Haesung Hospital, Seoul. Autumn, 10 years ago.

“We’re gonna check your right leg again tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

 “It’s a present from me to you. You were so brave back there in the surgery room.” Dr. Ryu placed a lollipop on a small table next to the patient’s bed. It was strawberry flavored. Ara’s favorite. He then sat on the corner of Ara’s bed. A couple of second passed before the doctor continued with a gloomy face. “Ara. You know, I’m sorry about your Dad...”

The 7 years old girl, Ara, remained silent. Didn’t move a bit from her sleeping position. The atmosphere  inside the VIP room felt cold. Dr. Ryu coughed once before he stood up and checked Ara’s infusion. “But it’s gonna be okay. You have me.” He said while scribbling something on the medical report. “You have your grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins,” Then he clicked his tongue. “And your Mom.”

Silently, without the doctor knowing, Ara gulped. She was scared to meet her mom. Yesterday she got a phone call from her mom that was abroad, in Manchester, launching her new designs. After the accident, she hadn’t received any phone calls from her mom. Well, the doctor didn’t say anything about her mom up until now.

“Your mom will come here tomorrow afternoon.”

Oh, dear. She thought.

The 35 years old Ryu Junyeol patted the girl’s head. “Do you want me to stay here until you sleep, Ara?”  

The girl took a second or two before she shook her head. She didn’t say anything but gave the doctor a begging stare. Please leave me alone for now.

He smiled then left out a long exhale. “Okay, I’ll go now.” Before he leave, he handed Ara a small smartphone, he said it was for Ara. Call him if Ara need any help, he said.

After the doctor left, Ara stared blankly outside the window. The funeral will be held tomorrow morning and her mom is coming in the afternoon? She sighed while rubbing the smartphone’s screen. Suddenly, the smartphone made a beep sound, a message from Dr. Ryu.

I’m going home now, Ara. If you need some help, click the button to call the nurse, okay?

She had no intention to reply the message so she locked the screen again, anyway. The nurse call button was right next to her, hanging on the bed’s rail. Should we try this?

So she clicked the button and a red light instantly flashing on the ceiling. A nurse came, asking her.

“May I borrow a wheelchair?”

“Do you need help? I can push the wheelchair, where do you want to go?” The  nurse asked worriedly while helping Ara to move herself to the wheelchair. Ara shook her head, then thanked the nurse. She took the lollipop on the small table and brought herself outside the room.

Silently, the nurse followed Ara to make sure her safety.

Ara went along the isle, turnt right and left a couple of times before she reached a door to the 6th floor garden.  Her hand reached the door handle and tried to push it, but she couldn’t. “Eung—“ She pushed it harder but it didn’t open at all.

She needs help.  The nurse hurriedly walked towards Ara but before she could reach her, a small boy, pulling his IV pole appeared from another isle. He rubbed his eyes when he saw Ara difficultly pushing the door open. “Let me help you.” He said.

Seoul. Summer, 2016.

Light brown hair. Repeat. Light. Brown. Hair.

"I said that I want to paint my hair dark brown but they gave me light brown instead! Gahhh I think I won't go to school for today...."

A man shouted from downstairs. "Oh, stars above. Gu Ara! Get your heavy butt down here!"

Ara huffed and hurriedly grabbed her pink kanken. Her bag felt less heavy because she only brought a binder, a pencil case and a journal with her. When she arrived downstair, a red tumblr was flying towards her. Holy—

She catched it and gave Seo Kangjoon, her cousin, a death glare. “Don’t you dare do that again to me or else I’ll kill you.”

The boy shrugged and walked away innocently. “You better be hurry or I’ll leave you.”  He said. Before he walked out from the cafe—their grandma opened a cafe downstairs—Kangjoon left a green post-it on the standing blackboard. “Don’t forget to leave a message for grandma, Gu Ara! She’s still sleeping in her room. Don’t wake her up.”

The door bell rang when Kangjoon opened the door and walked outside. Ara who was pouting only nodded. She was busy filling her tumbler with mineral water. She took a wrap of sandwich that Kangjoon made this early morning, thanks to him.

“Let me help you.”

The boy helped her to open the door. He easily pushed the door and helped Ara with her wheelchair to get outside. Ara thought that the boy didn’t follow her outside, but actually, the boy was pushing her wheelchair. The boy didn’t forget to close the door after they got out. The nurse inside, smiled sweetly when she saw the scene. Curiously, she watched the kids outside at the garden.

The wind was blowing softly. Ara rubbed her hands together and patted her cheeks to feel warmer.

“Is it cold?”

Ara gasped when she saw the boy next to her. "Wait, why are you following me?" She asked. 

"Well, I feel like I shouldn't leave you alone out here. You're a girl, anyway." The boy hummed. "Why are you still up at this hour?" He yawned, scratching his ears.

"Am I not allowed to stay up at this hour? I just moved into my room before." She answered with a short explanation which replied by a nod from the boy. "How about you? You're still up too. Hey, watch out. The needle."

"Oh, it's okay." The boy fixed the IV pole position. "I'm waiting for my mom to come. She's on her way here from the office. Oh, you just came here? What's wrong with you? Your leg?"

"Accident."

"Oh,"

"You?"

"Eh, me?" The boy blinked. "Well, I got a bad fever." 

"Get well soon." Ara whispered.

"You too." He replied. 

Both of them turnt silent, no one talked. But then, the boy pointed at the girl's leg. At her bruises. "Ah, let me guess." He smiled satisfiedly. "Are you a ballerina?"

"Class! Class!"

The students inside couldn't stop murmuring with each others while staring curiously at Ara. Kangjoon, who sat on the back with his basketball club friends cupped his face and waved at Ara once. He wasn't helping at all. The homeroom teacher hitted the board with the board eraser twice hardly to calm down the crowd. Everyone became calm, some students got back to their chairs. 

"We have a new friend here." Mrs. Yun poked Ara's back. "Introduction, please?"

Ara bit her lower lips. "My name is Gu Ara, I moved from Busan to Seoul last month and came to this school." Her eyes roamed around the class. Some girls on the back were complaining her hair colour, she believed. "Nice to be here." She bowed. 

Mrs. Yun who didn't pay attention asked Ara, "Are you done?" and she nodded as a reply. "Okay! Is there any question?"

No one raised a hand. Most of them were busy with themselves. Some were doing the homeworks, some were scribbling random things on the notebooks, some were reading a history book or romance novels and some were giggling, criticizing how Ara looked. 

A boy who sat next to Kangjoon raised his hand. After the teacher allowed him to ask, he gave Ara a silly question, "Are you really Seo Kangjoon's cousin? Because you look so ordinary." The question followed with giggles from the students. Ara who got the question was speechless.

Mrs. Yun looked like she didn't care too much about it, though. She only called the boy's name then asked Ara to answer the question. "Yes, I'm his cousin." She nodded.

Another student raised a hand and asked. "What is your previous school, Ara?"

She inhaled. "Busan International Foreign School."

Some of the students gasped. It was a great school. "Really? I can't believe it. Why does she want to move from that classy school to this local art school?!" "Hey, hey. Are you really believing her? Maybe she lied." "Whoa, does she come from a rich family? She looks too ordinary." "I heard that the students there wear branded products but. She... is not." "I think she lied!"

"Yah! Yah!" Kangjoon shouted from the back of the class. "Why do you think she lied? She really came from that school with perfect scores! She always get the first rank so becareful with her or she'll slay your academic scores!"

The class became noisier after Kangjoon said that. Ara who was still standing at the front gulped awkwardly. Luckily, the homeroom teacher hitted the board again to calm the class down. "Stop being so mean, oh, God!" She clicked her tongue. "Last question, please?"

Ara could feel the eyes watching her even though she only stared at the wall across the room. No one raised a hand. It meant the introduction session ended and she only had to find a seatmate—

"Can I ask her a question?"

"Yes, please?"

Ara turnt her head, facing a boy who sat near the window. He looked... no, he felt familiar.

"Are you a ballerina?"

"My name is Moon Taeil."

"That boy over there, is Lee Taeyong. You wouldn't want to be friend with him, anyway."

"What did they do to you? Who the hell did this to you?!"

"You better get lost, Gu Ara."

"This is nutcracker, it has its own story!"

*sorry for the poor english, yo!