I lay sprawled on the pavement, my body barely holding together. Blow after blow rained down on me until I almost wished for death. I couldn't even stand; my legs had given up long ago, paralyzed by the sheer brutality of the beating.
"If you ever dare touch my Jia again, I'll make sure you don't live to regret it!"
The screech of shoes and the metallic clang of something scraping against the asphalt faded into the distance as Minjae and his gang finally left.
Every nerve in my body screamed in pain as I forced myself to sit up, trembling. My cheeks throbbed, my eyes were nearly swollen shut, and the world around me blurred in shades of red and black. Minjae had beaten me within an inch of my life.
"Psst… Ian."
A voice called softly. Someone crouched beside me, slipping an arm around my shoulder to help me stand.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I should've had the guts to step in and stop them."
I wanted to say it wasn't his fault, but even speaking was agony. I just nodded, trusting my only friend—Remy—to get me to safety.
Remy, with his quiet, bookish looks—round glasses, always hunched over—didn't have many friends. Maybe only me. But he was loyal, and right now, that loyalty meant everything. He didn't care about the risk of being seen helping me, he just acted.
When we reached my rented house, Remy carefully cleaned my wounds and applied ointment he'd bought from a pharmacy. "You should rest," he said gently. "I'll come back later tonight."
I couldn't respond—my mouth refused to form words—so I just lay there silently, accepting his advice and the pain that came with it.
Hours passed. I drifted in and out of sleep until the sound of the door opening stirred me awake.
Remy had returned, just as he promised, carrying plastic bags that rustled as he entered. Judging from the sound, he'd brought groceries. His broad smile confirmed it when he showed me what he'd bought.
I didn't deserve that smile. Not after all the trouble I'd caused. Remy was a true friend, the best I'd ever had.
"Don't move," he said when I tried to sit up. "Just stay there. I'll make dinner."
He busied himself in the kitchen while I lay there helplessly. Soon, the air filled with the warm, rich scent of food, and my stomach growled pitifully in response. How pathetic, getting beaten half to death was apparently the only thing that could make me this hungry.
My fingers twitched, trembling with the effort to hold back hunger. Without Remy, I didn't know how I would've survived. One day, I promised myself, I'd repay him.
A while later, he came to me with a plate of food. He set it down on the bedside table, then sat on the edge of the bed. "Come on, you need to eat something," he said softly. "Let me feed you."
He spooned a bit of food toward me, his movements patient and careful. Then, almost offhandedly, he added, "Oh, right—Jia came to see me earlier. She wanted to know where you were. I didn't tell her the details, of course. I figured you wouldn't want her to see you like this."
The mention of her name made my fists clench. Anger, heartbreak, and humiliation tangled in my chest until I couldn't tell one from the other. What could I do? Minjae had wealth, power, and connections while I was just nobody. How could I ever compete for Jia's heart?
I turned away from Remy, facing the wall. No matter how hard I tried, reality wouldn't change. Jia would always choose someone like Minjae.
Who was I compared to him? We lived in different worlds entirely.
Maybe the best thing I could do was to let her go, even if it shattered me. Even seeing her from afar might be too much now. I should've known from the start that Jia and I were like heaven and earth, two worlds that could never meet.
"Does my cooking taste that bad?" Remy teased lightly. "Or are you turning away because of Jia? Either way, you still have to eat. I worked hard on this."
I didn't answer. My appetite had vanished, crushed under the weight of heartbreak.
Losing Grandma was already unbearable. Now I had to lose Jia, too.
"Can you… help me with something?" I whispered, the pain in my mouth making each word sting.
"Oh, you finally talked!" Remy said with a relieved smile. "I thought it'd hurt too much for you to speak. What do you need?"
"I just want to stay home until I'm healed."
"Hmm, okay. I'll record the lectures for you. But what about Jia? She's been really worried since she found out what happened. I'm not sure who told her, but she and Minjae aren't exactly on good terms right now."
"Whatever it is, I don't want to see her."
"Alright," he said simply. "I'll explain it to her."
"Just tell her I'm fine… and she doesn't have to worry."
***
A week passed, and my wounds finally began to heal. Remy had taken me to the hospital the day after the incident, and fortunately, nothing was broken. Just bruises and a few scars—on the body, and a deeper one in the heart.
When I returned to campus for the first time, all eyes were on me. Maybe it was because of Minjae's attack. I didn't care. I just headed straight to the faculty office to explain my week-long absence. I told the truth, it was Minjae.
The response was predictable. The school didn't want to get involved. No one wanted to cross Minjae, the chairman's son. My bruised face didn't move them to action. The world really wasn't fair. Still, at least they didn't suspend me. They just gave me the same empty advice as always, "Be more careful."
After finishing my business there, I stepped out—and ran right into Jia.
Our eyes met for a fleeting second. But my heart was too much of a wreck to face her.