There are certain pros and cons to being the new girl in town; especially in a town with all its residents having lived their whole lives there. You would be the center of attention– you would have a spotlight following you around wherever you went. You would be the mystery everybody would be bent on solving.

Minkyung was never one to bask in attention, but she always had an eye for mysteries. In her story, it would be the other way around– instead of the people in that once preppy town trying to figure her out, it would seem as if she’s the one who needed to get her hands dirty to unveil that place’s secrets.

She wouldn’t know that until much later– at face value, that town was just like every other she’s lived in, save for the rather eerie fact that everybody knew each other there. Nobody has left before, and nobody has arrived since– well, until she came along, at least.

When she hopped off of that moving truck, her dad following suit, everything felt quite normal. Surrounding the two-story flat were normal, boring trees that had leaves, rendered crisp due the autumn climate, barely hanging on to its slender branches.

Minkyung steps towards the porch of what is her new home, noting at the dull beige of the fence poorly built surrounding the walkway to the door. The grass was a bland shade of green– but they were definitely alive, at least.

“Mind giving your old man a hand?” It’s the first time in a long while that Minkyung’s heard a voice (due to the fact that their ride there composed of catching up on the sleep that they both lost from packing up all their things— from furniture to appliances, down to every last trinket that hung on what used to be Minkyung’s room), but she nods and turns on her heel in a heartbeat. For every medium-sized box her father threw down, Minkyung catches and sets it down on the damp pavement.

“Good morning!” Minkyung thought it was way too early for anything to be good just yet, but she musters the best smile she could manage despite still being groggy, and turns to see a girl, a lot shorter than she was– but perhaps just her age. Her eyes resembled crescents and her smile was miles brighter than the sun on that day– Minkyung mindlessly notes at the girl’s prominent dimples which adorn the skin right below her cheekbones.

“Hi.” There was no blander way to respond to such a vibrant greeting, and Minkyung was sure of it. But it’s 7 o’clock in the morning, and the sun isn’t even 90 degrees up in the sky yet. Besides, there was a lot to unpack and she’s saving her energy for just that.

“Welcome to the neighborhood!” The girl finds herself giggling at her statement, and Minkyung is correct in guessing why. “It’s the first time I’ve ever told anyone that.”

“Yeah? I heard.” At this point it seems like Minkyung is avoiding conversation of any sorts– ever since taking a quick glimpse of the girl’s face once, she hasn’t resumed eye contact, and simply carried on with stacking the boxes over each other. She didn’t even realize that their conversation was hushed, so much so that her father didn’t even notice the presence of the petite girl.

“Would you like a hand, sir? I’m your neighbor to the right and my mom told me to send her regards.” She chirped in a much louder, more noticeable voice.

Minkyung’s dad looked almost shocked— like it’s been a while since he’s seen actual people besides his daughter. He was fazed for a moment before he puts on a flustered smile. “No need, darling, but I think what I would best appreciate is if you would introduce my daughter to the rest of this town…” He pauses, gaze scanning the vicinity, “if anybody is already as awake as you are, that is.”

The girl laughs a chuckle so girlish– so dainty and fragile– perhaps the way any parent would want their daughter to sound when laughing. There was no other way to describe it. “Unfortunately, nobody else of our age group can be possibly awake at this moment. Our house is well and alive, though, so if she’d like to spend breakfast with us, I’m sure my mom would love that.”

She said this with so much certainty in her voice, so much that Minkyung feels inclined to drag herself into the girl’s house (did she even introduce herself by name yet?). Minkyung turns to her father, a mess of sweat from moving the boxes in that odd autumn heat wave, waiting for a gesture of ‘yes’ or ‘no’– with preference for the prior.

“It would be best.” Minkyung’s father was trying a wee bit too hard to match the girl’s energy— and it was amusing to watch on his daughter’s end. Minkyung sports an awkward smile as she side steps towards her new neighbor, a hand moving to wipe the thin gloss of sweat coating her forehead.

“Minkyung… by the way.” She pathetically mumbles, feeling much like she was but a lit match in the presence of the brightest star of that constellation.

“Nice to meet you, Minkyung! You can call me Yewon.” At long last, sunshine has a name, and it was about just as radiant as she was. By then they started walking towards the house to the right, and though this wasn’t what Minkyung would usually agree to doing, she figured that it would be a good start in that new town.

“Where did you live before ending up here?”

“I… move around.” That was the question she avoided most of all, because answering it entailed explaining every single nitty-gritty detail of her life, the grueling process of her parents’ divorce included.

“Well, I hope you find reason to stay this time around.” How could a person sound so sincere, even if you’ve only just met? It baffled Minkyung– but she guesses it came with Yewon’s personality. It was like her words only gave away a fraction of her sincerity— truthfully, it was all in her eyes.

Breakfast was just as Minkyung expected: a textbook trope of a perfect family. A mom about twice as happy as Yewon was, and a dad about to leave for work (but without finishing his morning coffee). They had bacon and eggs which was a breakfast Minkyung hadn’t enjoyed homemade ever before, and your choice of either milk, orange juice, or coffee (Minkyung, of course, chose the orange juice– she’s sworn off of milk after she realized that she needed to stop growing taller). It was a good morning, the kind that Minkyung has not experienced for years now. In fact, her memory fails to recall if there had been an instance like that ever in her life– but she likes to think that she did.

“Will you be going to the local high school, dear?”

Minkyung bites on her lower lip, dabbing her lips with a napkin as she nods. She looks at Yewon’s mother meekly, still a tad bit too shy to feel comfortable with having spent breakfast there. It was customary in that town, Yewon has repeated several times, but that didn’t make much of a difference for Minkyung.

“I can’t wait ‘til you meet the rest of the kids. They’re all very lovely.” The elderly woman pauses, her eyes set on the dishes she’s washing as she murmurs, “getting along with one of them entails getting along with all of them. They’ve all watched each other grow up, after all.”

It almost sends a chill down on Minkyung’s spine, how eerily her voice softened into a barely audible whisper. She dismisses the thought for now, but keeps it safe in her head for a later time.

“I think I have to go back and help my dad unpack. There’s quite a bit and we didn’t hire a moving crew, so…” Slowly, Minkyung pushes out her seat (emitting a slight, screeching sound) and stands, towering over everybody in that very room.

“Can I–”

“No, you need to finish your homework first.” The voice of Yewon’s mom reverts back to its prior tonality. Minkyung turns to Yewon to see her sporting the cutest pout she’s sure she’s ever seen in her nineteen years of being alive.

“I’ll visit you later, then, Minkyung…” Yewon utters, evidently disheartened, dragging herself up the winding staircase and into her room. Minkyung then quietly excuses herself, scurrying back to her house.

“Were they nice folk?” Minkyung’s dad says through grit teeth, pushing the barely-functioning fridge into its intended position. She, on the other hand, was unpacking the box marked “MINKYUNG’S THINGS” in thick, bright red ink.

“They ought to be. We’re the new neighbors.” She replied flatly. He takes this as a sign that she doesn’t really want to speak about it.

“I like the kid, though. I bet you will be great friends.”

Minkyung does not respond, and they spend the rest of the day putting together what would then be their home. Something did not feel right between the two but it remains unspoken of. They no longer speak of Yewon and her parents, but what they do not know is that they remain a dining table topic for that household– and every household of that town on that evening.

The following day, Minkyung dresses herself in long-sleeved clothing— her favorite dark blue sweater. She was going to start school in the local high school today, in the middle of the academic year. It wasn’t something new to her. Every time she and her dad moved around, she had to quickly adjust to how things worked in whichever high school was closest to their home.

There was no need to be driven to school; it was only a few blocks away.

Minkyung tiptoes past her father, snoring and passed out on the bed. He reeks of alcohol— the whole house strangely stunk of alcohol. It almost makes her nauseous, but she somehow manages. Her mind was ready to jump to all kinds of conclusions but she stopped herself from passing any judgment. She was going to be late for her first day if she even tried.

Minkyung wishes she had made a promise to meet Yewon at school. Despite the small population of the town, the school grounds were literally massive– bigger than any other school that she had attended prior. Naturally, she garners a few strange looks as she takes her steps with an obvious air of uncertainty, hands clutching onto the straps of her backpack as if her life depended on it. It was way too early to assume if these grounds would be a war zone on her end, but it already felt as if it was something completely unnatural for a new face to surface in everybody’s view, all too suddenly.

She awkwardly veers herself past everybody and hopes that she manages to find the office for students’ affairs without having to engage in an awkward ask-and-tell with anybody, when everybody already seemed to be eager to talk to her.

“Are you––” A voice startles Minkyung, and the way she jumps slightly therefore startles that female as well. The two girls stand there, frozen for a good ten seconds before both of them crack into a slight chuckle, a small smile. It was Yewon. She felt more comfortable in her skin already.