The sound of rain making contact with the roof of the school was drowned out by her cheerful humming. It was quite contradicting to the gloomy setting outside. Looking into the mirror placed in her locker, she scrutinized her appearance. Long, wavy black hair flowed down to the middle of her back. It was partially wet and she was certain she would have to wash her hair again once she reached home. The smell of chlorine was still slightly evident.

She had porcelain skin and her eyes, framed by long lashes, were a bright, emerald-green. Those eyes often stood out to many since it was rare for someone to have eyes of such shade. A straight nose, full lips - Hyun Ji smiled, revealing her straight, white teeth and high cheekbones. Feeling satisfied, she shut her locker. Indeed, she was vain. Picking up her bag from the bench, she went out of the locker room.

“Alright, I’m all set,” she stated enthusiastically, expecting a reply, but all she got was silence. Frowning, she scanned the area for any traces of him. The moment her eyes landed on the swimming pool, she dropped her bag. A thud echoed around the enclosed area.

In shock, she let out a scream and –

Hyun Ji woke up, panting heavily. Cold sweat trickled down her face as she sat up in bed. Her mind replayed the dream as the feeling of shock remained attached to her. Her heartbeat had yet to slow down as she reached out for the lamp located on her bedside table. A dim light filled the room as she took a look around. She felt lost. Her surroundings were familiar yet so foreign at the same time.

She was reminded of that dream once again. The dream she had every now and then. It felt more like a nightmare but even that was an understatement. She never understood the meaning of it. She never knew why she often had it. It was always the same dream, always starting with her in the locker room and ending with her screaming. The locker room in her dream seemed familiar to her. However, she was certain that she had never seen it before. The same goes to the swimming pool.

Swimming pool - the whole idea of it caused her to shudder. The fear within her began to rise as she imagined the sight of the swimming pool from her dream. That was when it happened. Hyun Ji jolted slightly from the sudden sharp pain in her head. As a reflex, her hand was brought up to her head, clutching it tightly. Meanwhile, her other hand clutched her bed sheets, her knuckles growing pale. Her eyes were shut. Her jaw was clenched, a little too tightly. Hyun Ji could hear nothing but the sound of a long beep.

The pain in her head caused numbness in her limbs, and she could've sworn she felt the room spinning. Her body was trembling, and her heartbeat only sped up even more. The pain was merciless. However, Hyun Ji made sure to remain as quiet as possible. When a small whimper managed to escape , Hyun Ji only bit down on her teeth even harder. She didn't want to wake her mother up. She didn't want to trouble her. She had done enough of that. 

It will pass. The pain will pass. It always does.

And it did.

Eventually.

≈♦♦♦≈

Opening the door, she stepped into her mother's room, careful not to make the slightest sound. Peering at her mother's sleeping figure, she smiled to herself upon seeing how at ease her mother was. Heading to the bedside table, she placed the tray down and turned to her mother. Giving her a peck on the forehead, Hyun Ji stood up and gave the tray one last look. On it was the usual breakfast she made for her mother - French toast, hard-boiled egg and honey lemon tea poured into a thermos - as well as a note that said:

"Good morning, Umma. Be sure to have your breakfast alright? 
I'll be visiting Appa today, so I might arrive home slightly later than usual. Take care, Umma. I love you."

Leaving the room, she shut the door behind her and headed downstairs. Grabbing her bag, she put on her shoes and made her way to school. The sun was merciful that day as it shone down onto Earth. A confetti of beech leaves drifted from the trees, splashing the ground with red and gold. Hyun Ji admired the sight of the leaves swaying from side to side as they gracefully landed on the piles that were formed by other leaves. For the slightest second, her worries were put aside and all she felt was peace. That was, until her mind began replaying the dream she had the night before. 

Just like that, she felt a pang in her head. Her knees grew weak as numbness began to spread throughout her body system. Unable to support her weight, Hyun Ji fell to her knees, as she clutched onto her head. The tangled thoughts in her mind weren't helping either as they added on to the pain. Clenching her teeth, she waited for the torturous moment to pass. She hoped that no one had seen her in that state. She hoped that she hadn't caught anyone's attention. She didn't want to trouble anyone. She had done enough of that. However, her hopes were crushed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

"Are you okay?" the stranger asked, his voice sounding somewhat familiar. Hyun Ji tried to answer, but the pain was hindering her ability to talk. Therefore, she could only afford to nod, though her scrunched up face gave away the truth. Instead of leaving her alone to deal with the pain, the stranger remained by her side.

Most people would be glad to receive such a gesture from a stranger but Hyun Ji was different. She wanted him to leave. People weren't supposed to see her in such a state, especially a stranger. Hyun Ji wanted to tell him that she could handle the pain on her own. She wanted to tell him to remove his hand from her shoulder. 

But Hyun Ji was too weak.

Little by little, the pain in her head began to subside. The numbness in her limbs was slowly disappearing as well. Her heartbeat began to return to its usual rate. Even though her body was still trembling, it wasn't too obvious. When the pain completely subsided, Hyun Ji took in a deep breath and exhaled, slowly regaining her composure. Her eyes fluttered open and she wasn't surprised to have a blurry vision.

Blinking a few times, she waited for her vision to return to normal as she removed her hand from her head. Immediately, the adrenaline rush made its way to the tips of her fingers. Nearly forgetting about another's presence, Hyun Ji turned to face the stranger. Her heart stopped and her eyes widened upon realizing who the stranger was.

Oh no. This is dangerous. Out of all people, why him? He's seen the state I was in. This can't be happening.

The stranger was none other than her school's basketball captain, Kim Seok Jin.

"Hey, are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?" Snapping out of her thoughts, she immediately shrugged off his hand and hurriedly stood up.

"It's nothing, thank you," Hyun Ji said before walking away quickly, without giving him the slightest chance to say anything. Taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor, Jin stood up and went after her.

"Hey, wait," he said, grabbing onto her wrist and turning her around to face him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His tone was low, careful.

Keeping her gaze on the ground, she nodded and requested for him to let her go. Loosening his grip on her, he tried to meet her eyes but to no avail. 

"Please don't tell anyone about what you saw earlier on," she said with her head hung low. Jin frowned in confusion.

"What makes you think I'd do that?" he asked.

Disregarding his question, Hyun Ji turned around and walked off without even the slightest glance back. Jin stood and observed the disappearing figure. A hundred and one questions flashed through his mind. Jin shouldn't be curious. In fact, he shouldn't care at all. He knew her but not personally. So why was he genuinely concerned about her?

It wasn't love at first sight, definitely not. It wasn't a crush either. It was something different. It felt as though he had a connection with her. As though they were alike even though they were two completely different individuals.

≈♦♦♦≈

"Yah. Kim Seok Jin." Seok Jin was snapped out of his reverie as he turned to the source of the voice, Jimin, one of the six best friends he had.

"Wait, did you just speak informally to me?" Seok Jin asked the younger with a raised eyebrow. 

"If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have paid attention to me," the younger replied.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something. What did you say?" Jin asked, letting his voice trail off.

A lot actually. Jimin thought to himself as he tilted his head slightly. Jimin was used to those moments in which Jin was often in his own field of thoughts. Even so, as much as Jin was a thinker, he was still aware of his surroundings. On that day though, it appeared different. Jin's mind was elsewhere, and so was his attention.

"What were you thinking about?" Jimin asked with a raised brow. "You've never been so deep in thought before."

Jin didn't answer the younger. Jin told her he wouldn't tell anyone, and Jin was one to keep to his words. 

"And...There you go again," Jimin muttered.

What is hyung thinking so deeply about? Jimin thought to himself as he stared at the older with a frown. His attempts at trying to decipher Jin's thoughts had failed miserably. Jimin never was good at reading people's faces no matter how observant of a person he was. Right at that moment, Jimin saw the elder perk up slightly. His gaze was directed at the windows of their classroom. Jimin grew confused upon realizing just who Jin was staring at.

Jung Hyun Ji.

Then, he understood and slowly, a smirk formed on the younger's lips.

Looks like my hyung has gotten a sudden interest in her. Jimin thought. Wait, since when has Jin hyung taken any interest towards girls? 

The elder peered at the figure walking by the classroom, from his seat. He was completely unaware of the amused look plastered on Jimin's face, as the younger observed his hyung. Being the analytical person he was, Jin observed Hyun Ji, certain that he wasn't staring too hard. The uneasiness on her face was evident, even from her side profile. She was biting her lip, and she seemed to be deep in thought. The book held to her chest was being gripped too hard, and Jin could see that her knuckles were growing pale.

Jin tilted his head slightly. He couldn't help but to wonder what she was thinking about. His instincts told him that her current state at that moment was somehow linked to the incident earlier on. While Jin was busy trying to analyze the girl he barely knew, Hyun Ji had flicked her gaze towards the window. At that point of time, their eyes met. Hyun Ji's eyes widened. Immediately, she looked away and quickened her pace.

Jin frowned upon seeing her strange behaviour.

What's her problem? Why did she look so afraid of me?

Jin found himself conjuring more questions in his mind. Questions that were left unanswered. One particular question gnawed at him. The question that could raise many possible answers yet none that would fit.

Why do I even care?

Jimin, too, had seen Hyun Ji's reaction and he found himself raising a brow.

What was that all about?

A/N: That's right, I've finally edited Chapter 1. Gosh, you have no idea how hard it was for me to go through editing when ideas kept popping into my head. I'm so sorry for the long wait and I know I promised to have everything edited within a short period of time with new chapters but life's been mean to me and my schedule isn't working with me at all. Exams are in a week's time so do understand that it'll take some time for me to be done with the editing process. 

Do let me know what you think of the new and edited Chapter 1. I'd love to hear your opinions. :)

-RedGuitarist