‘Is a spectacular love story every teenager dreams of? Even risking your life and your love ones?’

Hi, my name is Jung Nicole. I’m 19 this year. I used to live with my parents and my elder sister, Victoria in a small house. We were one happy family back then. Unfortunately, when I was seven, my father went disappeared in a sudden and abandoned us three behind. I will never forget how mom cried so painfully and how hurt we felt. Since then, my mother never ever mentions the ‘F’ word in front of me and Victoria again, although she knew the reason why father left us. We didn’t have the guts to ask her.

From that day onwards, we depended on ourselves to live on.  Mom would spend the entire day selling dumplings by the street while Victoria would had part time as a waitress in a fast-food restaurant. Both of them worked really hard so that I could have a better life and future. I can’t bear to see mom and Victoria suffered so much for me but I was only ten, all I can do was being a good child, not to disappoint my mom in my studies.

We manage to live as normal people when I was 15, soon after mom’s signature dumplings went on newspaper and Victoria gets to know Nichkhun who is a wealthy young Thai guy while working in the restaurant. Nichkhun loves Victoria greatly and soon asked Victoria’s hand in marriage while bought a small shop for mom. Therefore, Victoria moved out with Nichkhun into a grand apartment apart from us. It is a fortune how Victoria met Nichkhun. I am really glad she gets to unloosen from her suffered days as a waitress. Once in awhile, mom and I would spend a few days at Victoria’s to have eased of mind for the elderly. Sadly, I would have to stay home alone if I had school assignments to rush on.

I am currently studying in Eliot High School. Obviously, I transferred in the middle of the school semester when I was 16, from a ‘not so good’ school to a better one. I met this girl named, Hara along with her girlfriends, Seohyun and Min in Eliot High. The three have diverse characters yet best friends. They are really nice to me and soon we became besties.

There is this tradition they had in Eliot High, which is really weird. Students are supposed to have a boyfriend/ girlfriend to stay cool and popular in school excluding the ones who doesn’t have one, will be categorized as the Noobs and usually get bullied by the rich bastards. Nevertheless, I am one of those cool es. It is not that I wanted to have a boyfriend or not but Hara and the others (except Seohyun) were always the top girls in school who are fame in dumping and rejecting boys. It will totally look odd if I don’t have one while identified as the cool girls’ BFF? Furthermore, I don’t want to cause any troubles. And so, yes. I too have a ‘boyfriend’. Maybe transferring into Eliot High isn’t right after all.

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The sun rises in the noon, shines over my body. I lay on a nice fluffy towel on the beach of O’Beat Island. My friends and I were spending our school breaks in the most beautiful Island.

‘Hey! Cole! Aren’t you coming in to the water?’ Hara yelled across the beach, without noticing, Minho grab her up and go splash into the water. They were having fun. Minho was Hara’s 8th boyfriend? That was also after I came in to Eliot High. Hara is a very attractive girl.

‘Yeah Cole! Why don’t join us?’ when Min and his boyfriend, Mir smuggled into each other. Mir was Min’s second boyfriend so far. Min is a spoiled brat; it isn’t easy to serene her when she is mad. Mir may be the only one who can bear with that.

‘Nah~ I’m fine here! You guys go ahead!’ I wasn’t in a mood though.

‘Hey Cole, you feeling ok?’ asked Seohyun while picking the beach ball that rolled over to my feet.

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

‘Hey Hyun! You got the ball?’ Jinwoon and the others were waiting for Seohyun’s return with the beach ball. I personally love and envy this couple; they weren’t any pretenses among them, they were seriously in love with each other.

‘Hey babe~’ someone with a husky voice grab my waist from behind, pulling me closer to him and placed a kiss on my neck. It was Key, my boyfriend.

‘Why aren’t playing with them?’ I asked him, feeling a little awkward of how he is planting kiss on my neck so passionately. I never liked kisses, I never like skin ships, I never like any of them or should I say, I just never like Key. The feelings I held for him is just…

‘Can’t I stay here with you?’ Key’s hand was all over me then slowly to my sensitive part.

‘Well, let’s just not get into that part.’ I stopped him.

Key was introduced by Minho. Hara wants me to be with him because of not wanting me to affect my fame but also hers. Hara is a good friend however she is over heed of her fame.

So, Key and I officially started dating. It felt really awkward at the very beginning when he held my hand and tried to kiss me. I didn’t like the feeling. However, when time passes, all had become a habit.

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‘Hey Cole! You sure you are not joining us?’ Minho asked while holding Hara closed to him.

They were all dressed for the party tonight. All of them were sparkling attractive. Girls with short and y dress while guys with smart and casual suits. Everyone was ready for the party, except for me.

‘I knew you weren’t feeling good today, and I wasn’t wrong. I should have called you to stay in your room this afternoon.’ Seohyun said while touching my forehead.

I was in a slight fever. I had already felt this uneasiness a few days ago, before we came to O’Beat Island. However, I don’t wanna disappoint my friends to not join them in this vacation as they had planned for this for so long and desperately wanted me to come.

‘You sure you don’t need me to accompany you?’ Key was being concern.

‘Nah, I’m fine. Go have fun instead.’ I felt better myself alone.

‘You know what? I think Key should stay here with Nicole, in case there is anything happen.’ Min suggested, putting her hands over my shoulder, acting a little too worried. 

‘Min, I’m fine. Really~! I’m not a small kid anymore. By the way, it’s just a slight fever.’ I reacted.

‘Min, let her be. But promised us that if anything wrong happens, call us, k?’ another one being concerned, Hara. She cupped my face, pressing my cheeks together, makes me look like an innocent small kid.

‘Yeah, I will.’

And so, the gang of five finally was willing to set off to the party. 

When I said Hara is a good friend, it means she is really gentle and thoughtful to all her friends. People who don’t know her would say she is no other but a , which was how often she hurts and changes her boyfriend.  What they did is to judge her on that and overlooked she maybe a good friend. However, I got this chance to form a relationship with her and I never regretted being her best friend and so as Seohyun and Min. This is how we survived in Eliot High, be strong and tied.

I was in the hotel room, being restless on the bed, turning one side to another. It was 12 midnight, Hara and the others weren’t back from the party yet.

Tak!#*~

‘Oh God! What excellent service the hotel provides? Power failure?!’ I thought annoyingly.

Gradually, I felt stuffier in the room even when I’m wearing singlet and shorts. I would have dead of airless if I kept staying in there. So, I thought of taking a nice walk by the beach.

The breeze was blowing over my silky short hair, I felt better, and the scent of the breeze reminds me of the days I used to spend with my father when I was young. Father used to bring us to the beach whenever we had school holidays. The moment I closed my eyes to recall back those scenes when we were having fun together, it seems so blur and scattered apart it as it would never be remembered again.   I miss the time, I missed my home and I really miss you Dad.

In fact, I never hated my dad, maybe a little when he left us. The truth is me and Victoria didn’t really know the reality why dad left us, mom didn’t mention plus we didn’t asked. It is really strange why mom didn’t feel angry back then but only depressed. I had felt curious since then but yet haven’t had the courage to ask mom. I always believe that dad will come back to us one day, back to our family.

The sound of the swooshing waves awakens me from my past. I continued walking along the beach. Finally I sat down. I took of my flip flops to aside, feeling the wet sand with my feet. I cuddled my knees with my left hand and took a stick with my right. I drew some swirls and zigzags on the wet sand and lastly wrote my name, Jung Nicole.

‘So, is this your name? Nicole?’ a voice sounded from not far away from me, a husky yet tender voice, a guy’s voice that I wasn’t familiar with.