One thing to know about my Jjong-hyung and Noona (and Onew-hyung, but he graduated already) was the fact that they often participated in extra-curricular activities, specifically those that were related to student affairs. It’s quite funny, really, because Noona hated being around so many people. But there’s a reason for their active involvement: following the lab explosion incident, Jjong-hyung, and Noona were asked by the principal to “keep an eye out for the students,” appointing them as his team of watchdogs. Onew-hyung was “recruited” shortly after, when the principal saw how much the three hung out.

“Even with the student council in charge, a lot of murky, underground things happen in this school. It’s shameful, really, because we are a private school trying to uphold a certain reputation, thus, I cannot allow any shenanigans to occur. I want you three to be an extension of the student council.”

Noona said that’s how the principal explained it, and up till this day, she still doesn’t understand why he chose the three—well, two, now that Onew-hyung’s gone—of them to be in that little committee. Being in that team meant that she had to be involved in every student council project and activity—and that’s not something she was pleased about. Noona preferred to live a peaceful life and finish high school without so much as a thought about socializing and joining clubs and parties; the principal saw her way of thinking and decided that it just shouldn’t be like that.

“High school is one the best years of your life! You have to enjoy it!”

I suppose that’s the real reason behind the principal’s actions, but Noona was just too irritated to see it. It was also probably his way of making her and Jjong-hyung get along with each other: by letting them share a responsibility, he had hoped that they would be good friends. Despite her objections, she accepted, wary of any possible consequences that the principal would subject her to if she didn’t agree.

I’m really thankful for what the principal had done, because I never would have met Noona and my Hyungs if he didn’t.

Jjong-hyung’s desire to run for president stemmed from his role as a watchdog. According to him, being in the team opened him to the reality that even a school as prestigious as ours had kids constantly doing things that society frowned upon. And it wasn’t just the students who were involved in some sort of disgraceful acts—even authorities were. Jjong-hyung campaigned for a more democratic school atmosphere, where both students and teachers had rights and duties that were concretely written down for the sake of an informed public. And under Jjong-hyung’s leadership, the student council led us efficiently, proposing and implementing projects and policies for our welfare and for the betterment of our society.

Noona, meanwhile, and much to her dismay, was appointed chairperson of the council’s “Powerplant,” a more established version of “The Principal’s Watchdogs.” The Powerplant, as the name implied, was like the force behind the council—its main purpose was to support the council’s activities, and was in charge of coordinating with outside organizations when necessary.

I sat by the window—always have, always will. The window was like a door that separated the classroom to an outside, foreign world that contained wonders and excitement. Having been confined all my life—secluded in a mansion, taken to socialite parties by my mother, and meeting snooty people who belonged to the upper class—I longed for action and adventure. Being in a stuffy classroom and listening to hours of boring lectures were reflective of the life that I lived. By being near the window, I, for even a moment, was exposed to the beauty of things outside my grasp.

And as I stared out the window, I was too busy to acknowledge the person who had come in our room. The sound of footsteps merely entered my ear and promptly exited at the other end; I was too fascinated by the blue birds perched atop a branch, tweeting harmonious melodies that sang of happiness.

“Hi,” was the monotonous greeting of the person who entered.

I recognized the voice in an instant, and whipped my head towards the front, where Noona expressionlessly looked at all of us. “Well, I’ll be in charge of this room,” she stated, her thin lips reverting to a straight line once she closed them. She unrolled the Manila paper she brought along, and stuck it to our black board. She got a piece of chalk, and started to write down the list of candidates, Key-hyung one of them.

She turned to us after she was done writing. “Well, you probably don’t know me, since Senior High has a different student council from yours” she said, “But I am, unfortunately, the chairperson of the Powerplant, and this year’s CommElec, or Committee on Election.” She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t really know why I was assigned to supervise this section, because as chairperson, I’m supposed to be overseeing everything else, but, oh well. You guys are stuck with me.”

My classmates looked at each other, and I heard their whispers of “What is up with her?” and “What a stoner.”

I frowned. I won’t let them say things about her like that.

“Noona!” I exclaimed, standing up and waving at her. My gossiping classmates paused, and gazed at me with wide eyes, not expecting that I knew our ComElec representative.

“Oh! Taemin, I didn’t know this was your class!” she said, a surprised look on her face.

My Noona was so cute when she’s shocked. And I really do like those moments when she was, because it took a lot to elicit bewilderment from her. Noona had only two faces: a blank one, and a happy one, but the latter, like her shocked expression, was rare, even for the five of us. But when she did smile, I knew that it was for us only.

She made me feel special.

I nodded enthusiastically, grinning like a child who, after getting lost, finally found his Umma. “It’s nice to see you, Noona!”

She approached me and patted me head. “Nice to see you, too, kiddo! Now sit down, because we have to start the elections soon, okay?” she requested. I nodded one more time before dropping down. Noona made her way back to the teacher’s desk, but she abruptly stopped somewhere in the middle. She slammed a hand against the desk of the person sitting by the aisle. The impact caused a painfully loud sound of “SMACK!”

“And just so you know, we at the High School Department don’t tolerate gossiping amongst our students.” She smirked at them, a sinister glint in her eyes spending shivers down my classmates’ spines. They stiffened at the lowness of her voice, and I could see them tremble. Satisfied with the fear she had instilled in them, Noona walked back to the front and told us to line up alphabetically outside. She asked the first ten students to stay, and with that, voting in my room began.

I returned to my seat by the window, but this time, my focus was solely on Noona who was currently rolling her Manila paper where the class president had tallied the votes.

“Well, I’m glad that’s over,” she said, her eyes impassive once more. “And before I leave, I just want to tell you a few things about my department, which you will be experiencing first-hand a few weeks from now.” She looked at us solemnly, as if what she was about to say was of great importance that we couldn’t afford to be deaf to. And out of the blue, a tiny smile tugged on her lips, “High School is fun. Don’t be too grade-conscious and just go with the flow. You’ll find yourself enjoying things you thought you would never enjoy, and view the same things from a different perspective. So, take my advice and don’t waste your lives on dangerous things, or else the new student council will rat out on you, all right?”

We were all too stunned to react; first, because that smile she gave was just so sudden, and second, because none of us expected to hear such things from her, especially after giving us (well, them) a cold first impression.

Without another words, Noona exited our classroom, and my classmates started to whisper among themselves again.

“She’s so weird.”

“I know, right, but she seems kind of cool.”

“Hey, Taemin,” one of them turned to me, “She’s your Noona, right?”

I nodded.

“Tell us more about her, man, she’s kind of…”

“She’s awesome,” I blurted out, “She’s really manly, and awesome. She’s better in sports than most of the guys, and she’s really responsible. She can kick all of your asses,” I asserted, grinning at them.

“And it that you guys were only able to meet her today.”

I didn’t like the idea of sharing, but at that moment, I just wanted the whole world to know how lucky I was to have her as my Noona.

She doesn’t know how special she is to me. Noona, along with my Hyungs, has made my life a whole lot more exciting than it originally was. I found acceptance and became open to the idea of breaking free from the chains of upper class society, and live a life of happiness and no worries. I discovered what it was like to just do what you want to do, and be yourself—something I rarely got to do thanks to the expectations of society.

My mother, as much as I loved her, urged me to do the things that rich boys did; I didn’t like any of them, but I still followed her because, as I said, I just loved her so much. I did everything to make her happy, and in the process, lost my own sense of happiness. I forgot what it was like to just live for myself and no one else. I forgot what it was like to live for the moment, and appreciate the simplicity of life.

And I thank Noona and my Hyungs for reminding me each day of what I have forgotten.

My classmates smiled at me, and I could see how interested they now seemed to be.

And I would have gone on and on some more if someone did not interrupt me.

“Too bad she’s graduating, man.”

I knew it wasn’t meant to hamper my spirits, but it just broke me down completely.

Author's Note:

HOLY MACAROONS, I have no idea what happened, but I just discovered that this chapter was left empty.

What the hell.

I remember editing it here on AFF, but then the browser suddenly shut down, so I assumed that I wasn't able to save it.

Holy macaroons.

T.T

Anyway, I am so sorry for what happened. OTL Shame on me!

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