O N E

Irene was fascinated by people in love. She stood up looking down from her bedroom to the street. A mother would hold their child’s hand tight, the couples walked with their arms linked to each other and some people are jogging with their dogs. She noticed how easily some couples fit together like a puzzle pieces, fingers laced and matching smiles. Irene wrapped her arms around her body as she was reminded about her always failing love life. It’s not that she got rejected by the boys but Irene just couldn’t stomach the idea of rejection. Irene’s always careful. Fat girls always have to be careful. She crushes hard and crushes seldom, but always in secret.

The only person to know her crush would be her childhood best friend who lived next door, Choi Boram, her one and only friend and best friend in school, Oh Sehun and last but not least, her twin brother, Park Chanyeol.

Twilight melted away, majestic sunrise, red orange glow seeping over the horizon as if the liht itself was being poured from a molten sun. Powerful rays flood over the landscape lighting every blade of grass, shining from each leaf. Irene saw this scenic view every morning from her bedroom window, or at least that’s the only reason why she picked her small bedroom.

The peace shattered when a wail erupted from the first floor. Not again, she thought as she exhaled a deep sigh from and stepped out from her room, heading downstairs. Chanyeol was already sitting down in the dining table together with their mother and father, eating their breakfast.

“What took you so long?” Her mother noticed Irene’s presence and gestured her hand calling her up to the dining table, “Come and sit down.”

There were papers on top of the table, right between her parent’s plates. Irene walked towards them, slightly looking at Chanyeol who was calmly eating his breakfast. Irene made her seat felt comfortable as she knew she would be riding a roller coaster in a few moments right after she hold her spoon up.

Irene hesitantly reaching her hand up to the table, taking her spoon and placed it on her plate. She faced down to her plate while her eyes were rolled up, to take a look on what the paper was about.

And the paper contained her worst nightmare, her grades.

“Your teacher called us again.” Her mom breaks the silence. “She said your grades are getting worse.”

“I’m trying..” Irene answered while chewing her food.

“Well,” Her mom stopped for a moment, “You’re not trying your best!”

“Look at Chanyeol, he barely studied but his grades were never disappointing.”

“Mom..” Chanyeol looked up, grunting.

“What’s wrong? Does the food taste bad?”

“Can you stop scolding Irene already? It’s unpleasing to hear both for me and her.”

Irene looked up and turned her head to the side, looking at Chanyeol with a gaze filled with suspiciousness. Chanyeol really enjoys bullying her, especially laughing at her when something embarrassing happened to me. But once he saw someone laugh at me, he would not hold his fist down.

“Okay okay.” Their mom calmed down, folding back all the papers and inserted it back to her purse.

Chanyeol took his last bite and stood up, taking his bag on the side and bowed down to their parents. Irene who was still eating her breakfast felt her right arm was pulled to the side. Chanyeol was being clingy, he really hated the idea of walking to school alone. Maybe that’s what happened to twins, feeling somehow incomplete without their other half. No matter how people looked at Irene, Chanyeol would always drag Irene to walk together with him to school.

“I haven’t finished my brea--”

Chanyeol forcefully laid his huge palms on top of Irene’s head, making her bow down to their parents before walking out from the house.

“We’ll be going.” Chanyeol said his greet to their parents.

***

The pavements were filled with some students who were also walking to the school from Irene and Chanyeol’s neighborhood. Irene stared at the leaves falling from the trees. It was quite breathtaking at the most, utterly beau