"Don’t underestimate the fool…although it may represent the number zero it holds infinite potential."

Cha Eunmi let out a loud sigh as she slammed her locker. The ringing of the bell echoed through the halls as the students rushing to class seemed to slow down and blur. Eunmi pushed her books to her chest as she slowly advanced down the hall. Everything around Eunmi seemed out of place as if she did not belong there. That was probably true since Eunmi has not felt as if she belonged ever since the day she enrolled in Shinhwa.

When Eunmi arrived at history class, she watched her classmates interacting with each other totally ignoring her presence. She adjusted her backpack strap before rushing to her seat. Sitting down in the middle seat of the 3rd row, Eunmi turned to stare at the girls beside her laughing. “Did you see Baekhyun running this morning?! He’s so dreamy” One of the girls sighed dreamily as she pushed her hair back. “Myungsoo is more attractive.” The girl’s friend argued back before getting dreamy eyed.

Eunmi sighed and looked away disinterested in the girls’ conversations. She opened up her book and began to read silently. She slowly got absorbed into her own world when the banging on a desk snapped her back to reality. “Attention! Today we’ll be learning about the spirit war. Open your books to page 230” Mr. Park cracked open his book and started lecturing the class about the big war between the castors and the evil spirits. Eunmi sighed as she started staring into space as she already knew about the war. The spirit war happened 15 years ago as the rift in the barrier got bigger causing more powerful evil spirits to leak through. So the academy sent its best castor to defeat and seal the spirit which result in a huge battle. In the end 5 castors sacrificed their lives performing a ritual that sealed the rest of the spirits. The shrill sound of the bell interrupted the lesson as Eunmi quickly gathered her belongings and rushed out the door.

Eunmi quickly ran up the stairs to the roof before any of the teachers caught her. As she pushed the door opened, the fresh breeze and sunlight hit Eunmi’s face which caused her to smile. Her hair whipped around softly as she sat down and stretched breathing in the fresh air. This was way better than going to her training class where she didn’t even do anything. Eunmi had no magic abilities. So even if she went to training class, she would sit on the benches and watch the other students performed all kinds of magic that she couldn’t do. Eventually, she got tired of going to that class when she would just get depressed so she started skipping class to lay on the rooftop. Her teacher didn’t care that she wasn’t there because it didn’t make a difference anyways. She was looking at clouds when he came into her mind. She smiled at the thought of him remembering how she met him indirectly. His name was Siwan. It was opening day and Eunmi was extremely nervous fiddling back and forth. She prayed that someone would acknowledge her even she knew it wouldn’t happen since she was invisible. Even since she was little, Eunmi was invisible to the people around her as if she blended into the background. She was staring in awe of how big and beautiful the campus was when she felt her head softly impact someone’s chest. Eunmi looked up and saw the most innocent looking face she has ever seen. He had soft brown eyes, pinkish lips and brown fluffy hair that her hands were itching to touch.

Eunmi bowed in apology as her words were caught in before making eye contact with him. She was sure that he would shuffle away after her apology but was proven wrong when he gave her a shy smile. It was that small acknowledgement that made her heart stop. It was the first time that anyone beside her family smiled at her while looking at her in the eyes. It was the first time she fell in love.

But the cold harsh truth hit her hard as she found out that he was in Class A. He had great potential and ability while she was nothing. They could never be together. The warm drops running down her face snapped her back to reality. She quickly wiped her tears and scolded herself. “No! I won’t cry. I have to be strong” She made a fighting pose before gathering her things slowly making her way to her next class. She was in mythology class learning about the myths of the spirits when the sound of the windows shattering made Eunmi jump. Black smoke flowed into the classroom before forming 3 snarling beasts. They crouched before leaping onto some of her classmates resulting in chaos. Eunmi rushed out her seat and out the door knowing she could not do anything. The alarm started blaring across the campus with red flashing lights. “Code Red. I repeat, Code Red. All staff and students prepare defense tactics and evacuate the injured or unprepared students” The intercom voice echoed throughout the campus.

Eunmi was about to leave campus since she knew she was useless in this situation when she heard a familiar voice screaming. “Siwan” Eunmi cursed under her breath before rushing back into the hallway. She ran her heart beating fast and her stomach dropping in fright and nervousness. “Siwan!” Eunmi yelled at the top of her lungs while scanning her surroundings in search for the person who made her school life better. “Help” Eunmi screeched to stop when she heard Siwan’s cry of help and tried to follow the direction of his direction. As she approached the corner of the hallway, the snarling sounds got louder as she stepped closer. When she rounded the corner, her heart stopped. Siwan was lying on the floor all sweaty trying to fend off 5 of the beasts with his dual swords. One of his legs was chewed up making him unable to stand up. His face and arms had claw marks all over them and most of his clothing was torn up. His face was stuck in a grimace. He was clearly outnumbered.

Eunmi’s heart sped up as the scene in front of her slowed down. One of the beasts leapt upwards towards Siwan aiming for a fatal hit to his chest. Eunmi knew she had to do something but what. She had no magic abilities so how was she supposed to save him. She couldn’t leave him to die though. Anger seared through her at her inability to do anything at all. She felt heat flowing through her veins. The heat slowed built up until finally it exploded. Eunmi’s eyes widened as she saw a barrier made of light protect Siwan from the beast’s attack.

Was that her? Eunmi looked at her hands in awe and shocked before swinging her right arm outwards causing the barrier to smash against the beasts killing them on impact. Relief ran through her body before she felt the fire inside her body fade. Her vision slowly blurred and the last thing she saw before the darkness claimed her was Siwan’s concerned face.