~Eunji's POV~

The familiar chalk-scraping sound resonated throughout the soundless classroom. I had stayed up until two in the morning the night before, studying for our upcoming history test today. The sound of the chalk rubbing against the blackboard sounded somewhat peaceful, making me doze in and out of focus. My eyelids felt heavy, drowsiness took over my mind. Miss Kim, our history teacher, stopped writing notes and started reading from the textbook.

"Miss Jung Eunji, could you please read the next paragraph about ancient Korean myths and prophecies?" The teacher who caught one of her student sleeping requested with a hint of sarcasm.

I stood up immediately and began reading out loud.

"In the year 659 CE when the three kingdoms of Korea, Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla were ruling the land, there was a myth that someone from more than 1000 years into the future would travel back in time and alter the past and the future. For the better or for the worst, it is all in the time traveler's hands."

*

* (a while later)

*

"... Yah, Eunji-yah... JUNG EUNJI!"

"Whoa!" My eyes flew open and my senses came back to life immediately. "What? What happened? Did something happen? Did someone die? Who died?!"

"Where were you for the last century and a half?" My best friend, Baekhyun, waves a hand in front of my face. "How many fingers?"

"Hmm, let me see... Four," I sighed, rubbing sleep from my eyes. A huge yawn erupted from my mouth and I let out another sigh.

"Three." He frowned with worry. "Did you stay up late last night again?"

"You shouldn't stay up too late," The class president, Park Chorong, dumped a pile of textbooks on my desk and sat in the chair in front of me. She leaned her chin on the edge of the backrest. "Try to wake up early and study then so you have better memory." She suggested.

"Thanks, Chorong-ah." I nodded.

"Who said it was a good idea to stay up late?" Yoon Bomi, my other best friend, sat down next to her in the empty seat in front of Baekhyun. "Staying up late can increase negative thoughts and-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. We get it. Staying up late is bad for you. Which someone needs to know," Baekhyun cleared his throat loudly.

"Whoa, guys, it's not like staying up late is going to kill you or something. I mean, admit it. You've all stayed up late at least once in your life, haven't you?"

"Not really, I still have to go to bed at 10. My parents make me." Bomi stated.

"Well-" Baekhyun started before I cut him off.

"Exactly. And are you dead yet?"

"N-no." He stammered.

"There you go." I said. "You're perfectly healthy. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Hey, Chorong-ah, what was the homework that was due on Thursday?" A voice asked. We all turned around to see the new boy, Lee Minhyuk, who sat next to Chorong in the front row. He held his schedule journal in one hand and a pen in the other, ready to take down the note.

"It was all the questions on page 33 in Maths on asymptote equations," she replied immediately, remembering off the top of her head. Even though he was only present at school for the past two days, he and Chorong seemed to have gotten along with each other extremely well. In a creepy way.

"Yah, Lee Minhyuk. Are you in love with Chorong-ie or something? Why do you stick around with her so much?" A voice cut through the air. We spun around to see Yook Sungjae, one of the school rebels, holding his textbooks in one hand in an untamed manner, ruffling his dark brown hair with the other, making it even more messy than it already was which would have left normal girls collapsing to the ground with double blood noses whilst crying hysterically, eyeing Chorong while scrunching his nose. Good-looking, yes, dangerously good-looking.

"Why do you care?" Baekhyun asked. "Why? Do you like her?" He pressed on daringly, a grin climbing up to his lips. Minhyuk stared at his pen.

"What, no." Sungjae replied immediately, giving Baekhyun a disgusted look. Baekhyun leaned back in his chair and raised his eyebrow, smirking. He mouthed, "Everyone knows." Chorong frowned, reached over and punched Baekhyun's arm. Even though it was light, Baekhyun still clutched his arm and whimpered in pain, seeking attention.

"I believe he was seeking the answer to a completely different question. Yes, Sungjae-ya, Minhyuk is staying at my house for a week. He's my cousin." Chorong replied bluntly. She offered Sungjae a stare, her arms firmly crossed. She was well known and admired throughout the school for her blunt personality, which many people saw as a positive trait.

"Yah, Sungjae-ya, come over here for a minute, you can go flirt with your crush later after you've seen this, it's so funny!" Jeong Ilhoon called from the back of the classroom.

Sungjae smirked, threw a dirty look at Minhyuk, his eyes lighting up with dark jealousy and hatred and walked away towards Ilhoon, his books magically staying in his hand despite the loose grip he had on them. Chorong sighed deeply and turned back around again.

"... I'm your cousin now?" Minyuk whispered to Chorong. She rolled her eyes and shook her head in reply.

"Just go with it," she said.

"They're all idiots... Yook Sungjae, Jeong Ilhoon, all of them." Baekhyun said, a revolted look on his face.

"Still the same, even in the future," Chorong murmured aloud to herself, staring past my shoulder at Sungjae as if she were daydreaming. Minhyuk nudged her arm with his elbow and she came back to her senses. Minhyuk seemed to give her a look of warning, his eyes stern.

"Huh? Still the same? What do you mean?" Baekhyun asked, confused.

"What? No, sorry. I was thinking about something else," she offered.

"Hey guys, speaking of Ilhoon, did you hear? Somebody called Yoon Bomi has a crush on that guy. She said she couldn't tell you guys herself because she was afraid she would have an emotional meltdown, so she told me to tell you myself." Chorong stated.

"Really?" I asked, staring at Bomi. She nodded slowly back, her cheeks flushing crimson, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment.

*

*

*

"Do you really have that much homework to do? Can't you go to the shops and buy some lipstick for me?" My older sister, Namjoo, begged from the half-open door.

"Eonnie, you know how busy I am," I replied without looking up from my desk. "Why do you need lipstick anyway? Don't you have studying to do?"

"Fine then," she huffed with annoyance. "I'm going to text Hayoung." She slammed the door.

"Do whatever you want," I muttered.

As soon as I finished my sentence, a bell rang outside the house. "Eunji-yah! Eunji-yah!" A voice called.

I jumped up from my desk and raced towards the window and peered out. Chorong and the new boy in the class who only came two days ago, Minhyuk, were standing outside my house, both riding bicycles.

"What are you guys doing here?" I called out from the window.

"We need to talk to you. Can you open the door for us?"

*

*

*

"So... What's this about?" I asked them once they settled in my room.

"Okay, get ready for this, you might be a little shocked, but please try to understand." Minhyuk replied a little mysteriously. I started to feel a little uncomfortable. Chorong and Minhyuk shared a glance with each other as if to say, now.

"I've been waiting two years for this," Chorong said, suddenly handing me a mugunghwa. I stared at it for a few moments in confusion, wondering why she gave me a flower.

"Hold onto this and we'll take it from here." Chorong advised me. I did as she told while she pulled out two more plants from her school uniform pocket, a beotkkot and a branch from the sonamu tree, handing the sonamu branch to Minhyuk. He took it and clutched onto it as if it was his vital life source.

"Hopefully this works," he muttered worriedly. "If this doesn't, we're all doomed."

"Oh, it'll work," Chorong replied, her eyes closed and her lips barely moving. "Trust me."

"What's happeni-" I started.

The whoosh of air churning filled my ears, I stared wildly around as my room started shaking, the pictures on the walls flapping and falling. Chorong and Minhyuk remained perfectly still and frozen despite their hair whipping around in their faces. "Close your eyes, Eunji-yah," Chorong called, her voice raised so it was audible enough to be heard over the wind. "Keep them closed."

In an attempt to shut out the wind, I forced my eyes shut. The wind suddenly subsided and silence washed over me. I felt myself drifting off, floating away somewhere...

Nothing.

Nothing at all.