Chapter Text
“Soonie wake up, you’re gonna be late for school”
“Eomma, I don’t feel so good. Can I not go?” Soonyoung said inside his bed cocoon.
He felt the bed dip and felt a tug on his blanket. “Aigoo, do you have a fever? You seemed fine yesterday.” His mother, Kwon Sun Hee said while feeling his forehead. “You’re temperature seems normal. What are you feeling baby tiger?”
“I just don’t feel good. Can Soonie not go please Eomma?” He used his puppy dog eyes and with his chubby cheeks, he knows that he looks very cute.
He saw how her mother’s eyes from going soft to somewhat sharp. “Are you hiding something from me? You usually love going to school. Don’t think I haven’t notice how quiet you’ve been this last few days and not to mention how little you eat. Did something happen?”
“N-no, you know what I think I will go to school.” He sat up and scrambled out of bed. He immediately ran to the bathroom before his mother could say anything.
“You can’t run away forever Kwon Soonyoung. I won’t force you but we will talk about this. I’ll leave you for now. Breakfast is in the kitchen. My boss called me to work early so your father would be driving you to school. I love you.” He heard her mother say outside the bathroom.
“I’m sorry Eomma.” He whispered as he was trying not to cry.
He washed his face and brushed his teeth and as he looked in the mirror, the tears that he’d been trying to prevent from escaping his eyes fell.
With his ordinary face, his pudgy body, his slit eyes, his crooked teeth…
What did I ever do to them… why did they have to bully me… I’ve been good… I just want to have lots of friends…
Yes, he, Kwon Soonyoung, at the age of seven has been experiencing being bullied by his classmates for his looks and his loud personality.
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It wasn’t always like that. At first, he was excited since it’s his first year at grade school. Soonyoung was a natural social butterfly and loved to meet new people so his goal was to be friends with all his classmates.
He introduced himself so loud and cheerfully that his teacher immediately took notice of him. He was a bright kid, he loved learning new things, answering her teacher’s question, he got along with everyone and all of them had started calling him the 'Happy Pill'
On teacher’s day, he even begged his mother to teach him how to bake a cake.
“Ssaem, happy teacher’s day!” He presented his chocolate cake, it was a little burnt, the icing was uneven and his handwriting was outrageous since he kept on squeezing the pipe bag too hard.
He bawled his eyes out but his mother calmed him down and cheered him up. “I know it looks weird but my Eomma said that since I put a lot of love in it, it’s gonna taste great.”
His teacher, Choi Nari put a hand on her mouth and laughed. She accepted the cake and patted Soonyoung’s head. “Thank you Soonyoung. You’re such a sweetheart.”
He was her teacher’s favorite. He wasn’t being a teacher’s pet; he was just a loveable person with lots of love to give but his classmates don’t understand that.
After teacher’s day, he noticed that his classmates avoid him but he didn’t think nothing of it.
Maybe they’re just having a bad day…
But the days turn to weeks, whenever he approaches someone they would, they would ignore him. Some days, they would even trip him on purpose or push him a bit.
His teacher noticed and called him to stay after school one day and that’s when he saw the anger in his classmates eyes.
“Soonyoung-ah, I’ve been noticing that you’ve been quiet these days. Is something the matter?”
He wanted to tell his teacher everything but then he remembered their eyes… why are they angry at me… is it because I’m close to teacher?
“young-ah… Soonyoung-ah, you know I care about you right, You can tell ssaem anything.”
He shook his head and put on a bright smile, “Nothing’s wrong teacher. I just feel sad cause my pet hamster died. Sorry for worrying you, I’ll be ok, I just miss my Mongshil.” His pet really did die last week and with his situation at school, he couldn’t help but tear up a bit.
“Oh Soonyoung-ah, I’m so sorry for your loss. I know you really loved Mongshil, I’m sure he’s watching over you from pet heaven. Cheer up ok, I’m sure Mongshil wants you to smile.”
He felt guilty for not telling the truth but he didn’t want to be a burden. “Ssaem, can I go now? I promised Eomma I’m gonna help her cook."
“Oh you’re right. Sorry for taking your time. Just remember, teacher is always here to listen ok? Bye bye Soonyoung-ah”
After his talk with his teacher, he went for days ignoring their treatment of him. He still held hope that if he just lessens his interaction with his teacher, that if he mellows down his personality, his classmate would be back to being friendly with him but alas, for the first time in his life, Kwon Soonyoung learned that you can’t always get what you wish for.
Just like that, it had been exactly three months since the bullying started and it caused Soonyoung to slowly loose his smile. He still smiled don’t get him wrong but only in front of his parents and his teacher. Throughout the months, he usually remained quiet, he ate alone, he played alone and he walks home alone. Every night he would cry in his bed, overwhelmed with sadness and loneliness.
Little did he know, that his life is about to change… and it’s all thanks to one person.