“New month, new intentions, new goals, new love, new light, and new beginnings.” -- April Mae Monterrosa

The first thing Sungyeol saw was a halo of brilliant light that wreathed a head of dark, beautiful hair. She was sitting across the classroom in front of the window, hands clasped on top of her desk. People milled about all around the classroom, but Sungyeol couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. It was the first day of school in Sungyeol’s senior year, the early buds of an azalea opening in the courtyard. A day of firsts.

Then her head turned, and her eyes met Sungyeol’s gaze. He immediately turned his head down to his desk, squeezing his eyes shut.

Palms sweaty. Heart pounding. The heat of the early morning sun creeping, creeping across the classroom. The chatter of conversation flowing through the classrooms and hallways. Old friends and new friends. New...new? The feeling of something deep, deep within his chest beginning to unfurl tiny, delicate wings.

Sungyeol peeked up out of the corner of his eye. The girl was still watching him, but soon turned her head back towards the warmth outside. Sungyeol let out a long, near-silent breath and focused his eyes on his hands. He slowly let his eyes slide shut as he contemplated the tiny, warm, living feeling that was fluttering around in his chest. He mentally tried to cup his hands around it, but it slipped through his fingers and danced just out of reach. Sungyeol reached out his fingers. If he could only just touch it, just once…!

A hand clapped him heavily on the shoulder, breaking Sungyeol out of his reverie. The fluttering thing disappeared, curling its wings around itself and winking out of sight. Biting back the urge to curse at whomever had disrupted him, he turned around to see a couple of his friends waiting expectantly for him to accompany them to the school store. Of course, he’d forgotten.

Sungyeol stood up abruptly, his chair scraping the tiled floor with a nasty screech. He pushed it back silently and followed behind his friends, only hesitating at the doorway of the classroom. He stared back at the girl, still seated at the window and staring outside, and there was the barest movement from deep within his heart. Stifling a smile, Sungyeol caught back up to his friends with a few hops and fell in stride. Whatever this was, Sungyeol had the feeling that it would soon reveal itself to him.  

Emerging into the bright spring sunshine, Sungyeol cupped a hand above his eyes and looked up at the azalea tree by the classroom, its early buds waving in the breeze. Beyond that window, a girl sat, surrounded by light. It was a new year. A new class. A new light. A new beginning.