The Trap
Lunchtime.
In a noisy corner of the cafeteria.
Yu Jiwon sat alone, head bowed, forcing down grains of rice one by one.
Thud.
Someone set down trays across from her and on either side, plopping into the seats.
It was Kim Doeun, Park Soyoung, and Lee Jinah.
"Hey, Yu Jiwon. Tasty?"
Soyoung propped her chin on her hand with a smirk, then dumped her unwanted side of greens onto Jiwon's tray with heavy scoops.
"Pfft... Eat up~."
"Ah, I'm scared I'll gain weight~ I don't want the soup anyway. Just dump it here, right?"
Jinah cackled as she poured kimchi soup all over Jiwon's white rice.
In an instant, the tray turned into a slop bucket mess.
"Aren't you gonna say thanks...?"
Doeun tilted her head mockingly, picking a fight.
Jiwon's hand trembled around her spoon as she barely opened her mouth.
"P-please... just stop... I'm begging you...."
A pleading voice.
They froze for a second, wondering if they should quit.
[Just this once more... if we bully her hard enough, I'll stop.]
Haeun's words from the rooftop flashed in her mind.
"Ha. What a bitch."
Doeun shot up from her seat and roughly grabbed Jiwon by the hair.
"Kyaa!"
"Just eat whatever we give you, you fucking slut...!"
Doeun was about to smash Jiwon's face into the ruined tray.
Thud!
"That's enough, you guys."
The one who seized Doeun's wrist hard was Kang Minjae, who had snuck up unnoticed.
Minjae glared at Doeun's group with a fierce scowl.
And from a distant spot in the cafeteria, Woojin watched the commotion with indifferent eyes.
Ha... that asshole Kang Minjae, always playing the good guy with his nosy bullshit.
Even seeing Jiwon's horrific plight, Woojin just turned away like he didn't want to get involved in the hassle, calmly scooping up a big bite of his own food.
At that moment, Jiwon hit her limit and screamed, bolting from her seat.
"Kyaa!"
She shoved Jinah away roughly.
Jinah fell on her ass to the floor, and Jiwon bolted madly for the cafeteria door without looking back.
"Hey! Apologize to her, now!"
Minjae yelled, then hurriedly reached toward where Jiwon had vanished.
"Huh...? Hey! Jiwon!!"
But Jiwon was already gone down the hallway.
Her breath came up to her chin, but Jiwon didn't stop, climbing stair after stair.
She wanted to escape.
From this suffocating hell, from everyone's cruel indifference.
Creeeak.
Bang!
She flung open the locked rooftop door, and a sharp wind slapped her cheek.
Staggering to the empty center of the rooftop, dark thoughts spread through Jiwon's mind like ink.
In the end... do I have to die to make it stop?
She'd only seen it on TV news.
Stories of nameless kids who couldn't endure school violence and took their own lives.
Why... no matter what, people don't have to go this far....
She never dreamed she'd become the pitiful star of one of those news stories.
Jiwon's steps reached the rooftop railing, dizzyingly high.
One more step, and all the pain would end.
"Mom... Dad...."
Hot tears rolled down Jiwon's cheeks.
"I'm sorry.... I can't take it anymore...."
The moment Jiwon gripped the railing and leaned forward.
"What are you trying to do?"
A voice from behind.
"Trying to die?"
"......Huh?"
Jiwon whipped around in shock.
Through her wind-tossed hair, Baek Haeun stood staring at her with empty eyes.
"H-Haeun...."
The one person who had been her sole source of strength.
Baek Haeun.
Seeing Haeun's face snapped the taut string of Jiwon's sanity.
"H-Haeun... I... sob... I want to stop now.... It's really too much...."
As Jiwon clung to the railing to jump.
Haeun strode forward, grabbed her wrist tight, and yanked her back hard.
Then she pulled Jiwon, teetering on the edge, into a tight embrace.
"Ughh...! Waaah-!"
Buried in Haeun's warm arms, Jiwon burst into childlike sobs.
Haeun slowly stroked the crying girl's back.
"I... I really tried...! I've held back this whole time... sob!"
"...I see...."
And then.
From Jiwon's lips, the bomb of truth she'd hidden deep in her chest exploded with her tears.
"The truth is, Haeun... me and... hic... Lee Woojin aren't dating...."
"......!"
Haeun's hand on Jiwon's back froze for a split second.
...Not dating?
"What do you mean, Jiwon? Calm down."
Haeun cooed gently, soothing her.
"Tell me slowly what happened."
Under Haeun's kind guidance, the broken Jiwon spilled everything.
That she'd asked Woojin for a fake relationship because she liked him.
"Ah... I see...."
After hearing it all, Haeun wiped Jiwon's tears tenderly.
"...You've been through hell, haven't you?"
She whispered in her ear like a savior.
"Don't worry, Jiwon. I'll fix everything."
"H-huh...? How...?"
"Just... do exactly as I say."
Haeun's hand softly stroked Jiwon's hair.
"Then it'll all be solved."
"...Y-yeah... th-thank you...."
Jiwon nodded into Haeun's embrace, oblivious to her precarious situation.
Right after lunch.
"As expected~ grabbing a snack from the canteen after eating is the golden rule."
I took a huge bite of my bread and sauntered through the classroom's back door.
Stomach full, and Yu Jiwon had peaced out on her own, so I figured today would be pretty peaceful.
"......?"
But the moment I stepped in, I froze.
The classroom, which should have been buzzing during lunch, hung heavy and cold in an eerie silence.
In one corner.
Kids crowded around Yu Jiwon's desk, and at the center, she was sobbing her shoulders shaking.
The kids patted her back, consoling her.
What the hell is going on?
As I stood there dumbfounded, munching my bread.
Then.
Kang Minjae broke from the crowd and stormed up, blocking me with a furious glare.
"Hey. Is it true?"
"Munch... what is?"
I swallowed my bite and replied indifferently.
Why's Kang Minjae suddenly making a fuss?
Then.
"Ha. Fucking... piece of trash."
A harsh curse burst from Minjae's mouth, and his fist slammed mercilessly into my face.
Crack!!
"Ugh...!"
My head snapped back, bread crumbs scattering to the floor.
"Ah... hey! What the hell! L-let's talk...!"
As I staggered, clutching my cheek, Minjae grabbed my collar.
"You... you blackmailed Jiwon into dating you, you psycho fuck!"
...Me?
My brain short-circuited in disbelief.
Actually, she was the one who blackmailed me into the fake relationship.
But now I was the blackmailer?
"No...! Wait, hear me out...!"
"Nothing to hear, you trash."
Minjae looked down at me with disgust.
"Huh...? A-are you okay...? Woojin?!"
Then.
Baek Haeun, entering through the front door, spotted me sprawled on the floor and rushed over, face pale.
"Haeun. Don't hang with this retard. Come here."
Minjae blocked her, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her to his side.
"Huh...? Minjae...."
Haeun pretended to be flustered and hid behind him.
"Fuck... no!!"
I pointed at the crying Jiwon with bloodshot eyes and screamed.
"Hey!! Yu Jiwon!! Fuck, you were the one who asked me out first! Don't you remember?! I was the one blackmailed into fake-dating!!"
My shout silenced the classroom like a bucket of ice water.
Minjae frowned.
"Blackmailed...?"
He turned to Jiwon.
"Jiwon, is that true?"
Jiwon shook her head hard, face drained white.
"......"
Kim Doeun, watching from the back, had her pupils shake wildly.
What the fuck is happening.... Jiwon was blackmailed by Lee Woojin? Then what the hell did I...?
Doeun sensed she'd fucked up big time, having tormented Jiwon thinking Woojin stole him from her.
"...Fuck. This is bullshit."
Doeun stormed out the back door with a mix of despair and irritation.
Soyoung and Jinah hurried after, yelling "D-Doeun? Wait up!"
In the chaos, I gained confidence seeing silent Jiwon and smirked.
"I blackmailed you? With what? Ha! Let's hear it, Yu Jiwon. How did I blackmail you?"
At my bold taunt, Jiwon's trembling lips moved.
"I... during PE last time...."
"Yeah, go on."
"I saw Woojin's phone...? But... it was an accident.... The screen lit up by mistake, and in the search bar...."
Search bar...?
Suddenly, I realized something was wrong.
All the searches I'd done on my phone all weekend.
"Hey!! I get it, shut up!!"
I instinctively knew I had to silence her, but
Jiwon was faster.
"How to make your childhood friend... a menhera... stuff like that...."
"......!"
"All sorts of creepy search histories... tons of them...."
I'm fucked...!
How do I fix this.. shut her mouth..?
Run away...?
Even then, Jiwon didn't stop.
"So... he told me not to tell... or he'd kill me... sob!"
In an instant, the kids' faces in the classroom froze cold.
Disgust and contempt.
"Childhood friend...? If Lee Woojin's childhood friend is... Baek Haeun, right...?"
"No way... the weird rumors about Haeun last time... Woojin's doing?"
Even Choi Jia turned slowly, giving me a chilling stare amid the murmurs.
Terror-stricken, I backed away.
"N-no!! Guys...! I didn't...! It's not like that...!"
No one believed me.
I desperately wrung out excuses, sweating bullets.
"For real... I was just reading internet novels! Like 'Making Your Childhood Friend a Menhera' or whatever... that kind of novel!"
Then.
Crack!!
"Ugh...!"
Minjae's fist smashed my gut this time.
Choking pain seized me; I clutched my stomach and rolled on the floor.
"Like a fucking novel like that exists, you trash!!"
Minjae rummaged my uniform pocket, yanking out my smartphone.
He unlocked the screen without hesitation and flung it toward the kids.
"Check it."
Kids swarmed my phone on the floor.
And moments later.
A shocked voice erupted.
"Whoa... it's real...! Right in the search bar...!"
"So Lee Woojin was lying?! Blackmailed Jiwon to hide his pervert shit and forced her to date...?"
"Holy crap... that's insane. Didn't know he was such trash."
Undeniable evidence.
Huddled on the floor, taking the kids' scornful gazes full force.
I realized I'd plummeted into the abyss completely.