Cursed Chain of Heartthrob Tears

Do Kyungsoo kept his head held high as he walked down the hallways.
“Omo~ it’s Do Kyungsoo…”
“He looks so cool~”
“Aigoo… if only he would give me a chance…”
“He’s so handsome…”
Hissing, buzzing, twittering, girls chatting about him, he was aware of it all. He was aware of it all but never did it bother him at all. It never bothered him, for in fact, nothing did he love more than the attention he got.
He never says ‘Hi’ to any of the girls who try to flirt with him, or even to any of the students in school who would look at him from head to toe as he walk pass by. Instead, he kept things formal for that is what people love about him. He never actually talked to anyone if it wasn’t necessary because he thought he didn’t have to. He thought he was that good, that great.
Sometimes he would find himself staring at the mirror just to see nothing wrong about anything that he sees, like everything was exactly where it should be, exactly where he wanted it to be. He’d fix his hair everyday not so he would look good, for he’s always been aware of that fact. He would fix it just so he wouldn’t start looking bad.
Never was he lonely with his life. Never did he wish for more. He never knew failure and he never knew rejection for everything always went his way. He liked it, and enjoyed it that way.
His locker over flowing with fan letters every day, and receiving more than necessary gifts when there are occasions and even if there isn’t. He was fine with it all. He loved it all. But never did he notice those who admired him. All he knew was that, there were lots of them. But individually, he never knew any of them. He never looked at them in the eyes, nor did he ever try to talk to them. For he never cared about anybody else in the world except for that guy that stares back at him when he looks in the mirror. That guy who smile with him, laugh with him, like what he likes, and hate what he hates.
A lot of things irritated him. He hated people who do things that he doesn’t like. He hated those people who leave their trash for he always felt like cleaning up for them, which is not good for his image.
Kyungsoo never gets tired of doing what he wants. If he wants to do it, he does it. If he wants to have it, he gets it. And once he does, it will stay like that for he never gets tired of any of it, ever. He never stops ‘till he’s finished what he’s started. And he’ll get it done no matter what it takes.
It never bothered him that he didn’t have any friends. Though sometimes there would come a time that every kid in class would be talking to at least someone, and he is always left alone not having anyone to talk to, he’s fine with it. In fact, he never felt out of place. For him, it felt more like the whole world was the one out of place, not him.
The only things that bothered him are the things that he didn’t understand about himself. Like going to school, for example, he doesn’t know why he’s always exited to come to school. Is he exited to read fan letters that only said the same thing over and over, cliché complements that he gets every day? Is it the giggling of the girls that he sees every time he moves around? What kept him like this? He never knew what he really does. In fact, even the whole heartthrob thing didn’t make sense to him.
All he knows clearly, and the only thing he does that made sense to him is singing. He sings and he knows it’s his thing, that’s what he does and that’s what he wants to do. As long as he gets to sing, his life is complete.
And if there would be anything that’d be lacking in his life, it’s a little laughter. If he would ever need something, he needs some laughs.

Lee Jaerim is just an average student. Not that smart, but doesn’t fail on her studies. Her life is peaceful, free from complex stuff. She came from an average happy family, not rich, but can afford to provide for her education.
Jaerim always kept things simple, seeing the world in the simplest way. She tried to do things as blissful as she can. She’d come to school, greeting everyone a good morning with her bright smile. She bows to greet her teachers, even the school janitor. She waves at her classmates, and friends, and even to her bullies. Jaerim kept doing so as she passed by, walking on the hallways.
She catches a sight of some kids getting into a fight again. Some guys try to stop it but most of them are encouraging it. In this kind of situation, Jaerim would do her thing. She’d come close to them acting like it was a normal, happy day, and she’d bow to greet them with a smile. She makes everybody feel guilty as she does so, and no one speaks a word until she passes by.
When she’s far enough, those guys may or may not go on with their fights but either ways, things are fine to Jaerim as long as she’s done what she could, though she never got the point of getting into fights. But the world is just the way it is. So to keep it balanced, Jaerim tries her best not to do bad things. Not just for the better good, but also so she won’t forget who she is.
The hissing began even before Jaerim could reach their classroom. She stopped as the buzzing noise went on. She can feel her heart beating fast in her chest. Do Kyungsoo has arrived.
She can see him through the crowd, walking with his head held high, like always. He is Jaerim’s dream, her inspiration. He is the first one that comes to her mind when she wakes up. The thought of him makes her the happy person that she is. Every night, she’ll sleep with him being her last thought, hoping that by doing so, she would get a bigger chance to meet him in her dreams.
No matter how evil the world can be, and no matter how hard things could ever get, Jaerim’s life felt to her like heaven as long as she gets to see Do Kyungsoo.
She tries her best to do well in class even though she’s not that smart. She struggles to get high grades just so she can convince herself that she’s good enough to deserve someone as good as him.
Jaerim saw him enter their classroom with some girls following behind him. Though she too, wants to be that close to Kyungsoo, she doesn’t want him to see her like the others. Because she is not like them, not even close.
So instead of calling his name out loud in the hallways and beg for his attention, Jaerim would just watch from behind and do her best to be invisible in his eyes. That way, he wouldn’t notice her looking at him, watching him, like the way she watched him just now.
Jaerim’s eyes met Kyungsoo’s the moment she entered the room. She stared blankly at him for a moment as he did the same. She smiled brightly at him before turning away to start greeting their classmates the way she always does.
She comes to school to see Kyungsoo, but she sure is good at hiding it. Everytime their eyes meet like the way it did today, her heart skips a beat but never did Kyungsoo notice a thing.
“Annyeong!”, she greeted their classmates one by one as they greeted her back. Except for her bullies, Jaerim was treated well by everybody else. They ask her to do favors from time to time and she’ll do it for them.
“How are you today?”, she went on around the room.
“Annyeong Kyungsoo-ya!”, she greeted as she got to Kyungsoo’s seat. She immediately turns to greet someone else like she always did even before Kyungsoo could reply to her, assuming he was planning to.
“Annyeong! Annyeong!”, she went on.
“Oh just shut up and quit that!!! You’re being too loud! Stupid Noye(slave)…”, Jaerim heard Jessica Jung, one of her bullies, yell from behind.
“Hey~ Leave her alone…”, “Yeah~ It’s not like she’s doing something illegal…”, “What’s your problem?!”, “Why don’t you shut up, huh?!”, Jaerim was always thankful to her classmates every time they stand up for her. But she didn’t want any trouble.
“No it’s okay guys… I think I’ve greeted you too much today… Mianhae Sica-ya~”, she apologized before going to her seat.
It was like that every day, she’d greet everyone, not showing any special treatment. She shows good treatment to everybody equally so she can care for Kyungsoo without anybody noticing it, especially not Kyungsoo.
Break time came after a few hours of classes. Jaerim tried her best not to stare at Kyungsoo too much and just kept her head low.
“Ya~ Noye-ya~!”, Kwon Yuri, Jessica Jung’s friend, another one of her bullies, called out.
“Wae, Yuri-ya?”, she asked nicely as she got to their seat at the back of the room.
“Get us some snacks, our feet hurts…”, she told her.
“Ah~ really?”, she asked, hoping Yuri would change her mind.
“Yeah~ Here… buy us some bread.”, she ordered her, dropping money on the ground.
She picked it up and started towards the door, as Yuri, Jessica, and their friends started laughing. “What a stupid b*tch…”, she heard Sica whisper before she left.
Jaerim played the nice girl in town role. That’s what she is. That’s what she chose to be, and that’s what she will be. But she also had to face the consequences and accept the things that came with it.

Lee Jaerim is the nicest girl in town, even Kyungsoo knows that. The girl would come to school, feeling energetic all the time and greet every person she sees, saying ‘Annyeong’ even to those people who hated her, even to those who did bad things to her. Who does that? No one but her…
Kyungsoo admired her for it. He admired her for smiling all the time no matter what the situation may be. He admired her for doing favors to their classmates like helping them with their school projects or helping them with school lessons or when their dog is missing or even with their personal problems.
But this, getting snacks for those b*tches, she made herself look small. She made herself look like she was at the very bottom of the food chain, like everybody’s somehow better than her. But they’re not… Kyungsoo knows that.
Everybody loves Lee Jaerim. Kyungsoo knows that a lot of guys like her and are secretly looking after her. Who wouldn’t? She’s the best person he knows. And she doesn’t deserve to be treated as a slave. He’s watched her since first day of school, and he knows she’s different.
Lee Jaerim… was the only girl that treated him like he was a regular person, like there was nothing special about him. She was the only one who made Kyungsoo feel like he’s no better than anybody else, and at the same time, she made everybody else feel that they’re as good as Kyungsoo. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not, all he knows is that… If the world was a machine, Lee Jaerim is the most important piece of it.
Their school is filled with helpless students. If it wasn’t for her, the hallways would be filled with nothing but chaos. But instead, every time she walks in, she reminds not just Kyungsoo, but everybody in the room, what is right and what is not. She reminds them what it’s like to feel guilt in things that they do. She reminds them that God exists and there is good within the bad, because Lee Jaerim exists in a place where nobody like her does. That made her special in everybody’s eyes, even to Kyungsoo’s
After a few minutes, Jaerim came back with some bread and gave it to Kwon Yuri. “Here you go…”
“Oh wait Noye-ya~”, Jessica Jung called her again even before she got back to her seat. “Yuri won’t give me some bread, can you buy some for me too?”, she told her dropping money on the floor like Kwon Yuri did.
“Yuri-ya~ Why don’t you give Sica some?”, she aked. Kyungsoo can sense the sincerity in her voice, which did not make sense to him at all. Why is she being so nice to those people?
“Just get her some bread stupid!”, Yuri yelled at her.
“Hey! Stop that! Just leave her alone!”, one of the guys whom Kyungsoo would guess liked Jaerim, shouted.
“Yeah! She’s no slave of yours!”, another one said.
“Shut up, you fools! We’re just asking Jaerim here a favor… Isn’t that right, Jaerim-ah?”, Jessica Jung said as she played with Jaerim’s hair.
Kyungsoo clutched his fist trying his best to keep his emotions in control. He didn’t want to ruin his image.
“It’s okay guys… I’m fine with it, don’t worry.”, she assured them before starting towards the door once again.
Kyungsoo couldn’t take it anymore. “Lee Jaerim!”, he said her name very clearly.

The whole room went quiet, as quiet as it has never been before. Nobody dared to move a muscle as Do Kyungsoo spoke. Jaerim never hears Kyungsoo say anything. He doesn’t even answer their teachers when they’re asking him a question. Kyungsoo never speaks unless really necessary, Jaerim knows that.
She slowly turned to him, her heart beating fast.
“Wae Kyungsoo-ya?”, she asked him casually like how she would’ve talked to any of their classmates.
“My hand hurts… massage it for me.”, Jaerim wasn’t sure if she heard him right.
“Huh?”, she asked him.
“I said, massage my hand, Noye!”, Jessica Jung and her friends started laughing. Of course, even Do Kyungsoo called her ‘Noye’ and treated her like one, what could be funnier than that?
“Ah~ okay… Just a second… I’ll be right back.”, she turned to go out and buy Sica’s bread.
“No! I want my massage NOW!”, he yelled.
“Hey~ That’s unfair Kyungsoo-ya~ I gave my orders first…”, Jessica told him with a little bit of her aegyo that somehow didn’t went out right.
But instead of answering, Jaerim saw him shot a glare at Sica. Getting the point, Jaerim gave Sica back her money and sat beside Kyungsoo to give him his massage.
Jaerim felt bad… No, she felt awful… She felt pitiful… She felt like dirt… She kept her head bowed down as she felt Kyungsoo’s soft hand on hers. She must’ve been the first girl to get to do so in the whole history of the universe. It would’ve been the happiest moment of her life if he didn’t made her feel like sh*t.
She felt so ashamed of herself going through all this for nothing. Those mean girls making fun of her 24/7, she was fine with it, she can live with it. But Kyungsoo, the moment he called her ‘Noye’, it felt like even the whole world turned its back on her.
She could feel the other students’ eyes on her, looking at her pitifully. And right there, for once in her life, with Kyungsoo’s hand on hers, Jaerim just couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. Her tears fell on Kyungsoo’s hand.
She immediately wiped it away and went with the massage, and tried to gather herself together.
“I’m sorry…”, he whispered to her. “I can’t bear to see you getting pushed around by those people and just sit here and do nothing…”
Jaerim thought she was dreaming as the words got out of Do Kyungsoo’s mouth. It didn’t sound like him. In fact, Jaerim doesn’t even know what he sounds like, until now.
“I’m sorry I had to say those words and make you do this… You’re not a slave, okay? So you should stop pretending to be one. They don’t make you look like sh*t, you’re the one doing that to yourself.”, his words pierced her.
For the first time, Jaerim was reminded. She was reminded of that guy she saw on the first day of school, the regular good-looking guy, Do Kyungsoo. The Do Kyungsoo she liked even before anybody else did. She remembered that he too, was a person.
“It’s what I do… I’m fine with it.”, she whispered back to him.
“You should stop it!”, he told her meeting her eyes.
“You can’t tell me what to do…”, she said back.
“Watch me…”, he said before standing up. “Attention everyone! May I get your attention please?!”, he yelled around the room as everyone looked at him.
“I want all of you to know that from now on,”, he went on. “Lee Jaerim will be MY servant. Nobody gets to call her Noye, or boss her around, or make her buy bread, except me! Have I made myself clear?”
No one answered but that was clearly a yes. As much as Jaerim was thankful to him, she found herself speechless at the moment. She was living a dream today, a really beautiful one.

Notes