Protector
By Izzu
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o
The first time she met him was on the day Eun Sol commited suicide. She was being suicidal herself; feeling guilty that she had been partially at fault in driving Eun Sol to her death. It was a slip of the tongue—a moment of irrationality because she wasn't able to believe that Eun Sol's grade could suddenly rise up so high and topping over her score.
She hadn't been thinking straight as she carelessly say out loud of the possibility that Eun Sol might have found the legendary answer sheet; to allow her to score so high so suddenly. Seeing how she talked about it before. How could she predict that some of the other girls would overhear her. Before she realized it, she was dragged along with the girls who later grabbed Eun Sol to question her about it. She was so scared, she ended up doing nothing as she watch the girls locked Eun Sol inside the store for hours, forcing her to miss classes. That happened several more times... before Eun Sol could not take it any more and decided to end her life.
She felt so guilty... she thought of wanting to kill herself to atone. But then Team Leader Kim Woo Hyun stopped her, gently comforting her to calm her down. She couldn't remember how long she cried but eventually she calmed down and told him about the bullying. The girls were given harsh scolding after that and punished for their wrongdoings but that still didn't ease her guilty conscience. If not because of Team Leader Kim, she wouldn't have been able to cope with the remaining days of her school days in Seong Yeon.
Back then, Team Leader Kim had saved her and given her courage to continue living. She could never forget how he became her strongest pillar of support...
xxx
"... Mi! Yoo Kang Mi!"
Kang Mi pulled herself apart from Park Ki Young as she hastily wiped her tears. He frowned.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
She couldn't help herself from smiling. "Yeah. I'm fine now." she said, before turning around to take a brief glance at the storeroom. "This place... brings back some very bad memories."
She left it at that, because she didn't want to have to tell him about it or even about how Team Leader Kim continued to pay her a visit at school since that incident... even after the case was resolved. It was something... personal to her that she preferred not to share with anyone else.
That important memory...
"You hurt your arm," he exclaimed as Park Ki Young grabbed her left arm.
She flinched sightly, before noticing the cut. It must have happened when she fell down earlier. He frowned again.
"It didn't look too bad but still, we better treat it. I think I saw the nurse's office earlier, we'll go there," he said before escorting her back upstairs. The rest of her wasn't hurt but he still held her protectively.
For a brief moment she thought she could feel her heart flutter.
She knew that it wasn't him, she knew that the man by her side right now was Park Ki Young. Yet she couldn't help thinking that it had beenTeam Leader Kim who came to her rescue. Because he always come to her rescue whenever she needed him.
She felt like he still continued watching over her... even after his death. How else would Park Ki Young come looking for her at the storeroom?
It was a ridiculous thought; to think that his spirit still remained with her. But she couldn't help it. Because Team Leader had always and will forever be...
Her knight in shining armour.
Her protector.