"About yesterday, I just want to say thanks. What you did really meant a lot to me." Caroline approached Dae Kun during lunch specifically to thank him for his kindness. Her tone was sincere and the look in her eyes made it obvious that she was still hurting.
"Oh, anytime. I could see how upset you were, and I didn't want you to be by yourself." Dae Kun showed real concern for Caroline. Even though they had hardly ever talked before, Caroline was Angela's best friend, and she often tagged along whenever Angela and Dae Kun would hang out. When he saw Caroline sitting and crying by herself, Dae Kun immediately felt a pang in his heart. Caroline's moment of weakness reminded Dae Kun of how he made Angela cry when he left her. Dae Kun and Caroline smiled warmly at each other as they proceeded back to their classrooms after lunch.
Dae Kun walked into Science class and took his seat right next to Tina as usual. Tina greeted him with a small peck on the cheek and a big, toothy grin. Dae Kun looked down at her, squinting his eyes in disapproval as she giggled and scooted closer to him.
"Do you want to hang out after school today? We can walk to Starbucks together!" Tina was always trying to plan activities with Dae Kun, but he never seemed up for anything.
"Not today…" Dae Kun's answer was brief as he turned so that his back was now facing Tina. After being together for more than 3 weeks Dae Kun had never planned to go anywhere or do anything. Tina began to feel an emotional distance between herself and Dae Kun, and began to reminisce on how their relationship started in the first place.
She realized that Dae Kun had forced himself upon her only MINUTES after his break-up with Angela. Their relationship was sprung from Dae Kun's hatred towards Angela and Tina realized that she was nothing more than a cheap rebound. Dae Kun never had any real feelings for her, he was just using her to help himself cope with losing Angela. Tina felt a sense of disgust come over her entire body like a black veil cast upon a woman being exiled. Tina's thoughts were racing inside of her head, blinding her vision and making her entire skull feel white hot. She felt tears well up in her eyes and her ears turned a scarlet red. The anger and betrayal she felt was beyond anything she had experienced before. She loved Dae Kun from the moment she saw his sunny smile, and he did nothing but betray her and treat her like scum. She furiously grabbed at her binder and her backpack, slammed her chair against her desk, and walked out of class.
The class was awoken by Tina's dramatic exeunt and everyone seemed confused and concerned. Suddenly, the whole class was focused on Dae Kun. He was Tina's boyfriend and everyone expected him to go running after her like a true gentleman. However, Dae Kun did not act with such chivalry and instead just looked around blankly then picked up his pencil and simply began taking notes again.
Nothing could have made it more clear. Dae Kun obviously had no feelings for Tina, and as she sat on the cold concrete balling, Tina finally realized this.