Yongsun felt numb as she glanced at the blood thickly flowing down her arm, seeping through the gaps of her clenched fist. Small droplets of the scarlet liquid scattered across the white-tiled floor, lazily concentrating between its cracks. Not so far, a bed of roses laid covered in the shards of glass that had once sheltered them. She inattentively watched as the white-petaled roses bathed in the warmth of her blood, soaking in the red pigment.

            Yongsun couldn’t remember how she got into such predicament; however, she could remember the loud rumbling noise accompanied by the hissing and screeching of metal that had woken her up to this very moment. The faint echoes of that horrid noise sent an unexplainable chill down her spine. It had sounded so close yet, nothing in her house could produce such a high-pitch sound. There was also something oddly familiar about that eerie sound and the overwhelming fear that came afterwards.

            Yongsun returned her attention to the broken vase. It had been her mother’s favorite, not that it mattered much to her. In fact, Yongsun was certain that her mother wouldn’t notice the vase’s disappearance unless someone knowingly told her. Although her mother was once passionate with her gardening hobby, she hadn’t laid a foot in the soil over the past few years. Once Yongsun’s father had begun climbing up in the business world, her mother devoted her time to aiding her father as a co-CEO of their uprising corporation. Yongsun’s father had bought the flower vase as a gift to her mother. She remembers the beaming smile on her mother’s face when she first place four of her bloomed roses in her new vase. “She illuminates the room!” her father had joked.

            Yongsun lowered her gaze when she felt coldness stream beneath her feet, gently greeting her skin. She stood in a mixture of water and blood; it tainted her pale feet in a light crimson. Another droplet of blood collided against the murky water, sending ripples down its surface. How long has she been standing here?

            The rambunctious blaring of a phone echoed throughout the kitchen, interrupting Yongsun’s thoughts. Her phone laid on the kitchen island, eagerly informing her that she had 30 minutes left to catch her bus. She will be late. Her institution was particularly strict on attendance policy and she had no intention of being deducted citizenship points for tardiness.

            Despite her rebellious persona, Yongsun has always valued her education above everything else. She was determined to be more than her parent’s daughter; she wanted to form a legacy of her own. Yongsun had received perfect remarks on all her courses throughout her first two years of high school, exceeding a 4.0 GPA. She has been steadily climbing up her class’s student percentile rank and was one of the promising candidates for valedictorian.

            Before her phone could ring again, Yongsun turn her alarm off. She tightly wrapped her arm in a kitchen cloth and ran towards the bathroom, leaving a trail of blood behind. She fumbled with the doorknob; her hands not able to get a good grip. Once inside, Yongsun staggered towards the first aid kit. She knew her cut wasn’t life threatening, nor as bad as it seemed, but she had to stop the bleeding and clean the wound.

Yongsun was used to the amount of blood, memories of her childhood were filled with heavy nose bleeds and monthly visits to the hospital. Yongsun was digonosed with mild Hemophilia at the age of 10. Growing up, she was trained to take care of her condition and the nosebleeds ceased. Once her wound was clean, Yongsun injected herself with a clotting factor before bandaging her arm. She quickly changed into her school uniform before running out the door.

            The yellow bus impatiently waited for her to aboard it. Yongsun quickly made her way across her yard, stumbling along the way. The door sprung open upon her arrival, inviting her in. The driver offered Yongsun a small smile and received a sheepish smile and a whispered ‘thank you’ in return. The driver simply nodded and continued her drive.

            The bus rocked Yongsun from side to side as she made her way to her (self) designated seat. Yongsun always sat on the fourth row, next to the window. She preferred the front side of the bus, it was much quieter, allowing her time to daydream with the ambiance of her mellow music. Yongsun has lived most of her life in her head, hundreds of scenarios playing before her, every word and action precisely determined by her. Yongsun spent most of her time alone in an empty home. Her parents were usually attending business meetings