01. the black swan

Until now, Mina can still remember the day her father asked for a divorce. She can still remember the day she came back home, hoping to be welcomed with bright smiles after she had been through a rough day at school. However, things don't always work that way. She remembered her mother's cries in the background while her father's voice echoed from every wall in the house. 

"How dare you cheat on me! How could you choose a woman over your daughter and I?" Her father's voice cracked, and that's when Mina noticed the lone tear fall from his left eye. It was the first time she had ever seen her strong father cry. And that hurt her. She failed to think straight. Panic took over her heart when she realized that the one thing she always believed in wasn't true after all; her family wasn't perfect.

Her mother is a lesbian. She felt her entire world fall apart right at that moment. Now she understands. She understands why her mother always came home late. She understands why her father was always unfocused and anxious. Everything was all because of her mother and her decision to love this woman who was just a coworker she had known for 4 months. Mina was disgusted; she couldn't understand. No matter what reason her mother had in preparation for this day, Mina had no plans of listening to it. All Mina could think of was to run away. She wanted to run as fast as she could - as far as she could to leave this life. She was a coward; she never had an option. All she knew to do was to escape. That's what she did best anyway.

And she did. She ran. As far as she could, with the increasing anger in her heart towards her selfish mother.

"Mina, you ready?"

Mina pushed her thick-rimmed glasses to the bridge of her nose and nodded silently. She made her way to the door, where her father was waiting. He smiled and ruffled his daughter's hair jokingly, "Relax, you'll be fine. It's not the first time you've transferred to a new school."

Mina faked a smile and nodded, "I hope so," she mumbled to herself before entering the car.

"Remember to eat your lunch!" Her father yelled from the driver's seat. Mina nodded and continued to approach the gates of Twice High. It was the first time she had ever stepped into a public high school so everything intimidated her. Unlike in her past private high school, the halls were incredibly loud and crowded. She even received a few judging stares from some students by the lockers. After only ten seconds of being in the campus, she had encountered an extremely considerate couple eating their faces in the hallway, a person who felt like he was like superman after flying into the lockers and surprisingly not getting injured, and three girls who were strolling around like they owned the school.

Mina tried her best to resist the temptation of leaving the school right at that moment, and she did. She didn't feel like running away this time.

As she entered the principal's office, she was welcomed by a disorganized desk filled with stacks of paper. She slowly approached the desk and found the principal nimbly typing on his desktop, covered with more papers and tons of pens scattered everywhere. She bit her lip and started to turn around until the principal gained his voice.

"Oh, is that you, Ms. Myoui?"

Mina closed her eyes in embarrassment and prepared herself to greet him. She turned around and bowed, "Hello, Mr..."

"Mr. Lee. I'm glad to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from my first meeting with your father. So, you're a Japanese exchange student?"

"My father's Korean and I was born in the States. My only Japanese blood comes from..." Mina suddenly stopped as she felt an unwanted desire to continue her sentence. "... my mother." She muttered.

"I see. So you're fluent in Korean, Japanese, and English, am I correct?"

Mina nodded. Mr. Lee smiled in satisfaction, "Great. You're all set then. Here's your schedule and your locker number." He stood up and gave her a sheet of paper.

Mina blankly stared at the lone piece of paper in her hands. This is it? She thought to herself. She had expected at least a fellow student to give her a tour around the campus, but she was wrong. Oh, boy. Mina mentally groaned. Nonetheless, she bowed to the principal, "Thank you."

As she left the office, her heart was growing heavy by the second. "This is ridiculous," She muttered to herself, her eyes were not leaving her schedule even while she was walking through the halls.

Suddenly she felt a body collide with hers, causing her to squeal in surprise. Her knees collapsed from under her, but before she could fall, the girl held her by the waist using one hand, and her wrist with the other.

"Hey, watch where you're going, will you?" She softly reprimanded her.

Mina cast a quick shy glance at the girl who helped her up. She felt her heart skip a beat as she noticed how beautiful the girl was up close.

"You new here?" She asked without letting go of her wrist. When Mina finally realized how long she had been staring at the girl, heat rose to her cheeks and she looked away in embarrassment.

"Y-yes," She replied. From the corner of Mina's eyes, she could see the girl smiling brightly at her, "I knew it. I wouldn't fail to notice someone as pretty as you." She spoke in a flirty ma