Author’s POV

When Mirae’s eyes opened upon hearing the alarm, she realised that she was lying next to Jongin this morning as well since he didn’t want her to have nightmares or feel alone. It felt strange that something like an arranged marriage could give one nightmares, yet, to Mirae, it did. Both she and Jongin knew how their father had treated their mother before she proved that she could be both the perfect wife and business partner and neither of the two siblings wanted that to happen to Mirae. Mirae sat up in the bed, feeling very stiff in her whole body. She got dressed and then walked down, passing the kitchen and continued inside the bathroom. Her mother seemed to be home so Mirae decided to skip breakfast and head to school directly. She called Mi Song to see if they could meet up and left a message to Jongin that she’d gone already. The walk to Mi Song’s house took no longer than ten minutes and Mirae got there just in time to meet her friend by the door. They started lumber towards school, taking a D-turn to prolong it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what’s going on?” Mi Song asked. Mirae shook her head. She didn’t feel there was anything to be said. She guessed that this marriage thing was a secret. It could easily complicate things even if only Mi Song knew about it too, besides, the thing keeping Mirae from breaking apart right now was the fact that Mi Song didn’t know and therefore talked about other things.

“It’s nothing, Miso. I promise, you don’t have to worry,” Mirae replied confidently, also lying to her best friend. She flashed Mi Song her most convincing smile. Soon, the two of them arrived to school, both quiet and in deep thought.

“Good morning, my ladies! How are we today?” Mirae froze on the spot upon hearing the fake sugary voice that she’d heard the day before. The two girls looked up and stared at Luhan who had a tight, black V-neck shirt, black jeans and a military coloured jacket. His lips were curved up into a sneer that sent shivers down Mirae’s spine. Luhan’s eyes scanned both of them, waiting for an answered. When none came, he said, “Great, then let’s get straight to the point. You’re Mirae, right? And this is your friend Mi Song, is that correct?”

“It’s Ra Hael,” Mirae silently corrected him. Luhan rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” he retorted arrogantly. “Hm... Mi Song, meet me on the rooftop after school, all right? I want to talk to you.”

“W-what?” Mi Song stuttered confused. She turned her head to Mirae who looked equally perplexed. Luhan chuckled.

“It’s a date,” he said, winking and then left them stunned. Mirae and Mi Song gaped after him.

“Why would he want to talk to me?” Mi Song wondered. “It seemed like he was more interested in you yesterday!” Mirae shivered at the thought. To have Luhan interested in her wasn’t a tempting image and it didn’t matter if he was either since she was getting married. Mirae shrugged off the thought and took a couple of quick steps forward.

“Maybe he’s a player who wants to see who he can get to lie down for him first?” she suggested, the undertone of disgust not hidden whatsoever. It wasn’t until Mirae sat on her chair in the classroom that she breathed normally again. School provided her with good distractions because she knew that if her grades went down her parents would get worse; more nagging and more quarrels.

The day went on without a single sight of Luhan anywhere, a relief to Mirae until she realised that none of the girls who used to be ing around school were anywhere to be seen either. Could it be that one of them, if not all, had fallen for Luhan’s charms and disappeared, skipping classes? Mirae frowned. If Luhan wasn’t in school then how could he talk to Mi Song later? She pondered on this question the next three lessons. She didn’t want to worry Mi Song but there was something fishy about this situation. Why did Luhan flirt with me yesterday and today Mi Song? What did Jongin oppa say to him? Is this a trap? Does he want to hurt Mi Song? On her last lesson, Mirae sent a text to Jongin to get some answers. She needed to know if Luhan or any of those popular girls had been in school today. He replied within five minutes, saying that he hadn’t seen any of them and that the guys in his class thought Luhan had ‘kidnapped’ them to go hang out in his house.

“What did he say?” Mi Song inquired curiously. Mirae showed her the message. “I told you he was a bad guy. Gee, it’s his second day and he’s sleeping around? That must be a record!”

“But if he’s not in school then why does he want to meet you on the roof-”

“Ms Kim, will you please be quiet? And Ms Park, the principal wants you to go to his office,” the teacher suddenly spoke up. Mirae and Mi Song caught a glint of the note in her hand, but it shocked them that Mi Song had been called to the principal. She had never been called there. Mi Song picked up her things and walked out of the classroom, leaving Mirae alone. “All right, class dismissed,” the teacher announced, less than ten minutes afterwards. Mirae had packed her bag on beforehand and rushed out from the classroom, running all the way to the principal’s office. She burst through the door, frightening