Kate

                I have been trying to locate the art room for an hour or so. I’ve tried my best to ignore my growling stomach but I guess i couldn’t stand it any longer. I decided to finally go to the cafeteria and buy some food. But, then again, I realized that I could no longer afford to buy some expensive food especially that my allowance is just enough for me to buy the materials that I needed for my art project.

                I walked back to our room and just buried myself to reading my self-help book which I’ve been trying to finish for a month now. Suddenly, someone shoved an arm on my face. I didn’t know if that was meant to hit my face or what, but thank God it didn’t. I started to hear some laughs around me but I ignored them.

                It’s hard being the new kid in school. As cliché as it may seem, I have been the laughing stock in our room ever since I got here in Korea. Who would’ve thought that being an exchange student was this FUN? I actually came from the Western side of the world – Canada. I was born and raised in the States. The main reason why I’m here is because of my dad. He has been very ill before from a kidney disease but luckily, some doctor found a way to cure him… which urged me to come here in Korea. Yes, the doctor who practically saved my dad’s life is a Korean and I’ve been searching for him ever since I arrived here. It’s only been a month and I’ve got two semesters to spend in the university which gives me more time to find him and thank him again.

                Back to the real world, I managed to ignore my appetite for the last two hours. Classes were finally dismissed so I proceeded to my locker to get my books needed for our homework. As I marched down the hallway, someone actually bumped into me. I stared on the floor without looking at the person. The last thing that I want to do is to get into a fight so I just bowed down and never dared to look up.

Marcus

                I stared at the girl whom I bumped into. She just bowed down her head and didn’t bother to look at me. I ignored her and continued to march forward to reach my locker. As I was fixing my books inside, someone startled me from behind. “Marcus, you’ve got a meeting with the ambassador later,” the voice (which seemed too familiar) said.

                I turned around and saw Aiden grinning at my face. Whenever something like this comes up, he always tries to give me that sarcastic smile on his face as if saying that this is the price I pay for having a royal blood. I almost have no time to spend with myself. When all the other guys at my school are playing basketball or any kind of sport, I would be sitting in a long table discussing political matters with my dad. Omo, unnie-yo. I almost forgot that I’m not supposed to call him that anymore. It’s King Henry, as what the commoners would call him. Apparently, that’s what I call him as well.

                Aiden stared at me for a minute. Then, he shook his head. “I know that face. You’ve forgotten, huh?”

                I gave him a weak smile. “Aiden-ah, how can I forget? You’re always reminding me about my schedule.” Besides being my best friend, he’s kind of taken the role of being my unofficial royal secretary which annoys me sometimes. He knows everything what my official secretary knows.

                He laughed a little and patted my back. “So, what are we gonna do until your guards show up?” He’s talking about the royal guards who are always picking me up here every afternoon.

                I looked at the time and it’s still 3 pm. They usually show up at around 5 so we’ve got two hours to spare for our leisure time. “How about we take a look around the campus? I need videos for the art exhibit.”

                Aiden gave me a frown. “You still want to do school stuff during your free time?” He shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

                “It’s because I want to achieve something, unlike you,” I told to his face, pushing him a little.

                He let out a small laugh. “Wow. Now that’s something I don’t hear from you every day. What has gotten into you?” I grabbed my video camera from my locker and ignored Aiden’s remark. I marched forward. “Yah, don’t leave me here,” I heard him say.

                I turned around to face him. “But I thought you didn’t want to do school-related stuffs?”

                He started to walk towards me. “Do I have a choice?”

                I smiled at him and we both walked down the hallways.

Kate

                I decided to stay in the park for a while which I walked for almost ten minutes from my actual building. Students don’t usually go here ‘cause it’s eerily quiet and besides, it’s way too far from “civilization” (if you know what I mean) which is also why I’ve been hanging out here ever since I got here. I sat under my favorite tree in the middle of what they call ‘Green Park’ which I think is suitable for the place, not to mention it really has green grass and trees everywhere. No wonder this school is expensive, knowing that it’s very huge with lots of tall buildings and they really like to maintain its beauty.

                I brought out my sketchpad from inside my bag and started to draw again. This time I finally have a clearer picture of the cherry blossoms which I’ve always dreamed of. Almost every night, I dream about them. It’s weird because after dreaming about it, I could feel like it was all real – that I really saw the cherry blossoms blooming with my own eyes.

                My mom once told me that they’re special because you don’t get to see them everywhere. Well, not in our place obviously. That’s why I’ve been dying to see them ever since I was a kid. Besides, it’s also my mom’s favorite so I promised her that if ever I get to see them in person, I would try to paint it for her.

                 I closed my eyes and tried to remember the image that I always see in my dreams. I started to sketch the picture in my mind. I did this for about 15 minutes. When I took a look at it, it didn’t seem quite right. Maybe it’s the details that I lack. Of course, it would be different if I would see them in real life. I guess I just have to wait until then. I tore the page from my sketchpad and crumpled it. Suddenly, I got startled by my phone’s ringing. “Hello?” I answered.

               “Omo, Kate, come over here quickly,” I heard Ara’s voice from the other line panicking.

               “Ara, what’s wrong?” I asked.

               “Your landlady said that if you can’t pay your dorm’s rent today, she’ll kick you out,” she explained.

               “What?” I yelled.

               “I’m sorry. I wanted to help you but I don’t have enough money right now,” she said.

                I sighed. “That’s okay Ara. It’s not your fault. I’ll go there now.”

               “Alright. I’ll wait for you here. Hurry,” she said, before hanging up.

Marcus

                Aiden and I walked down the trellis going to the park. I focused my film on the center and suddenly, something caught my attention. A girl has been sitting under the tree and trying to draw something on her pad. I zoomed in more to see what it was but we’re too far away. I started to walk forward. Suddenly, I saw her crumpled the paper she just drew on. I wonder what it was.

                Aiden startled me from behind as I was focusing my camera. “Aish! Marcus, you’re not even listening to me.”

                “Uh… I am,” I lied.

                “Then, what was I saying?” he asked.

                Damn! Why is he always like this? “I’m sorry. I didn’t quite hear you earlier,” I told him, as I was still looking at the girl who is now starting to get up and leave.

                “I knew you’re not listening. You’re such a good friend, your highness,” he said in a sarcastic way.

                “Yah! Aiden-ah, don’t call me that,” I almost yelled. “You know I don’t like being called like that.”

                “I know. That’s why I always call you that when you’re being like this,” he said. “What are you trying to shoot here anyway? It’s just a boring park.”

                The girl started to run away from the park almost as if she’s in a hurry, as we approached the tree she just came from. Suddenly, I noticed that she left the crumpled paper on the ground. I bent down to pick it up. “Why are you picking that up?” Aiden asked me.

                I straighten out the paper and saw a beautiful and almost real image of the cherry blossoms. It’s drawn with a pencil yet it felt like the image has a vibrant pink color in it. Aiden went closer to me and studied the sketch as I did. “It must be hers,” I mumbled to myself.

                “You know who did this?” Aiden asked me.

                “Anie,” I said, trying to remember the face of the girl. I barely saw her face ‘cause her hair was covering it.

                “It’s amazing,” Aiden said.

                I nodded.

                “You think she’ll participate in the art exhibit?”

                “I don’t know,” I said.

                 But I hope she will.