"Go to him, don't go to him, go to him, don't go to him, go to him..." Hae Yeon rambles to herself indecisively. She recalls meeting Yifan in mid-October, so if she were to listen to Sehun's words, she should wait at least 3 weeks before seeking out Yifan. She is terrified of making any mistakes. After all this is the only and last chance she will ever get to correct her past. She lets out a troubled sigh and leans back on the bench she is sitting on. It is a sunny autumn day and all the leaves on the trees in the school courtyard has turned either bright red or orange. “If you were sitting by my side right at this moment… how nice would that be.”

“Who are you talking to?” Hae Yeon looks up to see who the owner of the shadow casted upon her is. She is glad to see that it was Baekhyun, despite the fact that he is looking at her strangely. She had always enjoyed his company.

“Sit down, you’re blocking the sun.” She tells Baekhyun and waves a hand for him to move aside.

“That's weird, don't you girls hate being in the sun?” Baekhyun jokes as he makes himself comfortable on the bench next to Hae Yeon. Hae Yeon scoffs at his words and closes her eyes against the warmth of the sun against her skin. Girls always huddled in the shade because they wanted milky-white skin, but Hae Yeon has spent her days in an office ever since she graduated college. Be able to soak in the natural rays of light was a rare luxury for Hae Yeon.

Baekhyun unknowingly smiles at the sight of the pretty new transfer student enjoying the sun with her eyes closed. Hae Yeon opens a single eye and catches him staring at her.

“Don’t fall in love with me.” She warns him. “I’m not as pretty as I look.” Hae Yeon hopes her warning will be enough to ward off the ‘incident’ that happened 5 years ago from happening again.

“Yah, who would fall in love with someone crazy like you.” Baekhyun snorts at the ridiculousness of her warning.

“My craziness is what makes me so charismatic- you didn’t know?” Hae Yeon says, keeping on a serious face.

“Sorry, I really didn’t know that.” He replies, matching her level of seriousness, making both of them break into laughter. Byun Baekhyun, I missed you, Hae Yeon thought to herself. She can’t remember the last time she has laughed so freely like this.

“Lee Hae Yeon, I heard that you went to school in the states… Why did you suddenly transfer to a rural school where the closest thing to a city is at least 3 hours away?” Beakhyun suddenly asks, a little hesitant that he might be walking into sensitive territory.

Hae Yeon shrugs. “I had no clue what my parents were thinking either. Maybe, it was my fate to come here... and meet him.”

“Huh, meet who?” Baekhyun blinks at her in confusion.

“Nothing.” She immediately stands up to end the discussion. “Let’s head back to class. Lunch time is almost over.”

~~~~~

The bell chimes in signal of the end of the last class across the old school building. Class has been a complete bore for Hae Yeon, since it was all material that she had previously learned and aced.

“Transfer-haksaeng, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Baekhyun says with a wink and practically flies out of the classroom. Hae Yeon smirks at his quick disappearance. It was obvious who hated school the most here.

Hae Yeon didn’t want to head home yet. There wouldn’t be anyone waiting for her return anyways. During her time in Busan, Hae Yeon had lived alone with the exception of a housekeeper. At the time, her parents were still working in the states. For her year at Gimhae Rural High School, she only saw her parents once- on her graduation day and that was also the day she was taken back to the states against her will.

Hae Yeon decided to look for Sehun the stalker ins