mirae's pov

it's this dream again. means something good is going to happen today.

mom... where are you?

i kept walking around aimlessly in the seemingly infinite white space, hoping to at least see the motherly figure that i have been missing for quite a while. when i finally found and approach her, that's when i know, today's dream is different. it seems like she's more welcoming than ever and also...

"come here, my sweety, it's been a while." she. spoke.

i could feel the tears forming in my eyes. i immediately ran into my mum's arms. i could feel it, the warmth that i missed too much. somehow, i wasn't able to talk in the dream but i'm happy enough that mum is talking to me. she broke the embrace and talked to me with seriousness and sincerity in her face.

"listen, my sweety, whatever good you do in life, promise me to do it with sincerity and make me proud, always..." i didn't really get what she meant but of course, i'll keep that promise. pinky promise. 

a noise from behind me broke our moment together. i looked behind to see what it was but nothing was there. 

and i looked back.

back to reality. the tears are still falling from my eyes from that beautiful dream of mine. i'll never forget this dream ever. i sat down at the edge of my bed and off the alarm clock, indicating that it was time to wake up for school.

today's going to be a great day.

living in a mansion sounds overwhelming, and indeed it's overwhelming. overwhelmingly boring. imagine being surrounded by guards everywhere i go, it's like i'm in a prison. i have to ask permission every single time, it's tiring. even going to school requires two guards right by my side. one driving, another just sat by my side. i don't really know what my dad's thinking. ever since mum died when i was 8 years old, he's been rather overprotecting me. i mean who would want to sabotage us when we didn't do anything wrong for that matter? but it might be just a 'rich kid' thing. those kidnapping and ransom stories might have brainwashed dad's mind or it's just mum's accident is affecting him. 

i was too young to know what happened to mum but dad just said mum got into a big accident and never did go into details despite me being an 18-year-old already. and it is as if i'm the only one who has moved on from it.

let me introduce my dad. his name is choi seungho, one of the most successful and popular businessman in the world. he is the ceo of the most popular gadget company in the country, fortune. he's been travelling a lot these past few months and i find it harder now to meet him personally. despite his over protectiveness, i still love him and miss him being at home more often nowadays.

"henry, is it okay if we stop by the park before going to school today? it's still early." i asked my guard who was driving, and was also the nicer one between the guards in the house. without saying a word, he immediately drove us to a familiar road towards the nearby park. that dream i had last night made me miss the memories we had in the park as a family. i thanked henry before exiting the car with natalie, the other guard, who needs to be by my side.

the air here is fresh as always. voices from the excited children, screaming as they are being chased by their parents in a catching game, the smell of barbeque and picnic food triggered my hunger too. how i miss mum's cooking. the beautiful sight of the trees swaying smoothly following the direction of the wind, it's mesmerising. it makes me want to walk around more to feel the breeze. as i walked, i noticed that there's an elderly man sitting by the walkway with what it seems to be displayed accessories right in front of him, which is pretty interesting since i've never seen anyone doing this is in this park beforehand. no one seemed to notice him or just passed by him as if he is non-existent.

"hey, natalie, i won't run away but let me just walk alone for a while alright?" natalie just sighed and signalled me to just go. i don't know why, but i felt that i needed to approach that man, plus i might be interested in those accessories he's selling. i briskly walked towards him to maximise the 'freedom' time i have without the guards.

"hi there, my child. would you want to get an accessory, purely handmade by me?"this is incredible. it's handmade, but it's so beautifully done, especially the small tiny details of the designs he did.

"may i have the honour to have you choose one for me?" he then gave a smile and looked at his creations carefully. it's clear that he was choosing one that fits me. it took a while until he finally picked one.

"here, the colour, rose quartz, fits your caring and loving personality. i can tell even if i don't know you well."

"thank you so much, it's beautiful. here's $10 for you." i gave the $10 to him but he shook his head and slightly pushed the money back to me, refusing the money.

"since you are my first customer and incredibly beautiful outside and inside, i'll give it to you for free." and then he gave his smile again. i insisted but he kept saying no to it. eventually, i just gave up, and ensure to keep in mind the next time i see him, i will definitely pay for the next accessory i buy here. i thanked him again and waved him good-bye since school is starting anytime soon.

"see you next time, my child."

"your father asked me to tell you to study hard and don't do unnecessary things." of course, natalie had to be the one that passed dad's message to me. when will he ever have a proper conversation with me again?

"okay." was the best answer i could give before walking into the school right before the school bell rang. i heard the car door closing behind me before it sped off. as usual, the start of the day in school always feel so gloomy because of my dad, but the gloominess disappeared when i entered the class with my classmates cheerfully greeting me.

"good mornzo to my cutie, kawaii mirae." soyoung exclaimed and hugged me. "i missed you so much."

"but you see me every day, soyoung." i hugged back tightly and pat her back. i've only know soyoung at the start of my high school years, but i believed that she's the closest friend that i ever had in my whole life. it'll be great if we actually knew each other since young because we totally clicked right after we met. our hug was interrupted by one of our class president, yoon jeonghan.

"hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but ms. lee asked me to tell you guys that a new kid will be joining out class, so please make him comfortable." wow, another he? okay, not that i hate guys or anything, but it felt like the class is already more than half filled with guys. our class currently has 19 people, and 12 of them are already guys. i wished i could know more girls, so that i have more female friends, but i guess i'm just too awkward and don't really click with people outside our class.

so, yoon jeonghan, my class president, we've known each other since young because our family used to work together with his family, until my dad decides to stop working together for whatever reason that he tries to make up. i can't say that we are close but we do talk when we need to. i apologized to him about what my dad did, but he said it was okay and it got nothing to do with him.

5 minutes passed, and finally, ms. lee came in with an unfamiliar person, which i assume is probably the new student.

"settle down, class. we have a new friend that will be joining us today." in seconds, we settled down, i walked back to my table at the back row after talking to soyoung about the beautiful bracelet i've gotten from the elderly man at the park this morning.

"come on, seungcheol, introduce yourself." the new guy by the name of seungcheol steps up and spoke.

"hi, everyone. my name's choi seungcheol, and i was from farrer high school. i hope we can get along. thank you." he bowed and took a step back to his original position. my classmates are generally friendly, so they responded by saying hi and also some waved at him.

"alright, seungcheol. you can sit at the back row, right beside mirae. there's an empty table that you could use." he smiled and thanked ms. lee before brisk walking to the table beside mine. i was too awkward to say hi, so i just smiled in case i said something stupid instead."okay, class, turn to page 36 of your biology textbook..."

____________________________________________

"hey, did you see that new kid? he's pretty good looking." i don't know why soyoung had to whisper that to me. i just nod so that soyoung is satisfied about my reaction and also so that she could stop talking about him for once. since the start of the 1-hour lesson break we had to eat, she kept talking about seungcheol, and only seungcheol. soyoung's going to make me get annoyed at seungcheol even though he has done nothing that could disturb me yet. it's probably her one of those 'love at first sight' bullcrap.

"maybe it's love at first sight..." see what did i tell you.

"alright, alright, calm down, my girl. firstly, this isn't a television show nor it is a drama, this is reality. love at first sight doesn't exist." i rolled my eyes at her. yes, i do love this friend of mine, but sometimes she just does things say things without thinking twice.

"and secondly, i'm pretty sure this is the 2928320 times you have said that to almost every guy you see since i've known you. you fall in love too easily."

"okay, mummy mirae..." oh wow, i guess that works.

"but i still think that he's handsome." hmm, okay fine, it's a better than saying she's still in love with him or something.

now, our class, especially during break, we still sit together because we are that bonded. so as much as we always gather together often, we always have something to talk about, either in smaller groups, or it could just be a whole group discussion about something random like which side should we eat pepero stick from. honestly, from the bottom of my heart, i am thankful that my totally different background didn't affect them at all, they still treat me like i'm the same as all of them. even now, after seungcheol joined the class, the class stayed the same. they cheerful and lovable kids. i feel like a mom now.

the only thing that's weird now, is that, i've been getting stares from seungcheol even if he was quite a distance away. not that kind of creepy stare, maybe just a normal stare? i don't know how to describe it. didn't tell that to soyoung because i felt that she would said some other nonsensical stuff instead. so, i just act like nothing happened. it's been a week since he joined and i realise that he is not a talkative person but we can tell that he is a nice person, he helped out once in a while carrying teachers' books or even volunteered himself to clean the classroom.

it takes a while, but i guess he's alright, as a friend and classmate. maybe mom's dream was referring to the never-ending happiness and love i will always receive from this class and an additional one makes it better.

"hey, mirae, you're not going to eat today?" one of my classmates, jisoo asked. i gave him a smile and shook my head, pointing to my lunch box on my table. he and the other classmates understood and left happily to get their favourite food in the canteen.

okay, so, jisoo, or full name, hong jisoo, is one of a kind. he is like a character that came out of a book, super dreamy and perfect. not saying that i like him or what, but i really like his personality. he really cares about his classmates and always the first person to show concern when anyone look upset. damn, i really want to be like him to be honest, but i know i am pretty awkward in situations like that because i don't really know what to say, although i do care about my classmates.

once in a while, i made my own sandwich at home and bring to school to eat. so, today's the day. this means, i get to watch the live news or documentaries that the teachers always show during break at the television. not that it is fun, but it's pretty useful if i needed to write informative essays when we are assigned to do it. today's documentary is about rare and exotic animals, specifically, the lion family."...at last, the hungry cubs can fill their bellies. the pride will eat and rest. eat an..."

"we interrupt this program with a breaking news."

what. i was just enjoying looking at those cubs eating. reminds me of my classmates.

"convicts are on the loose, convicts on the loose. convicts have weapons mainly, knives and police are unable to track them currently, but for now, all citizens in these possible areas are advised to lock their doors or seek shelter." okay, this is pretty scary. and the news showed the convict's face and also the list of the areas, hoping that our area wouldn't come...out. okay, nope, our street is there. that's exactly where our school is at. oh no, our school might be in danger. why isn't the principal announcing anything or on the emergency alarm? where are the teachers? are they really unaware of this? i jumped out of my seat and suddenly, the television turned off by itself. even the fans too. this means...blackout.

i'm panicking, and i can hear the teachers' panicking in the teachers' room just near our classroom.

"we need to evacuate our students immediately. the convict is on the loose. we cannot put them in danger." so, they are aware. why did the blackout had to happened now out of all times? the teachers immediately ran towards the canteen were the rest of the students are at. i wanted to run towards the canteen too but i was still too shocked over the fact that this person is on the loose and may come near our area, and worse, come to our school. i don't want anyone to be in danger.

but before i could come back to my senses...

"everyone stay back! or we will kill all of you here."

the worst thing that could happen actually occurred.what am i doing, i need to call the police immediately. i feel around my pockets. it's not there. alright, maybe it's in my bag. ran towards my bag and even unpack it. nope, it's not there to. are you kidding me? out of all days, i didn't bring it today? oh god, i don't even know what do to now. i could here more screaming from the canteen.

"if anyone calls the police, i will kill her and also all of you."

this is terrible. i'm desperate. i can only pray for their safety now.

but i need to save everyone.

...

...

...

why the silence? and... why is the necklace shining out of nowhere? no, wait, it's getting brighter and brighter, it almost blind my eyes. the only thing i could do is cover my eyes.

what's happening?

the shine from the necklace suddenly dimmed, and i slowly opened my eyes. okay, i'm lost. what's suppose to come out from that shin... woah.

my clothes changed. not a good idea to think about this, but it's beautiful. it's the same exact colour as the necklace the man gave me. rose quartz coloured short dress. and my face... an eye mask? oh my god, my hair too? it's wavy and not tied up. i've got no phone to look at myself so i just looked at the window to see my reflection. wow, i looked totally different from what i usually look. wait, what am i supposed to do with this change? am i actually...

...a superhero?

but i have no idea what powers i have? how am i suppose to guess? i realised i've been asking too much questions to myself.

"oh! found ya!" i immediately squat down and cover my head out of reflex. did one of the criminals found me, being the only one not at the canteen? i shook out of fear because obviously i don't want to die. and let's say i am actually a superhero, i don't even know what in the world is my power. "don't worry, my girl. i ain't one of those bad guys downstairs." i heard his footsteps getting louder and louder as he walked closer to me.

"please don't come near me." i prayed.

i was unable to grasp the situation so i closed my eyes, hoping that all of these is just a dream. his footsteps gets slower and then it stopped. hold my shoulders and turn me around. "hey, open your eyes. you can trust me." his voice, it's so gentle, but... i don't recognize it at all. however, in my heart, i feel like i can believe this guy. so i slowly opened my eyes...i don't know what was i expecting but i did not expect him to wear similarly to me, he's got his own eye mask and clothes, but it's black and... light blue? what's happening?

"alright, intros aside, we need to save those kids and teachers at that canteen." i guess this person knows his stuff pretty well. but, i still don't know what my powers are. he gave a slight smirk and pat my head before excitedly running off first, before i could say a single word. judging from the large gust of wind i felt and the time of disappearance, his powers is highly likely speed.

"i guess, i'll just run there too."

"you guys better stop this before i really kick your asses." i can hear the guy spoke from the canteen's staircase that i'm hiding at. let's just call him, speedy guy. okay, bad, terrible name, but whatever, it's not the time to think about names.

"don't be stupid, kid. back off before we attack you." i could hear the chatters from the other students that were directly in front of me to ask him to back off. i peeked to see what he's going to do next. speedy guy had his back against my sight and the bad guys are at the other end of the canteen. in a blink of an eye, he suddenly ran and got back to the crowd of students with the hostage that the bad guys took. all of that in about 1 seconds, or less, i don't even know. wrong time to react but the students and the teachers clapped in amazement.

"what the hell..." it took a moment for the bad guys to realise that the hostage isn't with them already and they felt threatened. each of them took out very long, sharp weapon, from god knows where they got it from. they probably stole it on the way here. speedy guy got into his position and was prepared to run. but all of that preparedness ended in a mess as he fell because of the slippery floor. he totally didn't see the 'slipper floor' warning sign that was clearly there. everyone including me gasped.

"feel helpless now, huh." they said as one of them grabbed speedy guy's leg before he could run away.

"put me down! put me down!"

i don't know where i got that courage but suddenly,

"put him down." i bravely came out from my hiding place, and i could feel the eyes that were staring towards me.

"oh my gosh, pinky girl." i was pretty offended by that name so i just crunched my eyebrows at him for a moment before i looked at those bad guys, hoping that they would feel threatened.

"okay, what is it now? do you sprinkle glitter as your powers?" that was another offensive one but from another one of those bad guys. but again, i don't actually know what's my powers yet.

"umm, my powers... my powers..." what am i supposed to do? am i suppose to create my own power? or do i get to choose what power i want?

"pinky girl, your power is telekinesis!" thanks, speedy guy. but seriously, you too? pinky girl? i still have questions but now is not the time for that.

"focus, pinky girl, focus. believe that you can do it and you are doing it for the sake of saving everyone here." i tried to put my mind into it, and lift up my hands, like in those movies. i opened my eyes and concentrate towards the bad guy who had speedy guy in his hand.

you can do it. you can do it. focus. focus.

mum's voice always made me stronger. this is the time i could show my friends how much i love them and how much i want to protect them. and believe it or not, somehow, i actually made it. i lift the bad guy up. he was pretty terrified that he dropped both his weapon and also speedy guy. speedy guy immediately ran towards me with his lightning speed.

"good job, pinky girl." i almost slapped him for calling me that, but since it's the first time i'm meeting him, i shall not destroy my first impression. he placed his hands each on my shoulder and he put on a serious face.

"right now, we need to work together to defeat them. but to do so, we need to hold hands and close our eyes so that we could become one." i'm still confused by whatever is happening but his deep, serious voice made me calm and trust him more. i nodded in agreement and breathe in and out to release the pressure i had.

"remember to focus and do it for the sake of saving them." he gave a confident smile. he holds onto both of my hands and we closed our eyes.

"unite!"

in a second, i felt a gust of wind, and i felt the close connection between me and speedy guy. i opened my eyes and looked at speedy guy who is right by my side, worried that he might not be there to help me. and i felt my feet aren't touching the ground.

"right now, everyone sees us as one bright ball of the colours rose quartz and serenity mixed together floating. both of us combined, we become unstoppable." and then we looked at each other's eyes deeply, "we need to trust each other from now on." i don't know what caused it, but my heart was beating fast after that.

it's probably because i'm nervous.

it took me a while to look away from him even after he looked back towards the bad guys, but i got back to my senses when i realise it's time to save my dear friends.

"go!" we fly towards the bad guys at the same time, pushing them towards each other, and in no time, both of us managed to take all of their weapons and tie them up together with the long water hose we got from the school garden. in a matter of seconds, we separate ourselves from each other and the students and teachers cheered and ran towards us. before they reached us, speedy guy approached me and spoke, "pinky girl, please don't reveal your identity to anyone, even to your friends, even me. we can't know each other's identity."

i wanted to ask more questions, but before i could, the students and teachers already approached us and hugged us. they couldn't stop saying 'thank you' or 'you're so cool' or 'i need your signature'. the police came luckily and it pulled their attention away from us for a moment, so speedy guy carried me bridal style and helped me run away from them too. although that was unnecessary.

when we were far enough from them, he placed me down slowly and gave me a few words, "i have to remind you that we each have a time limit in this superhero form which is 1 hour, but using up our powers shortens the time limit even more. your charm will blink a few times if there's 2 minutes left before we transform back."

suddenly, both mine and his charm which are on our chest suddenly blinked.

"speak of the devil, till i see you next time, pinky girl!" he was about to run but i grabbed him before he could do that.

"i need to know more about this... power thing and i'm sure that you know more about this than me. is there any way i could meet you so that you could explain to me more?" he smiled and pointed at my charm.

"remember, we are connected. call my name and i will come. but it only works when you transform, so don't forget to transform. also, don't forget to always keep our identity a secret." he pats my head before running away with his lightning speed. well, i guess i need to change back too before the students and teachers go back to the classrooms again. and i also need to think of a fake story so that my classmates aren't too worried about me. i remembered about the dream i had this morning, and realised that this is what mum was talking about. i smiled and thanked mum from my heart. i'm sure she will hear me too.

it's only been a few minutes but i can't wait to see him again.

____________________________________________

"wow, i can't believe you just missed all of that just because you had a tummy ache and you went to the toilet." soyoung's going to spend another hour talking about what happened 2 days ago and another hour to fangirl over 'the handsome speed man' of which i think she meant speedy guy obviously. and break time is only 1 hour. but it's alright, because i'm glad that they liked that there's people who will save the school, at least, from danger.

"hey, where were you 2 days ago when it happened?" i heard from far as soyoung and me walked back to the classroom after the bell rang. wait, someone else weren't there during the incident?

"i had a stomach ache, so i had to go to the toilet to release it." and laughter came after that. i was curious as to who was that speaking but i can't seem to see clearly because firstly, i'm short. secondly, it's too crowded. a small part of me said, "could it be...". but mostly, i was thinking that it might be impossible because it could be anyone from this large town i live in that got to know that there's danger here 2 days ago. so, i told myself to forget about it.

it could be just a coincidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A/N: Hi guys! This is the first chapter!!! :))) What you guys think about it? I actually wanted you guys to guess who the Speedy Guy is, so try to guess and leave it in the comments alright :))) I will read it! and another thing, this story is actually inspired by another TV show, do you guys wanna guess that too? AHHAAHHAH :) anything you want to say you can leave it in the comments, even if it's a criticism :) Thank you and see you in the next chapter of Shh! It's a Secret! ;D