At lunchtime on Monday Sunny sat alone in the cafeteria. Hyun-Woo had lunges to do at swimming practice, and Hee-su, still with a scar on her arm, was in a meeting on what to write for the next school newspaper. As Sunny sat and picked at her wilted lettuce, people looked at her curiously, probably surprised to see her without her usual company. But Sunny hardly noticed them. As usual, nothing could really accompany her thoughts, as she was trying her very best to not grip her phone and wait for Xuimin or anyone of his brothers to answer the phone. School policy had it said to have phones off and in your lockers, but she’s been walking around with it in her pocket. Luckily the teachers never noticed. They hardly notice anything anymore. When Sunny found herself now starring into the lettuce like a crystal ball, she decided it would make better use of her time if she just walked around a little bit, maybe stop and watch the basketball team practice. Hopefully none of the boys would come up and try to flirt with her.
 Sunny threw away her poor excuse for a salad and exited the lunch room. As she took a little detour to the back of the school, a loud and hissing noise, almost like a spray can, was sounding from the little alley space on the side of the school. The sound stopped and a voice called out from behind her.
 “Hello there.”

 Sunny turned to see Kim Hyoyeon poking her head out from behind the brick wall. Then she slowly walked from behind the wall, her arms folded across her chest. Her blonde hair was tied in a high-side ponytail, and her lips were curled into a kind and warm smile despite what the rest of her appearance showed. She had yet to care what the dress code regulations were for the school: She went with a lavender corset and a sparkling ruffled skirt that reached just above her knees, and navy blue jeans underneath. She sparkling brown bangles on one arm, and that crescent moon bracelet on the other. Sunny noticed now, the pendent had an added sun next to it. Her hair had highlights of all the colors of the rainbow. She was holding a can of spray paint in one hand, and a lit cigarette in between her fingers in the other. She took a long drag of her cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke into the air.

 “You shouldn’t smoke here,” she cautioned, wondering how anyone can openly disobey the rules. “You’ll get into trouble. And throw that can of spray paint away.”

 “Will I?” Hyoyeon asked, holding her hands up innocently. “I thought this was the usual spot where everyone smokes.”

 “There are still teachers walking around.”

 “People tell me the teachers won’t come this far-in fact, some also smoke around this corner. You can smell the smoke hovering in the area.”

 “I think you’d better put all that away before some notices, Hyoyeon,” Sunny said.

 “If you say so,” Hyoyeon replied.

 Taking a last drag of the cigarette, Hyoyeon then crushed the cigarette in her hand, then threw it far away near the trees. Then, Hyoyeon put the can of spray paint in her bag against the brick wall. She did so just as the track team came racing past them, the coach running behind and eyeing them suspiciously.

 “Wow, thanks Sunny,” Hyoyeon said when the group was far from ear shot. “You just saved my skin.”

 “Your welcome,” Sunny said, surprised at her expression of gratitude. “I just didn’t want you to get in trouble. Did you always have this sort of freedom at your old school?”

 Hyoyeon shrugged. “Let’s just say I took some risks. Of course, some didn’t pay off well. Hence, why I’m here at happy-go-lucky Seoul. At least I’m not here permanently.”

 “Well, how long are you staying?”

 “As long as it takes for my character to be a bit more, proactive.”

 Sunny laughed. “Is there any chance of it?”

 “I’d say there’s a chance, if I just had the right influence,” said Hyoyeon meaningfully. She furrowed her brows suddenly and cocked her head as though something had just occurred to her. “Something’s weird. Your all by yourself. Where is the lovey-dovey couple I see so much of?”

 “Their both occupied at the moment. Not able to join me in lunch today. So, I’m flying solo for a few more periods,” Sunny said quickly.

 “Ah, I see. Anything to be alone, I can say they are probably together right now.”

 “Sorry?”

 “Never mind.” Hyoyeon smoothed her pony tail thoughtfully. “Tell me, do your friends usually leave you to do their own things?”

 “Well, there in more clubs then me, so it’s understandable when they have to leave,” Sunny said casually.

 “But aren’t you usually with somebody, to keep you company. Like, anybody else?”

 “Like who?”

 “Like your old friends. They would be here beside you, huh?”

 Sunny’s heart flipped. How would she know anything like that? “Don’t worry about it, Hyoyeon. It’s nothing to talk about now.”

 Hyoyeon pursed her lips. “You know I would like to be your friend. I got to know these things some time.” she said, arching an eyebrow.

 Her behavior was confusing Sunny, but she certainly wasn’t going to make her aware of it. She decide the safest thing to do was to just change the subject. “What were you doing back here?” she asked. “With the spray paint?”

 “Ah!” Hyoyeon clapped her hands in reminder. “You are the person who I wanted to see my art.” Hyoyeon grabbed Sunny’s wrist and dragged her inside the small alley way. “You are the only person in the world who can see this.”

 Hyoyeon took her to the center of the alley, pointing up at the art she had done. She put her hands on her hips proudly. Sunny looked amazed at it. It was a man, dark as he was just a shadow, surrounded by a white glowing hew. He had large white wings with stars falling from it’s feathers. It reminded Sunny of her dream. With her friends playing as the angles, and the girls as the Fallen. Hyoyeon had done especially well with the wings. They looked like they could just jump right off the wall and fly off into the skies.
 “It looks amazing, Hyoyeon,” Sunny said in awe.

 Hyoyeon looked at her, her eyes dazzling. “You think?”

 “Of course. Do you have any other work of arts like this?”

 Hyoyeon nodded. “Yup. You can come over my house and see too. I’ll tell you when though.”

 “Cool.”

 Hyoyeon went up to the painting and smudged a bit of the shadows face. She took a moment to caress his face, as though looking at a picture of a long lost lover. Still looking at him, she asked, “Sunny, since we’re by ourselves together, let’s just walk around for a bit, huh?”

 Sunny nodded. “Sure.”

 Hyoyeon turned to gather her things, which were clattering with spray bottles. The bag looked heavy but she showed no sign of a struggle. Slinging the strap over her shoulders, the two walked out of the alley way and to the gardens behind the school. It was the grass area where everyone played, ate lunch, made out in private, just about everything. But, although it would be a little crowed at times, there was actually no one here. It was just the grass, the dirty silver bleachers, and them.
 Hyoyeon immediately veered right off the path and led Sunny to the field, sitting her down on top of the bleachers.
 Sniffing, Sunny tucked her chin into her red turtleneck.

 “Soooo,” Hyoyeon said. “Your friends know about me.”

 “Yup. Pretty much.”

 “I assume I didn’t make a very good first impression,” Hyoyeon said quickly.
 “I mean, the guy called me out,” Hyoyeon rolled her eyes as if the memory amused her. “What do you think-I made him real pissed huh?”

 “Like the devil looking at his death bed,” Sunny answered.

 Hyoyeon cracked a smile. “The first of many, I can tell you that. And may I say, it was quite a show to see how your new friend is acting. By the way, tell that girl, Hee-su I presume, that I’m sorry about that cutting incident.” Hyoyeon rolled her eyes speaking the words Hee-su and sorry, like she didn’t mean it despite the compassion in her voice.
 Hyoyeon giggled like a school girl. “I was going so fast!” Hyoyeon jumped off the bleachers, put her hands up in fists as if holding handles. Then made the sound of her motorcycle engine, and running around in a little kids fashion of riding the vehicle.

 Sunny took it as a joke, but something definitely told her she didn’t mean what she said. Liars, the word hissed in her mind, Dara’s voice like a snake.

 A moment of silence passed between them as Hyoyeon was still pretending to be on a motorcycle as real as an air guitar, then Hyoyeon stopped.

 “Okay, spill it,” Hyoyeon ordered. Plopping down on the bleacher beside Sunny, she scooted closer to listen better. “What’d the big bad friends do to make you so quiet?”

 Hyoyeon’s tone was rather playful, but by the look in her eye Hyoyeon was expecting some answers. It was ridiculous, but she’d half expected Hyoyeon was playing a horrible joke on her just to be funny. But no, she’s serious this time. As in, this is the first time Sunny has seen Hyoyeon with a completely straight face.
 “I told you, the day we first met.”

 She could feel the blood thrumming at her temples. It happened whenever she to think back to that night. Horribly ice cold. Wet and raining. Angry voices hopping back and forth. She would never speak of this to anyone until she had answers. If she could get them. She wanted the phone to ring right on cue, just to save her from this conversation, but it was completely dead silent. Sunny straddled the bleacher, her hands pale and gripping the seat beneath her. She watched Hyoyeon, who with a disappointed grunt, laid back on the bleachers, looking up into the sky. She waved her finger up at the sky, making little shapes in the air. It was hard to tell because of the bright sun that was radiating from Hyoyeon’s skin, but she must have been starring at Sunny, because after two seconds, she shot up from the bleachers and grinned with wide eyes like a two year old.

 “Cut my hair, like yours,” she said.

 “What?” Sunny gasped. “But your hair is long and beautiful.”

 It was true: even with the colors in her hair, Hyoyeon’s hair was soft and shiny like silk. It was the long hair Sunny had once missed when she cut it at fifteen. A long time ago, Sunny once said the most beautiful girls have long hair, which is why she had cried the day she cut it.

 Hyoyeon rolled her eyes. “To heck with beautiful!” Hyoyeon said. “Yours is y, and brunette. I like girls with that style.” she winked at her.

 “Oh, um, okay,” Sunny said. That little gesture had Sunny feeling a little awkward, even though she was supposed to be flattered at being called y, and brunette.

 “Well, where am I supposed to get the-”

 “Ta-da!” Hyoyeon reached into her bag and pulled out these long pink scissors, that actually looked really sharp. “What?” she said, seeing Sunny’s shocked expression. “Sometimes, I like to play with scissors for a toy. Don’t worry, I don’t cut people. I just sometimes like to cut my clothes or something.” Hyoyeon’s eyes twinkled. “I remember back then, there was this girl who really pissed me off, and I got back at her by cutting out all of her beautiful black locks while she slept in the library.”

 “You cut all of her hair?” Sunny winced.

 “Right down to the roots. Ha ha ha! should have seen it coming.” Hyoyeon took hold of Sunny’s hand and put the scissors in her hand. “Don’t give me that look. I’m sure it grew back. Or not. Now, cut!” Hyoyeon turned so the hair could be in front of Sunny, and removed her scrunchy to let down her silk locks.

 “But, I don’t-”

 “And do not tell you’ve never cut hair before. Just cut, and then tell me how amazing I look.”

 Afraid she was going to butcher her hair, Sunny hesitated with the scissors as it was moving closer to the blonde’s hair. Oh god, this was more nerve racking then taking that Japanese exam!
 With shaky hands, Sunny gathered Hyoyeon’s hair as if putting it into a pony tail, held it tight in two fingers, and snip. The hair was off. Just a portion of it. Hyoyeon gasped. Sunny showed the evidence of the chopped off hair, and Hyoyeon took it in her hands. She starred at it for a moment, then grinned. “Excellent.” She stood up and threw the hair right away from them. “Keep going.” Hyoyeon assured.

 With pursed lips, Sunny snipped again, but let the blade slip and nearly punctured Hyoyeon’s skin. It instead cut one of the strings binding her corset around her. Hyoyeon looked back. “It’s okay. Your doing fine.”

 But something was not fine. Taking one of the strings had loosen the corset, which meant you can see a bit of Hyoyeon’s back, which was scarred badly with brown and red slashes. Looking at it, Sunny could have sworn one of the marks looked a little new, by the look of the red around it.

 “Hyoyeon,” Sunny whispered. “Your back, it’s-”

 “Scarred?” Hyoyeon finished. “Yup, that it is.”

 Still looking at the gagged lines, Hyoyeon reached behind and rubbed her fingers across one line. “I’m not afraid of it. Are you?”

 “No,” Sunny said a little too quickly.

 Hyoyeon turned around and looked Sunny in the eye. Hazel and brown starring into her soul. Sunny let her eyes travel inside and out of her. She could feel her eyes everywhere, even her brain felt like it was being touched. Hyoyeon cocked her head. “Let me ask, what are you afraid of Sunny?”

 “Nothing.”

 “Are you afraid of who you are, Sunny?”

 “No.” she said quickly. What could she mean by that? What could she be afraid of?

 Hyoyeon turned her back to her. “Tell you what. I’ll tell how I got these little scars, if you tell me what was going with you and the ‘twelve hottest guys in the state’.” Sunny gave her a look. How did she know she had twelve other friends?

 “You promise?” Sunny asked.

 Hyoyeon reached behind and held out her pinkie. The two crossed pinkies, and the promise was made official.

 “Okay so this is what I heard: Lee Sunny was always hanging around those twelve hot, rich boys that came to the school. You guys were thick as thieves. To the point that you could have been dating every singe one of them. But then, they, like, left. And you were all sad looking almost everyday. One even said you looked like you’ve been crying that morning you woke up. So, what were the guys like? Tell me everything, and I’ll tell my secrets.”

 Sunny hesitated to speak, but Hyoyeon was her friend. Her new friend. Taking a small snip to her hair, Sunny started. “I met all of them when I was walking on the beach. One of the heard me singing to myself, and he automatically invited his brothers to play with me. It was so fun. And magical. It wasn’t like we first met, it was like we were childhood friends that finally found each other.

 “I found out that we were all in the same school. And trust me, we got acquainted pretty quickly. We were thick as thieves, as ever. And then, Hyun-woo returned from his traveling in Paris. I don’t know if I was imagining or not, but the boys didn’t like him much. I see the looks they gave him. They weren’t pretty at all.”

 “Mmm. Continue.” Hyoyeon said.

 Hyoyeon’s hair was becoming just about her size. Almost done. “Then, of course, Hyun-Woo got his girlfriend, Hee-su. It was very much a surprise to me as it was to the guys. I felt really left out, like Hyun-Woo replaced me. I was jealous of Hee-su for some time, because she was also getting attention from the guys too. And, I even said it to one of them. But he said that they would never leave me. Ever,” Sunny’s throat chocked up saying the word. The word ‘ever’ hadn’t meant a thing to them.

 Done with her hair, Sunny gave Hyoyeon back the pink scissors. Hyoyeon turned to face her. “Do I look gorgeous?” she asked.

 Sunny smiled. “Beautiful. You actually look nice in short hair.”

 Hyoyeon grinned and held Sunny’s hands. “Awesome. We’re short-haired twinzies. Now, go on. How did you feel when they left, without a word?”

 “Hurt. They promised to stay by my side forever, but now their gone. I don’t know what to do. I feel like a third wheel when around Hyun-Woo and Hee-su, and their, lovey-dovey ness.”

 Hyoyeon nodded. “Humph. They don’t know how to treat a lady, such as yourself, the right way. I say, move on. In the most incredible way possible.”

 “That’s what Hyun-Woo keeps telling me, but. . . I have one of their phone numbers in my phone, and I have been calling and calling but no one answers.”

 “Aish. No need for them, Sunny. Your still young and beautiful. There are a thousand guys to go around in this world. Twelve won’t make a difference. So, whaddya say?”

 “What do I say?” Sunny asked, looking at her in a certain way.

 “Forget about the people that hurt you, and come to the people who can change you. That’s right. Me. You and me. We can ride this world together, on our own. You can even throw away the lovey-dovey couple. Their just making you a third wheel, aren’t they? I know exactly what you need to do to get through too. Just trust me. Do you trust me?” Her hazel and brown eyes looked deep into her eyes.

 Sunny didn’t know what to think. What to say. She can only stare. To throw away Hyun-Woo and Hee-su, and the memory of her beloved friends. She couldn’t bare the thought, but one thing came to mind and escaped out . “Only if you tell me about your scares.”

 “Is there anything else you need to tell me? Anything.” Hyoyeon asked.

 Sunny immediately thought of the last night she saw the boys, the night of the dinner. Her eyes nearly teared up thinking of all the horrible things that happened. She was sure that the girls were not only enemies of her friends, but because of Chaerin, their her enemy also. She still wasn’t ready to tell someone. Not even Hyoyeon, who was about to reveal something that was obviously personal. Maybe she’ll tell her, one day. But today isn’t the day.
 “No. There’s nothing else.”

 Hyoyeon nodded. “Fine. Are you ready for my story?”

 Sunny nodded.

 Hyoyeon took a breath. “Okay, then. So, first things first, I was born in Brighton, as an orphan. The head mistress of my orphanage said both of my parents had died under natural causes. So, as soon as I turned five, not only did I get my first necklace for my birthday, but I found out I had gotten parents!

 “I was so excited. Their names were Annie and Marcus Wicked. Yes, Wicked were their last names. Over the time I questioned why they were the Wickeds. They were certainly nice. But around fifteen, I most certainly understood. See, my parents, my adopted parents, they were fundamentally religious. Very religious. I had to follow a lot a rules. They said if I didn’t, I would have sinned and God would’ve punished me. There was a time I tried make up, and my dad smacked me in the face.”

 Sunny gasped. “Why?”

 “Make up is not good, according to my father. He said the Devil invented it for woman to look more attractive and have a better chance in seducing men. I asked why mom had make up. He said it was for him and him only. Since I was single and young, I couldn’t do it. Yet, according to mother

 “Another bad incident, it was why my class were going on a trip to London. I had gotten my clothes together with my best friend, my used-to-be best friend now, and she had given me a short skirt and crop top, because there was going to be a time where we could travel around by ourselves. I said I don’t want to. But, she said that my parents will never find out. So, taking the advantage, I obliged. I wasn’t worried at all when I wore it. It even attracted my crush, the hottest dude in school, Christian Anderson. He even gave me a kiss on the cheek. The bad part though, one of the girls traveling with us was making a journal about it for the board at school. And on her Facebook. She put the picture on the board and the picture spread pretty fast on the internet. People thought that we were a couple now. And you could guess who saw it.

 “My dad called me a vindictive . He slapped me. He beat me. He cursed me like a sailor. My mom just sat by and watched. She never defended me when my dad abused me severely. The next day, he was planning on making me pure again. I was expected we’d be going to the church. But instead, he took me to the bathroom, stripped me , and sat me in the bathtub. He took a knife that was sitting on the counter. . .”
 That was when Hyoyeon took Sunny’s hand, and gripped it tight. That was when, the events she was telling was appearing in her mind.
 A young and pale Hyoyeon looking up at her father. He was tall, wore a dress short and pants. He was big and mean-looking, and you could see the outline of his muscles. He starred down at her, superior against inferior. Next shot, the young and pale Hyoyeon was . Her many bruises, yellow and purple, were scaling all down her body. She entered inside the bath tub. Her father took the knife from the counter.

 Hyoyeon said, “He was saying a prayer, for me, whilst slashing my whole back.”

 Young Hyoyeon screamed in pain as her father continued to cut, cut, cut, at her back. He muttered a long prayer with each cut.

 “My mother stood by, not giving a I presume.”

 Her mother stood outside the door, afraid and bewildered, in frantic thought if she should stop her husband and make him let her daughter go. She didn’t. She just walked away, closing the door, probably to muffle the screams.

 “Didn’t your neighbors, or even your classmates noticed?” Sunny asked, becoming sick at the mental sight of blood.

 “They didn’t give a either. No one talks to my parents. No one talks to me. And I never wanted anyone to worry. From then on, everything I did that was sinful to my father, I was punished with one slash each sin. After cutting me, he would send me to my closet, and think about what I’ve done.”

 Young Hyoyeon starred up at the large painting of Jesus, who starred down at her in return. Was that grief in his eyes? Or was it anger? Hyoyeon sniffed and more tears fell from her eyes. She sat there shivering, and dry blood sticking to her arms and legs.
 The door behind her banged, and her fathers booming voice muffled through the wood. “You pray in there, sinful girl. You beg for forgiveness until sunrise, and I better see your words written tonight, or it’s the belt, again.”

 Hyoyeon flinched at his words. Hyoyeon nodded, giving no reply to her father. She reached across the floor for her, tiny, tiny piece of chalk. With a shaky hand, she wrote her words under the picture of Jesus.

 I’m Sorry. Forgive me for my sins.

 Hyoyeon covered from keeping her father to hear her crying. He’ll just yell at her again if he does. Hyoyeon looked back for a moment, then back at the wall. She slowly wrote.

 Save me from this family.

 She fainted in the middle of the night.
 The door of her closet opened, her father standing big and tall in front of his pale and sickly daughter. He walked towards her, and kicked her slightly in the head. “Hey, sinful girl, get up.”

 He kicked again, harder this time, and Hyoyeon’s eyes fluttered open. Her father stood upside down just above her. She dared not to say anything, as her father could punish her even for that. Her mother was no where to be found.
 Her father said, “Are you ready to join us back in the light, little demon?”

 Hyoyeon slowly sat up on all fours, just to get the feel of her limbs. She couldn’t feel them, but they still worked. One hand went up to his belt. The other followed. She had to cling to her father just to get up. She would have clung to something else, but he was the closest thing to her. Slowly and carefully, she stood up, her skinny legs trying hard to hold her up. Her dad did nothing to help her, just let her hang on to him like a lonely puppy. Hyoyeon stood close in front of him. She slowly put her arms around him, and tried to give him a squeeze as a reminisce of a hug. Her father smiled. He put his hands around her, the first time he has handled her so gently.
 “My sweet, sweet Hyoyeon? You have finally learnt the ways of God, and has joined us into the light.”

 Hyoyeon nodded.

 “Well, as I am greatly happy you have chosen the right path, you are still a deadly sinner who could kill the men around you. So, I still have some work to do.” He leaned his head against hers.
 “I see you have finally grown into a young lady. I guess I’ll have to call you sinful woman from now on.”
 Hyoyeon detested the names he’d called her. But still, so afraid of him she was, she still said nothing.

 “I had enough of it.” Hyoyeon said when the vision of her past ended with a simple slip of her hand.

 “What did you do?” Sunny asked.

 Hyoyeon shrugged. “I didn’t have to do anything. They died in a car crash. I was an orphan again. But from then on, I changed. How I am now is my special work. I was a lot like you before, which is why I like you so much and want to help you. I want to help you forget about them. So, what do you say Sunny?”
 Hyoyeon reached into her bag and pulled out an identical bracelet of hers, but the moon was full. She took Sunny’s wrist and tied the ribbon.

 “Are you my best friend? My ride-or-die ?” Her eyes looked straight into hers, and it was almost hypnotic.
 She felt bad for her. Hyoyeon had barely had any friends. Her parents were bull to her. Oh my god, did I just say bull? Or think it at least?
 There was no way she was going to let Hyoyeon go on alone. She needed a friend, and a good influence at that. And you know what. . . she can help her forget about the boys. One way or another. Even if it meant changing in the most ‘incredible way’ possible.

 Sunny slowly nodded, and looked at her. “Yes, Hyoyeon. As of now, I am your best friend.”

 Hyoyeon threw up her hands in excitement. “YAY!”
 She threw her hands around Sunny and hugged a big big bear hug. She kissed her on the cheek, and the two laugh. Suddenly, the bell rang. Hyoyeon jumped. “Oh god. Class time.”

 Hyoyeon gathered her stuff in her bag, and the two walked into the school, hand in hand. Sunny liked the feel of this friendship already. And it only happened ten seconds ago.
 The two let go, as they had separate classes this period. Before walking away, Hyoyeon walked up to her.

 “By the way, I got that first line of the short story. I didn’t figure out the theme yet, but the lead should start something.”

 Hyoyeon put a slip of crumpled paper in Sunny’s hand, and then scampered off.
 Written with neat and creative calligraphy, Hyoyeon wrote:

 The Fallen and the Angles faced each other in the field. The girls side by side by their ugly and beastly pets, and the Angles with nothing but their weapons and their hope, which clung high above them on a tree.

                                                                                                     * * * *

 Hyun-Woo and Hee-su just simply drove off in Hee-su’s car early without Sunny, So she was walking home, by herself, again. From the end of the day, she didn’t spot Hyoyeon anywhere. She wasn’t even part of the over-flowing sea of kids getting out the front doors as fast as they could. Sunny lost the lovey-dovey couple some where in the waters, and the next thing she knew, Hee-su’s car was off and running. Well, damn, Sunny thought.
 Yup, she’s already starting to curse in her mind.

 Walking her way home, she had Hyoyeon’s slip of paper held in her hand. She thought about this lead for their assignment for awhile now. What else could it be that made these words not so simple? They described exactly what it was like in her dream. As she thought about the note, all that came was that exact image: The girls, the Fallen she was sure about now, facing her boys with their ugly and beastly pets. In her dream, it didn’t seem like they were the pets. Those creatures were obviously the leaders of these eating reservations. As it said in the note, thinking of hope made her think of Protected. She was still trying to find that one out. What is a Protected? How is she one?
 Her first thought was that it meant ‘hope’. Their hope, which clung high above them on a tree. She was on top of a tree in her dream, not clinging but tied to the tree though. It was exactly the same. Did Hyoyeon just have a vision of it, or was it just her ‘dark and murky’ mind running a muck?

 Sunny unrolled the note and read the line over again. She sighed. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

 Sunny rolled the paper up and slipped it in her pocket. Maybe she could help continue the little paper when she gets home.

 Sunny started walking forward, and that’s when she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” a voice called behind her.

 Sunny paused her thoughts. She recognized that voice. So well she recognized it. It was Luhan. Right behind her.
 Not wasting anytime to think, she turned around to face him. But he wasn’t there.

 No one. Who was that?

 “Hey,” the voice called again. Sunny looked across the street. Luhan’s milky skin was seen going through the trees, which lead little ways to the beach.

 Sunny shot for the trees as fast as her little legs could carry her. Through the leaves and ducking the branches, she came face to face with the blue waters of the sea. No where to be seen was anybody. It was just her and the beach. There were usually one or two people around here, even on a Monday.

 And then she looked right ahead, and a glowing ball of light was hovering above the water. Sunny widened her eyes. What more strange things can happen around her?
 But the ball was floating closer and closer to her. Slowly wavering to her, they were at arms length. Sunny looked into the bright orb of light, and stretched out her hand to touch it. But the orb floating backwards and avoided her touch. She reached farther for it, and the orb skirted backwards again. Sunny leaped, and the orb flew to the other side. A game of cat and mouse was being played.
 Sunny jumped high and ran fast to catch the little ball, but it only avoided her as quickly as a cockroach. Sunny groaned in irritation. She jumped higher this time, and she felt the slightest tug within it, like it was her in.

 “Whoa,” Sunny muttered.

 The orb flew past her and towards the docks. Sunny chased after it. The little think flew and flew until it reached a particular dock and was racing just above it.
 “Wait!” Sunny yelled. The orb didn’t stop. It went over the dock, then just splashed right into the water.

 Sunny skittered to a stop. She looked into the water, and that white orb was going just as it was when it was above the water. It’s light winked at her. Sunny dropped her bag on the wood and bent down to reach into the water. The tugging sensation was near her finger tips, but then the orb moved and the feeling was gone.

 Sunny bent down lower, and her whole arm was going inside the water. This time the orb made no move. It stayed in it’s place(finally). The tugging sensation was reaching out to her. It was covering her whole hand. Her whole body was moving towards the body by itself. It wasn’t just her hand that was getting in. Her whole body was getting pulled in.
 Sunny yelped as her head entered inside the water. Suddenly, she felt a hand, two hands, pulling her out by the waist. Soon, she was out of the water and skirting across the floorboards, her bag dragging itself beside her.

 After the dragging stopped, Sunny coughed out some water and was pulled to her feet.
 Rubbing the salt water out her eyes, Hyoyeon’s angry look on her face became clearer and clearer. Her frown lines deep, resembling her fathers, and her hands on her hips, one holding her school bag. Hyoyeon’s school clothes were exchanged for an all-black outline. A black jacket over a black shirt with silver letters reading ‘Kill Them All’. Even black jeans with a gold-studded strap and black tennis shoes with a frightening grey cat with dead skin and no eyes.

 Hyoyeon looked her in the eye. “What were you thinking?” she said.

 Sunny coughed out any remains of bitter sea water. “What about?”

 Hyoyeon looked at her like she was stupid. “About going in the water. Are you crazy? You could have drowned. What are you even doing going to the docks? Sundown’s waiting to come you know.”

 Sunny sniffed and rubbed her wet hair. “I wasn’t thinking at all.”

 Hyoyeon pursed her lips. “I know that isn’t true. What were you doing? Collecting sea water samples for chemistry, with your mouth?”

 Sunny shook her head. “I was chasing something.”

 “A fish?”

 “No,” Sunny answered. “But, what does it matter now. It’s gone.” Avoiding questions is kind of hard when it comes to Hyoyeon. She keeps asking.

 “What’s gone?” Hyoyeon asked.

 “It. Now can I please go?” Sunny grabbed her bag from Hyoyeon’s hand. She put it around her shoulders and walked away from her.

 “Wait,” Hyoyeon called.
 Sunny stopped abruptly.

 “Do you. . . wanna get a ride home on my motorcycle?”

 Sunny turned. Hyoyeon smiled back at her with her twinkling eyes. How rude she felt now. After they just became best friends. Well, not ‘besties’ exactly, but friends as you can put it. And the sudden notice of the bracelet felt heavy on her wrist.
 Sunny smiled. “I’m sorry. Sure. Where is it?”

 “Just across from us.” Hyoyeon said. She took Sunny’s wrist and led her into the branches of trees leading to the streets. They stopped when they reached the side walk and stood in front of Hyoyeon’s black motorcycle, which had front and back labels with Italian printed on them.

 “Cool,” Sunny said. “What’s the name?”

 “Don’t know. I got it as a gift. Hop on.”

 Hyoyeon slipped on the ride and put on her matching black helmet. She wasn’t really wearing anything that could be protective for the rest of her body. I mean, she’s so skinny. She could fall off anytime. Sunny looked at her. “I don’t have a spare helmet on me.”

 Hyoyeon shrugged. “You don’t need one. Just get on and hang on tight. Trust me, I’ll protect you.”

 Sunny did trust her. After all she’s told her earlier. Sunny slipped on to the motorbike and wrapped her arms tightly around Hyoyeon’s waist.

 “Hang on tight. It’s going to be a little bumpy.” Hyoyeon started up to the machine. It roared loudly as Hyoyeon put the gas on, and they suddenly were racing down the street, faster then any other car driving by.
 Sunny’s light bronze hair whipped threw the air and she held tightly to Hyoyeon’s waist. Hyoyeon made a sharp turn down the wide road that lead to her house. Hyoyeon yelled loudly through the wind, “I’ve seen you walking down here before. My place isn’t too far from here you know.”

 Sunny didn’t say anything, but took note of the fact. The two could visit each other if they wanted. Hyoyeon suddenly pulled the handle bars and the front tip of the motorcycle lifted high into the air. Sunny held on to Hyoyeon tighter and screamed. “Hyoyeon! Stop it!”
 Hyoyeon chuckled and lowered the ride with a hard thud, not even slowing the pace a little bit. She looked back at her. “Sorry. I had to make you say something.”
 Sunny groaned. This girl would continue to test her in the most nauseating ways possible.

 Hyoyeon’s motorcycle slowed with low grumble and screech. Sunny sighed deeply and froze in her embrace with Hyoyeon, who coolly took off her helmet with a sigh.
 She looked back at Sunny. “Rides over. Welcome to fun land, the sunniest place on earth.” Hyoyeon chuckled. “Get it? Sunny? He he.” Hyoyeon hung her helmet on the handle bar and said, “You know, Fun Land is safe. You can let go now.”
 Sunny didn’t realize she was still hanging on to Hyoyeon like a teddy bear. With a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks, Sunny quickly let go of her waist and got off the motorcycle. Hyoyeon stood beside her. “That thing is a death trap.” Sunny pointed to the motorbike.

 Hyoyeon smiled. “It’s not the ride that’s dangerous, it’s the person. Sometimes people aren’t afraid to take a ride on the wild side. I know you are.”
 Sunny shook her head. She wasn’t afraid on whatever this thing was. She learned not to be afraid of anything. But this whole friendship with Hyoyeon seemed like a good thing to be afraid of.

 “So, let’s meet the folks!” Hyoyeon excitedly took Sunny’s arm and started running to the wooden steps. Hyoyeon wasn’t holding her so tightly, but she was close enough it looked like she was suction-cupped to her. Getting up to the stairs, Sunny knocked on the door. Of course as the routine goes, there goes the clatter of dishes, her mother yelling orders to her husband, and then the faint footsteps coming to the door.

 “I surely hope I don’t look bad for you folks. Nothing’s more embarrassing then failing at a first impression.” Hyoyeon pat down her short blonde hair and smoothed any crease on her jeans and shirt.

 “Bernie, do not let the chicken burn, or I’ll roast you for dinner!” Lynn’s voice raised threw the cracks below the door. Sunny looked as if she wanted to run away from this, while Hyoyeon laughed wickedly.
 “Well, this one’s a keeper. This ought to be good.”

 Sunny didn’t know what she meant, but it was obvious Hyoyeon’s crazy and twisted mind was turning with ideas to make her family intimidated or uncomfortable. Hyoyeon seemed to have that affect on everyone. Even the way she looks at someone could make you cringe.
Sunny’s heart raced as Hyoyeon took her arm again in a hold and the door opened. Lynn greeted her daughter with a smile, in her slippers and apron as you would expect, and then caught sight of Hyoyeon. Her smiled disappeared but didn’t forget to keep the calmness in her eyes. “Hey, Sunny honey. Who’s this? A new friend?” Lynn eyed their arm contact.

 “Yeah, mom.” Sunny said. “This is-”

 Hyoyeon held out her free hand for Lynn helpfully. “Hyoyeon. Kim Hyoyeon. Pleasure to meet you madam.”

 Lynn eyed her hand tentively, but reluctantly raised her hand to shake hers. Sunny spotted a jolt in the both of them. Lynn quickly released her hand, while Hyoyeon starred at hers for a short second before lowering it, showing that signature smirk Hyoyeon would often make to other people. “I am Sunny’s current partner in literature class. We’re working on a short story together.”

 “Oh.” Lynn said, looking entirely pale and older. “Well. . . come in.” Lynn turned away from the two and walked over to the kitchen to grab a glass and fill it with water. Sunny’s father appeared with his sleeves pulled up his arms. He greeted the two of them with a smile. “Who’s this young lady, Sunny?”

 “This is Hyoyeon, my literature partner. We’re working on an assignment together.” Sunny answered.

 “Oh that’s wonderful. Work hard now.” Bernie tousled the two’s hair and then ran off somewhere upstairs.

 Sunny straightened her hair. “I hate it when he does that.”

 Hyoyeon giggled. “That was funny. I like your father. He’s the father I’ve always dreamed of.” Hyoyeon looked at the stairs where Bernie climbed up to and looked like she wanted to follow them up to them to him. Sunny thought of those painful slashes and words Hyoyeon’s father had put on her, and felt a twinge of pity for her. Sunny nudged her to get her attention. “My father’s really nice. I’m sure you’ll love him even more.”

 Hyoyeon’s eyes brightened at the thought. There was nothing more that she could dream of. The thought even surpassed giving Sunny up to-
 The wood creaked as someone was coming back down the stairs. Hyoyeon’s head turned to see if it was Bernie, the father, when in actually came to be Hyun-Woo along with his other half that seemed to be super-glued to his back every singe second, Hee-su. Hyoyeon held back a gag and looked at Sunny, smirking.

 When the two finally spotted them, they stopped in their tracks.
 “Well hello there, Romeo and Juliet. What a fine time to see you.” Hyoyeon waved her hand at them.

 Hyun-Woo glared at her and pointed, “You. You’re the girl that nearly ran over me and my girlfriend.”

 Hyoyeon lifted her chin. “Oh yes. I told Sunny earlier to tell you that I’m sorry. But I guess since I’m here, I’m very sorry I almost ran over you and your other leg.” Hyoyeon nodded to Hee-su, who stood behind Hyun-Woo and glaring at Hyoyeon suspiciously. Actually, not glaring at her but both of them. Particularly at their linked arms.

 “What are you doing here, Hyoyeon?” Hee-su said her name with such poison it made Sunny flinch. Obviously the quarrel between them had much more to do with then in the motorcycle incident. But what could it be? It was half-hearted, but Hyoyeon apologized.

 “I’m here for Sunny’s sake. Who else is going to spend time with her? You?” Hyoyeon glared icily at Hyun-Woo and Hee-su. The look could kill if it wanted to.

 Hyun-Woo fixed his look and smiled grimly at her. “Of course.” Hyun-Woo let go of Hee-su’s hand and walked to Sunny’s other side.
 “Come on, Sunny. Let’s go to my room and eat some ice cream. Bananas, sprinkles, and any other topping you like.” He looked at Hyoyeon. “You can go home now, Hyoyeon. Me and Juliet have it all under control.”

 Hyun-Woo grabbed Sunny’s hand and tried to pull her away from Hyoyeon, but it seemed like she was suddenly turned to stone. Hyoyeon held tightly to her arm, so tight she couldn’t move. Sunny’s feet didn’t move an inch, and her arm was starting to hurt a little bit.
 Hyun-Woo tried to move her again, but Hyoyeon held even tighter and Sunny didn’t move from her spot, still. Hyoyeon’s eyes narrowed into angry slits at Hyun-Woo, and her face was turning red. To stop the searing pain from going further, Sunny said, “Hyun-Woo, I just want to spend time with Hyoyeon for a little while.”

 Hyun-Woo raised his brows in surprise. “Really? With this walking death-trap of a girl.”

 “This walking death-trap of a girl is my friend, Hyun-Woo.” Sunny said, suddenly feeling defensive.

 “Excuse me?” Hyun-Woo said, letting go of her hand and crossing his arms.

 Sunny held out her full moon bracelet, Hyoyeon holding out hers in tow.
 Hee-su ran up to look at the two and at the bracelets. She now glared at Sunny. “You shouldn’t be wearing that. Being involved with someone like this thing can only bring consequences.”

 Sunny widened her eyes. “Don’t say that about her, Hee-su. You don’t even know Hyoyeon, she’s still new to the school. Being mean makes you the bad person.” Even as Hyoyeon seems to be crazy, Sunny won’t let Hee-su treat her like this. Hyoyeon is her friend and it won’t change a thing. “Now, as you can see, we have an assignment to do.” Hyoyeon’s hold on Sunny’s arm loosened.
 With a final glare, Sunny led Hyoyeon to the stairs.

 Hee-su slowly entered the kitchen, where Lynn was still holding her head in her hands and looking pale and old.
 “Auntie, are you okay?”

 Lynn picked herself up, and smiled as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “I am. But, I’m not sure Sunny is.”




 Sunny closed her door behind her as they entered her room. The first thing she did, of course, was drop dead on her mattress face first. There was nothing more that she wanted then to just lie there and sleep and not worry about work and school. And family and missing friends. She laid that way for a long moment, until she realized how silent her room was. She had Hyoyeon with her, and she forgotten in just a short time. Way to play host. Sunny picked up her head to see where Hyoyeon was.
 She was at the windows, opening the curtains to let in the orange and pink light. And then she opened the windows so you could smell the thick sea water air and hear it’s waves rock you to sleep. Hyoyeon turned to slowly walk to Sunny’s dresser, where she kept all of her friend and family photos. She lowered herself to her knees to look at them closely. Sunny stood up from her bed and walked up to her, and slowly lowered herself next to Hyoyeon. The photos mostly consist of Sunny, Hyun-Woo, and her parents. A photo of her and Hyun-Woo on top of a tree. One that was taken on her sixteen birthday. Another one of her favorites was with her old friend, Gabriel, from America. The two were in a photo booth and making funny faces at the camera. It was also when she had long hair.

 “You look so pretty in your pictures.” Hyoyeon said. She caressed a picture with her finger gently, like touching sensitive glass.

 “Thanks.” Sunny answered.
 Looking back at all of her memories, she realized how much has changed since then. Back then, it was all about having time for school and having time for friends. Just a normal teenage life, if you ask me. But then she moved here, and now more things are being discovered that she was sure that no one else was experiencing but her. I mean, think about it. Rain storms inside dining rooms. Four evil girls being blown out of a house. Dreams of angles and demons. And even chasing after a glowing ball of light! As much as it seems weird, Sunny couldn’t wait for the next weird thing to come up. It could give a clue about all of this. About the boys. About her supposedly being a Protected.

 “I have to ask,” Hyoyeon said. “Is there any photos of you and the boys.”

 Sunny almost expected for her to ask that. Sunny shrugged. “Sure. You’ll probably find some in the scrapbook.”

 Hyoyeon lifted herself up to see a pink scrapbook just leaning off of the dresser. She carefully grabbed it and sat back on the floor and started to flip through the pages. The first few pages held more family photos of when Sunny was younger, some including Hyun-Woo inside. And then coming up into the recent pictures, one showed of Sunny’s mother in a sun dress looking up at the house. Then another one of the house before they put there furniture inside of it.
 Then there were pictures of the family having their fun at the beach. One held a image of Bernie carrying Sunny into the water while she looked in pain with laughter. Another image was of Lynn in sunglasses and looking into the camera while sitting down on a beach towel. The thing about this picture though, was that Lynn’s skin was glowing. It looked like she was surrounded by an aura.

 “This picture was mom’s best ones. I think there are other photos with that strange light, but I only got to keep this one.” Sunny said. She always thought of the light being a trick from the sun, but by the looks of it, it really looked like she was surrounded by light. Like the angles in paintings. A halo.

 Hyoyeon turned the page, and there came the images of when Sunny and the boys were playing at the beach, the first day they met. The day they both knew they were going to be good friends. Sunny had pictures of them throwing each other in the water, pictures of being splashed, and of ones when they did funny poses, and soft smiles. The one she mostly treasured though was of her and Kris, when he told her he couldn’t take a picture very well, but he seemed to have given a pretty good smile to the camera.
Those pictures and the one with Luhan when they went to the amusement park were the only memories she had of them after they left. She hasn’t starred at the pictures for a long time now that she thinks about it. The scrapbook was attracting dust for the past few weeks without being touched.
 “Wow,” Hyoyeon muttered, amazed. She softly caressed each of the boy’s faces in the pictures. Hyoyeon’s hard gaze turned soft, and without it a soft and kind smile.
 “I haven’t seen the kings in a while. The look like normal mortals in these photos then like the usual angles I see.”

 Sunny paused. Was she hearing right? Angles. Kings.
 Those were words she heard already. During the dinner with them at the house, then in her dreams. Her angles standing next to her. The Fallen and the Angles faced each other in the field.

 Sunny turned to Hyoyeon. “What did you say?”

 “Hm?” Hyoyeon looked at her questingly.

 “Kings? Angles? What are you talking about?” Sunny asked.

 “Isn’t it obvious Sunny? The Angles have gotten to you already, after all. I mean, to tell you the truth I was only playing dumb with you.” Hyoyeon frowned at Sunny’s confused look. “Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

 The Angles. So she was right. And it makes sense now. It wasn’t that Hyoyeon was weird or crazy. She obviously knew more then what she was letting on. This was her chance. She could find out now and get the answers she wants. Hyoyeon would tell her anything.

 Sunny took hold of Hyoyeon’s shoulders. “Tell me everything you know about my friends, Hyoyeon.”