One (1/1)

Everyone has a reason to fear.

      “Come on, you have to do it!”      “We won’t play with you if you don’t.”      “It’s only for ten minutes.”      The little girl shook her head, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes. One of the kids laughed, “She's already crying! I told you she won’t do it! She’s a big scaredy cat!”      “Let’s just push her in and close the door.”      She felt someone grab her wrists and pulled her towards the door while someone was pushing her from the back. The girl screamed and tried to free her wrists but the boy who grabbed them had a tight grip. Her struggling was futile as she was shoved into the dark room not a second later and the sound of the door closing behind her next.      “Open the door! Let me out! Please!” She heard her classmates laughing on the other side of the door. A choked sob slipped past her lips as she continued to pound her little fists on the door. “Please!”      After constant pounding, she finally gave up when she heard the fading footsteps. Another sob escaped her lips as the tears rolled down her cheeks.      It was absolutely silent save from her sobs and sniffling. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, as if the silence was suffocating her and the fact that she couldn’t see a thing was even more terrifying. She had no idea how long had she been trapped in that dark room. It could have only been a few minutes or even seconds but she felt like it’s been hours.      I'm never going to get out, she sobbed, hugging her knees close to her chest, I'm going to be stuck here forever..      The sound of the door opening filled the deafening silence and light flooded into the room. Instead of running out of the dark room and hugging the life out of her saviour like some people would do, she hugged her knees tighter and buried her face in them with her eyes shut tight; tears still streaming down her face.      Soft footsteps eventually got louder and it stopped when whoever that opened the door stood right in front of her. The person probably got the idea that he or she shouldn’t touch her since she flinched when their fingers made contact with her arm.      “You don’t have to be scared anymore.” Even though the voice was soft, she still didn’t look up. “I’m not mean.”      When there was still no response, the boy sighed and sat down beside her. He hesitated but then he softly patted her on the back even though she did flinch away from him but he chose to ignore it.“I’m not like those mean people. My hyung said mean people that do mean things to people are bullies. Bullies are bad. Hyung said bullies do mean things to make themselves feel good. I don’t know what he’s saying.” The boy furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at nothing in particular. “Hyung also likes to use big words like, prolly and vacalulary. He’s mean. He won’t tell me if it’s food or a game.”      She giggled and the boy looked at her in surprise before a smile made its way onto his lips. “I like your laugh. Laugh again.” She couldn’t help the giggle that slipped past her lips and the smile grew on the boy’s face.      “Yah, let’s go out and play! Eomma got me a new toy, let’s play together!”      The girl sniffed and finally looked up, her cheeks stained with tears and eyes swollen. The boy’s hands reached out and squish both her cheeks, her eyes widening in surprise. “Don’t cwy anymore okay? Smile!” he smiled big, showing off his small white teeth with the exception of a missing tooth at the front. She didn’t even realize that the corner of her lips was pulled up into a small smile until he said it. “Yay, you smiled!”    Another giggle left her lips and he finally dropped his hands to his side as she shakily got up onto her feet, using the sleeve of her white jacket to wipe her tear-stained cheeks, eyes and runny nose. The boy excitedly grabbed her other hand and pulled her out of the dark room, going up on his toes to reach the doorknob so he could close the door before pulling her along to a spacious area, past the group of kids that forced her into the dark room that probably was going to leave her traumatized for her whole life.      The kids stared at them in shock at the scene and she didn’t understand why until she took a good look at the boy happily telling her to sit down as he rushed off to get his toys. He was one of the most well-liked boys in the class, funny, polite and sociable. Why did he want to play with her and not his friends?      “You sit near me right?” the boy asked once he got back with an armful of toys, placing the toys in front of her before sitting down. “What’s your name?”“C-Chae Lee…”The boy flashed a bright smile, “Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun. Let’s be best friends Chae Lee!”