TRIIING!

The bell chirruped deafeningly overhead, finally dismissing the students from the final class period of the day.

My vision instantly became blurred with muddy brown streaks and slashes. The colors and shapes emitted from the shrill sound were quite visible, but I had just gotten so accustomed to my abnormal sensory perceptions that I hardly even noticed them anymore. They had merely become second nature, a daily procedure. After all, I had been living in a world overwhelming with color, scents, and flavor for the past sixteen years of my life.

I sighed listlessly, ignoring the jaunty hoots and hollers of my peers as they simultaneously scraped their chairs back, emitting visible floating black dots. They hastily filed out of the room, eager to escape the suffocating withholds of the long school hours. The lively chatter and gleeful laughter diffused a greenish, luminescent haze that suspended in thin air.

I quickly excused myself, making a beeline for the exit. As I entered the much too cramped and crowded hallway, the haze was noticeably sharper in color, from a pallid green to a vibrant, highlighter lime green. Warm and enticing scents — apple pie, freshly cut grass, and wintergreen mint — tickled my nose ever so slightly. The faintest trace of something bittersweet left a familiar flavor in my mouth, coating my tongue lightly. I was never able to decipher what the exact taste was, but I never minded it.

The plethora of sensory perceptions I was perceiving does sound quite overwhelming. However, I have grown to be so accustomed to this abundance of colors, scents, and flavors that it had merely become a second nature to me, a natural part of my life. These perceptions came to me as natural as the sounds they were emitted from, such as a the shriek of the dismissal bell ringing, the screech of chairs scraping back, and teens chit-chattering clamorously due to over-excitement.

I wandered aimlessly abroad the school campus. I took notice, and not for the first time, that the haze was hovering thicker and sharper over several places and over certain clusters of people. Sometimes the haze dissolved into nothingness. Not too long ago, I had come to the rationalization that the strength of my perceptions was influenced by a person, place, or thing's emotions and the overall vibes it emitted.

"Taemin! Yah, Lee Taemin!" someone chirruped cheerfully from behind me. Upon hearing my name, the mental canvas in my mind immediately became stained with a violent burst of sunflower yellow. My senses perceived the faintest trace of banana flavor and the subtle scent of fresh, crisp lemons.

I promptly spun around, grinning ear to ear, as I came face-to-face with my one and only best friend, Kim Kibum, who preferred to be named as Key. He was a senior, one year older than me. The vibrant yellow, once stained onto the mental canvas, was instantly replaced with a vivid shade of fuschia, the name Key branded into my mind.

For as long as I could remember, Key's name had always exuded a radiant, fiery glow. I had taken notice that no other name had ever had this effect to it, which always managed to leave me feeling astonished. His name was so contrasting to the actual word "key" which was an unattractive murky green color.

I believe that is one of the many reasons why I had been so attracted to and had gotten very attached to Key. Not because I was fond of the color fuschia (I wasn't too keen on any shades of pink or purple, to be honest), but because the boy himself was even more flamboyant than his name in itself.

Key is a very extravagant and theatrical person, not to mention quite dazzling and diva-like. I was quick to agree that the color of his name suited his personality quite well. He was so fun to be around, his company always enjoyable. He was the kind of person you would never become bored with.

You could be walking down a busy street cramped with several people, but you couldn't help but notice him out of the corner of your eye as he walked past. Once you took notice of him, the next moment you caught yourself staring at him, and then he was gone. Key had that affect on plenty of people, including myself. That is, in fact, how I had noticed him in the first place.

In addition, his name pronounced the crisp flavor of juicy watermelons and the sweet scent of fresh, ripe strawberries. Normally, whenever I perceive taste, the sense is very delicate and obscure. Further explaining to the best of my abilities, the taste is only as robust as the mere memory of a certain flavor. For instance, you have a more than mild craving for freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. You can barely taste the gooey chocolate, but not entirely. Your taste buds are left with a mere remembrance of the flavor.

As far as Key's name is concerned, the taste of watermelons was always clear on my palette, coating my tongue with the sweet flavor. The same situation related to scents as well. In the case of other names, the smells emitted from the names were always very faint. As for Key, the scent of strawberries was as clear as crystal, and always filled my nose with generous doses of sweet strawberry smells.

"Annyeong, Key hyung!" I greeted the boy enthusiastically. The corners of my soft, pink lips were upturned into a warm grin upon seeing the older boy. I think it's appropriate to mention that Key and I had been in the same class back when I was in third grade. It was a class split between third graders and fourth graders.

I could only pray to whatever deity existed that the memory of the incident, the one that had occurred eight long years ago, had been obliviated from his mind, such as it had for all my other once-had-been classmates. Key had never, not once, brought up the incident with me, and I cannot express how grateful I am for that.

The entire embarrassing occurrence seemed to be buried deep within the furthest folds of his memory, safely tucked away and never to be brought up again. Of course, there was the chance he had forgotten entirely, which I more so hoped for. Key abruptly linked his arm with mine, the friendly gesture causing me to snap out of my thoughts and wake to reality once again.

"So, Taeminnie, where do you want to eat? I'm so freaking hungry!" Key whined in a marred tone. I chuckled at his barefaced diva-ness.

"Where ever you want to eat, hyung," I answered plainly. Seeming satisfied with my response, he urgently began dragging me by the arm towards his parked car.

On the way, we passed by two of my classmates, Krystal, whose name is a royal blue, and Sulli, whose name is a rich eggplant purple (which, in my case, was pretty unflattering). I took notice that both girls wore expressions of anguish and sounded quite distressed over something, and I couldn't help but overhear little bits and pieces of their conversation.

"Did you hear about the new student?" Sulli asked Krystal.

"Neh. He's a senior, right?"

"Mhm! He is so hot!" At this statement, both girls began squealing like stark dingbats.

"I know, right? I heard that he only dates noonas, though," Krystal stated dolefully, pouting.

"Oh, jinja?" Sulli responded in a ruffled and upset tone.

"Neh, neh! I think he's already dating some chick who's in her first year of university."

"Aish! All the good ones are either taken or gay..."

My eyes widened in astonishment as I was literally dragged away from the Krystal and Sulli's conversation of affliction. There was a new student? There were hardly ever any transfers at Chungdam High School, especially in the middle of the school term. Whoever this new student was, he had most likely transfered at the start of the new semester to learn here. I quickly dismissed the thought as I climbed into the passenger seat of Key's snazzy white sedan.

For the entire drive, Key babbled indiscriminately about fluky topics. I only listened halfheartedly, grinning and nodding every so often and muttering incoherent nothings at the appropriate times. My thoughts were too preoccupied to pay undivided attention to Key's mindless chatter. My mind stubbornly kept drawing right back to the subject of the new transfer student. Who is this boy? I was fully aware that I was acting more curious than necessary. After all, it was only a new transfer student, but for some reason the thought excited me.

After about roughly ten minutes, we had finally reached our destination. Key pulled his white sedan into the parking lot of a local café, one that I was unfamiliar with. I raised my eyebrows in question as he parked the car.

"New place?" I asked. Key nodded exuberantly, flashing me a megawatt cheeky grin.

"I want to try it out. Dongwoonie told me that their caffé macchiatos are to die for!" I chuckled, shaking my head discreetly. Key and his fiery passion for macchiatos will be the death of me. We exited the car and headed towards the entrance of the quaint looking café. Key strutted inside with his trademark ten out of ten confidence, completely brazen, as he hummed a merry tune to himself. I sort of just tromped alongside of him, feeling uncertain and slightly self-conscious.

Key eagerly hopped over to the barista, who happened to be a male. I hung back a couple of feet away, observing Key as he ordered a caffé macchiato and a chicken caesar salad, soon after flirting shamelessly with the barista. I noticed that the barista's cheeks were tainted a bright bubblegum pink, and he often stuttered and stumbled over his own words as he eyed Key in a suggestive manner. Key giggled animatedly as he hung onto every incoherent word the barista spoke.

I scoffed, unimpressed, at Key's audacious behavior. This ordeal went on for a good five minutes before Key finally flittered his fingers goodbye at the barista. Key then blew him a kiss, which caused the male barista's cheeks to become tainted with several shades of red. Key strutted away, swishing his hips from side to side as he did so. He winked at me, victoriously holding up a parcel of folded paper. I immediately knew that it was the barista's number which Key had skillfully and successfully gotten ahold of. That cheeky bastard.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the counter to order. The barista was still noticeably pink in the face, and he was perspiring quite a bit. He tugged at his collar as he asked me what I would like to order, stuttering quite a lot as he did so. Pathetic. I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to erupt in a violent giggle fit.

"A small chai tea frappuccino, please," I requested. I wasn't much of a hot drink consumer, although the weather had been pretty chilly lately. As an afterthought, I also ordered a banana and walnut muffin. Hey, I need my banana fix! They don't sell any banana milk here, so I got the next best thing with a generous amount of banana flavor.

The sharp sounds of blenders whirring emitted bleak silvery jagged lines, which sped across my field of vision as I sat down next to Key at a seat near the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Key sneakily exchanging sensual winks with the male barista who was still up at the counter. Why doesn't he just go away and make coffee or something? That would be much better than encouraging Key in his shameless antics.

Key's drink as well as mine were still in the process of being made, so we started on our salad and muffin. I nibbled and gnawed mindlessly at my muffin as Key gingerly poked and prodded at the lettuce leaves of his salad, appearing to be wandering in his own thoughts. I observed him out of the corner of my eye, taking notice that he had only consumed a single bite before sighing and shoving the plastic container containing his salad away from him. I looked up from my muffin to face him, wearing a quizzical look.

"Does it not taste good?" I queried. Key shook his head. I reached for his fork and quickly stole a bite. The fresh and salty flavors of  the salad danced across my tongue, mingling with the sweet taste of my muffin, coating it with an overall odd flavor. I winced and sat back in my seat. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, and I decided to pursue the matter.

"Key hyung?" I called out softly.

"Mmm?" Key responded, sounding distant.

"You're a senior, right?"

"Of course, Taeminnie." I chuckled at my own moronic question.

"Have you heard about the new transfer student?" Key nodded in response, and I felt my own heartbeat quicken steadily. "What's his name?" I pressed. Key nibbled lightly on his bottom lip, gazing up at the ceiling as if recalling his own thoughts.

"His name? Hmm...I think it was...Choi...Choi Minho?" Upon hearing that name flow in a smooth, flawless stream through Key's plump, parted lips, the mental canvas in my mind instantaneously became plagued with several slides similar to that of a slideshow, all bearing the name Choi Minho. The name reeled endlessly in my mind, seeming to be permanently stuck on replay. The name Choi Minho coursed through my brain, blurring any wandering thoughts.

Vibrant bursts of vivid pearlescent amethyst stained the mental canvas. The overwhelmingly violent gush of color nearly bled through the mental canvas, as it surged through my mind in prodigious doses. My sinuses deluged with the powerful scents of newly bloomed wildflowers and crisp, clean rainwater as if it had freshly fallen onto dry, baked earth. My taste buds skipped and frolicked in a frenzy as my tongue was heavily coated with bursts of several enticing flavors — plump, juicy berries, the calming, pleasant taste of vanilla, and sweet honeysuckle.

Colors, scents, and flavors were just outright derogatory terms to describe how my sensory perceptions were reacting. My senses were practically in heaven, bathing in decadence. I had even failed to realize that Key had been attempting to get a hold of my attention for the past several moments. He was waving a flimsy hand obnoxiously in front of my eyes, gazing at my expression with a skeptical look.

"Uh, Taeminnie? You okay? Hello-o-o?" he cooed. A single flutter of my eyelids, and I had returned to the physical world. I blinked groggily, letting reality sink into my skull.

"S-sorry. I'm fine..." I muttered under my breath, my cheeks tinged red with embarrassment. Key clucked his tongue.

"You sure you're okay? Your eyes were practically bugging out of their sockets. I swear, they were about to pop out!" Key proclaimed, more dramatic than what was essential. He became animated, flailing his arms in the air for good measure. I giggled nervously and shook my head in assurance.

"Really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, hyung," I insisted, ducking my head down to avert his fiery gaze. Key furrowed his brows, clearly unconvinced. He gave a low, dismissive whistle.

"Whatever you say..." he muttered, unsatisfied. "I'll go get our drinks, 'kay? Just sit tight." I mumbled a low "okay" and nodded my head appreciatively. He cast me one last glance of concern before sighing and getting up from his seat to pick up his caffé macchiato and my chai tea frappuccino. I sighed, grateful to be alone for a few moments before Key returned with our drinks.

I willed myself not to think about his name, in fear of drowning in an overwhelming flurry of my own sensory perceptions once again. That was an occurrence that I more or less did not wish to have repeated, at least not here in this café with plenty of people surrounding me. I was left feeling disappointed, befuddled, and flustered. How in the world could one simple name possibly have that much of an affect on me? If I had found Key's name to be astonishing, well, this name left me completely speechless, for lack of better word.

I avoided letting his name enter my thoughts and, rather, attempted to recall the exact shade of color that had heavily tainted the mental canvas in my mind. Amethyst. I grinned to myself as a warm and comforting feeling no caffé macchiato could ever provide coursed through my veins like a tender embrace.

And to think I wasn't fond of the color purple.

A/N: Hoorah for the first official chapter! How was it? I'd love to know what my readers think! Please subscribe if you have not already, and leave me some wonderful comments to read :3 What author wouldn't want their readers to leave lovely comments of endearment?

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