The sun rose and brought with it the new day. A new day full of fresh starts and new beginnings. Or, at least that’s how the day should have started for Wheein. Instead, the sun beamed at her with an eager smile while a chiper hamster held a tray with breakfast on it.

“Morning, Wheein-ah!” Both said in unison.

Wheein screamed and hid back under the covers. But it was futile. Before she could even grasp her blanket, it was ripped away from her. She had to face the brave new day. A new day with a sunny dragon and a hyper hamster. 

Wheein weakly thrashed around with a wine. This wasn’t what she had in mind when she thought about telling her parents about her adventure last night. Hell, she thought that they would eagerly be waiting in the dining room. She even thought that they would be waiting outside her door. Never did she think that they would actually come into her room with breakfast.

But here they are. With bright smiles, and eager faces. And with a tray of waffles as if it were a peace treaty. 

Wheein sighed, accepted her fate, and sat up to eat the waffles. Her mother brought the tray to her while her mom sat at the foot of the bed. Ever the curious dragon. After her mother made sure that the food was secure with Wheein, did she take her place on the opposite side of Yong. A two sided attack.

Carefully picking up her fork, trying to delay it to inevitable, she dug in. Even though her doom was near, it was nice to have a hot meal before then. After a couple of bites, and a nice long drink of juice, Wheein calmly placed down her fork and looked at her ever curious parents.

“Where do you want me to begin?”

The hamster giggled, and the dragon smiled even brighter. Their time has come.

“We just want to know a couple of things.” Her mother started.

“One, how was dinner?” Her mom began the list.

“Two, what did you two do last night?” Her mother added.

“Three, did you have fun?” Her mom added while ticking things off with her fingers.

“And four, why did you two stay in the car for so long?” Her mother finished with only a hint of confusion. There was a glint in her eye that says that she knows but she wants her daughter to verify her suspicions.

While they listed their questions, Wheein carefully listened and ate the rest of her peace treaty breakfast. She contemplated on how much to tell them. She can only imagine their reactions if she were to tell them the truth, but she can’t hide the truth from them either. Afterall, what can you hide from a curious dragon and a zealous hamster? Nothing.

With a big sigh, Wheein began to answer their questions. One by one.

“One, dinner was great. We went to the same place last week but we ordered different plates. We’re trying to eat everything on the menu at least once.”

Her parents nodded with acceptance. That answer satisfied them.

“Two, after dinner we went to the fall festival on the square and just hung out there. We played all of the games that were there and tried all the vendor food there, at least twice. We got into a bit of a competition so we won a ton of prizes.”

Moonbyul looked at Wheein in amazement. Eating all that food and not getting sick? Surely her daughter has an iron stomach. Yong looked at Wheein with satisfaction. Proud that her daughter was able to not get sick from festival food and a full course meal, but to also win all the games. Surely she raised her daughter well. 

“Three, we had lots of fun. Except I think the vendors were glaring at us in the end. We kinda took all of their best prizes.”

Both her parents nodded. Moonbyul wondered how much trouble her daughter and Hyejin caused those poor vendors. A booth without any good prizes isn’t a booth worth going to so she can understand why those vendors would be mad at them. Yong, on the other hand, was still proud. Proud to see that her daughter was able to remain competitive enough to match Hyejin and give her a run for her money. If Hyejin didn’t like that then Hyejin doesn’t deserve her daughter.

“And four, uh,” Wheein paused as she tried to gather her emotions less she blushes and exposes herself. “Uhm, Hyejin had to find the gift she wanted to give me. It was buried underneath all of our prizes so, uh, it took a while.”

She smiled innocently. If she told them about the makeout session in the car then all will be lost. Her mother will be coddling her and congratulating her and try to give her more advice. While her mom will ask to see Hyejin and to have a nice chat with her. 

But her parents are good at reading her.

Her mother striked first, “Ah, so a lion plushie made you all dreamy eyed when you came back inside?”

Her mom came in quickly with a jab, “And made your face all red and flushed?”

The once chiper hamster morphed into a smug tiger. The dragon remained as is but with about fifty percent more smug and knowing look in the eyes. Dangerous territory. For the tiger to come out means that Wheein is close to being exposed. But she mustn’t give in. She can’t give in. She wanted to revel in the kiss more in private before telling them. 

But she can’t lie to her parents. Her blushing face didn’t help matters either. Nor did a shy smile that escaped her barriers while she thought about the kiss help either. Before she knew it, she became a shy, blushing mess with nowhere to hide, except behind the lion plushie.

Seeing their daughter fighting a smile and a blush before retreating behind the lion plush, Moonbyul and Yong exchanged looks before going over to hug their daughter. Ever careful to not over crowd her and the lion plushie, Yong and Moonbyul gave their daughter a hug full of love and support. If she didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell them, then that’s alright. They will patiently wait till she’s ready. Afterall, they know it’s very important for Wheein. She always talked about her first kiss when she was younger but as she grew older she talked about it less. They knew though, just because she didn’t talk about it, didn’t verbalise it, that she stopped thinking about it. But, with Wheein being an adorable little mess, it was probably best to verbalise their intention as well.

“Wheein-ah, you don’t have to tell us now. You can tell us when you’re ready, alright?” Her mother said while giving Wheein a kiss on the top of her head.

Her mom placed a gentle kiss on the side of Wheein’s head, “We promise we won’t be such a menace about it.”

Wheein, still hiding behind the lion plush, only nodded in acknowledgement. Despite her parents shenanigans, they are well meaning. They wanted her to know that they will love her no matter what. Even if she stumbles and falls, they will be there. They will not hold her hand, but they will give her a shoulder to cry one, an ear to listen to her woes, and will give her advice but they will still let the decision ultimately be up to her. 

Eventually she calmed down a bit, lowered the lion plush, her loyal protector, and gave them an answer. 

“Well, we, uh,” Even with her resolve to tell her parents, she still struggled, “We, uhm, we kissed.”

Her parents gave her bright, shining, proud smiles before enveloping her in a big hug. A big hug full of love while they congratulated her. They even included Lion in the hug and congratulations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After their date, there was no doubt to anyone that they were a couple now. Their touches with each other became more heated, more tender, more intimate. And every moment she could, Hyejin would kiss Wheein. The kisses would range from straight on the lips to delicate butterfly kisses on Wheein’s face and neck. Wheein, on the other hand, was more reserved. She wasn’t as loud with her affection as Hyejin was. But that doesn’t mean she feels less than Hyejin. She was just more private about it. Returning Hyejin’s kisses and giving Hyejin kisses only when there weren’t so many people around. 

They truly were love birds in paradise.

 And that was how they spent the rest of the year before school let out for winter break. Well, almost.

 During school they would practically be inseparable. There were some nasty rumours that circulated but they didn’t care. It also helped that Hyejin’s friends all did their best to keep such rumours at bay. They may have gotten into more fights, but with Wheein and Ji Yeon around, it was mostly verbal fights now. 

Eventually even the rumours died down as the student population and some of its subsets saw that Wheein and Hyejin didn’t care. All they cared about was each other, and their studies. Once Wheein got Hyejin to study more, she got the rest of the crew involved too. And soon they started to have their own study group sessions in the library before school. 

It was a nice transition. Physical fights lessened, and their grades went up. But they weren’t the only ones to benefit. Wheein also developed a more outgoing personality. Previously, she was just that quiet smart kid that was rarely picked on, by students or teachers, and so not many knew her voice. But after spending time with Hyejin and the crew, Wheein found her voice. She became more vocal in debates in class and she volunteered more. To some, she became more approachable. 

It became normal to everyone in no time at all. But there is always one rotten apple.

Dimir. 

During the final week before winter break, a big fight broke out right after school ended for the day. Dimir immediately went to find Hyejin and make her pay. But someone like him never considers the consequences to his actions.

Once he spotted Hyejin, he bull rushed her and tried to get in a punch. His guttural yell gave him away and gave Hyejin plenty of time to push Wheein out of the way and to block his attack. It was a successful block but his momentum threw her into the lockers.

“The absolute is wrong with you?!” By this point Hyejin had enough of Dimir and was itching for a fight. But she can’t. Not in front of Wheein. 

“in dump Wheein already! It’s been more than a couple of weeks so let her free before you break her heart!” Dimir yelled back as if he were a righteous hero. His delusions know no bounds.

Hyejin could only scoff at such an accusation. As if she would willingly hurt Wheein, let alone break her heart, “As if, I--”

Before she could even get another word out, Dimir struck again. And again. And again. And again. Hyejin was pinned against the lockers so she had no other option besides blocking his wild punches as best as she could in the situation. 

By this point, students gathered around them and gave them a wide berth. The sheer number of students swallowed Wheein so she couldn’t go to Hyejin. But she wasn’t lost in the mass. Min-ah found her and pulled her out.

“The hell is happening? Where’s Hyejin?” Min-ah asked.

Wheein shook her head, “Dimir started to attack Hyejin. How do we--”

The student mass moved again and soon swallowed them. And by the time they popped out into a clearing, they found themselves in the middle.

“The , Dimir?!” Min-ah’s turn to get mad. They were doing so well in avoiding fights but a fight still found them. Maybe the leaf was never meant to be turned. 

Dimir’s back was towards them but he immediately turned his face towards them the minute he heard Min-ah’s voice. And once he saw Wheein, hell broke loose. 

“Ah! Wheein!” Dimir began to move towards her but there were just a couple of obstacles.

One, Min-ah immediately between Wheein and Dimir. He knows that Wheein can take care of herself, but Wheein has a future. No need to dirty her hands and reputation over some .

Two, Hyejin.

The moment she realised that he was going for Wheein, she let loose. Turned leaf be damned. If Wheein is about to be harmed, then not even the armies of heaven or hell could stop Hyejin’s wrath. 

Grabbing Dimir, she forced him to face her. Using his confusion to her advantage, she punched him right in the gut so he would lean forward. The moment his face was in range, Hyejin let him have it. Hitting his face with a left hook, then a right. Left hook, right hook. Left hook, right hook. Left, right. Left, right. Eventually she finished with a mean left uppercut that left him sprawled on the floor.

A few seconds of silence. Everyone has heard about Hyejin’s fights. And the only fights they saw were basically baby fights. But this.This was different This was a beat down. Absolute decimation of her opponent. 

In that stunned silence, the teachers finally broke through the wall of students and immediately gained control of the situation. A couple of teachers escorted Hyejin to the principal’s office. The remaining teachers began to part the crowd.

“Wheein, it’s time to go, the principal won’t--” Before Min-ah could finish, Wheein ran after Hyejin.

Min-ah didn’t even try to stop her. .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They wouldn’t let her in while the principal, vice- principal, and counselor talked to Hyejin. So, she opted to wait outside in the hallway. They can’t keep Hyejin from her forever.

It was lonely while she waited. Ji Yeon, Min-ah and the others stopped by to check up on her but she shooed them away. Eventually the school became empty but there was only one thing on her mind right now. Only one thing she cared about right now.

Eventually the doors opened and Hyejin walked out. But before she could even call out to her, Wheein froze. The look on Hyejin’s face was one she never saw before. It was a defeated look. A defeated and empty look. Wheein’s heart squeezed in pain while seeing that look. It was something Wheein never wants to see again on Hyejin’s face.  

Wheein shook her head, and went towards Hyejin, “Hye--”

Hyejin just walked past her and vanished around the corner.

Confused for a second before she regained her composure, Wheein followed.

Why did Hyejin ignore her?

Her heart never felt such pain before. She didn’t know what was worst. Seeing Hyejin’s face or the fact that Hyejin didn’t even acknowledge her. No, the answer was obvious. Being ignored by Hyejin, not being noticed by Hyejin, not having Hyejin’s attention, broke her heart just a little bit. What happened to cause such a dissociation?

As Wheein followed, she noticed that Hyejin’s stride was different. It was a defeated walk. The once proud walk that Hyejin had was nowhere to be found. 

“Hyejin.” Wheein called out to her.

No response.

No recognition.

Wheein picked up her pace and tried again.

“Hyejin!”

Nothing.

Wheein ran after her.

“Hyejin-ah!”

Wheein didn’t stop to see if Hyejin acknowledged her cry. She just ran past Hyejin in  order to get in front of her. If Hyejin won’t face her, then she will.

Obscuring her path, Wheein stood in front of Hyejin. Hyejin tried to go around but Wheein cut her off. She tried again, but was cut off again. Hyejin had no choice but to face her.

But Hyejin looked everywhere except at Wheein. Her heart ached again. 

“Hyejin-ah, why won’t you look at me?” Wheein asked as she tried to grab Hyejin’s hand.

But Hyejin wouldn’t let Wheein touch her. She took her hand away from Wheein’s grasp. And continued to look at everything except Wheein.

She was fine with Hyejin not making eye contact. Her heart ached but it was a berable dull pain. But not having Hyejin’s touch? Her heart cried. It cried and wailed. A fury of sorrow.

“Please, Hyejin-ah…” Wheein’s voice cracked and tears flowed down her face as she grabbed Hyejin’s sleeve.

Hearing Wheein’s voice crack, Hyejin finally looked at her. She looked at her and mentally berated herself. She made Wheein cry. A couple months into their relationship and she made Wheein cry. She never wanted to be the cause of Wheein’s tears but yet here she is. Causing Wheein’s suffering.

Upon seeing Wheein’s tears, Hyejin’s hands automatically moved to wipe them. But the moment Hyejin saw them, her still bloody hands, she stopped. Her hands were tainted. Wheein deserves better. Her hands began to lower but Wheein grabbed them.

“Hyejin-ah.” Wheein held Hyejin’s hands and looked at Hyejin in desperation. She needed Hyejin’s touch. A touch to reassure her that everything is alright. A touch to show that they are alright. 

But Hyejin pulled her hands away and let them drop to her side and looked away once more. 

“Hyej--” WHeein tried to go in for a hug but Hyejin stepped out of range.

“You deserve better, Wheein-ah.”

Wheein froze. More tears fell, and her heart twisted and wailed. This can’t be happening. Anything but this.

Hyejin continued to stand at a distance. Maybe they were right. The principal, vice principal, and counselor. Maybe they were right in saying that she’s just bringing Wheein down. That she’s just a distraction. Wheein has a future, but Hyejin? She doesn’t. The system has already predetermined her outcome and even if she were to fight it, if she were to try to better herself, the system has a way of taking you back, whether now or in the future.

Before she could think of any more reason as to why Wheein deserves better, a pair of tear stained lips crashed into hers in a kiss of desperation. A kiss that was a desperate cry. 

Hyejin groaned against the kiss. How she wanted to envelope Wheein in a hug and kiss her back. Kiss her back and let her know how much she loves her. How she was being an idiot right now and letting authority figures get to her head. An idiot who made Wheein cry. An idiot who has no right to determine what Wheein deserves since that’s something she chooses for herself. An idiot who needs to apologise for being melodramatic. 

So, she did. 

Kissing Wheein back, Hyejin hoped that Wheein understood what she was trying to convey. Eventually they parted for air. Wheein cupping Hyejin’s face and Hyejin finally looking at Wheein’s eyes and holding her close.

“Hyejin-ah, what happened?” Wheein asked. Her tears stopped once she felt Hyejin’s touch again. 

Feeling Hyejin’s touch again, her heart soothed. Hyejin’s touch was hesitant, but still full of love. It was still strong and passionate. 

Hyejin turned her head to kiss Wheein’s palm before answering, “I’m an idiot for letting adults get into my head and I made you cry because of it.”

Her old lion was coming back. Wheein saw the fire come back to Hyejin’s eyes as she regained her clarity. Fire, and a hint of anger.

Wheein opened to ask, but Hyejin cupped her face and pulled her into another kiss.

A kiss of apology.

Wheein couldn’t help but moan but before she could kiss back they were interrupted by a tired janitor.

“Can you kids move, please? I need to get into the classroom.”

They both jumped and quickly issued their apologies before making their escape to Hyejin’s car. All the while, never letting go of each other.