mina is soo cute when she's jealous and how he's soo lucky to have found her. We tell jokes and talk about our school lives. It takes about an 40 minutes to get to K-Star depending on the traffic. Some times it takes an hour, all I know is that lately Dae-Suk hasn't been talking to me and he seems oddly distant, I don't know why. I don't think I've done nothing wrong to him or Mina. I try to tell him a joke he laughs sometimes but other times he simply smiles and looks out the window of the bus to see the busy streets of the city.

  "They are trouble get away from them."  Says Dae-Suk out of no where.

  I look at him puzzled.  –"What?"

  "Jeonmin, " He pauses. My eyes widened.  –"and those guys are not safe, especially Jun."

  I place my bookmark on page 52 of Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins. I already read the whole Hunger Games Trilogy back at home, but I decided to re-read it because I love Peeta and Katniss's story too much! Reading helps me cope with stress as well, along with braiding hair. I've braided Liv and Mina's hair this whole week in different ways. Both of them have told me they've got many compliments on their hair, but simply tell them the best hair stylist is their best friend. Too cute, am I right? There is a thing I have in common with Katniss, which is that I'm struggling to fit in this society that has too many rules. The CandyCupcake girls are like the Peacekeepers, CandySwirl is President Snow.

   "Never talk to Jun, at least." He sternly states.

  I close my book and look at Dae-Suk in the eye.  –"He never talks to me, I only talk to Jeonmin because he is my only friend at K-Star."

  He opens his mouth in shock, its true Dae-Suk might be my friend outside K-Star but inside it's like he doesn't even know me. 

  "How can you say that? I am your friend even Mina knows this." Says Dae-Suk.

  "Leave Mina out of this, and you stay out of my business as well." I say.

  He sighs heavily. He's angry. But I can't just be his puppet, he's my best friends boyfriend, he should worry more about her than me. I open my book again and keep reading.

  "Let's start with something more basic. Isn't it strange that I'd know you'd risk your life to safe mine...but I don't know what your favorite color is?"
  A smile creeps onto my lips. "Green. What's yours?"

  That's my favorite part of this book, this small talk between Katniss and Peeta. Makes me wish I had someone to talk with like this one day. Will it be possible though? Not even the slightest possibilities of this have been shown to me. Most people say I'm very beautiful, but maybe I aren't beautiful enough for most of the guys I find attractive.

  The bus makes a stop I get my bag and  book and walk to the exit door. I don't speak to Dae-Suk. Just as I was at the last step of the bus stairs, I feel two arms push me which makes me trip and fall on the sidewalk.

  "Ow." I groan as I hit my right hip and it ached.

  When I make the effort to sit on the sidewalk I see the CandyCupcake girls with magenta surgical masks. I guess they all decided to wear magenta today, all of them had the color from head-to-toe. I loved a pair of Adidas one of them had in magenta. I only liked the shoes.

  "Oops, sorry!"  Says one of them I recognized her voice. It was the maknae, Sugarcream.  –"You were too slow lollipop!"

  They come closer to me and grab my bag and my book.

  "Ya, that's mine." I say.

  While one of them with blonde hair, that must've been Emma, checks my bag one of the members kneels and laughs at me. CandySwirl A.K.A. Eung Sang.

  "So you do know Korean, huh?" She grabs my chin and presses it tightly with her hand.  –"Stop being pabo, don't talk to the guys or things won't be pretty for you here."

What's pabo? An insult, fool or stupid.

  I grab her hand and take it away from my face, I was stronger than her and she knew.  –"For me? No, not really just for you guys, I haven't done nothing to you."

  She shook of my hand off from her wrist. I could see she was a bit scared, maybe she didn't except this from me. 

  "You stole something from me."  She says and gets up.  –"Girls let's go we have better things to do."

  Sugarcream closes my bag and kicks it towards me. They all leave, thank God. But one problem is my hip hurts and I can't get up. Yes, I know like those weird commercials about elders that can't get up and the device that's a necklace that will help them and send help if they do. Well kind of like that. Wait, where's my book?

  I look around but there's no sign of it. Did those girls take my book? Then I see it near the street, in a puddle my book. All soaked in disgusting water. What a great day. Even better if I can't get up I'll be late for work. I didn't even see Dae-Suk, maybe he got out the bus from the back exit.

  "Hey, you okay?" He puts his arm on my shoulder.

  Jun.

  I stay frozen and look at the puddle where my book is in. He runs towards it and gets my book. He tries to dry it off with his shirt, but the pages are still wet. Jun hands the book to me.

  "Thank you." I say shyly.

  He nods.   –"Does your hip hurt?"
He asks as he sees I have my hand resting on my hip.

   "Yes." I answer.

  He extends both his arms to me.  –"Come on get up."

  I take his hands and try to get up. When my hip started hurting as I got up I grabbed his shirt to stay up without thinking. He places his hands on my back. My cheeks are pink, I'm deadly nervous because of how close he is to me. I let go of his shirt and he doesn't let go. 

 
  "Sorry." I say.

  He laughs.  –"You sure you can walk all by yourself?"

  "I guess so it doesn't hurt that much now. But thank you." I expected him to take off his arms from around me but he didn't.

  He laughs and takes his arms away from me. I don't know why he's laughing.  

  "I'm sorry, it's that you looked soo cute when you almost fell down again and grabbed my shirt."

  I cross my arms and look at him with an angry face. I am truly annoyed.

  He stops laughing and looks worried.

  "You know I was just joking right?" Asks Jun nervously.

  "Yes I do, " I grin.  –"Can you please hand me my bag?"

 
  He grabs my bag and I hands it to me. I thank him and we walk together to the K-Star Building. Inside the lobby many people stare at us. Including Dae-Suk, which I didn't care if he saw us. It was odd, when I was with him. I felt shy, I don't feel like this when I'm with Jeonmin. Maybe it's because I trust Jeonmin, I guess. But it's been like this with Jun since I met him. I can't deny he's good-looking at all, but why would I risk my heart to a guy who's got many girls fangirling about him?

 
  We got up on the elevator, he clicked the button to the fifth floor where I usually start my job and where his band's practice room is. It was just us alone. I was feeling uncomfortable. Jun leans on the elevator wall and I lean on the wall that's in front of the door next to him. Jun crossed him arm and sighs.

 
  "Tell me why were you on the floor and how did your book end up in that puddle?" Asks Jun.

  I knew it was odd he never asked me, after all it isn't normal to find someone randomly thrown on the floor that can't get up with all her things on the floor as well.

  I hesitate to answer.

  "Isabela, "  When he says my name, he sounds actually worried.  –"The person who did this to you has no plans on being nice, just to get worse. You can trust me."

  "I, " I don't know how to begin.

  For the first time, I realize it, how could I have been so foolish. I am being bullied by those childish girls. I don't know why, but I do know now that I am being now the victim of a bully. Yet I haven't said a thing, I didn't think it would've been that bad, I thought they would stop bugging me in a few days but it was never like that. It went from saying mean things and throwing towels at me to throwing full water bottles at me and pushing me from a bus that thank God was not in movement.

  I get a lump on my throat and tears threaten to spill from my eyes. I feel like I can't hold it I have to cry, but not here, not now.

  "It's, it's—" I begin to cry.

 
  Jun brings me closer to him and wraps his arms around me. I'm still crying, my hip and my cheek both ache, but someone is with me. Jun whips the tears off my eyes with his thumb and rubs my back.

  "I hope you can tell me when you are ready to, until then I'll try my best to help you and make you feel safe." Says Jun.

  I have stopped crying when the elevator door opened I let go of Jun. I tried not to look at anyone just in case my eyes or my nose were red, my nose gets red when I cry. The day was pretty normal, but I didn't go to CandyCupcakes practice room. Instead I left the water bottles on the floor and knocked on the door. Jun's words replayed in my head. I'm just a normal employee what would a guy like him want with a girl like me?

A/N:

  Finished writing this on October 10, 2017.

  This was a longggg chapter, hope you enjoyed!

 
  What do you think will happen to Isa and Dae-Suk's friendship?

  See ya in the next chapter, hope I can publish these soon!

-Natalia J. ❤️