“What am I going to do without you, Xin. We used to be 5 minutes apart but now we are going to be in different countries.” Harim dramatically cried out, clinging to Xin Han’s arm tightly. 

“Oh, quit the act, babe, we both know that we will keep in touch no matter what.”  Xin Han rolled her eyes, pushing my arms off her body.

They were seated on the bench at the park opposite their house. The time has come for Xin Han to return to China for university. The most prestigious university in Beijing offered her a position before she even graduated from high school.

“You know, we met right on this bench ten years ago and now we are bidding goodbye on this same very bench.” Xin Han said, pulling Harim’s hand into her lap and clutching it tightly.

Harim smiled bitterly, resting her head on Xin Han’s shoulder as she tried not to burst into tears. She knew that once she started crying, it would be hard to stop.

"Can you believe that I haven't received any letters for the past few weeks? I am starting to think I might have to take a gap year.” Harim sighed, changing the topic.

“All the universities didn’t accept your application? That’s weird, your grades and mine barely had any difference.” Xin Han frowned, turning to look at Harim.

Harim shrugged, not in the mood to continue talking.

A sleek black vehicle pulled up next to them. A tall young man stepped out, adjusting his clothes.

“Xin, it’s time for us to go.” He smiled sadly at Harim as he made eye contact with her.

The two girls walked towards him, holding hands.

“Gege*, Xin. Both of you will forever have a place in my heart. We made many memories together which I will cherish forever. Be safe and stay healthy.” Harim said, voice trembling.

The older boy pulled Harim in a hug and patted her back gently.

“I have two younger sisters, not one, remember that.” He said, holding her tightly for the last time.

“I will call you once I land in Beijing. Take care, Harim. I will miss you” Xin Han whispered, pulling Harim in for one last embrace and she along with her brother got into the car.

Harim nodded, waving until the car was out of her sight. The tears that threatened to fall finally wetted her cheeks. She wiped her tears and took a deep breath, making her way across the street.

_______

Harim’s POV

"Mum, I'm home! " I shouted cheerily, changing into house slippers.

"Honey, there is a letter that came for you today. It is on the dining table." My mother shouted from the noisy kitchen.

“Please be an acceptance letter...please be an acceptance letter” I mumbled, praying under my breath, as I made my way to the dining table.

The letter caught my eye immediately.

Black.

What an unusual colour for an envelope. The seal is red with engravings carved onto it. I squinted and took a closer look at it. What I saw made me gasp in surprise. 

"V-VI academy?" I stuttered in disbelief. 

Heart racing, I peeled the seal off carefully and unfolded the neatly folded sheet of paper. 

To: Miss Jeon Harim

VI Academy is pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into our new cohort of students.

Please be informed that orientation will start in 2 weeks. All students will be required to move into our student dormitories by the end of this week. Uniforms will be provided upon your arrival at the academy.

I sincerely congratulate you on your acceptance into VI Academy and I look forward to your future endeavours in our academy.

From: Mr Park Se Joong

Headmaster of VI academy 

A big smile crept onto my face when I realized that I had been accepted into one of the most prestigious schools in the world. It is an understatement to say that the students who graduated from the academy are incredibly successful.

"Mum! Mum! I got accepted into VI Academy!" I squealed in excitement and rushed into the kitchen. 

My mother turned at the sound of my voice, wiping her wet hands on her apron.

"That's great, honey!” She chirped, smiling widely at me.

“Right! At least I would not have to worry anymore. I will go get ready for dinner, Mum.” I smiled, too giddy with happiness to think rationally.

Climbing up the stairs slowly, I came to my senses and thought things over. To my knowledge, the academy only accepts around a hundred students every year. Realization suddenly slapped me in the face, I do not remember applying to the school.  My mother also did not suspect anything. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, deep in thought.

But why me?

Why not Xin Han or anyone else? I opened my bedroom door and entered my walk-in closet to grab my luggage, tucked away in the corner. I took a shower and flopped onto my vanity chair, blow-drying my hair.

"Honey! Wake your brother up on your way down!" my mother yelled from the kitchen. 

"Okay! " I replied, combing my hair quickly, and made my way to the room next door.

I opened the door of my brother's room and noticed him lying faced down on the bed, sprawled out like a starfish. I sighed, walking into the room.

“Oppa**, wake up, it’s time for dinner.” I shook my brother with all my strength, hoping he would wake up quickly.

He tossed and turned until he was facing up, pillow marks etched into his face.

"Jeon Jungkook, if you don't wake up in ten seconds, I will eat all your food. " I sighed, rolling up my sleeves, unleashing my ultimate move.

His eyes immediately snapped open, and he rolled out of bed. Putting on a shirt, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, ushering me downstairs with him.

“Let’s go have dinner, sister dearest.” My brother smiled, ruffling my hair.

I sat down opposite him and started eating, eyes darting to my brother who held the black letter in his hands.

“Ri, what is this? " My brother waved the acceptance letter in his hand next to him with his mouth full of food.

"Swallow before you talk," I said, disgusted. 

I told him about my acceptance to VI Academy and how I did not apply to the school. Strangely enough, like my mother, he did not question my acceptance into the school and instead nodded understandingly.

Back to 3^rd person POV

____

Harim went back to eating and did not catch the exchange of looks between her mother and her brother.

Beeping sounds could be heard as Harim’s father punched in the numbers to the passcode and waltzed through the door, heading straight to his wife to plant a kiss on her temple. Taking off his blazer and sitting down next to Jungkook, he immediately noticed the black envelope on the table.

"Isn't that from VI Academy?" He questioned. 

"How did you know from a distance? " Harim asked, raising her eyebrow. 

"Well…” Her father rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. 

Harim shrugged and continued eating, looking down on her food.

Noticing that Harim was not looking, her mother glared at her father and made a fist at him, warning him to keep quiet. 

"Are you leaving tomorrow? " Her father asked. 

Harim nodded.

“I am going to pack my things later, apparently I had to be on campus by this week, and it's already Thursday,” Harim said.

“I will help you later, honey, quickly finish your dinner.” Harim’s mother said, standing up to clear the now empty dishes.

After dinner, Harim and her mother sat in her room, packing her things into her luggage.  

The next day, 5 am

“Mum, do you think she will adapt well?” Jungkook asked, sitting down on the sofa.

“I think she will be fine, kook, you adapted fine as well.” Mi Jeong said, sitting next to him, and his hair.

“Kook, we cannot contact her before she contacts us, understand?” Ha Joon sat on the other side of him, patting his thigh.

“I know, Dad, I am just worried she will take to it harshly,” Jungkook murmured, standing up.

Harim, still in her room, did a final check of her luggage and grabbed her phone by the vanity table. Jungkook knocked on her room door, opening it to peek through it.

“Ready?” He asked.

Harim nodded, smiling. Jungkook came in, grabbed her luggage, and brought it downstairs while their parents waited by the door.

Harim’s POV

I hugged my parents and promised them I would call often. They nodded with a melancholic expression on their faces. Then came my brother, who engulfed me tightly in his arms.

“Stay true to yourself and take care.” My brother whispered in my ear, patting me on the back.

I nodded, getting into the cab that I hailed, my brother loading my luggage into the boot of the cab. Waving at my family until they are out of sight, I got a sense of déjà vu from yesterday when I waved Xin Han off the same way.

Speaking of the devil, I received a call from Xin Han. After exchanging greetings, I filled her in about my acceptance to VI Academy.

“Really? You didn’t apply? Well, your grades are amazing so it's not that weird that you got in anyway, do not worry about it too much. They probably just recognized your talent.” Xin Han said over the phone.

After hanging up the call, I turned to the window and watched as I got further and further from my house. It seems that the cab driver overheard the conversation between Xin Han and me as he kept glancing at me in the mirror. His eyes flitted from the mirror to the road for a while until he decided to speak.

"Miss, you didn't apply for the VI academy but got in?" he finally asked. 

"Yes. Is it very strange? " I asked.

"Not strange, more like unheard of but maybe this will be of use to you. " He dug into a black bag next to him and pulled out a long rectangle velvet case, with a black exterior.

"Take it, miss." he smiled.

"I don't think I should take it; it looks expensive." I pushed his hand away and rejected it politely.

" No. Miss, I want you to take it." He dropped the case into my lap, taking no for an answer. 

"Alright then, thank you so much," I said as I accepted the gift and kept it in my duffel bag.

We reached the campus grounds, and I stepped out of the cab, mouth hanging out in awe at the amazing architecture of the academy, and bowed to the cab driver who handed my luggage to me. He smiled mysteriously at me before getting into the car and driving away. 

"Excuse me, Miss Jeon Harim? " a deep voice came from behind me. 

"Yes?" I turned around, startled.  

"Please follow me. "

____

Lux's dictionary

Chinese - 

*Ge (哥)/Gege (哥哥): how younger people address, a close older male friend,  their older brothers, and older male cousins in Chinese.

Korean -

**Oppa (오빠): how a younger female addresses a close older male friend, or how they address their older brothers and older male cousins. Can also mean “honey” when you are in a relationship.

____

A/N 

Hi. I'm Lux.

This is me trying to rewrite the whole story. Firstly, I have to admit that while Exo was in the military, I coped by watching and listening to other groups' content and discography.

Groups such as Seventeen and Enhypen gave me much comfort and allowed me to wait patiently for Exo's return. Finally, after years, they are back and I loved them on Dingo's killing voice. The snippets of memories they sang allowed me to sink back into the abyss I had sunk into as a young teenager. I even created an Exo playlist on Spotify and listened repeatedly before I realized that I had this story. 

However, when I reread this incomplete story if you could even call it one, that I had written when I was 13, the amount of "cringes" I cringed was indescribable. Let's just say that it took a while for my toes to uncurl. The urge to come back to rewrite this story was strong.  6 years have passed since I have written this story.

I have come back multiple times in these 6 years and thought about whether to continue writing. the damage I dealt with as a young fan when 3 of Exo's members left the group is still fresh in my heart but  I was happy for them as they were successful back working in China. However, Kris' offenses had a big impact on me. He was the one I liked the most when I started liking them in 2013 but he is also the one I hated the most in 2023. Till today, we still cannot see Lay together with the rest of Exo but in my heart, they are always one. 

I remembered that this was originally an OT12 story and came back to make it OT11. I have decided to mix my past and present and squeeze out my brain juices in my last year of being a teen. I made changes to the characters, edited the story, and thought through the storyline. Even if no one is going to read this story, I will feel better when I come back to this story years down the road to reminisce about my teen years, knowing that I finished what I wanted to do the most as a child. 

Changes I made to the story include: 

Valaeris - Valaen

Irisis - Ivise

Oc: From Jeon Jae Young to Jeon Harim 

Oc's best friend: From Min to Xin Han 

Oc's family: 

Mother - Park Mi Jung 

Father - Jeon Ha Joon 

Brother - Jeon Jungkook 

More changes to come, I will most likely remove all the cringy parts and rewrite them a little. It is still going to be cringy though, I am a cheesy person after all. Anyway, I apologize for leaving such a long author's note but I believed it was necessary. 

Thank You. 

Lux