»»---¤---««

The effect Hyejin had on Wheein was indescribable. Wheein could not exactly pin point what it was about Hyejin that made her warm and fuzzy inside - maybe it was the way she smiled at her (and everyone else), or maybe it was because she was a geniunely nice person, something that admittedly took Wheein a bit of time to realise. Or maybe it was just everything about her. Whatever it was - it gave Wheein a reason to finally pick up her guitar after months of sitting in the corner of her room, gathering dust. Never had Wheein felt so much inspiration pour through her than at that very moment. Every strum of the guitar resonated an image of Hyejin in the back of her mind and finally after months of writer's block, Wheein eventually took out her song book and began jotting down lyrics as soon as they crossed her mind in fear that they would disappear without a trace.

I only told the moon, tonight up on the roof
I told her that I'm scared that all my thoughts they look like you
I only told the moon, about the way you move
I asked her to please tell me if you tell things to her too

As time passed, more lyrics were added - lyrics in which perfectly described Wheein's thoughts about Hyejin . . . thoughts that confused the hell out of her. Did she . . . did she perhaps like her . . . in a romantic way? Wheein slammed her lyric journal shut (whilst pushing that thought into the inner depths of her mind), perhaps it was time to call it a day on the song writing. 

»»---¤---««

"What do you mean you 'don't know' ?" The careers teacher says in a way that made Wheein feel inferior. Apparently the idea of not knowing what she wanted to do with her life seemed like a proposterous concept to the fifty something year old. "Surely you've thought about universities?"

Wheein ever so slightly shrugs, "Not really . . . "

Her teacher purses her lips disapprovingly, "You have so much potential, yet you're throwing it away." She sighs and shakes her head in a patronising manner. 

"I'm only eighteen, I should have more time to think carefully about what I want to do with the rest of my life. Surely that's a good decision?" Wheein says, voice faltering a little, a clear indicator of how much she hated talking about this particular topic - even the mere thought of it made her want to cry.

The older woman ignores her, "I doubt your parents would be impressed by this. Have you discussed this with them?" 

Wheein glares at her, all attempts at being civil with her flew out the window. Frankly, at this point she didn't even care if she got a week's detention for talking back at her. "I think I'm capable of making my own decisions. I am my own person, my parents do not and will not dictate what I can or cannot do with my life." 

The woman gapes at her, "How dare you? I am trying to help you yet - "

"You're not helping me, you're just making me feel even more terrified about my future when all I want to worry about is what I'll be having for lunch."

"I- "

"Furthermore, I'd appreciate it if you care more about how I feel rather than my parents."

"Detention."

"May I interject?"

The both of them look up with a startled expression at the sound of the newcomer.

"Mr. Barnes." The woman says curtly.

"Perhaps Wheein would feel more comfortable discussing this with me?" He gives Wheein a look to which she acknowledges with a small nod. 

"With all due respect, Mr. Barnes, but I am her careers advisor. She is meant to talk to me about such things."

"And with all due respect, I am her homeroom teacher, I know her better than you do. I see her every day whereas you only see her what - every two weeks?" He gives the woman a forced smile, "Besides, I'm sure you're swamped with other students as well, so take it as a favour from me. I'm lessening your workload." Mr. B glances over at Wheein and then nods towards the door. The girl wastes no time in packing up her things and heading out the classroom and all of a sudden it was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulder.

»»---¤---««

Wheein had always hated crying. She had grown up with the mindset of crying as being viewed as weak. Every tear shed was a sign of weakness, her grandmother had always told her. 'Be strong, be tough'. You can imagine the disappointment when her grandmother realised her grandaughter was arguably the most sensitive person on the planet. It wasn't that her grandmother was a coldhearted person - it was just the fact that her grandmother had experienced first hand what it was like to be taken advantage of emotionally speaking, and she had learnt from her mistakes, her hope was for her grandaughter to be a better version of herself. And that's exactly what she had told Wheein when she was old enough to start talking back at her grandmother and from that moment on, Wheein tried her best to not wear her heart on her sleeve. 

However, as Wheein sat down opposite Mr. B, she couldn't help but burst into tears and no matter how much he tried to console her, the tears just would not stop flowing. After an embarassingly few minutes, Wheein sat sniffling into her soaked tissue, occasionally trembling ever so slightly due to the after effects of her breakdown. 

"I-I'm s-s-s-o sorry." 

"That's alright." He says, "Here." he hands her another tissue and upon seeing that it becomes soaked within a few moments, he just hands her his entire tissue box. She takes it with a sound of appreciation (though it was hard to tell from all her sniffling) and cradles the box against her chest as she continued to tremble. 

"Listen - don't let her or anyone else scare you into thinking you need to have a plan. It's perfectly normal to not know what you want to do, believe me, we've all been there." He gives her a smile, "I only figured what I wanted to do with my life just a few years ago and look how happy I am." 

To Mr. Barnes' horror, this made her cry even more. "W-what did I say?" 

"No offense sir, but your life isn't all that great right now." She says through her tears.

"Ah." He scratches his left temple as he laughs lightly, "I guess you heard about those rumours."

Wheein nods, "I'm s-s-sorry that's h-h-happened to you."

He dismisses it with a wave of his hand, "That's not important. What is important is that you understand that not everyone has it figured out at the age of eighteen. You're still a kid, you've got plenty of time to worry about it. Understand?"

Again, Wheein nods.

"Alright." He stands, "Right, I'm going to go to the staff room. Feel free to hang out here and gather your thoughts." He makes his way towards the door but before walking out, he turns, "Oh and I'd appreciate it if you and your peers could stop talking about . . . well you know." He says with a sad smile. Without another word he closes the door behind him quietly, leaving Wheein to think that perhaps it was good to be vulnerable once in a while. 

»»---¤---««

author's note: the lyrics are from camila cabello's unreleased song 'only told the moon'