Thank you for all the subs and comments! I'm glad to know that you guys enjoyed the foreword and I'm even more touched to see that you guys complimented me on my writing; I'm flattered. I don't have much to say but that "The Tin Woman"'s outline is finished along with the Epilogue that you'll have to wait for (mwahaha). I'd also like to warn you guys to make sure you remember the foreword!

This chapter is quite...eh to be honest. But after trying to revise it over and over again, I guess this is just how the first chapter must end up as.

Anyway, here's Chapter 1 and please make sure to tell me your thoughts!

Chapter 0

Under the Oak Tree

---

She watched blankly as the scene in front of her unfolded slowly.
 

The trashing of the remains of what use to be her bedroom lay around the wooden flooring, it's surface cold as it pricked her bare feet. Somehow, she was able to nimbly avoid the tiny pieces of broken glass from her now non-existent mirror and she walked towards her window.
 

The curtains were torn, harsh actions evident in it's cloth, and she only looks at it with unreadable eyes before making her way towards her messy bed. The cover folded in unsightly waves and part of the covers were hanging off the edge of what use to be a princess bed. The bedcover was carelessly ripped to the middle, light green covers looking like unmaintained lawn. Everthing looked so dark, like an old photograph that displayed the quiet sorror of an abandoned.
 

She then looked around and spotted a frozen figure in the doorway of her room.
 

Facial expressions of stress and frustration were present on the figure's exhausted face, dark purple bags underneath the emotionless orbs that stared at her, but not exactly at her. Wrinkles pressed up on the figure's forehead with persistence and thin, chapped lips stayed still.
 

Slow motion; she thought when she made her way to the figure.

 

The figure didn't move whatsoever and stared back at her, but not exactly at her.
 

The feeling of remorse filled her chest and it constricted her chest, making it hard to breathe. She swallowed heavily, taking a good look at the figure's unhealthy face. She shakily raised her hand up to touch the icy, hard skin on its cheek and she gulped, shoving down a sob in her parched throat.

 

"Appa."

Her voice was filled with untold emotions.

The chirping of the birds sang throughout the empty patio of the school campus, the sound of running water from a fountain placed right in the middle of the patio constantly sounding in steady beats as water squirted out of the top every now and then. The wind flew by carefully, causing an sweep of gentle air to pass along her hair, and whipped it to the side lightly.
 

Yoona carefully eyed the fountain, her ears open for any other sound that could be human-like.

 

After hearing only the sounds of nature, she took a deep breath before crawling out under the wooden benches and slowly made her way towards the fountain; her second destination. With slick movements, she slivered out and onto her feet when she was freed from the bench's top. She made a break for it.
 

Please don't find me, please don't find me, please don't find me...
 

Yoona silently begged, her legs aching from the being crouched down for so long.
 

When she was within a few feet from the fountain, she quickly dove behind the fountain and landed straight on her stomach. She winced at the sudden ground contact, but kept low by the fountains edge when her ears picked up the sound of fast footsteps. A loud clatter of voices yelled at each other.
 

"Did you find her?!"

"No. I swear I saw her go this way..."
 

"We don't have time! Let's spilt up. The quicker we find her the quicker we get our interview for the newspaper!"

"But the lunch break is almost over!"

 

"Then let's hurry!"

 

Yoona bit her lip in an attempt from yelling for them to stop.
 

Sometimes, Yoona wished she didn't exist. Ever since she was chosen to play a small role in a commercial in junior high, she's suddenly become a 'huge' issue everywhere she went; especially if it was students from her school. She barely was in the commercial and yet the next day, she was bombarded with 'friends,' she'd never met, fans that acted like she was God, and she was respected with kindness she didn't know when she earned.
 

And now that it's her second year in high school, a few years after her 'supposable' debut in the acting industry; she should've been used to all this attention on her. She should've been wanting more and appreciating the respect people gave her.
 

But Yoona just didn't understand why a person like her, someone who was barely known back then and slacked immensely, was proclaimed successful when she only appeared on T.V. for a good ten seconds. She didn't even really talk during the CF, instead just smiling purely and putting on over exaggerated expression over fried chicken. And even with the tiny offers of staring in a few dramas her and there, critics complimenting her on her so called 'acting', Yoona still didn't understand.

There was nothing special about her; she was probably just another pretty face with no talent whatsoever.

But she'd just have to live with this until she graduated; if she graduated. She didn't have much confidence.

 

Yoona held her breath when she saw shoes slap down against the pavement a few feet from the fountain.
 

Once the footsteps went faint to her ears, she exhaled heavily, her face hot from effort. Getting up from her stomach, she stumbled onto her feet and looked down at her school uniform. Her shirt was wrinkled from lying down and had ashy smudges on the white sleeves of her button up shirt. Her skirt was slightly torn at the bottom and her knee, white socks were dirtied from hiding in the school's greenhouse.
 

She frowned and used her hands as a pathetic iron to try to tidy up. It only caused the brown mud stains to rub even more over her uniform and she growled.
 

"And this was the third uniform I bought!" Yoona mumbled irritated, straightening out her skirt while re-tucking in the back of her shirt.
 

When Yoona made herself slightly more presentable, she took a look around and discovered that she was on the opposite side of her classes. Just when she was about to pull out her cell phone to check for the time, the lunch bell rang warningly and she groaned.
 

"Great! Now I'm late," She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat, "And next class is history...There's no way Mr. Lee will let me in now that I'm late..." Yoona bit her lip and thought for a minute.
 

It was only history and since she's been doing fairly well for the past few weeks in the class, one day off couldn't hurt. Her schedules were always changing too so if that excuse wasn't enough to let her off the hook, she'd just say she was confused by her new schedule. The plan was basically flawless; she was an "actress" anyway.
 

Yoona stretched her arms above her head and yawned widely, not caring for her image since it was currently class time and everyone would be inside. Making her way out of the patio, she decided to take a stroll around the campus. This section of the school wasn't her usual route so a little exploring couldn't hurt.

 

Walking around peacefully, she took a look around her surroundings and found that she was indeed in the musical part of her high school. There were large paintings of music notes hanging from the sides of the buildings -probably made by the art club- and the large windows that gave her a peek inside showed an orchestra and band working together on a piece she couldn't recognize.
 

After what seemed like half an hour, Yoona found herself reaching a dead end where the school dump was located. She grimaced at the disgusting scent that hit her nostrils like a punch. She furrowed her brows and wondered if she should turn back and take the longer way back to her section.

 

But after pondering, she shrugged and started to walk past the dump.

 

A little smell can't hurt me. It can't be bad as Sica-unnie's pasta from last time...

 

Yoona made a slight noise of disgust, thinking back at the horrid smell that Jessica had been able to create with just a pan and a can of pasta.
 

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Yoona spotted a figure leaning against an old trunk of a oak tree that was unluckily planted right by the dumpster. She tilted her head to the side curiously, squinting to try to see more clearly. The tall oak tree’s long branches, however, blocked her view.
 

"What?" She whispered to herself, curious of why a person would pick such a...revolting place to rest at. Yoona picked up her feet and jogged to towards the large tree.

 

Her eyes widened.

***

The oak tree above swayed gently in the tranquil wind and a girl, dressed in a slightly different uniform that Yoona herself had on, sat under the lanky branches of the tree, quietly flipping a page in the thick book the girl held in her hand. Dark hair cascaded down the sides of the latter's face, framing her delicate face. On her nose was a pair of reading glasses and by the way the girl sat -proper and careful- she gave off the image of seriousness.
 

Yoona stood afar watching for a while.

This girl is...

She then grinned.

 

"She's pretty." Yoona said through her smile and walked towards the girl.

 

At the sound of crumbling fallen oak leaves, the girl snapped her head up from her book, slight surprise evident in her wide orbs. Yoona shot her a friendly smile, but the smile quickly fell off her face when the girl scooted away from her.

 

Did I scare her?

 

The dark haired girl made a disgruntling noise and got up onto her feet in a flash, tightly gripping her book close to her body like it was all she had to keep her alive. Her uniform was perfectly maintained, unlike Yoona's, the ribbon around her neck carefully tied; a freshman, Yoona noticed when the color of the ribbon was a light blue.

 

The girl suddenly started to walk off and Yoona called out to her in panic, somehow not wanting the girl to run away.

 

"Wait!" Yoona jogged after the girl, "Wait! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you or anything!" Her tone was desperate and her heart was racing and she didn't even know why. How come she cared so much for someone who she didn't even know of? There was something different about this girl, the secretive aura she gave off when Yoona gazed at her from afar.

 

The girl paused in her steps, turning around a bit. 

Yoona took this chance to talk.

 

'I was just walking around and saw you sitting here alone. I was wondering why you're here and instead of, you know, in class." Yoona stumbled slightly on her words, trying to explain that she didn't mean anything bad. "I swear I wasn't going to tell on you or anything."
 
 

The girl completely turned to face Yoona and Yoona's breath caught in when she saw the girl's full face.

 

Wide, doe like eyes, almost like Yoona's herself, but were more guarded and secertive were present on the girl's face. There was a set of pink lips on her face, supple and healthy, and two eyebrows that were slightly bushy, giving off a innocent look to the girl's face. The girl's lips parted and moved.
 
 

"Shouldn't you be in class as well?"

 

A tough, stiff monotone voice reached her ears and Yoona was shocked to here such a tone come out from such a pretty girl.

 

Yoona gaped openingly, her surprise obvious to the latter. She hadn't expected the girl to have such a cold voice. It was almost robotic sounding. Despite the girl's delicate image, she sported a uqiue voice, carrying a tone that Yoona never heard of in her entire life; the girl almost sounded like Jessica after she and Hyoyeon woke her up.

 

Cold, icy, no, not icy; More like nonchalant. This girl sounds nonchalant.

 

The girl in front of her raised a brow, waiting, watching; checking on how Yoona would react.

 

Yoona finally shook the shock out of her and she blinked twice.

 

She wanted to know more of this girl.

***

"You sure choose a strange place to rest at."
 

Yoona stated, leaning her back against the unexpectedly soft bark of the oak tree she and the girl sat under. She wrinkled her nose at the musty smell of trash in the air and made an effort to get use to it.
 

The girl shrugged a little, her shoulders bouncing up slightly. She wasn't looking at Yoona. Instead, the girl seemed to be more interested in the thick, black book in her hands, slender fingers carefully holding the book up. 
 

She replied in that same tone as before.
 

"It's quiet."

 

Yoona raised an amused brow and laughed, finding the other's words to be quite strange.

 

"Quiet? So is that why I hear that loud garbage truck nearing the dump?" She teased. Yoona motioned to a green colored truck, which beeped its horn at Yoona happily as it drove by and into the dump.

Yoona smiled cheekily and waved back, not noticing the girl's gaze on her. When Yoona turned back, the girl had stuck her face in her book again, reading busily.

"Sooo?" Yoona asked, stretching out the word, extending her arms behind her head, "What's the real reason you're here? You don't look like the kind of person to skip class." She glanced to the quiet girl beside her, a good foot of distance between them.
 

The girl peeped up from her book.
 

"No."
 

Yoona internally winced at the tone again, still not use to the mechanic sound of it. It almost sounded unhuman; like she was talking to a computer.

 It pierced into her head like an arrow, connecting with strength and acurracy.

"I have a free period."
 

"Ah."

Yoona replied understandingly.
 

There was silence before the girl spoke again.
 

"...It's also quiet. From them."
 

Yoona furrowed her brows.
 

Them?
 

The girl carried around a quiet mysterious aura. It made Yoona feel like there was so much more to the girl but the latter had locked up all of her secrets and stashed her true self in a box, hiding it in the dark. Yoona had noticed because she was an actress; she was trained to see things like this, even if she was still inexperienced.

 

Or maybe it was because Yoona had grown a slight fascination towards the younger girl, who Yoona still didn't know of her name.
 

Yoona opened .
 

Who excatly is 'them'?

Suddenly, a bell broke through their conversation before Yoona could ask anything else, the girl got up right at the sound.

Yoona followed, watching as the girl picked up her things. She leaned down to help, grabbing the girl's green bag. Yoona could've sworn she had seen a glimpse of a cartoon on the front of it. Yoona straightened and extended it to the girl.

She grinned when the girl looked at her blankly.

 

"Im Yoona; 2nd year."
 

Yoona introduced. She was positive that this girl wasn't like the others, since she wasn't affected by Yoona's presance like the other students usually are, and Yoona was determined to find out who this girl really was. Deep down inside of her, she didn't really know why she wanted to. She just wanted to. She never been so set on something before and this girl, whoever she was, just broke that streak.
 

 
The girl gazed at her, lips in a tight lock as her eyes seemingly searched Yoona's face for something.

Yoona wondered why the girl was so cautious.

 

"Seo Juhyun; 1st year."

 

Juhyun finally said, her voice low, but still with that chilling tone in her voice. They stared at each other for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Juhyun's voice left a large impression in Yoona's mind and it echoed through her brain like a mantra.
 

Yet, Yoona wasn't really affected by it.

***

She was a beautiful girl with long hair that made a onyx waterfall on her long backside, leading up to her baby face that highlighted bright, wide eyes. She sat proper and serious; an image usually not displayed by a 1st year and had stone face features, expression barely changing.
 

Yoona had thought of her like she was almost a sculpture; Seo Juhyun.
 

Seo Juhyun was carved carefully with tentative hands, inspected with blurry eyes as the artist tried hard to hide all of the mistakes they made due to their poor eye sight. Shaking, hesitant fingers touched cold stone and traced the direction they needed to clip and hammer. But the artist was timid and their carving slipped and chipped off. 
 

The artist tried to hide the mistake by covering the dent with a cloak of dark silk; beautiful and valuable. But underneath the cloth was still the hidden secret and the artist left the sculpture to sit over night. They forgot about the lone statue soon after and the side of where the statue was chip bleeds, barely noticeable and the cloak slid off to display the undeniabl-

 

"Yah! Im Yoona! Are you listening?" 
 

Sooyoung's voice snapped Yoona out of her trance and dazed, she looked up at the frowning taller girl who towered over her. 
 

Sooyoung's roughly cut hair messily sat on top of her head, the ends of the short hair cut straightened out. The taller girl's arms were crossed over her not very noticeable chest and Sooyoung's sleeves were rolled up to her elbows.
 

Sooyoung was a close "unnie" of her's; a friend she had met during her first year in high school.

 

When news had broke out that 'The' Im Yoona was coming to the high school, all of the students had flipped. Once Yoona stepped onto the campus of her new school, the newly enrolled student had been bombarded by crazy fans and school reporters, all wanting something from Yoona and luckily, Sooyoung had been there to break up the crowd.
 

Sooyoung had been featured in a CF too...a cell phone CF and all Sooyoung had said to her that time when Yoona had thanked the girl about saving her from certain death, was that she knew the terror of being on media while still being in school. Least to say, thanks to the relation of knowing the absolute horror of crazy fans, the two had hit off easily.

 

"Huh?" Yoona said stupidly, still trapped in a slight trance.

 

Sooyoung sighed and pointed to Yoona's thin chin. "Wipe that drool off of your chin. You don't want the newspaper club to get a hold of that sight."
 

Yoona's eyes widened and she quickly used her sleeve to clean her chin. She smiled thankfully at Sooyoung. Then, the doe-eyed girl looked around to see if anyone had seen the scene.

 

Sooyoung waved her hand.
 

"Don't panic superstar. No one saw you and your dork of a self." Sooyoung teased reassuringly, pulling out a chair in front of Yoona's desk. She sat down and leaned onto her elbows, a questioning look in her eyes.
 

"So what was all of that about? You usually don't sleep during class; especially during Art Techniques since one of the members from the newspaper club is in the same class." Sooyoung asked.
 

Yoona blinked and glanced down to see her art book still open up on the page of 'Sculpturing'. She grinned sheepishly.
 

"Ah, I guess I was daydreaming." 
 

"No one daydreams with drool hanging off their chin." Sooyoung remarked smartly.
 

Yoona made a face.

"It wasn't hanging off my chin." Yoona retorted. "And it wasn't drool. It was water from my nose."
 

Sooyoung looked confused.
 

"What?"
 

"You know," Yoona tried to explain, "When you have your head down and you're just breathing. Then you raise your head and the place where you breathed at is a little wet." Yoona said, causing Sooyoung to seem even more confused than before.
 

"I am not going to make a joke on how wrong that can sound." The taller girl said, "You're lucky we don't have that byuntae here or else you'd never live what you said down." Sooyoung poked her tongue out with a distasteful face.
 

"I didn't say anything erted. You just have a bad mind." She replied.

Yoona rolled her eyes and looked back down at her art book, eyeing a statue of a Greek Goddess. She read the slight caption underneath the picture.

Mysterious power that they behold; may the goddess use it for good or evil depends on the emotions she holds inside of her heart; whether her soul glows or turns in black all depends...Or maybe she should not use them, she'd instead hide herself and seal her heart off forever...

Yoona made a noise of interest, remembering back at how Seo Juuhyun attracted her so.

She turned back to Sooyoung, who was staring outside of the classroom window.
 

"Hey Sooyoung," Yoona called, causing the latter to put her attention on Yoona.
 

Sooyoung hummed boredly.
 

"Hm?"

 

Yoona closed her textbook.
 

"Do you know anything about the freshman, Seo Juhyun?"

I'll be honest; I lack so much good vocabulary. I wish Seohyun would teach me some...Anyway! That's it for now and well, tell me your thoughts? I'm not exactly satisfied with the chapter, but what's got to be done is going to be done. I'm already working on chapter two, where will get more of an insight of who Juhyun is. I'll see you guys later~