His face is composed, arching his bow towards the target with the fierce glint in his eyes as he looks at everything but her. His lips were pressed tight, dipping down in the corners and she just can't stop staring at them. The same soft, firm lips that were on hers just a few hours ago. Hyemi cleared and tried to think of the most conciliatory greeting she can compose without making herself look like a fool in front of him.

She should say something.

Anything.

No, not just anything. Because it has been already 4 hours of distress and awkwardness even without them accidently brushing up against each other and without engaging in conversation - a conversation that will probably clear things up between the two.

It's only the fact that they are ignoring each other that is ruining her spetacular plan.

The silence thickens between them, only broken when the wind whips her hair across her face and the quiet movements of his flexing muscles as he adjusts the distance of his bow to the target. Fiddling with the rough outline of her jacket, her shoulders tensed when she heard the dead crunch of the died leaves louden as he heaved a loud, frustrated sigh and tossed his bow aside, inching closer to the unbothered girl.

"I'm sorry-"

"-I know." Don't be sorry. I want you to do that again.

"I couldn't control my anger-"

"-I don't blame you." The only reason I'm not blaming you for the bruises that I've got as an aftermath is probably because I've enjoyed kissing you more than you did.

"Can we be friends again?"

"Ofcourse we can." Sweetie, I want to be greedy and ask for more.

"Okay?"

"Okay." No way in hell.

...

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

The air was heavy with the smell of starvation and smoke hung in a haze that partially obscured the blood-red sun. The cities stood like skeletons, barren wastelands, empty now with the ruler. The skies were barren, no birds flew or sang; and all the while the whispers generated from the cracks of the walls.

Hyemi stared at her hands.

Her pale, fine hands were a map of pain.

The scars were fresh and new against the back of her hand. Running her dirt-smudged nails over its ridges and its jagged edges, she cringed at the throb that snapped back at her. Turning to her side, she spots slumped figures by the sunken walls and she edges closer.

Her heart splits at their sights.

The weathered lines on their craggy faces seemed to be mirrored in the ceases of their shabby grey clothes. Most of them had their breath slow and even. If it weren't for their opened eyes you'd assume they were asleep...or dead. Some were , curling to their sides as they panted. A female close to them was crying in abject misery, embracing her children in one last hug as the infant shivered and slumped quietly after that. Hyemi doesn't understand why, but she scrambles to that one baby, that was by the ground, whimpering.

Rubbing his icy cheeks with her dusty fingers to warm him up, she enfolded him to her chest, and he began screaming with agony. Fire of regret and deject burned just under her skin as her breathing hitched when his knees grew weak and he slumped to the cold tiles. Eyes turning to the others, only to find them all still. Clutching the side of her chest, she sobs wildly; scrambling to her feet, she's up running.

To find answers for this apocalypse.

"You don't need to go and search for answers, Hyemi-ssi. They are in front of you."

She whirled around, growling - only to find nothing but fog. "What's happening? Where am I?!"

"Welcome to Asder, your highness."

Asder.

...

Flinging her eyes open, Hyemi loosens her clutch on her bedsheets to swipe the sweat away from her cheeks. Squinting through the darkness of her ceiling, she tries to control her pants back to normal as she stares at her perfectly pale, undamaged hands.

Asder.

The kingdom her mother rules to destruction and starvation.

The kingom her mother stoles from beneath her father's throne.

She'll have to get it back - even if it costs her every single hair of hers. Either that or the haunting image of its dying citizens to be a permanent broken film between her eyes. Before a minute or two, she was already out in her pj's, tearing through the hallways to the principal's office who was - surprisingly - up in such a unholy hour of the day. She banged the door, almost tearing it to scraps, until the child opened with wide eyes.

"Goodness, what has gotten into you, child? It's five in the morning!" She roughly whispered, pulling the girl in.

"Asder." Hyemi panted, weighing her palms on her knees to catch her fleeing breath. "We need to fight back as soon as possible! People are dying there! We need to-"

"Slow down, child. I don't understand the language of wheezes. What about Asder?" The concerned youngster placed her shoulders on the distracted girl, attempting to placate her.

Hyemi looked up, eyes blazing. "I've dreamt of Asder."

"You what...?" She paled.

"It was a complete apocalypse! People were dying from lack of nutrition right and left. I can't let them Suffer any longer. We have to save them!"

"We are working on that-"

"But we'll never accomplish anything just by working on it. Asder will arise, and I'll be sure to execute that plan even if I had to do that myself. I just came to tell you that from today, we'll train on nothing but how to win that damned war."

And with that, she turns to leave.

...

*I will have to check for more plans with Ms.Jung for how to settle on the weapons and the amount of techniques we need to learn before that.*

Plucking a muffin from the served plates, she adds it to her plate in an absentminded act. The students filed past chatting, their stomachs rumbling for food in the first hours of their day. The smell of coffee and donuts wafted through the area, watering unconciously.

*I also have to check the security of our patrol again - enough is enough with those silly attacks and random, childish acts. Maybe we should get 3 to patrol instead of 2.*

She slid to her chair, preoccupied with her thoughts until someone sat on the opposite side of her table, She glanced up - and my, what a surprise - only to find Luhan, before lowering hers back to her plate. She wasn't exactly comfortable enough to resume talking to him, so he could say all he want without her replying back.

"...Another nightmare?"

Her head shot up, wild - and possibly dizzy from the sudden action at his statement. "Excuse me?"

"I know you have frequent nightmares." His tone was placid, as if he was talking about the weather.

Hyemi was about to respond, when an alarm that sounded like a world war ll air-raid siren blared - crippling her thoughts and assaulting the ears. Her heart jumped into as her brain registered the meaning of the fire alarm. In less than a minute, water was hammering down her face, banging along the shrill siren's call. Screams tore through the females, all squealing and whining about their spoiled haircuts that took them precious minutes to do.

She could already hear the distant shouting of the red-faced principal who was chewing a student laughing beside her awkwardly. "Are you aware of the amount of damage you could've done with this prank of yours? You can get expelled!"

"A little of water doesn't hurt anybody, princ. I did you all a small favor by freshening up everybody for the classes!" Reasoned the chuckling boy, who was sauntering around the splashing puddles.

As Hyemi scowled at her soggy plate of newly floating lettuce, she shoved her books into her backpack - only then aware of Luhan's stare. It was the kind of intense stare that could burn her bones to water. And what intensified it was the water that trickled by his eyes, to blaze those hazel pupils more.

"What?" She blurted while focusing on her drenched bag, that was filled with water.

"Meet me at the lake by the garden tonight. I have something to say and show you." He spoke so softly, she had to strain her ears to make out what he was saying.

"And if I don't come?"

"I'll find you, and throw you above my shoulder just to drag you here."

"I'll be there at 9."