This morning when I opened my eyes, there was something very different.

It was the light. It was still the cloudy, slightly dim light it usually was but was a bit brighter somehow. I touched the pane of glass on my window and found it cold. I quickly opened it up and looked about outside, then groaned in dismay.

A layer of snow covered the ground, on top of my car (good thing I had put the shade up last night) and made the road look like it was covered in clouds. But that wasn’t the least of my troubles. It had been raining yesterday, and it had frozen on the driveway, which means the driveway was deadly.

Appa had left for work before I got downstairs. Living with appa was like living alone as I had everything to myself majority of the time.

After breakfast, I felt excited to go to school, which made me feel like checking myself into a mental hospital. I knew that I wasn’t excited for lessons or seeing my friends. It was because I knew I would see Onew. And that made me feel very, very stupid.

I should avoid him because I was suspicious. I mean, why would someone lie about their eyes? I had to admit I was a bit frightened by his unfriendliness I sometimes felt sitting next to him, and my heart still thudded whenever I saw his handsome face. I was well aware that he didn’t like me, so why should I be anxious to see him today?

I had an easy ride to school, and when I reached it I found out why. There were thin chains criss-crossed in diamond shapes around the tires. Appa must’ve gotten up early to put the snow chains on. My throat suddenly closed up and felt tight. I was used to taking care of myself and no one taking care of me that appa’s unspoken concerned caught me by surprise.

I was standing near my car, emotion almost overwhelming me that I barely hear a weird sound.

It was high pitched, almost like a screech, and it was quickly becoming painfully loud. I turned around, wondering what it was.

I saw a lot of things all at once. Nothing was in slow motion like it was in those movies I watched so often.

Onew was standing four cars down from me, staring in horror, his face stood out for me, even though everyone elses faces held the same expression. But the most important thing I saw was a black van that was skidding towards me at a high speed, tires locked and brakes squealing as it skidded on the ice it was heading for the back of my car, and I was the only object standing in its way.

Just before I heard the crunch of the van hitting the back of my car, something impacted on me hard but not from where I thought it was going to come from. My head it the icy ground and something strong and cold was pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement, staring at the car I had parked next to. But the van was still coming. It hit the back of my car and was about to collide with me again.

A low mutter made me aware that someone else was near me, and the voice was so enchanting that I knew exactly who it was. Two long, white hands shot out in front of me, protecting me, and the van stopped a foot in front of my face, the hands fitting perfectly into the dent in the van’s body.

His hands, they moved so fast that they blurred. One gripped the bottom of the van while the other pulled me to safety until I was out the way.

It was silent for what seemed ages until people started screaming. In all the chaos I could hear multiple people shouting my name. But one voice was clearer than all the yelling, and it was Onew’s low, panicked voice in my ear.

“Sunyoung? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine” My voice sounded weird. I tried to sit up then realised he was holding me tightly against his body.

“Be careful,” He advised as I writhed.” I think you hit your head hard”

The was the moment I became aware of a sharp ache above my left eye.

“Ow” I said, surprised.

He attempted to suppress his laughter. “That’s what I thought.”

“How did you . . .” I trailed off, attempting to clear my head. “How did you get over here so fast?”

“I was standing right next to you Sunyoung.” He said seriously.

I turned and sat up, and this time he let me, letting go of my waist and sliding as far as he could away from me in the limited space. I gazed at his worried, innocent expression and was distracted again by his gold-coloured eyes. What was I asking him again?

That was when people found us; some had tears streaming down their faces as they were shouting.

“Don’t move” Someone told us.

“Get Ukwon out the van!” Someone screamed. There was a range of motion around us. I tried to get up but Onew’s cold hand clamed around my shoulder and held me down.

“Just stay put for now”

“But it’s cold~” I whined. I was surprised when he chuckled under his breath.

“You were over there.” I suddenly remembered and his laughter was cut short. “You were by your car.”

His face grew hard. “No, I wasn’t”

“I saw you” all around us was bedlam. I could hear the voices of adults arriving. But I stubbornly held onto our argument because I knew I was right and I was going to force him to admit it.

“Sunyoung, I was standing right next to you and I pulled you out of the way and into safety.” He stared at me, the full power of his eyes overwhelming me as if he was trying to communicate something important.

“No.” I stuck my chin out stubbornly.

The gold in his eyes softened. “Please, Sunyoung.”

“Why?” I demanded with him.

“Trust me, please.” He pleaded, his soft voice making me obey.

I could now hear the wailing of sirens coming closer. “Promise to explain everything to me later”

“Fine” He snapped back.

“Fine” I copied him.

It took six emergency response team members and two teachers to move the van far enough away to bring the stretchers in. Onew strongly refused his, and I also tried to but the goddamn traitor told them I hit my head and probably had a concussion. I almost died of embarrassment when they put on a neck brace. They loaded me into the back of the ambulance while Onew got to ride in the front.

To make matters worse, appa arrived before they could get me away.

“Sunyoung!” He yelled in panic when he saw it was me on the stretcher.

“I’m completely and totally fine da- I mean appa.”I sighed. “There’s nothing wrong.”

He turned to the closest paramedic for a second opinion. I ignored him and tried to sort through the images going through my mind. When they took me away from the car I had seen the dent in the cars bumper – a dent that strongly resembled the strong contours of Onew’s shoulders . . . as if he braced himself against the car . . .

Then there were his friends, watching from a distance. Their faces conveyed disapproval and fury but absolutely no concern for Onew’s safety.

I tried to think of a logical solution to what I just saw – logical as in a ‘I'm not insane’ kind of way.

They put me in the emergency room, a long room with lines of bed separated by curtains.

There was a flurry of people and someone was brought to the bed beside me. I recognised Ukwon from my science class underneath the bloody bandages wrapped around his head. Ukwon looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring at me.

“Sunyoung, I'm so sorry!”

“I’m fine Ukwon – you look awful, are you alright?” As we spoke, nurses because taking off his bandages and revealing shallow cuts all over his face.

He ignored me. “I thought I was going to kill you! I was going to fast then skidded on the ice. . .” He winced as the nurse started dabbing his cuts.

“Don’t worry, you missed me.”

“How did you move out the way so fast? One minute you were there, and the next minute you were gone. . .”

“Umm. . .Onew pulled me out the way. . .”

He looked at me, confused. “Who?”

“Lee Onew – he was next to me.” I’d always been bad at lying, I didn’t sound too convincing.

“Onew? Wow, didn’t see him there. . .it all happened so fast I guess. Is he okay?”

“I think so. He’s around here somewhere; they didn’t make him use a stretcher.”

I knew I wasn’t crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain today’s events.

They then wheeled me away to X-ray my head. I had assured them nothing was wrong, and as usual I was correct. I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to the doctor first. So here I was, trapped, listening to Ukown’s constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. I finally closed my eyes and ignored him.

“Is she sleeping?” A soft voice asked. My eyes flew open.

Onew was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared back at him. It wasn’t that easy, he was too beautiful not to stare at.

“Hey, Onew, I’m really really sorry –“ Ukwon began before Onew lifted a hand to stop him.

“No blood, no foul” He said, smiling with his perfectly straight white teeth. He moved and sat on the edge of Ukwon’s bed to look at me, smirking yet again.

“For your information, there’s nothing wrong with me, but they won’t let me go” I said with a heavy sigh. “How come you’re not bound to a gurney like the rest of us?”

“It’s all about who you know,” he replied smugly. “But don’t worry, I came to get you out of here”

Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth dropped open. He was young, he had dark hair. . .he was handsomer than any movie star I had ever seen. He was pale though and tired looking, with circles under his eyes. From my father’s description, I knew this had to be Onew’s father.

“So, Miss Moon,” Began Dr. Lee in a rather appealing voice, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine” I said, for the last time, I hoped.

He walked to the lightboard over my head and switched it on.

“Your X-rays look good” he said “Does your head hurt? Onew said you hit it pretty hard”

“It’s fine” I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl towards Onew.

The doctor’s cool fingers prodded lightly along my skull, noticing when I winced.

“Tender?” He asked.

“Not really” I’ve definitely had worse.

I heard a small chuckle, and looked over to see Onew’s patronising smile. My eyes narrowed.

“Well, your father s in the waiting room – you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all.”

“Can’t I go back to school?” I asked, imagining my father trying to be attentive.

“Maybe you should take it easy today”

I glanced at Onew. “Does he get to go to school?”

“Someone has to spread the good news that we survived” Onew replied smugly.

“Actually,” Dr Lee corrected, “most of the school seems to be in the waiting room”

“Oh no,” I moaned, covering my face with my hands.

Dr Lee raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to stay?”

“No, no!” I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping off of it. Too fast though, as I staggered and Dr Lee caught me. He looked concerned.

“I’m fine,” I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had anything to do with hitting my head.

“Take some Nurofen for the pain” he suggested as he helped me to regain my balance.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad” I insisted.

“It sounds like you were very lucky” Dr Lee said, smiling as he signed off my chart.

“Lucky Onew happened to be standing next to me” I corrected with a hard glance to the owner of the name.

“Oh. Yeah. Yes” The doctor agreed, suddenly preoccupied with the papers he held. Looking away, in Ukwon’s direction, he walked on to the next bed. That’s when I realised; the doctor was in on the secret.

“I’m afraid that you will have to stay with us just a little bit longer” He said to Ukwon, and began checking his cuts.

As soon as the doctor’s back was turned, I moved to stand next to Onew.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly tensed.

“Your father is waiting for you” He replied through his clenched teeth. I glanced at Dr Lee and Ukwon.

“I’d like to speak with you alone, if you don’t mind.” I pressed on, determined to talk to him.

He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.

“What do you want?” he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold and dark. His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I had intended.

“You owe me an explanation.”

“I saved your life – I don’t owe you anything”

I took a small step back from the resentment in his voice. “You promised”

“Sunyoung, you hit your head, you don’t know what you’re talking about” His tone was cutting.

My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. “There’s nothing wrong with my head”

He glared back. “What do you want from me, Sunyoung?”

“I want to know the truth” I said. “I want to know why I’m lying for you”

“What do you think happened?” He snapped.

It came out in a hurry.

“All I know is that you weren’t anywhere near me – Ukwon didn’t see you, either, so don’t tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush both of us – and it didn’t, and your hands left dents in his van – and you left a dent in my car too, and you’re not hurt at all – and the van should have smashed the bones in my legs, but you were holding it up. . .” I could hear how crazy I was sounding, and I couldn’t continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears gathering; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth.

He was staring at me appalled. But his face was tense, defensive towards my beliefs.

“You think that I lifted the van off you?” His tone made it sound like he was questioning my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious of him. It was like a highly skilled actor delivering a line.

I merely nodded once, my jaw clenched.

“Nobody will believe you” His voice held an edge of mockery now.

“I’m not going to tell anybody” I said each word slowly, trying hard to contain my anger.

Surprise was the brief emotion that crossed his face. “Then why do you care so much?”

“Because it matters to me” I insisted. “I don’t like to lie – so there’d better be a good reason for why I’m lying”

“Can’t you just thank me and get over it?”

“Thank you.” I waited, fuming and expecting an explanation.

“You’re not going to let it go, are you?” He responded with a heavy sigh.

“No.” My reply was short and curt.

“In that case. . .I hope you enjoy disappointment.”

We glared at each other silently. I was the first to speak, trying to stay focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his features; he was still beautiful even when he was angry. I felt like I was trying to stare down a god.

“Why did you even bother?” I asked him coldly.

He paused, and for a brief moment he almost seemed vulnerable like me.

“I don’t know. . .” he whispered before he turned his back on me and walked away.

I was so angry; it took me a few minutes before I could move. When I could walk again, I slowly made my way to the exit at the end of the hallway. The waiting room was much drabber than I had feared. It seemed like everyone that lived in town knew I was here. My father rushed to my side and I held up my hands.

“There’s nothing wrong with me” I assured him in a sourly voice, still fuming over my discussion with Onew.

“What did the doctor say?”

“Doctor Lee saw me, and he said I was fine and that I could go home” I sighed. Dara, Jiyong and Taeyang were all there, starting to approach us. “Let’s go” I urged my father.

My father put one hand behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the class doors marked with ‘exit’. I waved embarrassedly at my friends, hoping to convey the fact that I was okay and that nothing was wrong. I never felt more relief than I did when I slid into my father’s car.

We drove home in silence. I was so involved in my own thoughts that I had forgotten that my father was even there. I was positive that Onew’s reactions that occurred in the hall proved that the bizarre accidents were true.

When we got to the house, my father finally spoke.

“Also, you need to call your mother” He ducked his head guiltily.

I was shocked and appalled. “You called mum?”

“Sorry”

I slammed the door to the car a little harder than necessary on my way out.

My mother was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her that I felt perfectly normal at least fifty times before she would calm down. She begged for me to come back to America to here – forgetting the fact that I would have no where to stay – but it was easier to resist her please than I thought it would me. I was wrapped up in the mystery that Onew presented, and wrapped up in Onew himself. Pabo, pabo, pabo. I wasn’t as eager to escape this godforsaken town as I should be, as any normal, sane person would be.

I decided I should go to bed early that night. My father was still watching me nervously, and it was really putting me on edge. I stopped by the medicine cabinet to grab a couple of painkillers. They did help, and as the pain drifted away, I drifted to sleep.

That was the first night I dreamed of Lee Onew.