Chapter 1: The beginning

“Done,” Yoomin sighed in tiredness as she zipped her full bag. She had been packing her bag for almost the entire day and sure she was tired. With everything set for tomorrow she went to change to her pajamas.

There was a trip the next day – a school trip. The destination of the trip was a famous and big waterpark in Pattaya, Thailand. That was the reason for Yoomin’s high happiness during the last two weeks. After seventeen years of living she was finally going to leave the country and would go for the first time by plane.

Yoomin was eager to go on this trip with her classmates and special friends.

After arduously putting her heavy bag on the floor, she was finally able to meet the comfortableness of her bed and the warmness of her sheets and bedspread. She turned off the light of the lamp that was above her nightstand and closed her eyes.

She was so tired of choosing the clothes to the trip and packing everything that she quickly fell asleep. Besides being tired, Yoomin also wanted to go to bed earlier so she wouldn’t have difficulty in waking up and possibly lose the flight.

She couldn’t wait for the next morning. It would be a wonderful trip, at least Yoomin hoped so. The secret she would take with herself could make the trip hard for her to handle. The fact that she would have to be constantly in alert and making excuses to not join the others at the swimming pools could complicate her enjoyment on the trip.

Not knowing how to swim could seem harmless at some point. However, Yoomin knew how some of her classmates were. They would laugh at her and mock her for not knowing how to swim; others could try something funny and put her in danger (like throw her to a pool); and the major (what would be highly possible) would think of her as a loser and that would make her a laughing stock in the class.

In addition, she didn’t want the teachers to be overprotective of her, always going around her afraid that she might drown and give her a lecture to why on the earth she would go on the trip, even if she didn’t know how to swim.

Though her parents tried to persuade her on not going to the trip, she assured them that she would be fine and that the teachers knew about her “secret” (which it was a lie, as she hadn’t told her teachers anything about it).

It was finally morning and the day of the week people probably hated the most, Monday. However, for Yoomin it would be one of the happiest days of her life.

The alarm clock hadn’t rung yet and Yoomin was already awake. The fear of losing the flight made her wake up earlier than she needed. That fact made her surprised as she’s not easy to open her eyes in the morning.

After turning the alarm clock off while brushing her teeth, Yoomin she dressed up and ate breakfast. What would be of Yoomin without eating to start the day? She could be late for something, but she could never skip breakfast.

It was time to leave. Yoomin called a taxi and with her best friend, Kang Sooyoung, went to the airport. Kang Sooyoung had been her best friend since their kindergarten days. They had some arguments that made them stop talking to each other for a big period of time. However, they couldn’t live without each other.

“Are you ready?” Sooyoung asked her friend as they entered inside the taxi.

“Of course I am. It’s going to be awesome!” Yoomin beamed, showing the excitement all over her face.

The taxi driver took his time as he had to make money and the longer he took the more money he would get. The taxi drivers were always like that. After what it seemed half an hour, they arrived at the airport.

Teachers and some other students were already there, showing their punctuality. The two girls walked towards the teachers and greeted them.

“Hello teacher Kang,” Sooyoung said as they approached the female teacher. The woman had a list on her left hand and a pen on the right hand, checking the students who had already arrived. Once the girls got there, she … on her list.