The sunlight blended into her cream muslin curtains. It twisted into the room, splashing over her oak study table, where all her notes and stationary were nearly placed into stacks. The light crawled towards her bed, which was decorated with many teddies, all gifts from the people she loved. Her favourite was a large, snowy bear that the size of a seven-year-old child, who she named Thousand-Suns, the same nickname she kept for her father’s memory. The walls were lined with posters of her favourite boyband.

    Over the blue mat, which protected joints from the laminated wooden floor, the girls sat in a circle, finishing off their homework. They talked about many things, such as teachers, baking, current music trends, and of course, boys.

    Naeun blew the remainder of an eraser off her maths copy. She had notably lost a lot of baby fat around her her cheeks, to the point where Suzy was almost envious of her blooming beauty. They had made up again after their little spat over Jongin.

        “Did you find a date for the graduation ball, Suzy?” asked Naeun.

    Suzy pursed her lips. She would soon be entering secondary school at the age of thirteen later that year. She forgot that she needed to find a date for the graduation party at the start of the summer months. It was not necessary to have a date, but it did boost one's ego if they did. Parents were not aware of this social language between teenagers, but they did not have to know.

    Of course, the first person to enter Suzy’s mind was none other than Jongin. She was particularly fond of his self-confidence. He was a natural ice breaker, so he would be the perfect company. Not to mention, he was handsome. She blushed at the last thought.

    “No.” She forgot how to multiply for a moment. “I'll ask one of the guys. Maybe Jongin, cause we're practically the same age.” The excuse rolled off her tongue. Perhaps she should make a career of being a profession liar.

Soojung glanced at her with a piercing look. “Jongin’s asked me to be his date.”

    At first, Suzy heard a babble of nonsense. She snorted then, because she Jongin was the last person to ask a girl to be his date. Besides, he didn't even go to the same school as Soojung. Why was he so eager to be her date for the graduation ball?

She scrunched her nose. “I'll ask Hongbin then.”

Naeun squealed. Her eyes shone, perhaps with guilt. “I'm really sorry Suzy, but I texted him last night.” She chewed on one pink lacquered nail.

Something terrible pricked her heart. Not Hongbin; precious and cute Hongbin with his pretty dimples and his round eyes. With his wide smile and his messy hair. It hurt her more than the news with Jongin. Was it because it was Naeun of all people that asked him out? They were such an unlikely match. She felt the blood rush to her face, and blinked when Naeun gave her a quizzical look.

    “Are you okay?”

She inhaled a sharp breath. “Yes.” The beat of her heart only whispered one name, and that was the name of her Sun.

    “You, like, are so pale.”

Suzy tapped her cheeks. They were burning hot to the touch. “I am?”

    Eunji was smiling as she added in a sad voice, “So you have no date for the ball?”

    One other name sprang to Suzy’s mind. “There's Myungsoo, if he's not loaded with work.”

“He's loaded. He has assignments to get done. I think he's a zombie,” said Naeun. She pouted. “You know Suzy, it isn't a shame to not have a date.”

    Suzy resisted the electrical urge that spasmed through her fingers. It was a dangerous urge to slap the girl across the face.

Eunji intervened. “Suzy, my older brother is free, if you want to ask him. He's in the same year as Myungsoo but he doesn't have as many assignments.” She giggled. “That boy wants to be a professional gamer.”

Suzy had already made up her mind that she would not ask Eunji's fifteen-year-old brother to be her date.

“I'm Baekhyun.” Eunji’s older brother was small for his age, and he had a baby face too so it did not seem like they were too out of match. He had a mousy expression, with his front teeth hanging out of his lips. His ears were pink when he met Suzy, who had worn sparkling a grey dress with criss-cross tights.

    She wiggled her nose. He carried a scent of sweat. Plus, he was dressed in slacks and an oversized jacket that hid his willowy form. He looked out of place compared to everyone else who were dressed in stylish blazers and dresses. There were glowing disco lights around the gym hall. Some desks were lined with linen doilies, decorated with junk food. A few parents had also attended the graduation ball, speaking to one another with exuberance while their kids socialised on the dance floor.

    Suzy found Jongin and Hongbin, and both were looking very handsome that day. Jongin, as usual, wore black skinny jeans with a fake leather jacket over his tshirt. His hair was gelled back into spikes. An earring glinted off his left lobe. He was devastatingly handsome, and all the girls watched him with greed in their eyes.

    But it was Hongbin that caught Suzy off guard that night. She had intended to confront him about accepting Naeun’s offer, but in his blue blazer, and his messy, wavy hair, with his dimpled smiles, and his growing height, he was exceptionally good looking. She never considered Hongbin to be handsome. In fact, she thought he was the least good looking guy out of her closest group of friends. He was cute, no doubt, but she never once considered him to be the type that would set a girl’s heart on fire.

    Because that night, the fire of the Sun charred her heart.