→ Chapter 001

Mina swept her long braid behind her neck, tucking it neatly inside her blazer's pocket before heading to the front of the class. On her way, she threw away the toothpick she was munching on earlier.

"Number twenty-one, Kang Mina, it's your turn." Miss Nam called, rotating the desk chair to her direction, "You have two minutes to prove your point."

The young girl gave a half-smile to her English teacher, and then faced the examining stares of her classmates. Kyungsoo sat, arms crossed and eyes challenging. There is no way she could win over him this time, he delivered an excellent speech.

"We have the responsibility to punish those who deserve it, but only to the degree they deserve it," Mina paused before continuing, "Consider this: A mad dog is a dog infected with rabies. It will never recover, it will never be a nice dog again, and it wants desperately to bite everyone in sight, thus giving them rabies as well. Applied to individuals, such as Charles Manson, the only solution is to kill them. They are incapable of rehabilitation and are a threat to society. The death penalty is a must.”

Mina lifted her chin, noticing the approving nods her classmates gave her, and then showcased her next argument. Her braid swayed along her sides as she moved around the small space between the front desk and the whiteboard. 

“The death penalty reinforces the belief that bad things happen to those who deserve it and the contrary belief; that good things will happen to those who are good." She narrowed her eyes, laying them on the students before her and continued with a bitter tone, "Murderers, thieves, and criminals need to live in a world where this belief is reigning, powerful and merciless. They shouldn't feel accepted nor safe; they should, on the contrary, feel scared. This is how our world can maintain justice, order and most importantly law."

The timer on top of the teacher's desk beeped the instant Mina ended her speech.

“Excellent!” Chirped Miss Nam, standing up from her chair, “Any comments?”

Kyungsoo raised his hand, his lips pressed into a thin line and then said, “I found her first argument convincing to an extent,” he gulped, “But the second was flawed.”

“How so?” The teacher leaned her head forward, grinning.

Kyungsoo held Mina's blank stare for a few seconds then spoke.

“One cannot separate the good people from the bad,” He reasoned, “One cannot know what goes inside someone’s head.”

The students tore their gaze away from the tiny boy at the back, to the skinny girl at the front.

Mina pursed her rosebud lips before they stretched into a small smile. Something in her eyes shifted and she finally spoke, “I want you to imagine a new world. No war, no fighting, no hate, no discrimination, no crime…”

Kyungsoo let out a mocking chuckle, “I thought this was a debate, Kang-"

"Don’t interrupt me when I’m speaking, I’m not done yet." The skinny girl said as a wave of giggles filled the classroom. "If you were to imagine that world and its people, how would they be?"

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, while Miss Nam silently clapped in anticipation, “I would say: good people.”

“Exactly, a world where only good people stay and roam free.” Mina smirked, looking down at her ink-stained hands, “How would you achieve that?”

Kyungsoo blurted out, “Get rid of the bad people in the world, but-but that’s impossible!”

The young girl smiled once again, showing the gap between her teeth, “Unless if…?”

“Unless there might be somebody who can separate them from the rest of the world, that’s still ridiculous. You can’t just know if a person is good or bad at first glance…” He frowned, “This discussion is going nowhere.” Shaking his head, he met the eyes of an excited English teacher.

“Keep going!” She waved her hands at the boy who sighed.

“Impossible is an opinion.” Mina stated, “Justice will be served when someone like that appears, until then, let’s wipe off the people who deserve to be wiped off.”

Her eyes were gleaming with confidence, pride and something else Kyungsoo couldn’t decipher. He watched her as she made her way to her seat, her braid one second away from slipping out of her pocket. As far as Kyungsoo knows, Kang Mina isn’t a person to mess with. She always gets what she wants, and whoever dares to stand in her way suddenly disappears. She's just like most girls: determined to win any obstacle, no matter what road she took. He wonders if she'll stop one day, wasn't it too difficult for her to hide behind a curtain of strength to push away others?

He remembers well the first day she transferred to this high school, sophomore year, her eyes darting everywhere as if she was reading everyone like an open book, a small smile sneaking now and then when Miss Nam cracked a joke. He never thought she was going to be his rival; she looked clever, yes, but she was too quiet. That changed on the first day of debate, one Friday morning, when she took the class by the surprise.

He never thought such explosive energy would come from such a small body. She was a raging fire in class, and then as soon as she stepped out of the room, she would wear that signature frown of hers and parade around the halls like the lonely creature she was. Nobody made friends with her in the beginning. Maybe it's because she hasn't spoken but to answer class questions, or maybe, it’s because Park Chanyeol already befriended her.

Park Chanyeol is one hell of a social butterfly, a ed up son of a who manipulates, blackmails, and does many things for people to love him, and they do. Crazy isn’t it? Well, respected isn’t quite the word to describe Park Chanyeol. He’s feared, one wrong step and every single little secret about you is out there for the world to see.

Now, junior year, they are best friends. She’s calm, walking beside him in the hallways, laughing, sometimes she claps. He is her opposite; He slaps his thighs, dances ridiculously, high fives every passing student and screams until his lungs run