Day 5 - Monday

The weekend went by without her noticing. Jeongyeon spent the last two days doing the final touches with her apartment.

Within her bedroom, three layers of four feet Oak shelves mounted the east side of the wall where her comic book collection, ranging from Marvel and DC to manhwas (Korean comics) such as Noblesse and Tower of God, took the entirety of it.

The kitchenette has passed her personal requirements of including a small oven for baking, a mandatory refrigerator filled with fruit juices, a dozen bottles of beer, packs of frozen meat and assorted vegetables, and a pantry fully stocked with unhealthy snacks.

The living room has white plastic bowls positioned in the middle of every table - a pair of ceramic accent tables and a Mahogany dining table, with varieties of hard candies for guests. Well, mostly for her.

Jeongyeon grabs her apartment keys from a metal chrome hook she mounted on her front door and stared back into her apartment admiring her new home.

Today is officially her first day of a life she returned to after five years.

Brisk walking through the school halls dawns nostalgia all over Jeongyeon. Same marble flooring, same creamy white walls, and same matte deep brown sliding doors.

School had already started and she could see teachers roll calling for attendance in every room. She passed by the primary grade section of the school on her way to her assigned room with the guidance counsellor at her side and stumbled upon the room when she first met Nayeon.

I wonder if those are still the same set of tables they use.

They passed an enclosed bridge connecting to the high school building of the campus. She's never stepped one foot in this area. She never saw the need to back then when she was oblivious to the whole moving thing.

They have made their way on the third floor of the building and passed a few rooms before stopping to her assigned section.

"Are you ready?" Mister Park, the counsellor, asked.

After a deep breath, Jeongyeon wears her best smile. "I am".

Mister Park knocked on the door lightly a few times. The door opens and closes, and introduces her to their homeroom advisor.

"Ms Yoo, this is-"

"Seungyeon?” Jeongyeon cuts her counsellor off when she had a good look on her adviser's face.

Around the same height with her, she sported a khaki blazer over her white button up blouse, a pair of black palazzo pants, and finishing off with a pair of black 3-inch closed toe heels.

"Do you two know each other?" Mister Park asked.

"Do I?" Seungyeon inquired confusingly as well.

"I'm Nayeon's best friend back in primary school. You were scolding us for a whole year for fighting most of the time when you got assigned to our class."

Seungyeon was assigned as their homeroom during her fourth year in primary. An older sister figure that everyone can relate to. She was this literature and arts teacher that favors doing skits for activities rather than the typical "sit and draw or make something" kind of class.

Every time Jeongyeon and Nayeon perform they would always go off script and start bickering in front of class mid-show. Nayeon likes to play as a princess, Jeongyeon as a savior. In context it would work well. But when a medieval high born girl is kidnapped and locked inside an impossibly high tower made of stacks of paper and tape, and a flying hero with laser beams swooping in and wrecks everything with her super strength, it was chaos.

Annoyed, and entertained, Seungyeon would step in and stop the two from pulling the other's hair off and send them back to their seats. Until a few minutes later, the two would start throwing paper balls and erasers at each other for ruining their fantasy.

Deep inside, Seungyeon knew their fights were never serious and would only step in when class is disturbed.

"I remember! Your hair's so much short now I didn't recognise you." Seungyeon clapped her hands together as she refreshes her memory. "I'm glad you're back! That girl's been constantly getting out of control. It's time someone to keep her in check again."

Out of control? What did she mean by that?

"So I'll leave her in your care now Miss Gong". Mister Park bid them both farewell and disappeared through the corridors.

"Let's go in now shall we."

Seungyeon opens the door and announced my presence.

"Class! We have a new student." Seungyeon gestures for Jeongyeon to enter and introduce herself.

She walked steadily until she reached the middle of the mini podium before turning to face the rest of the class. She scans the room for familiar faces - there was none.

"Hi! I'm Yoo Jeongyeon. I used to go to school here until five years ago. Please take care of me!" She ended with a fast bow.

"Is he a boy?" a guy whispers that Jeongyeon managed to pick up.

"I think so? I don't know. She's confusing me" another, a girl this time, replied.

I'm wearing a skirt, es.

"Go sit over there." Seungyeon points towards the corner most of the room next to the windows.

Of course. The new student always gets the corner seat.

"Go wake Nayeon up too while you get settled." Jeongyeon scans the area again after hearing the familiar name. She distinguishes a slouching figure next to her assigned seat, her arms crossed on the desk, head leaning uncomfortably on top, sleeping without a care. So that's why she couldn't recognise Nayeon. For a moment, she was worried that she was assigned to a wrong class.

Confidently, she walked to her assigned spot and sits without making a noise, making sure not to wake her seatmate. She wanted to make a list. Ideas she could try as a reunion prank. But her thoughts never became a list. The first idea that popped in her head is the best already.

"Princess, wake up." Jeongyeon coos soothingly as she rubbed Nayeon’s vulnerable back.

Nayeon adjusts her head half asleep so that she could eye where the voice came from. When she could name the owner of the voice, she smiled. "Hey Jeongie," she coos back.

"You have to wake up before the monster comes," Jeongyeon said with the same calming and soothing tone.

"I'm not scared. You're here," Nayeon confidently replied. "Just punch the monster like you always do".

Jeongyeon bows and does a circle motion with her hand in between them. "As you will milady". She faces up again and smiles when their eyes reconnected.

Then Jeongyeon punches Nayeon's shoulder with just enough force for her to lose her balance.

Nayeon stands upright, regaining her balance, eyes widening to the brim, and backs away from her attacking hero until her back presses against the wall, tumbling her chair in the process. She blinks rapidly to test if her vision isn't decieving her.

All pair of eyes that filled the classroom dawned on her but she could only see one - Jeongyeon's.

"J-Jeongyeon?” she asked more to herself than the person beside her seat.

Jeongyeon is hiding with her hand, trying and failing not to laugh like a huge idiotic dork that she is.

"Nayeon! Jeongyeon!" Both owners of the pair of names called shifted their attention to Seungyeon. "It's the first day of school. On your last year of high school. First period hasn't even started yet. Do not make me break the record for Sending Students to Guidance the Fastest, which I also currently hold, unproudly mind you, with your support."

"Sorry!” Jeongyeon answers, still grinning and holding back her laughter.

Seungyeon returns to the board and continues writing basic guidelines and reminders as well as the rest of the students.

Jeongyeon grabs a leg of the fallen chair and places it back properly. She eyes Nayeon and re-enacts her bow and circling hand gesture. "Your seat milady".

Now fully awake, and fully embarrassed, Nayeon awkwardly returns to her seat without changing the direction of her vision.

"Did you miss me?” the short haired girl teased.

Nayeon doesn't reply and continues to study the other girl's new but familiar features.

"Did you?"

Her hair is short now with blondish grey, dangling between her earlobes and her jaw line. It looked like she's been growing them after cutting it too short. It suits her 'hero' personification.

"Helloooo~" Waving a hand on her face, Jeongyeon tries to get an answer again.

Her grin is still the same as she remembers. Mischievous and alluring, happy and contagious.

"Are you sleep walking?"

Her small face didn't seem to grow as she matured. She herself wonders if she is still indeed asleep as she extends her arm and gently cups Jeongyeon's cheek.

"You're creeping me out"

"Are you real?" Nayeon asked as she rubs the younger's skin.

"Uh? Yes? I'm re - YAAAAA!"

Nayeon is still in denial that her long lost friend is sitting i