Petals fall on a lovely day in spring as young women in perfectly ironed blouses and pleated skirts enter the school gates. The air is filled with quiet cheers and soft chatters between old friends with a distant but familiar bell ringing once again.

Eunbi walks straight ahead with no company but her own footsteps. Her eyes never leave the brick path as she walks towards her new classroom.

Her eyebrows are creased in the middle and she gulps out of nervousness. For some, she may look indifferent, intimidating even. But for one, she means more than anything.

With a determined huff, Eunbi takes one step at a time.

The girl watching her peeks from behind a tree trunk. But when Eunbi passes by, she retreats and hides completely.

Clutching the satin bag of macaroons against her chest, she mutters to herself.

Maybe next time, she decides, and turns towards her own classroom instead.

---

It’s another year and Eunbi knows that this time, she’ll finally find what she’s looking for.

Not that she ever had trouble in school. On the contrary, she consistently gets good grades and is almost always the class president. She’d like to believe that it’s a good thing, considering how her classmates pushed her to run for the student council. Grateful of the trust and belief in her potential, she did her best.

And that’s what led her here.

She takes long strides to the front of the stage, seeing her seniors already standing there. Joy is watching the neat row of students arriving at the auditorium while Jennie is practicing, clutching the cue cards in her hands. Wendy sees her walking and sends her a smile that she immediately returns, touched at the warm welcome.

Not only will she be able to share her ideas and skills, Eunbi will also have a chance to show her true self. Looking around the hall, she takes a deep breath.

She gets along well with a lot of her classmates but has only ever been close to one. Hyewon first reached out to her, noticing how much she was struggling to fit in.

And despite that, Eunbi’s never been in any social circles. She hears her classmates talk about the latest celebrity news and gather in small groups between classes. But at the mere sight of her, they keep mum and go back to their seats. One time, she asks what it was about, but maybe it was the tone in her voice, when only one classmate ever dared to answer her. The rest of the group kept quiet and she had no choice but to go back to her seat when the teacher came. They forget that Eunbi is a teenager too, who also likes music and movies, and other trends of their age. They forget that she wants to have friends, too.

Shaking her head, she smiles at Yeri, another officer from her year. They’ve never been classmates before, only meeting formally when the voting results were released. Rosé, the tall and kind girl to complete the group, gently takes both her and Yeri’s hands as a greeting. Comforted by the gesture, Eunbi’s lips tug upwards as the principal signals to start the assembly.

Eunbi now stands between Rosé and Yeri. If they’re anything like her, she’s sure they are as excited and nervous as she is.

The principal welcomes the students as the school year officially begins. After her speech, she calls on Jennie, who then introduces each of the officers to the student body.

Finally standing on stage, Eunbi carefully scans the hall. Right in the middle row somewhere in the sea of unfamiliar faces, her eyes land on the pretty and familiar blonde.

She doesn’t expect her to be looking, gaze locking with hers. The girl raises her fist in a gesture of support and Eunbi melts, her smile naturally forming in its place ridding her doubts and unwanted fears away.

This will definitely be the year that Eunbi finally finds where she belongs.

---

“You want some?”

Eunbi puts down her chopsticks and gapes at what her friend is holding right now. Reaching out for the pastel pink one, she hurries to take a bite, satisfied by the taste of her favorite food.

“You’re so giddy. I knew you’d like it.”

Hyewon shakes her head at her friend’s cute actions and takes a piece for herself.

“It’s my source of happiness,” Eunbi says though is still stuffed. “This is good. Where’d you get it?”

“It’s from Minami. She said a classmate gave it to her.”

Hyewon offers the bag of macaroons to Eunbi again, who does not hesitate to get another, a lilac one this time.

Eunbi feels light today, definitely better than her first year days. The sky is clear today and the two sit just by the steps of the building’s back wing. There’s no one else here and she enjoys the privacy and peaceful atmosphere.

“It’s all yours,” Hyewon chuckles as she hands the rest of the macaroons. “You deserve it, miss officer.”

Eunbi is filled with so much gratitude and it’s new. She feels strange, not having to worry about something and instead feeling excited about everything.

The warning bell rings and breaks her stupor and the two hurriedly pack their lunchboxes. Running is strictly forbidden on campus but they would need to speed up if they want to make it to their class in time.

“Ow-“

“I’m so sorry!” Eunbi finds herself in collision with a girl just as she opens the door.

But as she picks up the bag of desserts she dropped, the girl she bumped into has already left. Sensing a familiar face in her peripheral, Eunbi stops to wonder until Hyewon tugs her by the wrist.

A girl is speed walking to the other end of the hall. Even in that distance, Eunbi easily recognizes who it is.

---

After a month of school, it has become routine. In the morning, she drops by her cousin Yujin’s house and ride together to school, dropping her off by the middle school grounds. Now with a later dismissal time, Eunbi goes home alone, usually just right before dark.

Thrice a week, Eunbi stays for council duty. Sometimes, she’d drop by the library first to do her homework. That way, she can focus on the rest of the day for her tasks. The annual events have been set and assigned. Every meeting feels comfortable, and most days go by smoothly.

Recently, she’s been spending more time with Rosé. They are the only ones who haven’t joined clubs yet, deciding to focus and adjust to the tasks first. The seniors have more responsibilities outside council work and Yeri is in the debate team. Because of that, the two have an extra hour alone at the council building. Whenever they don’t have homework, they just spend time chatting and telling stories. At times, Yeri joins them too. Sometimes, Jennie would come in early to chat. And though Wendy seems to be the busiest, she makes time when she has no other schedules.

Eunbi sensed it. She just wasn’t sure. Rosé is always bubbly and warm. She can talk about anything but she falls quiet when there’s one other person in the room. Luckily, that person never notices and just joins whatever conversation they’re having.

So it’s no surprise when Rosé tells her that she likes Joy.

Eunbi thinks it’s cute, and she watches the other girl blush at the mere thought of the older girl.

But when Rosé asks her if she has ever felt the same way for someone, the realization dawns on her. The mere reason one person in the entire school stood out among the rest. The reason why something as trivial as a sight in her peripheral makes Eunbi go for a second look.

The very reason why their little moment on the first day of school had so much impact on her.

“So there is someone…” Rosé chimes. “I wonder who she is.”

Eunbi can only take a deep breath.

---

It’s another Wednesday and they let open all the windows of the meeting room. The cool breeze is comforting and Rosé sits on the ledge. Eunbi is sure Joy would reprimand her for doing so and remind her that it’s unladylike, but she just lets her. Rosé is comfortable and she’d rather not interfere with whatever weird dynamics they have.

The two relax in silence after cleaning the room. Eunbi is now standing by the corner where the student council pictures are displayed neatly in a row. The frames are lacquered black, just as elegant as the girls posing in each one.

Picking up the most recent photo, she easily recognizes them. Jennie is standing on the left, holding hands with who she remembers as Jisoo. Beside her is Seulgi, who is sporting a big smile as she stands next to Yeri. Eunbi automatically smiles at their expressions, looking like they’re in the middle of a teasing match. On Yeri’s right, is her cousin Wendy, standing right next to Irene.

“Irene’s really something,” Rosé whispers. She is now towering beside her, peeking closer to see the rest of the girls in the photo.

Eunbi looks at Irene’s picture again. She’s never met her personally, but she sure heard a lot about her. Aside from being one of the leaders the previous year, she’s also done a lot of things. An heiress, she is trained in all the arts. Her extracurricular activities in school are all but an escape to her.

They say she only ever relaxes when she’s with the council members. Because it was the one thing she cared about, she poured all her effort into it and it surely paid off. Their service was a legacy to remember even in the years to come.

It’s weird to know such things about a person she isn’t even close to. But in their first year, her classmates gushed a lot about her. Most notably, Sakura was totally enamored by her and understandably so.

Eunbi vividly remembers the school play. For the first time, the council refused to get the students of the nearby boys’ school to act in the play, and instead held auditions limited to their schoolmates for both female and male roles.

When she entered the auditorium, it was almost full. Turning back to the sides to stand instead, she hears someone calling her name. She finds an empty space beside Sakura, who swooned and stared at Irene with her leading lady Wendy back then.

Sakura never kept her crush for Irene a secret. Anyone who knows her is aware of that. This both entertained and bothered Eunbi. Sakura, the prettiest and most popular girl in their year, crushing on Irene, the most elusive and respected girl in campus, is too strong a team.

Ever since then – and Eunbi still cannot explain why – she couldn’t look at Irene whenever she sees her in the campus.

Eunbi snaps out of her daydream when they hear footsteps from the stairs outside. Yeri enters with a big sigh of relief, tired from her long day. Eunbi thinks they have something in common. The student council building is somewhat a relief. It’s comforting and Yeri smiles as soon as she sits on her chair.

Jennie and Joy follow right behind her, engaged in a conversation about exams and deadlines. They thank Rosé as she silently moves her chair to accommodate them, gaze lingering too long towards Joy. The latter surprisingly notices this time.

While the two are in a trance, Jennie tells them that Wendy has gathered a crowd outside. When Eunbi looks at her confused, Jennie chuckles.

“Remember when we decided to get volunteers?”

They nod. Yeri raises a brow, “That was just yesterday.”

With the success of last year’s event, this year’s school fair is the most awaited one yet. It is also the most taxing, since the event will run for a whole week instead of just a day. Thus, they decided to enlist the help of volunteers. It’s still about two months until then but Joy suggested doing the planning ahead and the tasks in increments. Everyone easily agreed to this plan. This way, they wouldn’t to have to stay in school too late. And with more hands on deck, they would be able finish the major preparations weeks prior to the event.

“Well,” Jennie continues, “Wendy said at least ten have already approached her. A real heartthrob, that one.”

“Isn’t that a lot?” Eunbi asks this time. That’s almost double the usual crowd in the room and she can assume they wouldn’t even fit in the cramped room.

Joy is already listening to the conversation now as she pipes up, “Don’t worry. We already shortlisted them since we agreed on just three. They must be on their way here.”

“Yeah, I can see them from the window,” Rosé points outside. Curious and a little excited, Eunbi stretches to look but they’re too far to recognize.

As the current occupants settle down and chat, Wendy bursts into the room with a bright smile. Standing behind her are three tall girls.

“Everyone, here are our volunteers for the school fair.”

Looking up, Eunbi chokes on her drink. She subtly wipes to hide her surprise as Wendy ushers their guests inside.

The chair across Eunbi was still empty, until the girl she least expected yet most wanted to see stands right in front of her.

The tallest girl on the left introduces herself first. She looks very enthusiastic, it’s actually endearing.

“Hi! I’m Lisa from first year peach class. Glad to meet all of you.”

She bows before tapping her friend to go next. The girl purses her lips in a shy smile.

“I’m Yena from first year plum class. I’m excited to help out in the coming events.”

Also with a bow, Jennie couldn’t help but coo at the youngest members in the room.

Right then, the prettiest woman Eunbi has ever seen takes her cue.

“I’m Sakura from second year azalea class. I look forward to working with all of you.”

When she smiles, Eunbi swears time stops.

“Are you okay?” Rosé whispers beside her. She nods and only then does she remember to respond.

Her eyes scan the three newcomers, but it only lands on one.

---

Eunbi is on cleaning duty at the music room. She knows she shouldn’t stall, but today marks the first day the volunteers will join them. And though excited, she just can’t help but feel shy around Sakura.

As if the fates of time can hear her internal battle, Yeri quietly bursts into the room to inform her the meeting has been postponed. Thanking her and releasing a sigh, Eunbi continues her slow pacing of sweeping the floor.

Without any activity to rush to, she offers to bring the log to the faculty room and urges her classmates to go home since they're done with their tasks anyway. With a wave goodbye, Eunbi returns the broom and sits down by the piano.

Recently, she’s been feeling… weird. She’s finally gaining more friends. She doesn’t understand how but Rosé seems to know her well already in just that short amount of time. The council room is always bright and happy, thanks to Yeri’s jokes and stories, to which Joy would playfully add a punch line or a witty comment.

Days spent with them always end on a good note, even when they only do tasks and paperwork. And though no one else rides the same route as her, she spends her train rides happily, with laughter ringing in her ear and warmth staying in her heart.

With extra time to spare, she positions her hands on the keys, trying to recall the songs she used to play as a kid. Whenever she is feeling down or upset, music calms her. Thinking of a classic, she presses a note but is interrupted by the door opening.

Gasping in surprise, the girl by the doorway bows sheepishly.

“Sorry to surprise you. Yeri just told me about the schedule and may have mentioned that you’re here.”

Not waiting for her to respond, Sakura enters the music room.

“We ride the same line, right? I think I’ve seen you on the train before. We can go home together.”

Surprised would be an understatement to what Eunbi’s feeling right now. Sure, they already know each other. They’re definitely more than acquaintances. But, Sakura is offering to ride home with her and Eunbi isn’t sure how to function.

“Ah, yeah. Sure! That would be nice.”

She stands up to get her bag from the corner when Sakura speaks again.

“Were you going to play?”
 

Finding the courage to face her, Eunbi shakes her head. Sakura waits for her to respond.

“Ah, not really. I can’t remember the notes anymore.” Sensing the growing awkwardness, she asks, “Do you play?”

Sakura beams at that and sits down. Before Eunbi can take a step back, Sakura is already tugging her arm so she can sit back down.

With fingers deftly playing on the keys, Eunbi gapes at her. The melody rings in her ears and she finds it hard to breathe. She doesn’t notice until the sound stops that her gaze has moved from her fingers to her face. Sakura turns to her and they stare at e