"Take the risk or lose the chance..." — Anonymous 

“Kim Taehyung, Park Jimin, report to the head office immediately.”

It was the first thing she had heard stepping foot inside this school.

Wendy Son stood there under the entrance gates. For how long she didn’t know. She was alone. A fact she had only registered now having turned to her left. Her cousin had moved ahead of her appearing entirely indifferent to the recent announcement. Like it was nothing of the extraordinary.

It was strange. As if it was the little things that made you realise the weight of knowing someone. Because these were the moments that made your world feel impossibly small.

Maybe it was them. Maybe it wasn’t. But just hearing their names were enough.

Park Jimin.

Coincidence or not, it had been so long since she had heard this name. It brought back a little piece of home. Making her wishful. Which was unfair. The present was something she could never enjoy until it transcended to the past. This was why waiting for the future was a regretful ache that frightened her. It made you think good things were realms of fantasy that didn’t happen to girls like her. Things that were too good to be true… had to be false.

Having seen Taehyung, Hoseok and Seokjin yesterday, she was feeling a little hesitant. But she still believed. Ten years of friendship had to lead somewhere. She straightened. Today was going to be different. She would make it different.

Soojung had completely disappeared by the time Wendy had taken another step. At this point in time students in bulking groups were strolling through. Some of them were a careless pack, jolting her aggressively. With one glance she could differentiate the crowd. It didn’t matter if you were halfway across the world. The rules never changed when playing a pompous round of a high school game. One would think being assigned to a sensible uniform would calm the overzealous bunch. But it only spurred their desire to stand out, to undergo a complete fashion statement in diversity of ways.

It was winter meaning what kind of school allowed fish net stockings, outrageous heels and skirts that were hitched up to unbelievable lengths of shortness? Some of the guys were wearing ripped jeans instead of normal school pants.

In all irony, Wendy felt ridiculous in her overhanging skirt, thick cotton stockings, flat black leather shoes, and her all the way buttoned up blouse underneath her oversized crimson blazar. She unconsciously undid the top two buttons feeling a little conservative after witnessing a senior with four buttons undone with her reckless tie hanging off more like a flamboyant necklace. Wendy sighed. She shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised from the morning wake-up call she had received from her cousin the minute Soojung had stepped out into the front porch.

Her cousin had been exquisite. The way she dressed, the way she manipulated her uniform. Her blazar was further customized so that it was an immaculate fit sitting just above her slender waist. Her skirt had been hemmed to a classy length that teased the boundaries just a little, dancing around her deeply toned mid-thighs. Accessories weren’t excessive and overdone for she had settled with two medium-sized hoops. It stood prominent against her long black hair that had been swept into a high-rising bun, summarizing the word eloquence. It was minimalistic yet with one glance it was on another level of appreciation. That was the thing about pretty girls. They could be wearing the most hideous piece of garbage yet they would own it like gold, transforming it into something worth keeping. Her cousin had also been sporting a tie with the most beautiful shade of turquoise that glinted with every twist and turn of the rays.

Wendy’s own tie represented how she felt observing her cousin which was immersed in emerald green, too rich and deep for her liking. Her envy cut through as she scrunched up her necktie, the smooth lines of the satin silk crumpling dully in her palms.

“It’ll be best if you forgot them.”

Yesterday was a nightmare she wanted to dispel in her dreams. Following the aftermath of Taehyung, Hoseok, Seokjin and her cousin’s departure along with their friends, Wendy had knocked herself out having been exhausted by all measures. She had woken only by the hollow emptiness of her stomach. With a pounding heart she had come downstairs only to realise no one was home. It was past nine in the evening. She didn’t know why but she had skipped over the kitchen, slowly climbing back upstairs. She had wanted to cry. She had wanted to eat. Yet she did neither as fell back asleep, before saying one thing to herself. Sorry.

Wendy had no idea when her cousin had returned because it was only at the front porch this morning she had seen her after their brief exchange of words yesterday afternoon. Their walk to school had been one of silence. It was hard to believe she had once called Soojung her partner in crime. Was she really the one where Wendy had lathered her in vanilla frosting, shared summer baths with, had gotten pillow fights with, and had spilled secrets to?

Time was something she could never grasp. It was neither a friend nor foe. Just a mere existence that travelled in an alternate reality making her fall. Time and time again. Relentless. That was the word.

She made her way inside the school courtyard. It was quarter to nine. The school was massive considering it was only a public one. It would’ve been nice to take in the scenery but first day formalities could not be evaded. The principal had sought a private meeting with her for reasons that were obvious.

Without further ado Wendy reached the welcome administration. She waited brushing past her fallen locks. Her pulse quickened wondering what she should say. Living in the States had changed her unwillingly. She was never a shy girl. But during the four years, things had happened against her will, meaning she could barely look a stranger in the eye. Talking to people had been the easiest thing…

“Good morning, how may I assist you?”

Before she could stop, Wendy felt the heat and the all too familiar rise and dip of her pitchy tone.

“I-I’m-a-new-senior-student-starting-today-I-have-a-meeting-with-Mrs. Shana—”

“Sorry, could you repeat that dear?” The elderly lady asked with a sympathetic glint in her eyes.

Her cheeks burned but Wendy repeated herself, much slower than the first. She grimaced a thousand times wishing nothing more than a thundering quicksand to swallow her up and under. She held her arm in attempts to calm herself.

“Mrs. Shana is currently occupied. She should be finishing up soon. Would you kindly wait in the seats on the aisle to your right?”

Wendy gladly took up the offering. Though she was nervous all the same. Not because she was to be meeting the principal. But because she was running behind the clock. There was now a total of five minutes before the commencement of school. She had to make it in time.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing, that could be more traumatizing than walking into a class late on the first day of school. By a new girl. Nothing.

Why was it taking so long?

Punctuality was something Wendy Son never overlooked. It was the greatest mistake for anyone to underestimate when it came to Wendy arriving on time. For it was a moral code she valued more than anything. Possibly more than her own life. She wasn’t the rebellious kind but if situations called it, yes, she would place it over almost everything else. Including a mandatory meeting with the principal of Gwangju Selective High School. Under normal circumstances she would’ve arrived an hour prior. But only for today, walking with her cousin had been the only option to memorise the shortest route to get here. Jung Soojung was definitely not a morning person.

The administration system was inflexible. The second she found out the senior timetables had to be personally distributed by the head teacher, Wendy had internally screamed.

The second hand seemed to move faster than usual. Each tick passed with agonizing swiftness. Wendy squeezed her hands. She knew she was panicking. Any sane person would have gladly enjoyed the prospect of opting out on school hours, yet here she was, having an anxiety attack of missing out on anything and everything. If only she had the damned timetable. That was the only thing she needed. She couldn’t leave without knowing her first period subject.

That was the second utmost important thing besides punctuality. For a girl like Wendy Son, missing out on class, no matter what that might be, was scandalous beyond thinking. She had three minutes. No. She couldn’t do it.

Wendy bounded out of her chair. She stood in front of a mini hallway knowing very well where the destination lead up to. Reaching the very foot of the black door, she peeped through the rectangular glass panel without shame. There were three people inside the room. Two were students. They were seated side by side facing a woman that appeared to be out of her temperament. Wendy immediately retreated. Mrs. Shana did not look happy.

What was she meant to do.

It was at a point where even with the timetable, Wendy was going to late seeming as she was entirely incompetent regarding the directions to this school. She had no choice.

The last tick sounded before a cacophony of simultaneous bells rang all throughout. Wendy had no idea what she was doing until her palms had pressed through the black wall standing between her and the timetable. A shocking muteness enveloped her senses as three pairs of eyes drilled into her, quite speechless.

“Excuse me?”

On the verge of an inevitable breakdown, Wendy faltered in her steps wondering how she had inserted herself in this situation. The lady righted her glasses looking most perturbed at the intrusion. This was when Wendy’s eyes had lowered to the two students sitting at front. Male students.

She had their undivided attention.

One had a tussle of inked hair, so dark and black it was almost unnatural. His profile screamed ‘delinquent’ in every way. One just knew. The way he angled his body. The way he drew to her attention with one flick of his eyes. His blazar was off. His sleeves rolled unevenly. The white shirt stuck to his body as if he had been involved in an intense workout. Now that she noticed, the ends of his hair were slightly wet casting an inattentive shadow. His shirt was undone more than necessary accompanied by his askew tie. A small cross hung from his left ear, matching the colour of the several golden rings secured around his thick fingers.

He was gorgeous. In the most alluring way.

Until it hit her.

Park… Jimin?

Wendy rapidly averted her gaze feeling claustrophobic. This meant the other student had to be… Kim Taehyung.

This was not how she had intended to meet them.

Time played people in the most ridiculous ways. One could feel as if a certain future might never arrive. Yet when they open their eyes, their transported to this moment, this very moment they’ve yearned for. But why was it always different to how one imagined it to be?

Brushing past their heated stares, Wendy forced herself to speak in what she thought to be an unaffected proficient manner.

“Sorry for the interruption, it’s just that I’ve yet to receive my timetable and—”

“Timetable?” Mrs. Shana dictated. Impatience was her hard and dry.

“Um, y-yes, I’m starting today as a new senior student…?”

Wendy cringed awkwardly trailing off. She was speaking in barely audible tones. But the room was so still, she was willing to bet even a pin drop would’ve been heard in the intimate privacy of this room. Out of all the people she had to be doing this in front of. It could be an audience of five, ten… hundred people. Just anyone but them.

Mrs. Shana clapped her hands, miraculously coming out of her passing anger. As if the key words of ‘new’ and ‘senior’ struck a sudden light to her temporary reverie. Pushing up her specs the principal shuffled stacks of paper searching for her name. “So you must be the new scholarship girl—”

Wendy panicked. They probably had her birth name down which was something she’d rather keep to herself for now. She quickly cut in.

“It’s Wendy.”

“Wendy?” The principal frowned. “I thought it was—”

“Oh I changed it. After, um… attending school there.” If she could be any more obvious. Why wasn’t the lady dismissing them? She couldn’t keep this pretense any longer. Wendy dared to steal a glance and immediately regretted it. For they had caught her. Red-handed.