Chapter 3

Yoomi opened the door to her new room and stepped inside, bracing herself. However, there was nothing to worry about. It was more than just ‘not bad’ like she had been expecting; in fact, it was awfully impressive and very much to her liking. In fact, she should've expected this since the academy had such a prestigious reputation.

The room was wide and spacious, with a plain carpeted floor, and definitely more luxurious than any dorm room she had seen or could have dreamed of. Two full-size beds sat on opposite sides of the room, each with small bedside drawers beside them made out of strong, rich mahogany wood. On the wall adjacent to the two beds was a big glass door in the middle that appeared to lead out to a balcony that overlooked the beautiful view of clear blue sea water. On each side of the room sat two study tables with lamps and surprisingly, there were already laptops provided, just waiting for them to use. Two wardrobes were lined up neatly beside each other on the side of the room directly opposite the balcony, along with matching, sleek vanity tables next to each of them. Her supposed roommate seemed to have chosen everything on the right side of the room, from what she could tell, so that left her with the left side, where she found her many bags of luggage sitting on the floor beside the bed.

Releasing a sigh, Yoomi decided that there was nothing she could currently do with her time that was more productive than unpacking. Plus, organizing things was a relaxing activity that required her not to think, and at the moment, that was exactly what she needed. Getting started right away, she began putting her clothes neatly into the wardrobe and arranging her toiletries in the empty basket located in the corner of the basin of their shared bathroom.

As she was emptying out her bag, she noticed something that she didn’t remember ever putting in it. There was a pink gift box, wrapped and all, lying at the very bottom of her bag. A wide grin naturally spread across her face as she realized that it must have been a late birthday present from none other than her doting friend, Soohee. Quickly turning the package over in search of any tags or cards, she excitedly opened Soohee’s box. Inside, she found a cute two-piece swimsuit folded neatly and a slightly torn note laying at the bottom of the box.

Yoomi-ah, Happy birthday!

You must’ve thought I never listened to you, but I do! I hope you like it, bestie, and don’t forget me now that you’re going to the most prestigious college in the country! Remember us boring, normal people!

P.s. I love youuuuuu <3

That idiot, Yoomi couldn’t help but think with a chuckle. She had complained a while ago that her old swimsuit was starting to get worn out from her excessive use of it almost every other day, but she hadn’t thought that Soohee would recall something as trivial as that. Of course, she was more than grateful for the present though, and deeply appreciated her friend’s thoughtfulness. The swimsuit itself was adorable, the top a pretty plum color, cropped, rash guard, and the bottom half a patterned high-waisted brief that perfectly matched the top. She honestly loved it already and couldn’t wait to try it out later at the academy’s spacious pool. Thanks, Soohee-yah.

Then, finally remembering the small square box that her grandpa had given to her, a gift from her parents, she hurriedly got up to get it. Grabbing the smaller square box, Yoomi carefully started to unwrap it. Once she did, a quiet, involuntary gasp slipped past her lips as she caught sight of what was inside. It was a beautiful, pure silver bracelet with two little charms on it. One was a pair of silver wings that somehow looked just like her own, delicate and shaped like a fairy’s. The second charm was a silver tree enclosed in a circle with tiny different colored beads at the top of its branches. When the beads caught the light, they shined and left all of the colors of the rainbow cast on the pale walls of the room. Both of the fragile charms were absolutely stunning and took her breath away.

As beautiful as it was, the jewelry was very obviously too small in size to put around Yoomi's wrist. Then it deemed on her that she had seemingly possessed it as a child before what she now calls "the move"– meaning her sudden migration to the human world and human parents– happened. As carefully as she could, Yoomi unclasped the leaf-shaped hook that held the bracelet together apart, just to see if there was any way it could possibly fit around her wrist.

Letting out a small gasp of surprise, the girl was stupefied as the bracelet– seemingly magical– started moving and enlarging, the band slithering down her fingers to wrap itself around her thin wrist in a delicate little twirling pattern until it locked into place seamlessly.  Still awestruck by the magical moment she had just experienced, Yoomi twisted her hand once, twice, then three times, admiring the way it looked on her wrist and smiling at the satisfying jingle that resulted.

Suddenly, Yoomi blinked, a hint of sorrow clouding her mind. It was one of those moments when she really wished she had memories from her earlier years, desperately wanting nothing more than to know the story behind this gift from her real parents.

Looking down at her new bracelet again and shaking off those depressing thoughts, she decided that her priority should be to clear her head of all of her jumbled thoughts by taking a shower after she finished organizing her things.

By the time Yoomi finished putting everything away and took a shower, it was late in the afternoon. What was there to do now? The girl was not the best at directions, what with her inability to pay attention to her surroundings at all times and tendency to get lost in thought, so the wise thing to do would be to take a quick tour around the school in order to familiarize herself with it before the start of classes on the following Monday. With that in mind, she grabbed her temporary ID card and left the dormitory. Before she left completely though, she hovered by her desk where she had sat most of her things, debating whether or not to bring the student handbook with her and glance over the rules while she walked. It would most likely completely defeat the purpose of her adventure since she would be multitasking and not giving the campus’ layout her full attention, but she was too curious about the school not to. Besides, she figured, it would help her in the long run anyway- knowing the academy’s rules was important after all-, and so in the end, she swiped that up too before closing the room to her dorm behind her.

“Alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited on campus grounds,” she read with a shrug. That made sense, seeing as most colleges were dry campuses and some of the students were also underage. Plus, drugs and alcohol were just bad for you anyways; she wasn’t interested in that type of stuff.

“Students must be in uniform for the entire duration of class hours on all weekdays,” she continued, muttering the words subconsciously under her breath as her eyes scanned each of the bulleted lines on the paper. “Students are not allowed to enter any part of the academy that is locked and marked ‘Faculty Only’ unless granted special permission. Students are prohibited from entering the restricted sections of the library and chemistry/potions building.”

Here, she paused, mulling that last rule over in her head. Wearing their uniforms and not going in rooms meant only for staff were basic rules of any school or most places in general, she assumed. They were common sense, really. But restricted sections of the school? Yoomi was far too intrigued by the idea to let it go, probably more interested in it than she should have been. Were there dangerous chemicals or things that students weren’t allowed to use? And what exactly did they mean when they said “potions building”; chemistry she understood, but that? Of course, she wasn’t human, nobody here was, but for some reason, she had, in the back of her mind, expected that all of the classes would be normal and the same as those that she had taken up to this point in her mundane human life. And if there were dangerous books in the library or harmful substances in the lab building, why did the school even have them in the first place? She had way too many questions but tried to brush them off, for now, knowing that she wouldn’t be getting any answers anytime soon. After all, the handbook couldn’t tell her something that wasn’t written in it, and there was no one around to ask.

At least, that had been what she thought. She was so busy dutifully reading and musing that she had almost run into someone without notice. The near collision brought her out of her thoughts and put a halt to her absent minded walking. She squeaked out a quick “Sorry!” as the person shuffled past, disappearing into the dorm building that she had just left before she could really process anything. It was then that she realized she had been moving at the pace of a slow trudge and had, essentially, been blocking the doorway. Embarrassed at her botched up first encounter with one of her fellow students, she quickly picked up her pace and promised to herself that she wouldn’t start reading again until she found somewhere to sit so she was out of people’s ways. It didn’t take her long to find a clean cut stone bench a few feet away surrounded by lush, green bushes.

Even after being here for a few hours already, the scenery of the academy was still breathtaking to her. This academy was not only high-tech but also surrounded by nature, much to her pleasure. Everywhere Yoomi looked there were trees, plants, flowers, and various other kinds of greens. Their pops of bright color contrasted the sleeker, more plain cream colors of the buildings and really seemed to bring the campus to life. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, she couldn’t help but smile at her gorgeous surroundings. It faded back into a more neutral look once her gaze traveled back to the open handbook sitting in her lap. She no longer felt like reading the rules, much rather into the idea of exploring now that she was actually outside, but she had already committed. Maybe she could just skim the rest?

“Students are forbidden from using their powers when traveling off campus. Dueling may- Dueling?” Yoomi cut herself off, double checking that she had read the word correctly. Why would anybody be dueling? It sounded old-fashioned to her, not to mention a little too intense for simple academy students. But Trillins Academy students were far from simple, as was the school itself, she was beginning to realize.

After the detailed section about dueling, in which the rules basically stated that it must be done in an arena under the supervision of a faculty member and both parties must agree to it, the rules once again began to resemble the more basic ones that she was used to. For example, students weren’t allowed to use their powers to harm others outside of duels, sparring, or the weekly battles- that last one really worried Yoomi, the poor girl wondering just what these ‘weekly battles’ were and if she would be forced to participate in them. Again, this was a type of common sense rule for the students’ safety and one she wholeheartedly agreed with. Students were also not allowed to cause any purposeful damage to the environment and property of the campus grounds. This rule reminded her of the ones most other institutes had against vandalism, so again, she didn’t think it was a strange one.

Below everything she had already looked over, was a section outlining all the disciplinary sanctions for the breaking of rules, including a lengthy section on detention and the different forms it could take, as well as two more paragraphs discussing the procedures for suspension and expulsion. She decided, in order to save time, that she would skip those parts for now. After all, she didn’t plan on getting into any kind of trouble while here and the rules were simple enough and not hard to follow. She had always been a good, rule-abiding student that liked to avoid trouble if at all possible, and she didn’t see that changing anytime soon. Satisfied with this, Yoomi stretched briefly before flipping to the back of the student handbook where a color-coded map of the campus was.

She failed at trying to compare her current location to the map, having apparently walked further away from the dorms in search of a place to sit than she had originally thought. Truly, she was hopeless when it came to any type of directions. All of the buildings, despite being extremely beautiful, looked exactly the same to her, the only difference being that some of the towers were wider than others and had blue tops instead of gold. There were almost no labels on any of them either, with the exception of a few such as the dorms, administration building, and central cafe. It was nice to just explore though and take it all in. The day itself was also really nice, the weather perfect, warm with a gentle breeze. Shrugging, Yoomi put the map away and decided to just wander freely. After all, she figured that she had plenty of time to figure things out tomorrow. Maybe she could even ask her roommate to show her around later? Liking that idea and nodding to herself at her new plan, she hopped up and started on her journey.

After going up so many flights of stairs that she had lost track of the exact number, Yoomi emerged into a large open area. Behind her was a tall wall overlooking the ocean, several sets of staircases leading to different towers and areas, as well as bridges connected to the open space. The open space itself was shaped like a circle, each of those bridges and staircases branching off like rays coming out of the sun. There was one set of smaller stairs a few feet away leading to another large area where she spotted an abundance of the color green once again. This immediately captured her interest.

Remembering seeing the beautiful gardens from above when Mr. Choi was walking her to the dorms, she grinned to herself and walked towards the area up ahead. It was even more amazing up close! There were white stone walls surrounding the large plaza-like space with vibrant green moss and vines growing up them in twisted, beautifully flowing natural patterns. Small paved pathways made of tiny, round light brown cobblestone wound around the space with wooden benches and tables every few feet to sit at. There were so many different types of flowers and trees in the area that she couldn't even begin to name them even if she had possessed the knowledge to. What really caught her eye though, was the white, castle-shaped greenhouse tucked away in the corner against the far wall behind some overgrown trees. It almost looked like it was meant to be hidden. The white color was still clean and bright, despite its probable age and the vines and flowers that covered it. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the windows were tinted a clear, light blue that reminded her of the sky with patterns on them, some spaces left untinted to let in more light. Overall, it was simple and pretty, and she was sure that it was nice and peaceful inside.

As she squinted at the white building, Yoomi noticed that the double doors were cracked slightly open. She didn’t know if she was allowed in there or not, but her curiosity to see what kind of plants they had inside the greenhouse led her to walk straight to the entrance- she never had been good when it came to ignoring her strong sense of curiosity, but that was probably obvious by now. Directly inside the entrance was a gorgeous, grand fountain made out of pure white marble that seemed to pour out glitter-like, sparkling water. The fountain then led to a sitting area with garden sofas up a few steps of stairs. She thought the flowers and garden outside were impressive, but inside the greenhouse was even better. On white shelves were rows upon rows of potted plants of various sizes and species which she could not name. The flowers were all so bright and lively, blooming in unbelievably pretty shades of pink and pale yellows, deep reds and vibrant purples. There were even thin trees in there, their branches stretching towards the high ceiling and their leaves hanging down like woven string.

Yoomi naturally drifted around the room in awe before stopping, something having caught the young girl's eye. Behind a curtain of vines and dangling willow leaves, a breathtaking tiny light purple-pink flower sprouted from some vines winding down the tree trunk. It was beautiful. Also, there was something about it that seemed a little familiar. If she looked closely, the flower kind of matched the same color of her ring...

Up above her head, hiding in the cluster of dangling willows and vines, she saw a tiny bud of the same flower stuck between two twisted vines, taking up the space it needs to sprout into the beautiful flower it could be. Deciding that she had to help this little bud, the girl went on her tip toes and reached both her arms up in an effort to untangle the entrapped flower bud.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of the greenhouse door opening and shoes scuffling against the light dusting of dirt on the tiled floor. Startled by the unexpected noise, she jumped and lost her balance, waving her arms as she felt herself falling backward. Just her luck, honestly. She had somehow even managed to bump her head against the hard trunk of a thick branch she hadn’t realized was behind her and then trip forward from the momentum. The vines and dangling willow leaves she had been admiring earlier were now tangled around her legs and arms tightly. On the brighter side of things, at least those vines were now preventing her from falling into the branch again or crashing harshly to the floor. She was, however, stuck and her head hurt a little from the collision. Wincing at the pain, she could do nothing but hang there, dangling awkwardly just above the ground as the vines held her weight in place, their strength surprising her.

"Who's there?" came a deep voice from a distance.

"Behind here!" Yoomi called out, hoping for some help.

"What the hell are you doing and how did you get in here?"

She tried to look up at the voice, figuring that it was the person who had entered and they could help her out of this unfortunate mess, but it was hard to move in her current situation. However, once their eyes met, Yoomi instinctively froze. She felt her heart hammering away in her chest for no reason as if it was trying to sound an alarm to tell her something, yet she couldn't figure out what–except maybe extreme embarrassment at being caught in the situation she was currently in. His voice had already been flat and a little harsh sounding, his eyes just as cold as he glared at her. But more distinct than his harsh voice and even his cold glare was his deep red hair. She instantly averted her gaze and tried to summon up the courage to answer him.

"Uh, umm, I-I, well the door was open, so I came in. And then I accidentally fell and um, can you help me?" she ended up squeaking out the words at the end and couldn't help but curse herself for stuttering. Normally, she wasn’t a very timid person, but she had never quite been able to deal with embarrassment with the same grace she usually possessed in most other situations. She was by no means shy, but there was just something about being stuck in a tree with an extremely good looking guy staring at her with a judging glare that made her want to crawl underneath the covers of her bed and hide away forever. How had she even managed to get herself into a situation like this?

She heard a scoff from below her and then footsteps fading away. Yoomi snapped her head back up, alarmed, and squirmed in the vines’ hold. Sure enough, the space he was previously standing in was now empty. Was he really going to just leave her there? Like this?!

"W-wait! Where are you going? At least get me out fir- ouch!" Yoomi tried to call out to him but cut herself off with a yelp as she felt some of the rough vines dig into her soft skin. She wouldn’t be surprised if, when she checked later, she found that she got a few cuts from them. Why did stuff like this just have to happen to her of all people?!

"Hey." She jerked again at the sudden reappearance of his voice, then stopped struggling completely. Letting out a long, heavy sigh and plastering on her best smile, though she was sure that it appeared just as strained as it felt on her face, she slowly looked up again to see the same guy as before.

“Yes?” she asked sweetly. Clearly, it was all fake, her frustration and embarrassment more than evident.

"I'm tired today, so shut up and stay still, and I'll get you down." She immediately listened, no matter how much it hurt her pride–she was desperate, after all–, and waited anxiously for him to help her. She was confused when he made no moves to come closer to her. He didn't even look at the pathetically hanging girl at all, but just stood there from a distance and stared at the rope-like vines that encased her. Yoomi couldn't help but openly stare at him while she waited dumbly for something to happen. His red hair was completed with a black undercut, wide, round dark eyes, heart-shaped lips, as well as multiple piercings adorning his ears. He was hot, and her mind unconsciously told her that he'd even look cute if he smiled. But right now, the main thing she was wondering about was why he had come back after he had started to leave. She was also rather curious about who he was as well.

She was caught off guard when the vines suddenly loosened and gave out from underneath her. She fell again, this time landing on the ground, and even though it wasn't that far, it still kind of hurt. Scratch that- it hurt a lot, and Yoomi was not happy about it.

She sat up at an achingly slow pace and then reached one of her hands up to gently rub the back of her head that was still sore from hitting it on the tree. She also spared a brief cursory glance at the rest of her body, checking her arms and legs for any injuries. She wasn’t surprised to find a few rash burns and small cuts, but there was nothing too bad that she couldn't deal with. Of course, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t a tad bit bitter about the situation as a whole.

"Are you... okay?"

Looking up at the boy again from her position still sprawled out on the ground, she blinked a few times, taking in more of the details of his appearance this time around. He was staring back at her, eyes slightly softer, though he sounded awkward asking her such a question- as if he didn't show concern for others often and was unsure how to do so properly. As she looked into his rich brown eyes, Yoomi was reminded of hot chocolate in the winter and she suddenly felt warm. She could feel herself getting lost in his eyes, though he turned away from her before she could get pulled in too deep, easily breaking their contact with that one motion. It was oddly similar to the feeling she got from the boy with the sea blue eyes she had also found herself in an embarrassing situation with at the subway station, only not quite, like the moment had been interrupted or something. Then she realized that she was staring rudely again and zoning out like a total idiot.

"Thank you!" Yoomi blurted out, though she mentally grimaced at herself afterward for being incredibly awkward. She quickly scrambled to her feet in order to thank him properly and attempt to save some of her dignity, but stopped halfway through the motion, dramatically clutching her head. It truly did hurt, but not to the extent that she was making it seem. Plus, as grateful as she was to the boy for helping her, she was also still annoyed, both at herself for being so clumsy and at him a little for his abrasive attitude, so she figured that trying to lighten the situation up and maybe guilt-trip him a little couldn’t hurt. “Ah, my head. If only I hadn’t just been dropped so carelessly onto the floor without any warning,” she lamented, being obvious with her words.

"Be more careful next time," he muttered. He did nothing but stare blankly at her. It was like her exaggerated sarcasm went over his head completely, causing her to feel a little put out. “I don’t want a dead corpse ruining the pretty scenery of my greenhouse.”

Yoomi stood there stunned as he walked away, not sure how she was supposed to react. Of course, it was one of those classic moments where she thought of a ton of great comebacks only after the moment had passed and he was already gone. She couldn’t help but pout to herself, kicking a cloud of dirt with her shoe forlornly.

After he left, and after she was done sulking, Yoomi realized a couple of weird things about the encounter that she had overlooked at first. One: he had called this his greenhouse; was there a gardening club or something in school? She probably should have also apologized for entering somewhere without permission, as well as thanked him better instead of acting childish, but it was too late now. Two: he came in here, but left just as quickly without actually doing anything, probably because she was here. Three: it may have just been her overactive imagination, but she thought that he may have been blushing just faintly when he told her to be careful. It was kind of… cute.

Laughing lightly to herself, the pout disappeared from her features as she thought about the idea of the boy with the cold eyes that, ironically, reminded her of warm chocolate blushing over something so simple. He may not have understood her sarcasm, or, more likely, he just might not have cared, but he was interesting. She could also admit that she might’ve been just a teeny bit attracted to him after their unintentional staredown. She hoped that they would meet again; maybe they would even have a class or two together or something? Plus, she had to pay him back for that last comment still. Those thoughts in mind, Yoomi decided to get some dinner and then head back to the safety of her room for the night.

The dorm cafeteria was large and nearly empty. There were plenty of tables and an abundance of seats, but none of them were fully filled, only a handful of students scattered throughout the room. The most obvious reason for this that she could think of was still because most of the students were gone this weekend as Mr. Choi had told her earlier. She didn't mind though. After what just happened in the greenhouse, she was more than content with the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, having had enough social interaction for the day as her previous exhaustion began to catch up with her once more.

Once she was done with her meal, she headed straight back to her room, proud to say that she had only gotten lost twice during the trip. She was ready to call it a night and pass out on her comfortable bed. Tomorrow, she was planning on getting up early in the morning to pick up her schedule and uniform at the administration building, as well as anything else she might need before class started. She had done some exploring today, but she still wouldn't be so bold or arrogant to say that she knew her way around the school properly, so getting a head start would probably be best just in case she did get lost- the likelihood of that happening was very high. Maybe tomorrow she could also try and figure out where her classes were after she grabbed her schedule? If her roommate was back as well, then she could always ask her. With that in mind, she quickly fell asleep.

***

Sunday

“Administration building, administration building,” Yoomi mumbled repeatedly to herself as she searched for the said place. She had thought that after her quick tour yesterday she would have at least remembered where the grandiose administration office was,