Chapter 172 - Worst state

Jinhee walked into the cafeteria. Everyone was having food on their own, and Lee Jinhee felt lonely. Her only friend, Han Taehee, was called by the teacher, and her boyfriend, Kim Jaehyun, took a day off of school on that day.

When Jinhee was about to find an empty seat to sit at, she heard someone call out her name. Raising her head, Jinhee turned towards the direction of the voice.

Kwon Youngmi was the one calling her. Youngmi joined their school today. Because she was the President's daughter— coupled with the fact that she looked cute— she did not have a hard time making couple of friends.

"Jinhee-ah! Are you alone? You can come and sit with me!" Youngmi voiced out— a friendly and harmless smile sitting on her face.

Happiness brewed up within Lee Jinhee at that moment. Not many of her classmates interacted with her, and due to her sister, she was usually bullied by few of her schoolmates.

Lee Jinhee nodded.

Kwon Youngmi's words touched Lee Jinhee's heart, and wearing a big smile on her face, Lee Jinhee walked towards Kwon Youngmi. Youngmi was seated beside couple of popular students in their school.

When they noticed that Youngmi called her, many showed disgust on their face and started whispering matters about Lee Jinhee. Nonetheless, Lee Jinhee was not affected by them; She was used to her classmates gossiping about her.

"Guys, don't be so mean. I'm pretty sure Jinhee-ah means no harm," Kwon Youngmi spoke out with a big smile on her face.

Seeing that Youngmi was defending her, happiness within Lee Jinhee intensified, and she made her way towards the table. However, as she took a step forward, Lee Jinhee slipped on something.

Losing her balance, Lee Jinhee fell down on ground with her face touching the ground. The loud sound attracted everyone's attention, and their eyes stared at Lee Jinhee. 

Kwon Youngmi wore on a concerned expression, and as she was about to get up from the chair, her hand pushed two bowl of side dishes down. As Lee Jinhee was about to get up, the side dishes fell upon her.

The bowl hit her head, causing a sharp pain to go through it, and the side dishes dripped down her head. This earned laughter from everyone present in the cafeteria at that moment.

Humiliation filled Lee Jinhee at that moment, and tears formed at the corner of her eyes. Why was this happening to her? She did not have an ounce of strength to raise her head.

Kwon Youngmi bent down to Lee Jinhee's height, and worry was written all over her face. To one's eyes, the worry on Kwon Youngmi's face looked genuine.

"Are you alright, Jinhee-ah? I'm really sorry. My hand just slipped; I didn't mean to do it," Youngmi spoke out.

Everyone's whispers and snickering reached Lee Jinhee's ears. Lee Jinhee tightly clenched her hand, and tears continued to fall down her eyes.

"Look at her; Such a joke!"

"She wanted to have lunch with us? Tch!"

"A joke like her will forever be a joke!"

"She deserves to stay on the ground like that!"

Lee Jinhee did not understand why everyone was so hostile over her. She never thought of causing any harm to them. So, why were they being so mean to her? 

"Stop talking, everyone," Kwon Youngmi voiced out, "Can't you all see how Lee Jinhee is crying?"

Hearing Kwon Youngmi's words, more of her classmates began to laugh, and Lee Jinhee's nails dug into her palm, drawing out blood from it. She wanted everyone to stop laughing, but she did not have the strength to yell that out at them.

"She is crying over this?"

"Such a weakling!"

"Instead of being a crybaby, she should improve herself."

"Having a schoolmate like her is truly embarrassing!"

Kwon Youngmi sighed. Taking out her handkerchief, Youngmi handed it to Lee Jinhee. Without hesitation, Jinhee accepted the handkerchief from Youngmi and tried to wipe off the remains of the dishes from her face.

"Youngmi is truly an angel."

"For lending help to a hopeless case like Lee Jinhee, Youngmi most definitely is an angel."

"I am sorry. All of this is because of me," Youngmi spoke out.

Jinhee gradually raised her head to look at Kwon Youngmi, and guilt was clearly visible on her face. Lee Jinhee felt happy that Youngmi did not mock at her like the others.

"It's alright. It was just an accident," Jinhee said.

Kwon Youngmi held Jinhee by her shoulder and helped her stand up. With the support from Youngmi, Jinhee stood up and walked towards the direction of the door. As Jinhee lifted her line of sight, Jinhee saw all the scornful gazes, and sucking in a cold air, Jinhee stopped the tears from flowing down her eyes.

Looking towards the direction of the door, Lee Jinhee saw that Han Taehee was standing at the door. Nonetheless, Taehee did not turn to look at Jinhee or asked Jinhee what was wrong; Taehee simply walked towards the direction of her table, without showing any concern for Jinhee.

Jinhee felt a sharp pain at her heart due to Taehee's actions, and when Jinhee called out to Taehee, Taehee did not respond to it or turn back. Tears fell down Jinhee's eyes after realizing that Han Taehee actually ignored her.

°°°

Jinhee felt someone shake her shoulders, and opening her eyes gradually, Jinhee saw that Han Taehyun was staring at her with a concerned look. The corner of her eyes and cheeks felt wet, and raising her hand, Jinhee touched her cheeks..

"Are you alright, Jinhee-ah?" Han Taehyun asked— worry perceivable from her tone.

He then added, "You suddenly started crying in your sleep."

Looking around, Jinhee realized that she was still in the car, and it seemed that she had dozed off. Wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes, Jinhee turned her head to look at Han Taehyun.

All the contents of that dream was vivid to her, and opening her mouth, Jinhee asked, "Han Taehee, will you be abandoning me if I'm in my worst state?"