Juhyun could not understand her mother. How could a parent be more excited for the start of a school year than the student herself? Perhaps her mother was happy to get her out of the house.

"Come on, Princess! We're going to be late!" Juhyun wished that one day, her mom would stop calling her Princess. "Goodbye, Prince! Mommy loves you!" So that she wouldn't feel like she married their dog, Prince. "Mom, when are you getting a new car?" "Princess, you know I love this car!" Juhyun sighed, she hated her mom's obsession with pink. Sure, she could tolerate her fashion accessories and outfits being pink, but a pink car? That was absurd. She wanted to rush out of the car to avoid her classmates from seeing her in this crazy car, yet with her ridiculous mom, nothing ever goes as planned. "Princess, give me a kiss before you go to school!" "Can I not?" "It's just a kiss!" Juhyun pecked her mom on her cheeks and quickly unlocked the door and escaped, or else her mom would demand a kiss on the lips from her.

 

"See you later, Princess!" Her mom yelled from the car, loudly. People around the area turned their heads towards the source of the commotion.

To say that Juhyun didn't have a pleasant start in this school year was an understatement. Fortunately, she seemed to have arrived at school earlier than most of the population, so her image hasn't been completed shattered. The first day of school was basically an introduction of classes, except for science. The science teacher had already assigned a semester-long group project to the class.

 

"Please have your ideas ready by next Friday." The students groaned in unison at Mr. Bacon's announcement. What kind of teachers gives homework on the first day? The kind that gets the most hate.

Juhyun rather liked the idea of getting things done sooner than later. She invited her project partner to her house after school to begin their discussion. "I'm Juhyun, your name is?"

 

"My name is Joohyun, too. Nice to meet you."

Juhyun received a message from her mom, informing that she will be home late and Juhyun would have to walk home. She was grateful for this news, because would not want to scare her classmate away so quickly. It took only ten minutes to walk from school to home. Juhyun should be able convince her mom to allow her to go to school by foot. "Please, have a seat. Would you like to have something to drink?" "Water is fine. Also, you don't have to be so formal with me. We are the same age!" "You're right."

 

The two gathered in the living room to think of ideas for their project. According to the syllabus, the topic must be related to science, which was too broad for either of their liking. Juhyun suggested that they search on the Internet for inspiration.

 

"What was that?" Joohyun was startled by the sounds of keys jingling and door knob turning, which were amplified by the silence in the house.

"Probably my mom."

 

"Didn't you say your mom won't be home until six?" Joohyun reminded, it was only three in the afternoon. It could not have been Juhyun's mom.

"I'll go check." Juhyun was about to walk to the entrance of the house, until she came face to face with another girl. "Unnie! I'm home!"

 

"Oh, Wendy. I didn't know you'd be home so early." Juhyun greeted her sister and patted her head. Her sister is too adorable.

"Do you have a guest?" Wendy pointed at the unfamiliar pair of shoes at the porch. "Right, let me introduce you to her." Juhyun lead the younger girl into the living room, finding Joohyun concentrating on her phone, which she was playing a build-a-town game on. "Joohyun? This is my younger sister, Wendy." "Oh, hi! I'm Joohyun. Just call me unnie or how you call your sister." "Nice to meet you, Joohyun unnie." Wendy bowed. A smile formed on Joohyun's face. It made Juhyun feel worried, because it didn't give off a good vibe. "How old are you?" "I'm fourteen, two years younger than you and unnie are." "Awesome. Do you have a crush on anyone?" "I don't think so." "Perfect. Do you think you'll like someone older than you are? For example, me?" "I don't know..." "I think we should get back to work." Before Joohyun could ask more questions directed towards her sister, and possibly, kidnap her. "Oh! Right. Wendy, we'll talk later. I want to know more about you." "Wendy, sit next to me." Juhyun ordered and pulled her away from Joohyun. Her baby sister will be protected at all cost. Joohyun kept on stealing glances at Wendy, however, the younger girl was extremely focused on her book and failed to notice her. Juhyun had to snap her fingers to gain Joohyun's attention back.

 

"Let's call it a day. I think we're almost finished." Juhyun printed out the research materials from her laptop, and left her seat to grab the papers from the printer in her room.

 

Joohyun saw it as a chance to converse with Wendy. She observed the younger girl, what should they chat about?

 

"Wendy, I like cakes. Do you like cakes?" Joohyun decided to go with this seemingly flawless topic. Who doesn't like cakes? Aside from people who are allergic to the ingredients of them.

"Yes, I love cakes! I am starting to learn how to bake. If you like, I could bring you some next time." "I would love to eat your cake. Here, give me your number, we can text each other."

 

Wendy managed to enter her phone number on Joohyun's phone before her sister came back, or else Juhyun would have called the police and reported her classmate. Joohyun bid goodbye to the two girls and headed home, hopping along the way because of her accomplishment.

 

Juhyun would never have guessed how much happened in the two short minutes that she was gone.

 

*

 

On the other hand, Juhyun and Wendy's mother was at a PTA meeting with other parents. She waltzed into the meeting room, carrying two full bags of cosmetic products.

 

"Hey girls. Do you know what time it is?"

 

Sooyoung rolled her eyes and covered her ears. Tiffany will not succeed in tricking her anymore.

 

"It must be PTA time. Here we go!"

 

"Tiff, stop using that lame old song that you composed back in high school! I hate myself for not being able to resist from singing along."

 

"So, Sooyoung, how's Sooyoung?" Tiffany seated herself directly across from her friend, while sipping on the cup of hot milk tea.

 

"Joy? She told me she has a crush on someone from school. I almost got a panic attack and didn't remember anything she told me!"

 

"Let me ask if Wendy knows anything about it. Where is Hyoyeon? We have to discuss poverty, global warming, world hunger, and fashion."

 

Just as Tiffany completed her sentence, a wave of blonde hair flashed in front of the two. A new presence appeared inside the room, plopping into the chair next to Sooyoung.

 

"Hey, Hyo. You're late."

 

"I'm not late, you are just simply early."

 

*

Of course, their mom is Tiffany. More characters will be introduced in the future.

Juhyun is Seohyun and Joohyun is Irene, in case you need clarification.

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