1 Chapter 1: Though my eyes.

Choi Haewon POV

"HAEWON!" Someone shouted behind me as I walked down the sad corridor of my school building. My neutral facial expression became an annoyed one once I looked behind me. My so-called friend, Minnie, came running towards me with a huge grin on her tanned face.

"What do you want" the tone in my voice was emotionless. Even if she, Minnie, was my only friend, she had way more energy than I could handle.

"Nothing," the girl in front of me said with a smile. She had the top half of her long black hair was set up into two cute pigtails with pink bows.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and muttered something meaningless out of rage, before taking her head into a friendly headlock. Minnie wined as I dragged her through the halls towards our classroom, where we should have been already.

Not long after the popular girls entered the classroom and filled the air with gossip and talk about boys.

If I didn't have a headache already I would probably have shut the girls up. Luckily for me, the teacher entered the classroom within the next few minutes and shut them up.

(*^_^*)

After school ended I rushed home. Even if my house was only a fifteen-minute walk from school I ran the whole way.

Why? You may ask. Well, my mom worked last night, and usually, when she does that, she spends the following day drinking on the couch alone in our small chaotic house.

When I reached the front door of the house the door stood half open. I reached out for the door handle and opened the door enough for me to walk through before entering.

I kicked off my shoes and made my way towards the living room, where, as predicted, I found my mom laying drunk on our old brown fabric couch.

"Oh, YoUre HoME" my mother uttered with an overjoyed fake grin on her face. Her face was dusted with a reddish color, covering her usually pale cheeks. "hoW WAs ScHooL?"

"Fine" I answered simply.

I walked over to her and crunched down beside. I cupped her cheek and stroked my thumb over her cheek. She gave me a sad smile before passing out in my hands.

One after one I picked up empty Soju bottlers from the coffee table and floor. I cleaned the table and covered my mom with a blanket before heading to my room to take a shower and do some homework.

My damp hair covered most of my sweaters once I came out of the shower. I had tried blow drying my hair, but the hairdryer broke once I dropped it on the hard floor.

The next few hours when by in a blur. I ate an easy dinner and watched some drama on Netflix to kill some time.

I was lying on my bed facing the ceiling when my mother mocked on my bedroom door.

"Hi, sweetie. Can I come in, I have something important to tell you"

I hummed in response and let her inside.

She took a seating beside my toes body on the bed and started talking.

"So I've gotten this job offer. It's a great job that pays a good amount of money and gives me a place to live"

"Wait- gives you a place to live"

"Yes. Me. I'll start working in three days. I'll be leaving to go to Jeju where I'll be working for the time being. The job pays a good about of money, enough to let you live here and study" she continued saying that I'll have to find myself an apartment within a budget where I'll be living alone.

After she left the room I was in shock. I had three days to find a new place to live. By myself.

(*^_^*)

I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing through the room. After managing to open my tired eyes I reached out for my phone and turned off the alarm. With my phone in my right hand, I rolled over to my back and sighed.

"Do I have to go to school today?" I asked myself, knowing I was the only one in the room.

The stairs squeaked under my weight as I walked down them, towards the kitchen. A ray of yellowish sunlight shone through the window. I made my way over to the fridge and ripped the yellow note my mom had left me off the fridge. I knew all too well that she felt bad for what happened yesterday, and had left me some food in the fridge. Something she always did after she had gotten drunk the day before.

A strong smell of grilled chicken and corn reached my nose as I opened the fridge. The chicken was covered in a thick layer of sauce and the grilled corn had a pack of salt and butter beside it.

Another loud sigh left my mouth. I leaned my back on the kitchen counter and started the floor for a moment.

"Fuck it. Imma skip school to look for an apartment"

( T_T)

I collapsed on the soft mattress of my bed after looking for an apartment for almost an hour. My computer was starting to heat up, but I guess I'll have to deal with it until I find something that works.

The apartments I had been looking at were way too expensive for my budget and were way too far away from my school.

(￣▽￣)

Three more hours, and I still haven't found anything that is: near the school, cheap and not lies in some creepy old street or alleyway.

(￣^￣)

As the clock hit three I had finally found something that could fit my standards. It was a pretty big apartment with one bedroom and bathroom, along with a combined kitchen and living room.

The contract said the minimum amount of time you could rent was six months, so I did some calculations and divided the total amount of money over the six months. As I was about to message the owner about the place my phone started ringing. The name of my so-called father was displayed upfront.

"Hello?"

"Hello sweetie, how are you?"

"Why are you calling me again?" If I was not annoyed already, I was now. My father and I never had a good relationship.

After I was born my mother found out he had been cheating on her with another woman before I was born. She, the other woman, had also gotten pregnant with a boy a few days older than me. My father left to live a life with them, something that left us with nothing.

"Your mom called me regarding your current situation. She told me that the two of you needed money, and that she had to move to Jeju to work-"

"I know this already, but that does not explain why you called all of a sudden"

"I thought for a moment and decided that maybe I could let you move in with me-"

"And your wife? No thanks, Mr. Park. Even if I am in need of money, I would never sink as deep as asking you for it" he tried cutting me off a couple of times, but I kept talking as I was not interested in hearing what he had to say before I was done talking "listen, you're a businessman, why would you like to help me all of a sudden. I know there is something behind it, and I'm not being a part of it. Bye"

I could hear him muttering curse words in the background about me being a spoiled ungrateful brat. But since I could not care less, I went to the kitchen to eat my delicious chicken and corn.

(๑>◡<๑)

The next day it rained as I walked to school. I thought about bringing an extra jacket, but the thought got lost in my overfilled head.

I put on my earphones and blasted my playlist as I walked down the empty street. As I reached school I found Minnie standing by the school gate waiting for me. She smiled at me and ran from the gate to my umbrella.

"So?" She asked gesture of me to ask her something.

"So?" I asked. "So what?"

"Aren't you supposed to be a good friend and ask me why I'm so happy today-"

"You're always happy" I stated and walked towards the entrance of the school. She followed tight behind me, trying not to get wet from all the dripping water.

I sighed in defeat when I saw her sulking behind me in the hallway. "Fine. Why are you so happy today?"

"Well I met this boy yesterday at the convenient store, and I got his number" she folded her hands and danced a little like a small girl getting her favorite Barbie.

- And as always, my day was filled with Minnie simply, along with the other girls in our class. And teachers give us more work than what is good for our health.

As lunchtime came around I ran to the rooftop to message the owner of the previous apartment I looked at. The owner presaged me back right away and said that I could come to town right after school to fill in the papers and get the key. The owner also said that he/she would be leaving in two days, so it would be nice if I could move in by then.

( ・∇・)

After school, I almost sprinted to the apartment complex to sign the contract and get to see my new home.

The owner, who turned out to be a man in his late fifties, greeted me by the front door and lead me to his office. "As you can see, the apartments are roomy and has their small balcony. The neighbors are not noisy, and not much happens around here" he explained.

"But what about the apartment itself, can I see it?"

"Not at the moment. Two men are living there, they are moving out tomorrow, but they have requested not to enter. They are very private people"

Even if it sounded suspicious, I signed the contract and revived the key with a note that told me I could move in by Wednesday, two days from now.

＼(^-^)／

Two days went by with the snap of a finger. I had my room packed with boxes filled with my most important belongings and clothes, ready to be moved.

One by one my mother helped me stack her car with boxes and bags that were to be moved. The apartment was a ten-minute drive away.

My mother helped me with getting my belongings into the apartment before she got a call saying she had to meet some potential customers at her office. She bid me goodbye and headed off without looking back.

"I'm alone most of the time anyways" I muttered as a tear slipped down my cheek. After drying it off with the balm of my sweater I started packing out my stuff.

"Let's start then!" I waddled out of the small hall only to stop in shock. The apartment was gigantic... four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a huge kitchen, and a living room. Inside the bedrooms were two bunk beds and two small closets.

"The actual fuck..."

Two hours later I had skipped out of my school uniform and into a set of comfortable table clothing. I had packed out most of my stuff and was ready to make myself some dinner.

But luck was not on my side as the sound of keys unlocking my front door reached my ears.

I ran into the living room to get a clear view as the door unlocked.

Seven guys walk in. Each of them holding a suitcase or a bag. I looked at them with wide eyes.

"Who are you?"