it's a normal thing for friends to grow apart, especially the longer they've been together. the person you knew when you were ten isn't the same person six years later. you grow up, you realize that, "hey, maybe we don't actually have that much in common," and slowly, you start to fall apart.

krystal knows this process all too well now.

she remembers moving from america to korea, being suddenly displaced into a country she doesn't know, speaking a language she can't understand. a west coast child, born into the sun and surf, plunked down into the land-locked, frigid seoul. in elementary school, the first girl she met was aimee tran -- someone exactly like her. a vietnamese girl born in san francisco and moved to seoul due to her parents' jobs. they bonded over that little fact, and faced elementary, middle, and some of high school together, before they realized that that was all they had in common and drifted apart.

nowadays, aimee and krystal are as different as night and day. aimee, the most popular girl in the school, who wears her skirts short and her eyeliner thick and goes out to parties in low-cut dresses. krystal, the nerd, with a small group of friends she rarely talks to outside of school and spends her weekends poring over her homework. aimee, who lives her life in the present, and krystal, who's still stuck in the past. as much as aimee seems happy these days, krystal's selfish longing just wants them to hang out again, to go to the mall together and gossip about who's hot and who's not.

sometimes, krystal wonders if she's in love with her former best friend. at this point, there's no doubt about it (but she refuses to admit it to herself) -- even though they don't speak anymore, she still finds herself dwelling on their past friendship every day. it's love spiced to jealousy, longing, and selfishness, but deep down inside, krystal knows it's there.

one day, as krystal is lugging her textbook to physics, aimee comes sashaying past with her new group of giggling friends. by accident, she steps on krystal's foot, eliciting a sharp hiss.

"oh, i'm sorry!" aimee flashes her an apologetic smile before turning back around, continuing on like the accident never happened. krystal can't help but feel a little stung -- there's not a hint of anything past vague recognition in aimee's eyes. there's no "hello", no "are you okay?", not even a murmur of krystal's name. for five years they'd been best friends, and all of that was unraveled in barely one.

the bell chimes, signaling that everyone should be in class by now. it shakes krystal out of her aimee-induced stupor, and she groans. with all the pining she'd done, she'd all but forgotten about physics -- and the classroom was across campus. she does everything short of sprint to get there, but by the time she's burst through the heavy door, she knows that it's too late.

the physics teacher, an older man known for handing out detentions like flyers, frowns when krystal comes in, panting. "miss jung, care to explain why you're late?" he glares at her, and she feels heat on her cheeks. the only thing krystal hates more than aimee's newfound popularity is having the spotlight her.

"i-i was in the bathroom," she stammers out a lie.

"hurry up next time," he retorts. "detention after school tomorrow."

meekly, krystal nods and slinks to her seat, performing her routine of glancing around for aimee's shiny black hair as she reaches her seat. however, she's not at her seat, whispering to whoever's next to her. puzzled, krystal looks for her again. aimee is the golden girl, the teacher's pet, the perfect student -- why would she be late?

at that moment, the door squeaks open and in steps aimee, putting on a face of apologetic humility. their teacher whips around the second he hears the door.

"and what is your excuse, miss tran?" he stares her down, but aimee doesn't quaver.

"i forgot my book at the last second and had to rush across campus to get it,