:::: NAMI'S POV ::::

I stared at the high schooler in surprise. "Ah, really?"

He nodded. "Don't hesitate -- let's go!"

I was unsure of myself as he pulled me along the pavement, my feet feeling as heavy as bricks. But they were being forced to move anyway.

-

-

Through countless presentation halls, classrooms, and corridors, there was a small room, labeled "Ricky's Secret" in Korean writing. He dragged me towards it, grinning widely each step of the way there. This kid just didn't know when to stop smiling.

Ricky's secret room was probably the only room in the whole school that was secured with a keypad besides the teachers' lounge.

Once inside, I felt like passing out. If only you saw all the posters he had...

"SISTAR fan?" I asked.

"Yes...Bora noona's so pretty..." he admired her, looking the poster up and down. He must've sensed my glaring at him, because he shook his head. "It's not what you think. My mind is still innocent."

I chuckled and patted him on the head. "So this is your...sanctuary?"

"I guess you could say that. This is where I run away to when Sohyunnie noona yells at me."

"'Sohyunnie noona'? The maknae of 4Minute?"

"Of course. Who else did you think I was referring to?"

"I just...I...I'm so confused..."

"Oh right. I forgot your situation. Anyway, follow me. I wanna show you something." He led me to a secret door to an observatory.

"The...school's observatory?" I asked.

Ricky snorted. "It's not the school's, it's mine. This place isn't so obvious from the outside, which is partly why it's connected to my secret room."

"Oh, I see. So you like looking at stars then?"

He smiled. "They're quite a sight. I come in here whenever I have something on my mind. And when I look at the stars, my thoughts wander."

"You're an admirable kid, Ricky. I don't know why Sohyun yells at you. Why haven't we met before?" I wondered out loud.

"It's most likely because of ranking, Nami-ssi. I'm an RM, and you're an RH. Usually students of RM ranking look down on rankings lower than their own, but not me. I think of all students as equal people."

"Ah, is that so? Do you mind explaining ranks..and everything else to me?"

Ricky agreed. "Hmm....where should I start?"

"I think you should start by telling me where I am."

Turns out I'm in a world between the real world, and my fate in the afterlife. Which means I'll probably only be here temporarily. I'm pretty sure he didn't leave out a single detail.

"If RH rank is the lowest and RM rank is the highest, what's in the middle?" I asked.

"RS rank. They don't bother too much with students of RH rank, but they also don't really mind us RMs."

"How do people get to a higher rank?"

"Well...to put it bluntly, you either have to come from a rich family, or you have to do something extremely unbelievable."

"Well, my dad is a painter, and my mother stays at home. What would you consider unbelievable then?"

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't do anything dangerous, noona."

My eyes widened. "You're calling me noona? We just met..and I don't even know your name..."

"Changhyun." His arm went back to his side, as he realized what he had just done. "I'm sorry, Nami-ssi."

"Changhyun-ssi... how did I get here??" I turned frantic in a few seconds.

"I don't know, Nami-ssi."

"How did I die?"

"I don't know."

We sat there in silence, neither of us knowing what to say next.

-

-

The next morning, I awoke tucked into my hospital bed again. I opened my eyes to the bright sunlight that escaped through the little gaps in the blinds.

My nurse, who had an uncanny resemblance to Sohee, peeked her head into the room and knocked lightly on the door. "Nami-ssi?"

I answered with a raspy, "Yes?"

She stepped inside with a clipboard. "You're nearly fully recovered and stable, so the doctor informed me that you'll be able to be discharged later today. Isn't it great?"

I smiled at her. "Yes." 

She went to check the monitors and make sure everything was normal. I was taken aback by her appearance.

"Excuse me, miss..."

She turned around. "Hmm? Did you need something?"

I stuttered a bit. "B-by any chance, do you know an Ahn Sohee?"

She shook her head. "Aniyo, sorry."

"Ohh, okay. It's just...you sort of remind me of her."

"I'm sure that's a compliment." She chuckled. "My name is Muna. I'm from America."

I shook her hand lightheartedly. "Nice to meet you, Muna." She's pretty, just like Sohee, but Muna's a bit more optimistic. Sohee-yah, I miss you~  "Were you a student at the school?" I attempted to change the subject before I'd start crying.

"Honestly, no. I haven't been in this world that long."

"Really? Then how much time have you spent here?"

"Only about a few months. I died from a smallpox pandemic. My parents died a day before I did from the same issue, and they both took their final breaths laying next to each other, while I knelt down at their bedside. They're not with me. They're in heaven, I know that for a fact. Only young people get sent here for a second chance at finding something to die for. They took good care of me and my sister."

I was about to start bawling. "And what happened to your sister?"

"She managed to escape to Canada when the pandemic first started. She insisted on taking us with her, but it was too late. My father caught it first. So she begged my parents to at least let me tag along, but I refused to go with no one to take care of my mother and father during their final moments. Then they just forced her to leave. I never got to see her again. Given the amount of people who were affected by this whole thing, I doubt she even knows we're dead."

"I'm so sorry..."

"No. I am." She kept her head down as she paced out of the room.

-

-

A few hours later, with the doctor's consent, Muna sent me off.

"Be careful, okay? And come visit often." She beamed.

I nodded. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Do you mind bringing me to the school building? I still feel a bit dizzy."

"Okay." She linked her arms with mine and slowly dragged me to the school. "Why would you want to go to school? If I were you, I'd be cherishing my days off."

"I have some important business to tend to. It's free period for all the students anyway, right?"

"I suppose." You could tell she was struggling to support me.

Hey foreigner, I don't weigh that much...

"We're here."

I looked up and saw that we were in front of Building A, where the boys had their morning classes.

"I'm guessing this is the building you wanted entrance to, right?" she asked.

"Yup. You can go now." I shook her hand again. "Thanks."

She nodded her head and started walking towards the hospital.

What was my point in coming here, you ask? I wanted to find Ricky. I wanted to learn more about this place. I wanted to know how I got here.

I tried to remember my way around the building. I didn't know exactly where his secret room was, but I knew he would be in there.

I spotted a familiar face walking towards me. "Yah! Jang Dongwoo!"

He glanced in my direction and shielded his face once he saw who the voice belonged to. At the sound of his name, his legs moved a little faster and his footsteps echoed a little louder.

I chased after him until we reached a dead end, where I cornered him.

"Get away from me. I don't have time for this," he said gruffly as he tried to escape.

I pushed him back against the bunch of lockers he was leaning on. "Tell me what's going on. We never dated. You're pretending you don't even know me. Why?"

He snorted.

"What are you even doing here? Is this just a dream? I bet it is. Am I supposed to be dead? Why are you here???" I was completely hysteric and I was freaking out. I was probably scaring him.

He pushed my arms away. "The things that affected you that usually affect regular teenagers were also brought along into this world. It's the things you have in your heart that were kept alive...unless they found away into this world on their own."

----------

"If things were easy to find, they wouldn't be worth looking for." :]

That's why I'm trying my best to make this a fic with unpredictable plot twists and answers you can't easily think of. ^^

THAT'S WHY IF YOU MAKE INFERENCES A LOT, THIS IS GOOD PRACTICE FOR TRICKING BASTARDS LIKE YOU GUYS. XD

JK. <3 ILY PEOPLE.

Since Sungjongie placed 2nd in the poll I posted in my other fic, he'll be making an appearance soon. OuO

Look forward to part 2!~

안녕! 여러분 감사해요! God bless~

/모두 사랑합니다/

-Tia