The bell for recess rings. A cascade of yawns and shuffles and "finally's" floods the room.

I stretch my sore arms and legs from my seat while letting out a groan (they say I look like a cat when I do this). I take my wallet from my slacks and count the little that’s left of my monthly allowance. I want banana milk, but I got no more bucks for it. I close the wallet and my eyes for a couple of seconds, hoping for additional bucks, then open my eyes and wallet again. I recount my one thousand wons, just in case the money gods finally take a pity on me.

I hear the screeching of chairs getting dragged. I look up and see a group of rascals who call themselves my “friends” surrounding my seat.

“Dude, you know the new girl?” my best friend, Kim Yugyeom asks.

Ah, yes, the new girl. I almost forgot about her because our pre-calculus test almost toasted my brain.

Back to the new girl. Her name is Lalisa Manoban. A weird name. Probably a foreigner. She said we can call her Lisa. She has a shoulder length ash brown hair, a set of full bangs that seem permanently fixed to her forehead, plump lips, and pretty doe eyes that are staring at me as of the moment. I look away quickly, but not enough to not attract attention.

The rascals started chuckling.

“Bro, she’s been staring at you the whole three periods,” another one, Cha Eunwoo whispers.

“Is she your ex?” Jung Jaehyun asks, earning some “oohs” from the other guys.

“Nah, bro, I think he owes her money,” Kim Mingyu, says.

“I hope I’m satisfying your uneventful morning,” I say, stuffing my wallet in my pocket. “I don’t know her.”

It would be weird, even creepy to say that I met her in my dream. And it may not be her. Maybe my mind has just decided to short circuit today. Like what happens in deja vu.

I hear the rascals hooting again. They suddenly clear the space in front of me, like grease when a drop of soap lands on it, and now the new girl, Lisa is standing in front of me. She looks taller than I thought.

We stare at each other for a couple of seconds. She flashes a huge smile then she says, “I need you.”

Wow, is this a confession? On our first meeting? Foreigners sure have guts!

“Excuse me?” I ask while the rascals are raging and howling while teasing me.

Lisa rolls her eyes. “I said I need you,” she says before crossing her arms to her chest. She now looks serious, as if expecting that I know what she means. I’ve had my fair share of girls confessing to me (they won’t call me “international playboy” for nothing!), but those are usually done through letters or Valentine’s day chocolates. This is the first time I’m getting a confession like this. I don’t mind, though. She’s pretty. But my loyalty is with Jieun sunbaenim, of course.

I gather my thoughts to say the most polite rejection I could make, when she suddenly pulls me by the wrist and drags me out of the room. We walk outside, past the rooms, to the staircase.  The hooting of my batchmates faded.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

She doesn’t reply. I let her drag me up to the rooftop door. She tries pushing the door open but it doesn’t budge.

“We’re not allowed here,” I say.

She whispers something, then pushes the door again. The door swings open. Odd, but maybe someone didn’t lock it properly.

Only when we reach the center of the rooftop does she let go of my hand. 

She faces me and says, “I need you.”

“I’m sorry,” I start. “But we can only be friends. My heart belongs to someone already.” This is so dramatic. I slide my hand in my pocket and pull out a handkerchief, ready to be the gentleman that I am in case she bawls.

She her head to one side. “What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t this a love confession?”

“A what? Anyway, I need you.”

“What for?”

Lisa reaches for her pocket and pulls a purple velvet pouch. She unties the gold strings and pulls out what seemed like a yellow stick snapped in half—one shorter than the other. At the edge of the shorter stick is a clear gem the shape of a crescent moon.

“For this,” she says.

I look at her palm and then to her. We stare at each other for a good ten seconds.

“I don’t get it,” I finally say.

She lets out a groan. “Don’t you remember?” 

She raises the two sticks to my face, as if that would make me remember. I shake my head.

She sighs. “We met last night. At the forbidden woods.”

I stared at her. “I don’t know any forbidden woods here in Seoul.”

“Seoul?” She looks around. “So this is what this place is called.” She ran and hopped on the building’s ledge. 

I let out a sound close to a squeaking rubber duck. “Don’t jump! Please! Let’s talk about this!” My heart races when she tiptoes and raises her arms to the sides. “You’re Lisa, right?”

She quickly turns around and faces me. “You remember now?”

“I… you mentioned your name earlier,” I say. She pouts. “Please… just get off the ledge. It’s dangerous there.”

She looks down to the grounds, which causes my feet to tingle. “Why is it dangerous?”

“Because you might fall!”

“But it’s not that high.”

We are at an eight-story building.

“Just please get off there,” I say as I offer my hand.

She takes my hand, hops down the ledge, and smiles. “I knew it,” she says. “I can feel my powers from you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Lisa sighs, as if in comfort. I blush as I realize we’re still holding hands. I pull it away, earning another pout from her.

“I guess you really don’t remember. Maybe it was the concussion? Or did my healing spell make you forget? Anyway, I saw you last night at the forbidden woods, fighting the Themoclae—”

“I’m sorry,” I cut her off. “Themo what?”

“Themoclae. The monster you fought... two arching legs, weird snout. Always roaring like someone fed it something spicy.” She proceeds to make weird roaring sounds. I’m glad no one is seeing this.

I placed a hand over . “Okay, stop. You’re weird.”

She removes my hand from her face. “Anyway, you were badly hurt. So I helped you. Fighting off the Themoclae and healing you must have been too much for my wand so….” She shows the stick snapped in half again. 

“Wand?” I say with a snort. “What are you, a witch from Hogwarts?”

“No, I’ve never heard of that place,” she says, “but yes, I’m a witch—well, not quite. After I healed you and my wand snapped in half, you suddenly disappeared and I was left in a park I’ve never seen before. No wand, no powers, no way to get back to our dimension.”

At this point, I am convinced she is crazy. Either that, or someone is pulling a prank on me. I turn around and walk to the door.

“Please, I need you!” She runs and blocks my way. “Something was wrong with the healing spell I casted that even most of my powers have been transferred to you. I can’t go back to our dimension without my powers and my wand.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help you,” I said. “I don’t even understand what you’re saying. Are you a gamer? A cosplayer? Maybe you should stop that for a while.” I patted her shoulder. I can’t believe I would be able to say that to someone. Is this how a responsible adult feels?

“Please!” She holds my hand again. Her eyes now look glassy. “I feel like some of my powers from your hand.”

I am getting tired. I check my watch. It’s almost time for the fourth period, I wasn’t able to buy my banana milk (not that I have money for it), and this girl is spouting nonsense.

“Look,” I say with a sigh. “There is nothing that I can do for you. I don’t know you, we’ve never met before, and—”

A strong gust of wind cut my sentence. In the blink of an eye, I find myself upside down in the air, dangling by my left ankle. I can see Lisa. She looks… excited?

My view suddenly changed. I am now staring directly at an eyeball. Yes, an eyeball—a huge one, probably bigger than my entire head. This creature squinted its eye while staring at me. I hear a shrill roar before I get flung across the rooftop.

I try to get on my feet, confused and aching all over. I think I hit a pole or something. “What is that?” I ask as I press on my left rib. 

The creature has a huge eye and pouty lips. (It reminds me of Jimin hyung’s. Don’t tell him that.) Its body looks like a huge orangutan—hairy, with long arms and muscular arms that reach to the floor, a big belly, a set of short legs, and enormous feet.

“A Nexil!” Lisa shouted all too bubbly.

“A what?”

“A Nexil! It’s a weak creature,” she says while helping me up.

“What do you mean ‘a weak creature’? It just threw me across the rooftop!”

“But you didn’t die, right?” She flashes a smile.

I don’t know who I want to get rid of: Lisa or this Nexil, as she says. 

“Why do you seem so happy about this?” I ask, not looking away from the creature as it stares back at us.

“Because I think you believe me now,” she replies.

The Nexil suddenly makes a dash towards us. For a huge creature, this thing is fast!

Lisa and I dodge to the sides. For some reason, this monster is targeting me. It pounced to my direction. I bolted away as fast as I could. I see a soft blue light from Lisa’s direction, then I hear the sound of something close to a firecracker.

The Nexil stops running, so I stop and look around. Its arm is now charred, but it did not look hurt.

“My powers are too weak right now!” Lisa says, now sounding panicked (as she should!).

The Nexil starts running to her direction, roaring and thrashing its arms.

I don’t know what to do. School personnel should have come by now with the sounds that we’re making. Should I wait? I watch Lisa as she jumps and runs around. I look at the rooftop door. Where are they?

I hear the sound of clanging metals. I look back and see Lisa was on the ground. The Nexil would get her.

The next thing I know, I am crouched in front of Lisa, one arm above my head in a futile attempt to shield me from the creature. My eyes are shut tight. I think the fear is numbing me, because I don’t feel any pain. I slowly open my eyes and meet Lisa’s eyes that are glistening under a soft purple light. She is smiling.

I slowly look back, my arm still raised over my head. There is a purple light around us. It looks like a shield. Beyond it is the Nexil. I watch as its movements grow slower by the second. It then started crumbling into a black dust that was blown away by a soft wind. In a moment, the purple light died.

I look back at Lisa, confused.

She walks to me, cups my face, and says, “You’re a Flaier.”