I Fell for The Angel That Killed Me

4- Kim Tae- hee

“Smell that...fresh air...hmmm.”

Neb walked into the compound spinning around with her hands stretched out, her head up in the air, eyes closed. Her long, thick black hair swirling with her. Make-up free except for lip gloss and her eyebrows, Neb was the happiest she had ever been in her life. Even the recent heatwave didn’t bring down her spirits.

She’s had no bad dreams or visions for the few months she had been here in Seoul, aside from the very few bad vibes, she sometimes got, she was living a normal life. She breathed in the cool Korean, sweet-smelling air. Ah...life was perfect-almost.

Recently, she even started singing along to her guitar while she played. She loved Tori Kelly. She sometimes hummed a tune she’s never heard anywhere but Neb was convinced that it was from her childhood. Probably her parents sang it to her.

“Que Sara Sara,” her mother used to say.

Neb even had friends. One of her friends, Molly, who is half British, held onto her hand as she half dragged her into their first class. Mumbling to herself was Molly’s specialty. Also Neb’s. They were also both called Americans by their fellow school mates although they both tried, at the start, to inform everyone that they were from two, very different countries altogether and separated by thousands of miles. Not to mention their accents. The only thing they had in common back then was the fact that they were both fathered by Koreans. And Molly did have both parents alive though. In the end, they both gave up. Molly resorted to calling Neb, Americano because of her Spanish background, and Neb in turn always replied with, “Hey English”.

The blonde coughed then in her very noticeable English accent and muttered, “Incoming,” at Neb informing her to turn around. Replying with a twisted face in slight exaggeration, also muttering, “Pollution,” as she spotted the one person she disliked at college.

Kim Tae-Hee.

The glasses-wearing irritant that made her the most uncomfortable and the only reason why she felt her life wasn't perfect. He had joined in their group chat both online and off from time to time and it irritated Neb. They had three study groups together weekly and he showed up to that too. But he was a senior just like Jim, so she was grateful for the tips.

In Korea, it’s common for seniors to hang out with the juniors even when they socialize at night-time. And the drinking was pretty common and cheap as long as you were an adult for foreigners and twenty for locals. But many were not so they hid that fact. Eating was the next best thing and both pastimes were enjoyed along the river's edge. The biggest hurdle for most foreign students was the Korean language test where you had to either speak English-language or Korean fluency. Molly and Neb were lucky in both, although the writing was a struggle for her.

Kim Tae-hee was what Nebula made a point of ignoring and avoiding him and he had not spoken to her either. Not even when he volunteered to help the group she was in, for an assignment last month. She did come to friendly terms with the other of the six members though. They were a weird bunch. Molly was in her class and her best friend. Then, Jim and Shin are both seniors and well Jon and her. Although they were intelligent, Neb felt that they were only here because they had to be here. All of them were of rich inheritance and need not work a day in their life. Jim and Shin were even part-time models.

All were elites but not her.

Even Jon. He missed classes too because he was always off somewhere playing the piano or on resorts with his family. He never flaunted his rich background at her or anyone else but she knew he had to have some sort of connection with the school board for them to be this forgiving towards his tardiness.

Money. Money has power.

Jon and his best friend, Jim, were walking in her direction but the dark brown-haired boy, stopped and chatted away with a few others. They were so weird with their different hairstyles and colors and how often they changed them. Nebula was unaccustomed to this side of the male culture. The way they accessories themselves too with their hair, clothing, shoes, bags...

Both were dressed similarly in t-shirts, heavy black jackets, and gray jeans. Jon’s boots made a heavy pounding sound as he ran the last two meters to her. Grinning he lifted her chin to meet his height to give her a quick peck on her cheek. She missed him so much the last few days. A few classmates eyed her. She could just imagine what they were saying about her. Things were so different here in Seoul. She often wondered why she allowed Jon to convince her to finish her university studies here in Korea. Sometimes wanted to go back to her country. To America. Where things were normal. Where kissing your boyfriend is normal. But the nightmares were gone so was good with the South!

“Good morning Jangmi,” he said flashing his very boyish grin. Perfect. That was his smile. His black perfect falling hair too. She loved how it bounced off his forehead and fell back neatly into place. Neb was still gazing at his beautiful smile when she was jolted backward with Jon’s body falling against hers.

“Whoa,” he cried out as he grabbed at her arm to steady her. She fell into a chair and decided to remain seated there.

Neb didn’t see what had happened but she knew. She knew who had pushed Jon and he didn’t even stop to apologize. And it was the same one she eyed earlier.

Jon was weird for he laughed it off. He was even on friendly terms with the i***t. Then he bowed his head saying,” Sunbiae,” (senior)as most younger students did to seniors even if they were older by weeks or even mere days she had noticed.

Kim Tae.

He turned and gave Jon a hard stare then her and Nebula matched his look and a deep frown set on his forehead. She didn’t know which was worst, the smirk she was expecting to see but didn’t or the furrow he now wore. Then he gave her a disgusted look and turned back around, adjusting his glasses.

The nerve of him.

But Neb knew better than to say anything to him. But she was fuming angry. He always had a mean streak about him that nobody seemed to see except her. He never really picked on people or caused direct conflicts that she knew of but he was malicious. He was in fights. He just never started them. But he was provoked easily. If you accidentally touched him, you were in his bad graces. If he walked into you, he never stopped to apologize.

He hardly said sorry and if he did, he didn’t mean it either and he used a tone to let you know it too. He was polite if he wanted to be yet never did anything out of kindness. Smirked when he should have apologized. And he flaunted money. Always paying for whatever dinner the group was having. That smirk.

He was bad news. And Neb stayed away from people that were bad news.

Just last week, a girl had slapped his friend because she had seen him with another the night before and decided to confrontation was needed in the pool room. Of course, Neb didn’t agree with the whole slap thing but still, the boy was wrong she felt. Tae and a few of his other friends were there along with others swimming when Seo-Mi had caused her little scene. Neb being a spectator for a few minutes, quite a distance away, had seen Tae getting out of the pool, walking up to her, and “accidentally” bumping her. She fell into the pool in her fully-clothed attire. Then he casually put his towel around his neck, muttered sorry, and walked out towards the change room.

Everyone thought it was an accident. Nobody saw that look. Except her. She saw him give a scorned look and never forgot it.

Another time, he saw him pour a drink over a boy’s head and also his girlfriend too. The girl ran out in tears holding her shirt front and the guy threw a punch at Tae. His reaction was scary. He snarled before launching his entire body on the guy. He dealt him a few blows across his face before he got up and kicked him on his side.

The guy on the floor didn’t even know what happened for he didn’t react until the kick. It was then he brought his hands up to cover his face and legs towards his chest. Or maybe Tae was too fast. Neb just saw the blood. And nobody made a report about it. Not at the police station nor at college.

Why? Cha-chang...duh.

Another time she had seen him put another’s school bag into the bin. Neb was busy finishing her assignment so she was a bit forgetful and so she had left her book on the desk. When she remembered she ran back to the class just as Tae was dropping books into the bin. He took out a book looked at it then dropped it in. Took out another scanned it then in it went. Then the bag followed its companions into the bin. She immediately knew he was doing it to teach students about leaving their stuff behind as a lesson as a meanie like him would do.

One quick glance at her seat and seeing her book she grabbed it and ran out. Not before she had seen him smiling wicking at her. That smirk. His smile said he was about to throw hers away next she was sure and she couldn’t afford that.

Literally. And she still had years again as an undergrad here. And Tae was a senior student representative so she did not question anything he did. She figured he had parents who were loaded and therefore he threw his weight around.

She also was smart enough to know she could be wrong about most things here in Korea as they were very different from the way she grew up. For example, she was considered a bit disrespectful when she arrived here as she did not bend her head to seniors. She was however trying very hard to be respectful of Jon and their stable future, so she sometimes did. She never bowed her head to Tae.

Another thing was outer appearances. She didn’t understand it one bit. Koreans took a lot of effort into how they looked. At all times. Whereas Neb and Molly didn’t. But they now dressed a bit similar to the others.

Popularity. Jim, Shin, Jon, and Tae were the idols at the Cyber university grounds.

And she did not understand why others didn’t see what she saw. Jim, Shin, and Jon she understood because they were nice. Tae however... But everyone loved him too. Females flocked around him. The other students wanted to be him or be seen with him. Even the faculty were respectful towards him. She didn’t get it. Neb went out of her way to avoid him.

Money.

She was going to sit in class today and ignore him for the remainder of the semester. She didn’t have time to dwell on him and he was soon out of her mind as she was plagued with another more important thought.

Her assignment.

And food. She was craving that steak taco with the cilantro and onions. Even a rice bowl maybe. ‘What was the name again? El Pino?’