Strike Two

"You better run, Kim Hyun-Gi. Or else..."

Those words played in my head over and over again, like a broken radio. Ever since I escaped the orphanage, I thought I wouldn't have to feel threatened anymore. I thought I wouldn't have to feel like I was at risk of getting hurt. But unfortunately, life had different plans for me. All of my past's miseries were replaying in my life. And it was all because of one devil-horned girl who just couldn't leave me alone: Lee Haeyoung.

It had been two days since I entered the school as a newbie, so I was settling in quite well. My classmates were nice to me, Miss Chan was patient with me, and as for Lee Haeyoung, well, she was still a pain in the butt.

I had gotten closer with Bae more than I did with the other girls. Since we shared a room, we got to speak to each other more. The one thing I learned about Bae was that she was a perfectionist. She needed everything to be perfect. Not a speck of dirt, not a scratch on anything. Beauty came first in her life. If you didn't reach her standards, then you might as well stay away from her.

"You're pretty, Kim Hyun-Gi," she said to me once, "So, you're allowed to be in my friend zone."

Even though she meant what she said about me, I still found that hard to believe. Whenever I looked at myself in the mirror, I still saw that same girl who used to clean toilets and get dirt on her face. I still saw the same girl who didn't know how to read nor write. I just saw... garbage.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." I said to her

But even though she had a sweet side, her bossy side was still stronger.

"Please don't touch my flower pots. They are very fragile."

"Please make sure you keep your shoes on your side of the room. They have a funny smell."

"Please don't lean on the walls. I always try my best to keep them clean. Do you know how expensive wall paint is?"

"That's not how you iron a dress! Are you trying to burn the only uniform you have?"

"Don't tie your hair like that. Tie it like this."

"Is this how you make your bed? Please redo it. You're giving our room a bad image."

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

And she'd go on and on and on. But since I was still a newbie, I had to respect her as much as possible. And thankfully, she gave me the same amount of respect back. That was what brought us closer.

It was recess time on a windy Wednesday morning. Recess was 30 minutes long, so it gave us plenty of time to break. All of us, excluding Lee Haeyoung, decided to sit and have our lunch in the TV room.

"OMG! Are you seeing this, Hyun-Gi?" Tsuki tapped my shoulder repeatedly

"What is it?" I asked

"It's the news. This monster that they found in the forest is trending."

"Monster?"

"Yeah, check it out." Bae turned the volume up on the TV

On the screen, a man started reporting the news while standing near a place with many trees.

"Breaking news! An update was recently released on the Forest Monster. And apparently, researchers and hunters revealed that the monster has escaped."

"Escaped?!" Everyone, including me, exclaimed with shock.

I immediately remembered that moment when I witnessed James attack the monster right in front of me. That monster's blood splashed all over my feet. Ever since then, I feared being on my own. It made me feel as if the monster would just appear right in front of me any moment and swallow me up.

"Why would it escape after so long?" Bae questioned, rubbing her chin in deep thought

"What do you mean?" I asked

"For nearly 20 years, the Forest Monster has been living in the forest. The forest is basically its home. I don't understand why it would want to leave its home so suddenly." Bae explained

20 years? That was nearly as long as I had lived in the forest. How come it had never attacked me, or the Caretaker before? Did it not even sense us while we were in the orphanage? Did it not hear my screams for help while I was being tortured in the orphanage? All these questions were spinning in my head.

"I heard that the monster is capable of shape shifting into anything it wants. A man, a woman, a dog, anything! Isn't that amazing?" Yerim said

Shape shifting? Was that why those hunters thought I was the forest monster?

"How do you know that?" I questioned

"It shows on the news everyday. The forest Monster is a trending topic. Everyone loves it!" Tsuki said, smiling cheekily

Everyone loved it? What nonsense was that? People didn't understand how dangerous that creature was and they were somehow entertained by it? James and I were nearly killed by it, yet people loved it?!

I closed my eyes for a few seconds to calm myself before I bursted into flames. All of this monster stuff was driving me crazy. The news carried on rambling on about the monster and its untruths. The worst one was when one scientist was being interviewed about the monster.

"The monster only comes out at night due to the fact that its skin is sensitive to the sun. It also has great night vision. However, it doesn't hunt for any creatures since it is a herbivore."

"What's a herbivore?" I asked Bae

"An animal that only eats plants." She said

"WHAT?" I exclaimed, getting up from my seat. The tray of food which sat on my lap dropped all over the floor. Everyone gasped at the sight of the mess I made.

"Hyun-Gi, what the heck?!" Bae exclaimed

"A herbivore? Are they serious?" I questioned, fuming with anger, "That monster is capable of eating humans. I was almost eaten by it once. The news is fake, I swear!"

"Hyun-Gi, calm down. They're still doing research on the monster. It's no big deal." Yerim said, patting my back calmly

"Hold on! The monster attacked you, and you're still alive? I don't believe you." Tsuki said

"I'm not lying!" I protested, "A hunter saved me from it when it tried to attack the both of us."

"Tsuki, Hyun-Gi has lived in the forest, so she might not be lying." Bae said

"Fine, my bad." Tsuki apologized, "But since you've seen it, you must know more about it than anyone else, right?"

"Well...I don't know much about it. I mean, I've seen it once before, but that was it. My guardian, James, told me that it is dangerous. As I said, it attacked the both of us."

Just then, we heared someone from behind the bedroom door clapping their hands slowly as they walked into the room.

"Lee Haeyoung." I sighed in defeat. The moment she walked in, I knew that it was time for me to zip my mouth and let her do her job.

"Where did you get that story from, huh? A fairytale story? Oh wait, you can't read. So I'm guessing your boyfriend told you that pathetic story about the monster."

I wanted to scream that moment. How did she know I couldn't read? And how did she even know about James? She knew nothing about me. James and I were nothing but friends.

"Rule number 17 in the rule book: always knock before entering a room." Bae said randomly. Of course she memorized the rule book.

"Geez! Enough with the rules already. Don't you guys ever get tired of following this school's stupid rules? It's like we're in jail or something."

"In life, if there are no rules, then nothing will ever go right."

Lee Haeyoung rolled her eyes, "Well, I know that your mother broke one rule for sure."

"And what might that be?" Bae asked

"Mistakenly giving birth to you."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

Anger was clearly shown in Bae's eyes. She got up from her seat and approached Lee Haeyoung. I was about to witness my very first girl fight. This was going to be quite a show

"Woah, woah, woah! Easy, you two." Yerim stepped in between the two girls

"Aww man! Did you have to stop them? It looked like they were going to have a good one." Tsuki whined

"Tsuki!" Yerim yelled

"Okay, sorry."

I would've said the exact same thing that Tsuki said, but like I said, my lips were zipped.

"You better watch who you mess with, princess dog face! You don't want to lose that pretty face of yours." Lee Haeyoung threatened Bae, but strangely, she was looking at me while she did.

"I'd like to see you try." Bae spat

Yerim stared at Lee Haeyoung with deadly eyes.

"I suggest you leave now."

"Fine. You guys are no fun anyway." Lee Haeyoung said

Just as she was about to walk out, she turned around and looked to me, "I suggest you leave soon, Kim Hyun-gi. You might not last long in this school."

"What do you mean?"

The bell rang before she could give me my answer. My friends and I were going to be late, and my food was still scattered on the floor. I was definitely in big trouble.

"Hyun-gi, don't listen to a word she says." Yerim put her hand on my shoulder

"Yeah, she always says stupid things. Sometimes I wonder if she even has a brain." Tsuki said

"R-right." I stuttered, still a little bit shaken by Lee Haeyoung's words

That was my second warning from Lee Haeyoung. I didn't understand why she kept giving me these warnings, but they were really scaring the hell out of me. There were still two days left before I could leave with James for the weekend. I had to stay strong, no matter what

Besides, how bad could these few days possibly get...?