Dear You,

I’m upset :(. That’s not something you should say. How could you even think of abandoning me?

LOL, I was joking. Either way, even though we’ve never met, I certainly don’t wish for anything to happen to you. I don’t know if you find this strange, but I find comfort in talking to you. I certainly don’t want to miss you when I’ve just come to like getting your letters.

About the people who keep trying to pounce on you, don’t let them get on your nerves. Anger can induce fear, but it also reveals weaknesses. Don’t let them revel over the fact that they’ve uncovered yours. Be strong. Fighting! :)

If that poor attempt at an advice doesn’t help you, here’s a little something to calm your nerves. It’s a song that I’ve always liked. It helped calm me down a lot when I get angry, maybe it can help you.

Yours truly,

Me.

I smiled as I tucked the letter away into the pages of my History textbook. I hid it deep within the recesses of my bag and slipped the pendrive into my pocket before I rose from the fountain. These days, I found this place oddly comforting. I loved the ambience that surrounded the air, the soft whir of the motors and the gentle swishing of the water as the fish glided beneath its surface.

The air was warm and dry, but overhead it was cloudy. I was waiting for Hyunji to return with some drinks she was supposed to buy from a nearby vending machine before we trudged towards our classes together. I glanced down and lightly ran my fingers on my knees. The rough scabs felt foreign to the touch as I was so used to the smoothness of my skin and the softness of my flesh. About three days had passed since the incident, enough time for the wound to partially heal and me to be able to walk without so much of a visible limp.

That night when I told Hyunji and Yixing about it, they were prepared to arrange a death sentence for Minhee. Although it was tempting to entertain the idea, I –begrudgingly –managed to convince them that revenge would get us near to nowhere. I did, however, swear that I shall never offer my services to Choi Minhee if at any time she was to desperately need it.

Besides, if there was one good thing that came from all the pain, it was that I had gained the passageway to Joonmyun’s sympathy. The day after he sent me home, I found him waiting for me at the subway station in the early hours I was venturing to school. With his excessive display of kindness the day before, I certainly didn’t expect to see him there, and was more than a little flustered when he beamed up at me and wished me good morning.

“Yah!”

I snapped out of my reverie and whipped my head towards Hyunji, who was jogging up to me with an excited glint in her eyes –a glint that could only mean that she had just uncovered some thrilling news.

“Guess what I heard?” she said, skidding into a stop in front of me and almost making me fall back into the fountain.

“Hyunji!” I yelled, grabbing her arms and hauling myself back up.

“They’re here! The exchange students from WH are here.”

My head snapped up and I stared at her. “Already?”

Hyunji was grinning. “Yes!” She grabbed both of my hands and pulled me up, tugging me towards the school.

“Hey, wait!” I snatched my bag from the ground and jogged to catch up with her, ignoring the tingling pain from the half-healed wounds on my knees.

“You know, you’re the only one who’s excited about this,” I told her as we made our way towards the main building.

“Yeah, I know,” Hyunji said with a nervous laugh. “I guess the curiosity’s getting to me.”

We pushed the main doors open and were quickly greeted by an agitated throng. I saw a lot of frowns on a lot of faces, scowls being thrown here and there and whining complaints that seemed to fill the whole room. A girl was running her fingers through her hair, flicking it over her shoulders as she told her friends that she was going to have to switch seats if she had to sit next to any of the exchange students.

I could only let the cacophony of voices wash over me as I followed Hyunji’s trail, trying to ignore the snippets of  the words that bounced into my ears with every person I passed. If dissatisfaction ever had a voice, it would be in the form of those from the students of EH. Noises were morphing from hundreds of different tunes into one grand symphony, one that lacked harmony but was overwhelmed with emotion.

I had no idea what the school was planning to achieve through this program. It was true that our two schools were built by two brothers of the same blood, but the hatred between us had existed since the time of our great-grandparents. The rivalry ran thick through these walls, filling every crack and crevice, embodied in photos and trophies where we claimed victory over WH teams.

Hyunji stopped when we reached the familiar hallway that lead to the offices. A huge crowd had congregated in the opening. I heard wisps of soft words being whispered front ear to ear, but I couldn’t hear enough to be able to make out the sentences as a whole. Hyunji grabbed my hand and somehow managed to squeeze her way through the crowd.

In front of the principal’s office were a group of students, four boys and two girls. They had on West High’s crimson red uniform, which they wore neatly and not with little pride. They were staring at the door to the office, but I could see their gazes flicker towards us once in a while, the twitch in their fingers and the curl of their mouths. One however, stood out from the rest. On contrary to his discomforted and somewhat agitated school-mates, he was at ease with the current situation, leaning back against the wall and absently bobbing his head to the music playing in his earphones.

“He seems relaxed,” I commented to Hyunji, pointing him out. I turned to her when she didn’t answer, and was surprised to find her brows furrowed. “Hyunji, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head, whether to deny my statement or to drive her thoughts away, I had no idea. “He looks –”

At that moment, the door to the principal’s office opened. The office secretary beckoned them in, and slowly the students straightened up and trailed after her. The boy detached himself from the wall, pulled his ear phones out of his ears, and met our gaze as he was walking in. He flashed us a grin that looked like half a smirk and half a smile.

The boy was Kim Jonghyun.