Times went by, slowly of course. In Korea, the times had seemed to slow down, boringly or excitedly, So-Hyun wasn’t sure what to think about it. Perhaps, it was only in her mind that she thought times went by slowly. Either way though, life went by. The ending of September had already passed by, now continuing the pattern as the mid-way of October slowly made its way towards life.

~

Walking down the hallways, So-Hyun turned around once in a while, to make sure no one was following her. These days, school became a living nightmare. She was horrified of school now, the concept of it, the judgment of it, the people in it. She hated school. Plugging in her earbuds, she quickly muffled out the sounds of the world while continuing to fast-pacedly walk through the long hallways.

I should’ve walked through the other hallways, damn it. She quickly regretted, realizing the extra lengths she had to take to precaution.

Boosting up the volume sounds on her phone, the worlds became a mere picture as her boosting music blasted through the earbuds, refusing to let the worlds’ creations be heard. Of course, there was other ways around this though.

Geudae nune boyeotjyo neomsilgeorineun seulpeun nae nunmuri

I could see it in your eyes, my swelling sad tears

“Hey you!” The devilish voice called out, though the loud musics still swelled the calling voice out.

Anger surging through the person calling out to So-Hyun, her and her clique began to catch up to the pressured girl.

So-Hyun continued walking through the hallways, not hearing the calls.

It’s still filling up my heart and endlessly flowing do--

An earbud was ripped out of her ear viciously, causing the shocked girl to remain static, refusing to turn around.

“I called you, did you not hear me ?”

The menacing voice’s presence, did not leave So-Hyun’s side as the other earbud continued to play the saddening tune.

“Get away, will you?” So-Hyun said, pushing through the grips that was held onto her from the other presences.

There was a silence, before several grips were held onto her back now, this time not allowing her to leave.

“What did you just say?” Ye-Jin threateningly asked, seeing through So-Hyun’s shallow disguise easily.

The weak girl refused to give in though, to the popular girl’s gang. Mustering the little courages that reached the minimums length, she spat back at the taller girl, “I said, get away.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

“. ing kill her.” Ye-Jin ordered to her friends, who weren’t really her friends at all. They just wanted to gain popularity from the girl who had supporters from everywhere, though no one knew her evil sides that was being released right now. So-Hyun unfortunately, was the target and victim of this bullying.

Now spinning around, So-Hyun was greeted with three girls, all having the same looks on their faces as the one in the middle backed away to let the other two do their businesses. The familiar blonde-haired boy stood in the back, one foot against the walls while he just continued to stand as a bypasser. His face remained emotionless.

The two accomplices continuing to corner So-Hyun, now raising a threatening fist up towards the sky, smirked at the weaker girl’s image which no longer had a strong look but now scared. Plummeting down, the two fists simultaneously hit So-Hyun, awakening her.  

~

A shriek was heard through the house, echoing loudly throughout the wooden house. So-Hyun was now sweating, drops of tears rolling down her cheeks as she gripped the blankets so hard, that her fists began turning a rosy red color.

As quickly as the shriek was heard, footsteps quickly rummaged through the hallways, pushing forcefully upon the door, slamming it against the wall.

“What’s wrong, So-Hyun?!” Her umma, had asked, now running up to the bed to find the young girl’s physical appearance to be okay. So-Hyun’s hair was ruffled wildly, while her tear-stained cheeks now glowed upon the moonlight’s streaks. Otherwise though, her appearance seemed to be fine.

Though her outer side was okay, her inner feelings weren’t. The nightmare’s vivid images were now beginning to leave her thoughts, she soon couldn’t remember the vicious beatings anymore but she was glad.

Oh god...god...it’s gone. What was it about? I don’t know..

“Ev-ev-..” So-Hyun stuttered still, even if she couldn’t remember the brutal images that had replayed a few minutes ago. She was still scared to death, not wanting to encounter that dream again.

Her mother, realizing the states she was in, began to comfort her, “Take a deep breath. It’s alright, you probably just had a nightmare.” So-Hyun didn’t object, beginning to breath in deeply, and letting it out, seconds after holding in the huge amounts of air.

“Is So-Hyun unnie okay?” Min and Jun asked together, worriedly peeking their heads through the doorway.

“She’s okay, go to sleep, you guys have school tomorrow.” Her mother ordered gently, waving the two younger siblings off. Now sitting on the bed, she turned her heads towards So-Hyun, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Should I? No...I can’t. I can’t tell her what I dreamed of. Even though it never happened, still I can’t tell her.

So-Hyun shook her head, “I’m alright, just a scary a dream. You can go to sleep now, I’ll be fine.” She assured her mother.

“Are you sure?” Her mother asked consciously, still worried for the younger girl’s condition.

“Neh, I’ll be fine umma. Don’t worry about me.” She struggled to manage a smile upon her face, so instead, she stated a goodbye to her mother with a half-grin, grimly watching her mother leave the lavender room. She wished her mother hadn’t left though, but of course, being the kind girl she is, she thought ahead for her mother, not wanting her to worry.

Pushing down the pillows again, So-Hyun struggled to fall asleep, trying her best to not remember the nightmare.

Soon enough, she fell asleep, whenever the sun began to rise.

~

I was close.

Too close.

The familiar antagonist thought, leaning against the doorways as her mother never closed it just in case So-Hyun screamed again.

~

Walking down the gravel pathways, So-Hyun stared at the reddish sun that was up and about already. The skies were  a pale navy blue color today, resembling her tiredness and fatigue. Though she begged and begged to stay home, her mother knew she could endure the schoolday as it wasn’t a study hall day, forcing the girl to go.

“Is something wrong?” Doojoon asked worriedly, realizing how mute the girl had become.

He’s good. She thought.

“Ani, ani. I’m fine, just really tired.” So-Hyun replied tiredly, forcing a grim smile to reach her face. Her dreams had become vague now.

Doojoon of course could see through her tiredness. She’s not okay. The ’s wrong with her? He could see that she didn’t want to be bothered with though, so he remained silent throughout the stroll to the school buildings.

Not wanting to think at all, So-Hyun strolled unconsciously through the wet pavement, which was wettened by the storms from yesterday after she woke up. After minutes, the school she was attending, had become visible. Though she didn’t remember the nightmares, the pang of hurt that she had felt returned. So-Hyun didn’t know why though. She was oblivious to the fact this was where the nightmare occurred.

“Alright, I have to go to the library this morning for a project. I’ll see you later, alright?” Doojoon stated, smiling at the girl’s grimness.

She could only manage a nod.

His grin, quickly flipped around to a frown, leaving the girl to her own thoughts as he walked away.

~

Grandpa laid in the hospital, staring at the television set that was positioned in the corner of the room, playing the daily news.

Death sat by him, watching the news as well. After a long silence, Death quickly started a conversation, while the TV continued to play the news, “You do realize, your time is coming soon right?” His deep voice croaked hoarsely.

The elder remained grim still staring at the news which debated politics from North Korea, “Yeah I know.”

“Do you have anything you want me to do as a last wish?” Death asked him politely despite his croaking voice showing another side.

This was a deep question.

“Give me a few days to think about it.” So-Hyun’s grandpa said, turning to face the hooded figure. The hooded figure remained silent for a few seconds before vanishing into the air, now leaving the visitor’s chair empty with a few specs of black on it. Grandpa quickly slided it off, not wanting his friend’s disguise to be uncovered before falling asleep soundly again.

~

“So-Hyun, stay awake, I know school’s a pain in the , but class is almost over.” Mr. Park loudly said, his stares not leaving the desk that contained the tired girl. So-Hyun was unable to focus all day, not being able to answer any questions correctly, earning her snickers from the usual classmates.

“Sorry.” So-Hyun muttered, still half-asleep though. After every callings that would ignite her minds for a bit, she was able to function correctly for a few minutes before slumping against the window panes again. Suzy quickly caught on to her unusual behaviors,

“Something wrong?” She asked, while jotting the composition notes down hurriedly.

Used to the question that was asked by Kikwang and Doojoon, she told her best friend what she told the other two, “Just tired. Nightmare yesterday kept me up.” So-Hyun explained, jotting the notes lazily in bad-handwritings. She didn’t care.

“Get it together, So-Hyun!” An obnoxious voice rang out behind the two girls. Suzy turned angrily towards Dongwoon who smirked at his words,

“Shut up, .” Suzy retaliated, pointing her eyes at him.

Dongwoon, of course, replied nonchalantly at her comments, snapping her comments in half like twigs, “You have a friend now, So-Hyun? Surprising.”

So-Hyun continued to ignore his hurtful comments, acting as if they didn’t affect her in anyway.

Suzy quickly whispered towards the other girl who was still writing the notes sloppily, “Just ignore him. He’s being a .”

“I know.”

So-Hyun really did know.  The constant teasings had became the usual routines, as everyday, Dongwoon was always sending remarks that were completely unnecessary towards So-Hyun. Struggling to ignore them, somedays she spat back in anger at him but he considered his teasings a joke. The professor, oblivious to these conversations, saw it as a conversation between his two students, immediately shutting both of them up,

“Son Dongwoon, god damn, be quiet. Keep your mouth shut for a few seconds. Can you do that? CAN YOU?” His voice, now filling up with annoyance, nagged at the blonde-haired boy whose hair was spiked in a fashionable mohawk today as usual.

“Sorry.” Dongwoon apologized, muttering profanity underneath his breath. So-Hyun rolled her eyes at his comments, resuming her fatigue trance for the remaining few minutes of morning study hall.

~~

Walking with Kikwang home also became a daily routine as she walked with Doojoon in the mornings. Yoseob’s parents became busy, so most of the times Yoseob was forced to go home to babysit his siblings, leaving Kikwang alone most of the days. Eventually, after seeing the familiar boy close his locker everyday, So-Hyun had went up to him to greet him after the girls had left him alone. It was strange still, how he had this god-like aura surround him, pulling in girls from every point of the views. Sure, he was handsome and was pretty friendly, but most of the times he was really quiet.

“Hey, where’s Yoseob?” So-Hyun asked, turning expectedly to find Yoseob but was surprised when she didn’t see his familiar black, messily spiked up hair.

Kikwang rubbed the back of his neck, nervously speaking, “Well, uh, he’s really busy at home these days. His mom got a promotion so she leaves earlier now, so he goes home early to watch his younger siblings.”

Yoseob really hadn’t been at “home”, he was in fact at the dorms, practicing for their new comeback. But he respected the girl’s ability to not recognize the idols that stood in front of their faces, so he had to make up an excuse.

Why am I so nervous all of the sudden?

Wait.

Should I ask her to walk with me?

“Ohh..” So-Hyun muttered, kicking her feet out awkwardly. Soon after the silence had deepened, So-Hyun aroused a smile, “Well. I’ma go now! See ya tomorrow!” She said happily beginning to continue her pace towards the front entrance.

No, no! Take a chance, Kikwang, damn it. Before the stalker girls follow you home again.

“Hey, So-Hyun?” Kikwang called out to his dongsaeng, waving his hands in a gestured movement.

Turning around, she faced the red-headed boy, “Hm?”

Mustering the strength, he finally asked the girl, “Do you wanna walk home with me? We walk the same way, I seen you a few times when walking home.”

“Oh, you wanna walk home together? Sure.” She agreed unobjectedly, smiling at his request. She had always felt lonely walking home alone, it wasn’t the same as walking in the mornings with Doojoon. Perhaps now, it’d be better.

His face quickly went through a wave of relief, changing into a joyful grin that he usually always had plastered to his face.

“Awesome.”

~

“Anything you wanna talk about? You seemed really tired today.” Kikwang suggested, walking down the side of the roads which bustled with shops and bakeries, filled with pedestrians pacing around the corners and such. Bikes and cars were blaring down the roads, with lights of every color bursting from every corner. So-Hyun had liked the busyness, it was much more lively here than it was in California, though the same amount of clarity was shown through both scenes.

After passing down the familiar cafe she always visited with Suzy, she turned towards him while walking, “Well, I just had a nightmare, about something I can’t remember, but it was bad and I couldn’t sleep all day.” She explained, turning herself towards the crossing areas both of them had to go through. They took a different path than So-Hyun did with Doojoon. In the mornings, they took the more quiet way, looping around towards the abandoned roads, but with Kikwang, the two walked through the busy streets, as other students did as well.

“Do you remember anything at all?” He continued to ask, squeezing through the crowds to reach the front of the awaited white-lined crossing areas.

Struggling to use her memorization skills, she could only remember the hallways that laid in her dreams vaguely, “Only school. It had something to do with school.” She announced, now crossing the streets with Kikwang by her side.

“Bad or good?” He asked, pushing his fake nerd glasses up to match his appearance, the boy had put on a sweater over his uniform, protecting him from the cold though he most likely did it to look fashionable.

Recalling the vague snippets of the dream again, So-Hyun concurred it together, “I’m not sure but I’m pretty sure it was bad. That’s why I woke up in a mess.”

“Oh..well if you ever can’t sleep, you can call me?” He assuredly said, confuzzling the young girl.

I don’t have his number. So-Hyun thought to herself while biting down her lower lip, deciding what to do next,

“I don’t have your number..” So-Hyun said awkwardly, attempting to not make eye contact with him, though she could feel him stare at her.

“Omo, really? Well hand me your phone, I’ll type it in for you!” He said excitedly, forcing her eyes to meet up with his, where his bright smile shined once again. Pulling out the small device in her back pocket, she handed it forcefully to Kikwang where he soon, slid it quickly to type in his contact number.

“Don’t be afraid to text me!” He said, smiling still, “I’ll give you Yoseob’s number too, just in case, you never know.” He sheepishly continued, typing in a coded number with his nimble fingers. A few seconds later, Kikwang gave back her phone while also reaching the end of the long cross-walk where the two parted ways,

“Don’t forget!” He reminded So-Hyun, his white teeth glimmering while he smiled.

So-Hyun already having their conversations pulled up, sent him a ‘Hi oppa!’ message, clicking the send button to show his satisfaction,

“Byeee~” She said happily, beginning to walk the other way, while the male watched her disappear into the crowds of people.

“Bye!” He shouted, hoping she would hear, and whenever her hands raised into the air to wave back at him, he smiled. Having seen the signal from the girl, he walked towards his dorm where his other hyungs were probably rehearsing.

~

So-Hyun couldn’t help but sense a feeling of butterflies flutter within in her.

~

“Give her the test.” Grandpa asked of Death, who nodded grimly.

“If you’re sure.”

Staring at the dark skies outside, Grandpa nodded slightly in content, “I’m sure.”

And from that request, Death then, vanished.

~

sorry, story's been kinda slow. it gets better, i swear. no idk, up to you. gah. dongwoon's so adorable. i love this new show he's hosting, no eng sub though. whyy -cries- ;_;

comment, subscribe, do whatever you want. i'm going to go cry now. ;_; sorry i stopped proofreading too, i've gotten too delusional.