{Dabin's POV}

I wandered into the school building awkwardly, clutching the straps of my backpack tightly. Everyone who I passed looked at me with shocked expressions, friends who were laughing and talking suddenly went silent and watched me walk past them, everyone’s attention was on me, and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh my. Is that Lee Dabin?” One whispered to her friend.

“Did you know Dabin was coming back?” Another one whispered to his friends.

After months of recovering, I was finally back. Everyone was looking at me. Everyone was whispering about me. I had been preparing myself for it. But now I’m actually here. I’m not ready for it. But I couldn’t keep thinking this way. The past was the past, but I still had to be happy, I still had to be the same Lee Dabin.

“Lee Dabin!~” I heard a familiar voice call out. I was saved. Saved from the awkwardness and saved from my own thoughts. I turned around and smiled when I saw my best friend, Kim Gayoon run towards me. “I’m so happy you’re back! I’ve missed you so much!” She cried out happily as she wrapped her arms around my left arm and hugged the side of me. We smiled at each other as we walked into our homeroom. Having Gayoon by my side, I felt slightly more confident. But it was still uncomfortable.

“So are you back for real now?” Gayoon asked me as I nodded with a smile. “Back to everything… if you know what I mean…” She stuttered awkwardly. I shook my head and sighed. I knew what she was trying to ask me. If I was also back at swim practice or swimming with the school swim team again, “Sorry I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” I reassured her as we smiled to each other before the classroom door suddenly opened and more of our class came inside. They came in like normal, but as soon as they caught eye contact with me, they gave me a double look, realising I was back.

I bowed my head, trying to avoid any more eye contact. I was thinking too much. I knew this would happen. Maybe I wasn’t ready. But I already had so much time away from school. I couldn’t stay at home forever.

"Hello class!" Our homeroom teacher called out as she entered the room. Everyone stood up and bowed to greet her. She scanned the room and her eyes landed on me. She smiled happily before she continued talking.

You can do this Lee Dabin, you’ve got this… you’ve definitely got this…

~

The final bell of the day rang and I realised I had made it to the end of my first day back. It was an uncomfortable and awkward day. Not many people spoke to me, but nor did I speak to many people either. Gayoon, some teachers and a few other people who had the courage to ask me how I was feeling, but that was all.

I pushed open the doors to our school swimming pool and took a deep breath in. The smell, the sight of the lights shining on the top of the blue water. My happy place. Despite everything that had happened, it was still my happy place. Everyone had gone home for the day, there was no swim practice, no swim team meet up. This was my chance. A chance to swim for the first time since everything had happened. On my own. With no one watching.

I walked out of the swimming pool and headed towards the changing rooms. I had at least a few hours before security came and locked up the building. Suddenly the smell of strong paint hit me and I frowned. I looked around confused; the corridor had changed and the layout had changed. I never knew they had redesigned the corridors or the changing rooms, and it seemed like they were still in the middle of redesigning as neither of the changing room doors had signs on them. The girls' changing room. The boys’ changing room. Why were there no signs on the doors? But surely they wouldn’t have swapped them? Right?

"Which one is which..." I decided as I looked between the two doors. I thought back to when I used to swim, the girls’ changing room was always on the right. Time to decide. I wandered towards the right door and pushed it open.

“Lee Dabin! What the hell!” Hyunjin shrieked loudly as my eyes widened. My eyes widened as Hyunjin stood in the middle of the changing rooms with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing more. I quickly brought my hands to my face and spun around, facing away from him.

“Sorry! Sorry!” I cried out repeatedly as I cringed to myself. Why would they change the changing rooms around? The girls’ was always on the right!

“You’re back… But what are you doing here?” Hyunjin scoffed as he tapped my shoulder. I turned back around cautiously, but luckily he had already got changed and was finishing buttoning up the final buttons on his school shirt.

“Sorry… I… I didn’t know which changing room was which… the girls’ was always on the right.” I stuttered awkwardly, “I’ll go now…” 

I quickly turned around on my heels and quickly darted out of the changing rooms but sighed deeply when I heard Hyunjin had followed me.

“You didn’t te