A Beautiful Obsession
Pairing: Jae Jun x oc (Hana)
Summary: Seo Hana was the radiant center of her high school-a student council member, the popular girl, admired for her beauty and charisma. But despite the admiration she drew, she was oblivious to the darker truths hidden in the shadows of her school... especially the truth about her quiet, loyal friend: Moon dong-eun.
Part 1
2009 winter
Seo Hana sits rigidly on the bench in a police station, her eyes flicking between the closed door and her best friend beside her. Moon Dong-eun leans silently against her shoulder, her face pale, her eyes vacant. Hana wraps an arm around her gently, concern heavy in her voice. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Dong-eun's reply is barely a whisper.
"Yeah..."
She exhales slowly, brushing a strand of hair from Dong-eun's face. "Then why did you call me here? What happened?"
Dong-eun does want to tell her...she doesn't want her to think any less of her so she doesn't tell. What if she stops talking to her? What if after she knows everything she just leaves her? Not ready to take that risk. Dong-eun doesn't respond—only gives a small, shaky shake of her head before burying her face into Hana's neck. "We don't have to talk about it right now," Hana whispers, her voice barely audible, "but you should tell me. I want to help."
The quiet is broken when a figure enters the room. Both girls look up. A police officer steps forward. "Can I help you, sir?"
"I'm acting as her legal guardian. I'm her teacher," the man replies, eyes already narrowing as he kneels down to Dong-eun's level. "Hey," he hisses, his voice sharp and low, "what the hell are you doing at the police station? You really thought it was a good idea to call the cops over a stupid prank? The vice principal found out..."
"Hey!" Hana snaps, protective now. "Don't talk to her like that. Something's clearly wrong. Dong-eun wouldn't do this for fun."
The teacher blinks, startled by Hana's boldness. What he doesn't say—but definitely knows—is that this isn't just any student standing in front of him. It's Seo Hana, the daughter of a powerful family. And crossing her? That's not something he can afford. "...Of course," he replies stiffly, forcing a tight smile. "Let's go. We'll talk later."
Dong-eun rises slowly, and Hana follows, standing tall beside her. "I'm coming too," Hana states firmly, already grabbing her bag. The teacher opens his mouth to protest—but quickly shuts it. Instead, he nods. "Sure."
"Sir, help me too," another voice calls out. Everyone turns. Jae-jun is sitting off to the side, smirking. "I'm an orphan this week. My parents are abroad. Golfing."
The teacher's brow furrows. "Really? You should've called me. I'll take him too," he adds with a sigh, then glances at the officer. "Sounds good," the officer replies with a shrug. "Wait—who's been making your meals?" the teacher asks Jae-jun.
"Our housekeeper," Jae-jun says offhandedly, like the words mean nothing.The teacher hums, mostly to himself, but loud enough for Dong-eun to hear. Her stomach tightens. Eyes locked on the floor, she freezes. Hana notices and gently bumps her arm, a small grounding gesture. "Why are you here? Did you get in trouble again?" she asks Jae-jun, brow raised with mild concern.
Jae-jun just smirks. "Trouble? Me? I'm never in trouble," he says with that practiced charm. Hana tilts her head, narrowing her eyes—then notices the glint of moisture trailing down his cheek. She leans in, wiping it away with a gentle swipe of her finger. "You're always in trouble," she says softly, her fingers still lingering where the tear had been. "And if it's not following you... you go looking for it."
The words hang in the air between them, and for a moment, his breath catches. "I think we should go," she whispers, barely loud enough for Hana to hear.
Jae-jun catches it anyway, causing his smile to falter. For a second, his eyes narrow. "Yeah... you're right," Hana says, looping her arm through Dong-eun's without hesitation. As they turn to leave, Jae-jun's stare lingers, sharper now. Watching. Judging. Dong-eun doesn't look back.
....
Dong-eun was standing by Hana's locker waiting for her to come when Hyejeong and Myeong-O
approach her. "Aye dong-eun" Hyejeong calls out causing Dong-eun to try to walk in the other direction but doesn't notice Myeong-O behind her. "Where you going? We just wanna talk" Myeong says smirking.
Before Dong-eun can move, Hyejeong grabs her arm—tight while myeong-o behind her yanks her up by the other. She thrashes, panicking, but their grip is iron. They drag her down the corridor. Her feet stumble, shoes scraping the floor.
The gym doors fly open.
"Dong-eun's here!" Hyejeong calls out like it's a party. Inside, laughter erupts. Yeon-jin steps forward, arms crossed, eyes glittering with cruelty. "The one you get to see every day," myeong-o mocks. Dong-eun's breath catches as yeon-Jin walks to her. "Welcome!" Yeon-jin says in a syrupy, mocking voice. Dong-eun starts backing up. Her hands shake. "I wanted to apologize," Yeon-jin says, grabbing her face. "For bullying you. I'm sorry. So... we're even now, right?"
Laughter rings out again. Her tone drops. "No need to call the cops, was there? You scared us, Dong-eun."
"She was at Hana's locker waiting for her. What a little obedient bitch she is" Hyejeong adds in making the other girls laugh. Yeon-jin's face hardens. "I hear... you dragged Hana into it."
Her hand grips Dong-eun's chin suddenly, forcing her to look up.
"Big mistake."
Yeon-Jin nods once. Hyejeong and myeong-o move in, grabbing Dong-eun by the arms. She struggles wildly. "Please don't! No! Let go—don't do this!" she pleads making the girls scoff. Yeon-jin walks over to an outlet and pulls out a hot curling iron. "Hey," she says casually, "what's the crime in asking for a little favor?"
Dong-eun shakes her head violently, eyes wide with terror. "You're making us feel weird," Yeon-jin adds, flipping the iron in her hand. "Just check if it's hot enough."
She presses it against Dong-eun's bare arm. The scream rips out of Dong-eun like something being torn apart.
....
After being tortured for what felt like eternity dong-eun stopped by the nurses office. "Hydrogen peroxide?" The nurse questions skeptical. " I spilled something on my shirt. If I can have some, I'll clean it up." Dong-eun explains softly as she gripes her arm. "What'd you get on your shirt?" She questions but dong-eun doesn't answer right away. "So you're... bleeding?" She questions as she looks at her sleeve that has a drop of blood on it. "Just let me have some hydrogen peroxide." Dong eun says as the nurse grabs her arm and pulls the sleeve back to reveal the nasty burns. "How did this happen? Who did this to you? Did you tell your homeroom teacher? I've seen something like this before. " if it's too hard for you alone, I'll go with you when you tell him. Who did it?" The nurse questions frantically as dong-eun gives a blank stare.
....
The final bell echoes through the halls as Hana steps out of the classroom, scanning the crowd. Students pass by in clusters, but Dong-eun is nowhere in sight.
She picks up her pace and spots Yeon-Jin and her group lounging near the stairwell, laughing a little too loudly. "Hey," Hana calls out, walking over. "Have you seen Dong-eun?"
The laughter fades into an uneasy silence. Glances dart across the room. Everyone knew what happened to the girl — but tell Hana? Not a chance. In their eyes, Hana was too pure for the kind of darkness they lived in. Keeping her in the dark wasn't cruelty. It was protection. Protection from people who would use her... or worse. Yeon-Jin finally turns, her expression unreadable as she casually taps her freshly painted nails against her phone screen. "Why would we waste time looking for someone like her?" she says, tone flat and dismissive.
Hana's brow creases. "Don't say that. She's a good person," she replies firmly, arms crossing in quiet defiance. Yeon-Jin's lips curl into a smirk. She leans in, her voice dipped in mock affection. "You always did have a soft spot for strays," she murmurs, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear
Hana doesn't respond immediately, but the corner of her mouth tenses. Yeon-siji straightens, then suddenly grabs Hana's arm with a bright, practiced smile. "Anyway—forget about her," she says pouting , tugging her gently. "I'm sure she around" sa-ra says shrugging making hana feel a little bit as ease. "Yeah...There's this new restaurant I just found. Super cozy. You're gonna love it." Yeon-Jin says stealing Hana's attention back.
Hana hesitates, her gaze drifting back down the hallway. "Yeah, okay," she says with a shrug, letting herself be pulled along. Yeon-jin loops her arm tighter through Hana's, her grip a little too firm as they head down the stairs.
This is my first kdrama so be gentle with me. Anywayssss how is it???