Chapter 1

The convenient store near the hospital was quite full because of the people coming from the hospital. Chaeyeon was in charge of the cash register. She was wearing a blue uniform shirt with a white cap, busy scanning the grocery that customers bought.  

"This is your grocery ma’am. Thank you for coming and come again next time. Have a nice day." Chaeyeon said, smiling to the old lady who had just bought some foods.  

"Ya, Lee Chaeyeon. Don't you get ready to go home? It's already 12 AM, exchange shift." Yujin  workaholic co-worker, who didn't even realize that her shift was over.  

"Ah... I thought it was only 10 PM. Alright, I'll get ready and go home now." Chaeyeon answered her before grabbing her brown backpack.  

"Chaeyeon, don't forget to throw the trash before you go. Okay?" The taller girl smirked at her because, to be honest, that was her duty, not Chaeyeon's. But Chaeyeon just did what she was told to. She felt tired and didn't want to waste her energy by fighting with Yujin.  

Chaeyeon walked for 5 minutes to the bus stop and waited for the next bus. Even though it was only 5 minutes away, Chaeyeon felt it was far enough for her. Thinking about her exhaustion, she worked early in the morning until midnight, she felt her feet didn’t want to cooperate anymore, her shoulders and her back were sore. So, she thought this was what called a zombie walking mode. Once she reached the bus stop, she checked the schedule; the bus will be coming in about 15 minutes. She took her headset and turned the music on. She looked around before she started moving her legs and danced along with the songs, but it was only small moves. She couldn't stand still; the dancer’s blood ran into her veins.  

Finally, the bus came, and she got inside. She walked into the building with the same way of walking. She took out some dog and cat’s food. It was for the street cats and dogs. It became her habit to do that, she really was an animal lover. Chaeyeon opened a door and heard a dog whining when she walked upstairs. Even though it had been a long day for Chaeyeon, she felt exhausted, but there was only one thing that could recharge her energy. She opened her small apartment’s door with a bright smile, and her smile was for the only one who welcomed her, her dog. His name was Prost.   

"Hey, cutie pie! How was your day? It's been a long day for me,” She pouted cutely while she put her backpack down and took off her hoodie. “I'm ing starving right now. I'll prepare our dinner, you wait, okay?" Chaeyeon looked at Prost with caring eyes and squeezed his cute cheek. Prost was a pug breed. He was rescued by Chaeyeon when he was still a puppy. It was one of these days of heavy rain, Chaeyeon ran home from the bus stop. But she heard a soft whimper, and that made her stop in her tracks. She looked around, trying to know where the sounds could come from. Finally, she found a cute little puppy who was shivering because of the cold and the wet weather. She decided to bring him home without a second thought. Since then, Chaeyeon was living with her cute loyal but annoying Prost.  

Chaeyeon cooked kimchi fried rice for herself and heated Prost’s meal that she had cooked yesterday. She cooked special meals for Prost with balanced nutrition. She enjoyed her simple dinner with her cutie Prost while lurking on Instagram. She scrolled down until a picture caught her attention and made her stop...  

"A cherry blossom tree." Chaeyeon whispered with a soft voice. When she looked at that tree, it recalled her something from her high school journey.  

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(FLASHBACK) 

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Chaeyeon was the first person to arrive at school. She walked to her classroom and directly went to her seat at the back of the room before resting her head on the table. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew her hair lightly. She got up and looked by the window of the classroom.  

Chaeyeon made out a pretty cherry blossom tree outside; the tree decorated the lifeless school’s ground. The blooming flowers of the cherry blossom were falling on the ground. After some seconds of being mesmerized by the beauty of that cherry blossom, Chaeyeon noticed there was a long raven-haired girl who was wearing the same uniform as her, standing under the beautiful tree. She was catching the petals which were falling.  

Chaeyeon became curious when the girl suddenly made a suspicious move. The girl looked around her quickly as if she was planning to steal something. Chaeyeon had developed a good sense of observing people thanks to her workplace. That was why she could say that the girl's movements looked suspicious.  

“Why you are so pretty? Wait a minute. I'm going to take a good and nice picture of you." The girl said out of nowhere with excitement, she kept on changing her position to find the perfect angle shoot. She did it like she was going take a photo of love of her life. Chaeyeon remained confused because there was no one near the girl. She was standing alone under that cherry blossom tree. But the girl was still talking as if there was someone with her.   

"Is she a psycho?" Chaeyeon's face could tell how confused she was.   

Chaeyeon wondered if the girl could actually see something or if she had supernatural powers.  

Chaeyeon thought that girl had a mental problem by looking around trying to find if there was someone. But Chaeyeon made sure that nobody was there. The girl was indeed alone.  

The girl approached the cherry blossom tree with a bright smile, and she hugged it, mumbling something not audible enough for Chaeyeon to hear. Chaeyeon chuckled when the brunette girl hugged that tree. She thought it was cute but also weird. “What a dork.” Chaeyeon spoke with a soft voice, a smile on her face. The girl finally walked to the school building where Chaeyeon was, Chaeyeon heard footsteps, and the latter pretended that she was sleeping and she didn't see anything.  

Chaeyeon wonder who is that weird girl’s name, she didn't know what the girl's name was even though they were at the same class. She never paid much attention to her classmates, except Hyewon, her bestie, her childhood friend. She just didn't pay attention to other people that much; she was too busy minding her own business.  

Miyawaki Sakura was the girl who was reaching the classroom. She was transferred a few months ago in this school. Before walking into the classroom, she peeked inside first. She noticed a girl. Sakura saw there was one person who was earlier than she and her eyes immediately fell on her. That person who had her head resting on the table.  

"Weird..." Sakura felt there was something kind of odd, and she wondered what it was. She was curious. She wanted to take a look closer, but she didn‘t dare to. It might be very awkward. She thought that maybe she needed to make sure that Chaeyeon was really asleep. She dropped one of her books to make some noise. There was no response even when she dropped her book for the second times, and now she was sure that the latter was in a deep sleep. So, she slowly approached Chaeyeon, she carefully moved a little bit closer and observed Chaeyeon. "She is used to snoring when she’s sleeping, but not today." Sakura frowned and was so proud that she could notice what was bothering her mind about Chaeyeon. She stared at the girl, she observed how pale was the latter’s skin, her small pink lips. “Waw, she has double eyelids, she looks pretty when she’s asleep. But she looks scary when she’s awake.” Sakura had never looked at Chaeyeon’s face this close, but today she had the guts to approach her. Chaeyeon had been known as a mafia’s daughter, so students didn’t dare to screw with her.   

Chaeyeon was the quiet type in the class. She barely talked or participated in any activities. But she was the one who came to school early in the morning. However, she just slept in the classroom until the class end. Sakura went back to her seat, but she suddenly turned around and gazed again at Chaeyeon. "She always disappeared after the class dismissal, and the more mysterious thing is that she’s often absent." Sakura thought. Sakura just shook her head to cleaned her mind. "Why are you thinking about her, Sakura? It's not your problem if she always absent. That's her problem, not yours." She realized that she was even worried for a stranger like Chaeyeon. She fixed her position and softly slap her own face. Sakura grabbed her headset from her pocket and listened to some random music while she reviewed the topics for today. 

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(END OF FLASHBACK)  

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