Chapter One

Chasing Time

I never thought that I'd be here, Trebleton. I always looked at the other kids who were into theatre and just wondered where all of that confidence came from.

I was never into acting, maybe because I was never typically good at it. I'm here for music theory and composing, nothing more. Besides, I promised my dad that I would at least do my best during an audition to get in.

But why, why did I decide to keep it? He didn't keep his promise; the promise that you make every child when you decide to have them. The promise to be there to raise them until they're ready to live on their own. 

He died at the worst timing of my life, my senior year of highschool; it became the worst experience of my life. Reliving that year would be an entirely new story for another time, as I'm starting to get the feeling that I should be paying attention. 

I do this quite often, live in my own little world for a while. It's spontaneous, and completely random. The slightest thing can distract me if it even remotely reminds me of my dad. I was always the typical straight 'A' student with no problems in school, I could focus and dive into any subject.

Now I have to do everything in my power to channel all of my energy into heading my paper properly. Just figuring out which order my name, the date, and the professor's name goes is a difficult task. 

"Since we have a younger student in this class, we'll give her a chance to showcase her intelligence." 

A voice spoke from behind me; it was the professor. It's the first day and I already can't catch a break, why put so much pressure on the little guy? 

I stand and pick up my score book, walking to the front up to the class. When I turn around, I can see the smug looking faces beaming back at me, waiting for me to fail. 

Sight reading; one of my best subjects in music theory. I shouldn't fail, I've done this many times before. I take a deep breath and wait for instruction. 

"Page twenty-four, line six. Sing until the end of the eigth measure." She says, nodding at me to begin. 

I can feel my fingers fumble with the pages while trying to find the right section. I am already getting nervous, but why? Maybe its the group of catty looking girls, grinning and waiting. Or is it the cute boy in the back that hasn't looked at me or anyone until this moment? 

I fill my lungs with air and begin singing, forgetting to preread the entire section. At this point, any note can throw me a curve ball. I'm a little pitchy at first, but once I become a bit more comfortable with my own voice, I start to round the notes out until they're perfectly in tune. 

The finish isn't perfect, but it's pretty good for almost making it up on the spot. Now for the most terrifying part, the critique. 

I look up at the rest of the students and see a reaction I wasn't prepared for. The professor's face looks confused, maybe even frustrated. The group of girls are all turned inwards with scowls showing on their faces. One kid is knocked out, snoring in the front of the class. 

I slowly direct my eyes to the boy with the dark hair in the back. When our eyes meet, I can see the expression he's wearing. It's completely out of character; he's smirking! What's his deal? 

The professor scratches something down onto her clipboard and nods at me, "You may return, I don't have any notes for you right now." 

Great, that either means it was really bad, or perfect; and I know that I'm no where near perfection yet. I walk back and sit down, not sure if I should feel mortified or scared. 

I look over at the clock and I see that we don't have much time left. I rest my chin in my hand and go over my performance once more in my head, it's as if all of the minor mistakes are like giant sores. If I could do it again, I'm sure I would do a better job. 

"Alright class, don't forget about your first assigned project. You must create a score and perform it in front of the class a week from now. You may work with a partner or alone, your choice. Class dismissed." Professor Choi finished, taking a seat at her desk. 

I stuff the things that I have on my desk into my bag. I'm in no rush, but I walk a little bit faster than normal, maybe I'm still nervous. 

I walk past the professor's desk on my way out, but she calls out to me. Of course, how did I know that this would happen? I brace myself for the bad news. 

She folds her hands and sets them on top of their desk. "So, have you started planning out who you'll be working with on this project?" 

I shake my head and look down away from her gaze, "I was thinking of working independently." 

She nods thoughtfully and unfolds her hands, placing them in her lap. "Did you read through the entire scorebook already?" 

"To be completely honest... I didn't read through it at all." I respond, grabbing onto the hem of my shirt, playing with it nervously. 

"Then the rumors are true: perfect pitch. I had a student like you a few years back, surprised me on the first day. She was such a lovely young lady, it's a shame she got mixed up with the wrong people here." She says, a certain sadness playing across her face. 

"Anyway, my advice to you is to be careful with the others here. I don't know exactly what happens when the kids aren't in my classroom, but I've seen how they can be here. Good choices, Alex. I'm sure you'll know what to do." She finishes, nodding. "Well, you can go now." 

I thank her and head out, walking briskly down the hallway towards the exit. I need to head back to the dorms and eat something before my next class. I turn the corner and slam into something solid, wind being kicked out of my lungs. 

 I land on my tailbone, and pain shoots up my back. "Owww...." I rub my backside while standing up. 

Sheets of white; music, hard work, all over the ground. A boy, maybe a year or two older than me, sitting in the center of the mess. His styled blonde hair is slightly brushed from his eyes as he looks up at me. "My apologies," he says, "I must have been walking too fast."

He starts to collect the papers, so I bend down and help him. "I was walking a bit fast too, everything seems to be moving too fast for me here." I say, handing him the last bit of sheet music. 

He smiles and nods, "I used to feel that way too, two years later, I'm still all over the place." He chuckles a bit, standing up and brushing off his black slacks. 

He's actually much taller than me, I wonder why he looked so small when he was sitting. He holds his hand out to me, "Jin, nice to meet you." 

I take it and shake it gently, "Alex, nice to meet you too." I take a step back and smile at him, he's actually really cute. 

His smile is so welcoming and genuine. As I'm about to leave, he starts talking again, "Have plans for lunch?"

"I was just going back to the dorms to heat up some left overs." I say, beginning to play with the hem of my shirt again. 

"You could do that, or you could join me in the cafe. My treat." He offers, casually smiling down at me. 

I nod and walk alongside him. This could be good, he seems nice, not like the type Ms. Choi warned me about. He's probably being nice because he feels bad that I fell. 

Whatever it is, this could be good for me. He starts up some more small talk, asking about what school has been like so far and how it feels to be in such a new place. 

Halfway into our conversation, someone steps in front of me, bumping into my shoulder. "Ow!" I grab my shoulder, already bruised from slamming into Jin earlier.

I look up and see the boy with the black hair, he smirks back at me. "Well you weren't supposed to walk into me, why didn't you watch where you were going? Anyway, you seem busy, I'll ask you later." He walks down the hall into the opposite direction.

Jin looks over at me, "You two know each other? I didn't see you as the type to be hanging around with those people." I look back at the black haired boy, and shake my head. 

"Well, not really. We have a class together, but I just transferred today." I say, rubbing my shoulder absent mindedly. "And what do you mean by 'those people'?"

He opens the door to the cafe, "You mean to tell me you haven't seen the clique of rich kids around here?" 

I walk in and move towards the line to order, "I mean I have, but what's so different about them?" 

He shakes his head, "Where do I begin? Those kids are bad news, they love a good rumor. They'll use everything in their power to strike down a talent that surpasses them." 

I laugh a bit, "That sounds so cliche, how am I supposed to believe that?" I look back at him, but he isn't smiling. His expression turned cold and solid.

"I've seen it. I have a few theories about that group. They've all been working together secretly to produce music and undermine others. They will do anything, they have money and business on their side. I mean, that's just how they've been raised." He says, looking away from me to look at the cashier when it's our turn.

"I'll have just a regular coffee, black, and an egg salad sandwhich." He says, then looks at me, "And she'll have..." 

"Green tea frappe and a bagel with strawberry cream cheese." I finish, turning and smiling at the cashier.  Jin pays and walks with me to the pick up line.

"Anyway, be careful, Alex." He says, smiling softly down at me, "You seem like such a sweet girl. I wouldn't want you getting hurt here when you still have so much time left." 

He ruffles my hair and chuckles a bit, "You still have a long way to go."

So this is how it is, he sees me as a little sister already. I've been sibling-zoned. Wonderful. I nod and smile back up at him. 

Sibling or not, he's still really nice. I don't have many friends here anyway, it's probably good that I've at least been able to make one. Plus, he just bought me lunch!

"Oh," he starts, "I've been wanting to ask you something." He says, opening his messenger bag and rumaging through it. He pulls out a pen and a small pad of paper. 

"What are you majoring in here?" He asks, while writing down something onto his notepad. 

"Music theory." I say, trying to figure out what he's writing down. He rips the page out and hands it to me. It has a four digit number on it and a phone number as well. 

He points to the four digit number, "That's my apartment number on campus here. I live with one other person, but he's really easy to get along with. Come knocking if you ever want to record." 

I grin down at the paper, then up at him. "You have a studio?! That's awesome, my dad had one of those back home. I used to record my songs all the time." 

He seems pleased at my reaction, "Somehow I knew you were the singing type." He said, picking up his items from the counter. 

I grab mine and nod, "Well I sing, and play a few instruments." He takes me to a table and pulls out a chair for me. We flow so well together, it's almost like we've been friends for years. 

We chat for a bit more, about music, life on campus, anything that comes to mind really. Time flies so fast that when I look down at my watch, I only have five minutes to get to my next class. 

I stand up and sling my bag over my shoulder, "Oh, Jin, I'm sorry to cut things short, but I'm going to be late for my next class." 

"Shoot, I am too. And the professor needs me to lead today. We should be walking to the same area, let's go." He grabs my wrist and starts to pull me in another direction. 

"Short-cut. Gotta get around that rush of students." He says, tugging me along. He starts to slow down as I pull out the paper to find my next class. 

He takes the paper from me, "Let me see here, this way... Oh." He stops in front of the door, " You're in my class." He laughs a bit, "Of course you are." 

He opens the door and I walk in, greeting the professor and handing him my schedule. He looks it over, looking back up at me. 

I notice he's a bit younger than most, maybe only in his early thirties or late twenties. He looks over at Jin, "Do you know even know who you brought in this morning?" 

Jin looks over at me and shakes his head, "We just met this morning. We bumped into each other in the halls." 

What does he mean? Who am I? The transfer student? "I think you must be confused about something, sir. I'm just a transfer student." 

He grins at me, "A pretty and humble prodigy, what else does she need?" He responds, wiggling his eyebrows at Jin. 

Prodigy? What is he talking about? As I'm about to speak again he hushes me, "Don't say a word, almost every teacher has seen your audition tape." 

My audition wasn't my best in my opinion, I was pitchy because I was getting emotional. I changed the tone of the song into something much darker. I figured I would lose points, not gain any. 

"Anyway," he interrupts my thoughts, "Go sit in that empty desk in the front. We should get started with the lesson." I  nod and go sit in the seat, feeling eyes on my back. 

I look around for Jin's seat, but he still lingers at the front. He sets his bag down and sits in the professor's seat. I look at him with a confused expression while professor Kim sits on top of the desk, facing the class. 

"I have to run out today, so Jin will be leading the class. Give him respect, just because he's a teacher's assistant doesn't mean you can't take him seriously." He claps his hands together and gathers his stuff, "And with that, I'll leave you to it, Jin." 

"Thank you, Mr. Kim." He says, picking up a stack of papers and begins to hand them out around the class. 

Assistant? Since when was he a teacher in training? He failed to tell me that. 

When he comes around to give me my paper, he smiles at me briefly before returning stoic. I look down at the paper: it's empty sheet music. 

"Pop quiz, hearing test." He says, sitting on top of the desk and crossing his legs. "Whoever scores the highest gets a recording session with me. I'm going to play a series of chords and a melody, write them down as you hear them. I'll play the song twice."

The class is dead silent, other students are staring at him intently. Just who is Jin? Why does his recording session mean so much to these students? 

He grins, "No one has ever been able to get a perfect score... but we have a talent in this class, so we'll just have to see." 

His attitude is a bit different, more playful and less... innocent. Kind of mysterious, a side I have yet to experience like this. I feel nervous in his presence, definitely not the same feeling I felt in the cafe earlier. 

I swallow a lump in my throat and click my pencil a few times as he pulls out his laptop. "I'll give you ten minutes to prepare, I have to set up my computer still." 

I take this chance to go to the bathroom, my nerves aren't helping. It's just around the corner, I open the door and walk over to the sink to rinse my face. 

I hear a voice shouting outside the window, "You should know I'm not the type to lose a fight. I can't let you take the top spot from me. Do you know who I am? I OWN the ground you WALK on." 

The window is too high up, so I can't get a good look. I hear the other voice, "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I don't want to fight." He sounds terrified, his voice is shaking. 

I grab a mop bucket and turn it upside down to try to get a peek outside the window. It's the black haired boy; the other kid pushing him up against the wall.

"I could leave you here, dead behind the back of the school and no one would even care. No one would even want to find you. I'm going to kill you, Jungkook" He says, something silver glistening near the black-haired boy's neck. 

What do I do? I don't want to get involved with a psycho, this is what Ms. Choi warned me about! I hop down from the bucket and pace, I know this isn't going to do any good. I have to help him. 

"You don't have to do this. I'll do whatever you want." He says shakily, pleading for his life. I lean against the wall and close my eyes. What do I do? 

Suddenly I hear sharp cries of pain and a thud, as I can only assume its him collapsing to the floor. I stand up on the bucket as an immediate response and I see his lifeless body, soaking in a pool of blood. 

No.. No.. I feel the world slip away from me as my vision is covered by a curtain of black. 

 

I blink my eyes a few times as I hear the familiar voice of Jin, "I'll give you ten minutes to prepare, I have to set up my computer still." 

Where's Jungkook?! Why am I here again? Wasn't I just in the bathroom? Is he dead? I stand up hurriedly and walk over to Jin. 

"Did I get up already today?" I ask him; he looks up from his computer, "Not yet, why?" 

I walk out and run to the bathroom, the bucket is back where it was, as if I never touched it. 

"You should know I'm not the type to lose a fight." It's that 's voice again! I get on the bucket and it's the same scene all over again. He's still alive, backed up against the wall. 

I lean my back against the wall and yell, "I know you have a knife! Im going to warn a campus supervisor!" 

"!" I hear the voice yell, and the sound of feet running off. I get back onto the bucket and see Jungkook clutching onto his chest, he's still alive. 

What do I do now? What if that guy is on his way here to get rid of me? I hop down and run back to class, yanking the door open. 

I sit down in my seat and take a deep breath. What was that? Did I turn back time myself? But how? The only thing I remember is this pain in my temples before I out and ended up back here. 

I have to test this. I pull out a piece of paper and rip into four pieces. I look at the paper and feel the slight pain return to my temples. Suddenly, like a switch in my brain is , I watch the paper fuse togther again. 

I stop and rub the sides of my head. Is this a dream? This can't be possible. I have to try something more extreme, something I can't take back. I look around the room for an idea, finally I stop at Jin. 

Well, if I can turn back time, let's see how well this goes over. I get up and walk over to him, placing my hands on the desk. He looks at me and grins, "Something I can do for you?" 

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks, suddenly I don't feel like trying it anymore. "Uh, yeah. You want to go on a date this weekend?" 

He looks surprised, "Well... Uh.." 

Say no more, Jin. I hit my internal rewind switch and watch as his head turns back to his computer. When I stop, he looks up at me, "Something I can do for you?"

I smile, "Are you having trouble with your computer? It's past ten minutes now." 

He chuckles and scratches his head, "Yeah well, I can't seem to find the file." He looks up at me, "If you help I'll give you a recording session regardless." 

I laugh a little and move next to him, turning his laptop in my direction. "There, you had the file in a different folder, that's all." 

"Thanks." He says, ruffling my hair. I roll my eyes and take a seat again. I can feel those icy glares at my back again. Don't worry girls, he doesn't see me like that. 

This power, I can do anything with it. It seems dangerous though, I don't want to over work myself. I don't know what kind of damage it has on me physically. Besides, everyone knows what happens if you mess with time too much. 

We'll see where it will take me. There must be a reason I only discovered this now. I'll need to talk to Jungkook later and see if he's alright. 

For now I'll just focus on what's happening right at this moment. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hello! How is everyone? I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And if you did, please subscribe and upvote this story! Comments are highly appreciated, I could really use your feedback! Thanks for taking the time to read this long chapter, if you have any suggestions on a schedule for due dates leave them in the comment section below! Thanks again!


 

 

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mirichan
I know its been like a year and some time since I wrote anything, but I think I'm going to pick this up again.

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CHANGBOOM_ #1
quality content
yuriftw #2
woah!!
Bangtan00
#3
Chapter 7: I'm glad you're back. I hope everything is going well with you. Also I just realized the connection with Life is Strange which is one of my fave games as well. I'm excited for what's to come in this story. <3
Bangtan00
#4
Chapter 6: Now I'm even more curious about what's going on. It seems like Jin was up to something from the start but now I don't know. I'm so excited for the next chapter. <3 <3
Ihershie #5
I FORGOT TO MENTION YESTERDAY! I watched an anime that Taehyung, Junkook and Jin had watched and I'm not sure if you've watched it but it's called the girl who leapt through time. Your story reminds me of that hehe
Ihershie #6
I love discovering gems in the world of aff
TixaFofi
#7
Chapter 3: I love it! I wanna know what's going to happen next *~* Please update soon <3