Chapter 2

It happened when you turned eight, two years after you met the crying boy at the airport. Your family was going on a vacation to Singapore for the whole of summer and you couldn’t wait to go to the airport.

Maybe I’ll see him again.

While waiting to check-in, you decided to walk around the airport, just to try your luck. You really wanted to see him again. The last time you saw him, you didn’t get a chance to get his name. And this time, you were sure to ask him. If only you could find him.

Is he not going anywhere during summer?
Is he spending his vacation in Korea instead?

“Young Master, I believe it’s time to go. You do not want to miss your flight to Singapore.” Mr Lee reminded you and pulled your hand.

You pouted, having to fail to find the boy again. Ever since that encounter, whenever you came to the airport, you’d always search for him. Hoping maybe you’d bump into him again. Besides, you gave him your favorite napkin. Even though you told him to keep it, it was still yours. And you wanted it back.

You sighed and gave in to Mr Lee. You followed him back to the departure gates where your family would be waiting for you. However, the closer you got to the gate, you noticed there was a commotion. People were whispering and mumbling something. And somewhere in the distance, you heard someone cry. Just then, right beside you was Ms Jung who was running frantically with a team of paramedics.

“Oh, Ms Jung!” You smiled and waved.

Ms Jung stopped and turned to face you. Instead of greeting you warmly with a smile like she always would, she looked at you with concern on her face. You were not sure why but she then signaled the paramedics to the crowd in front of the gate which you didn’t notice until then.

She then patted your head and leaned in to whisper something to Mr Lee. You furrowed your eyebrows, curious as to why the adults were suddenly being so secretive. You noticed how Mr Lee’s face fell as he covered his mouth to hide his shock.

He then looked at you with the same expression Ms Jung and lifted you up in his arms.

“We have to hurry Young Master.” He said in a low voice and started to walk briskly.

It was then when you felt something was wrong, but you were too young to understand what it was. He brought you towards the crowd and you noticed how they were surrounding the benches where your family was.

You heard the cries again. And at that time, you knew. As the crowd parted to make way for you, Mr Lee and Ms Jung, you could see your mother, sitting on the floor, her face covered in tears. She looked up to see you just as Mr Lee placed you down on the floor again.

“Hae Ra come here, my baby.” She said in between sobs.

You took slow steps towards your mother before she enveloped you into a tight hug, wetting the sleeve of your dress with her tears.

“Umma, why are you crying? Where’s appa?” You said as you broke the hug to take a look at her face.

Your mother pressed her lips into a thin line to keep the sobs from coming out from . She slowly turned your body so that you could see what was behind you. Of course, you were too young to understand anything at that moment when you say your father lying on the cold floor, still.

“Umma, why is appa sleeping on the floor? Is he sick?” You innocently asked.

Just then you saw the paramedics carry your father onto a stretcher and wheeled him away. Your eyes followed them until you couldn’t see them anymore. Your mother stood up behind you and held your hand. You couldn’t understand what was happening but you just followed your mother out of the airport and into the ambulance that was parked outside.

Apparently your father had a heart attack, and he died on the spot. When you finally grasp what was happening, everything came crashing down. Being a daddy’s girl, you didn’t take the loss too well. You cried at the hospital, you cried at the funeral, you cried at home and you cried in your sleep.

Your mother became depressed. She had to take over your father’s business of course, since you were still so young to be the heir. It took your family years to recover from the loss. But when you did, it was like you became a different person.

You no longer see everything radiating with love. You even forgot about the love that you used to crave for as a kid. You don’t talk to other people much. You don’t talk to your friends at school anymore, resulting them to leave you.

You don’t talk to the staffs at the airport. You don’t talk to the workers at home except for Mr Lee. You were thankful that he was there. He stayed by your family during those hard times.

However, one thing about you still remains. You still loved water. Whenever you felt like you needed to think, you just changed into your swimsuit and went for a swim in the pool behind your house. The water blocks all the other noise around you, and all you could hear were your thoughts.

You spend most of your time in the pool. But when the weather was nice, you’d go to the beach. Feeling the water beneath your feet calms you. You organize your thoughts better when surrounded in water and you have no idea why.

“Young Master, it’s almost time for the first day of school.” You heard Mr Lee’s voice.

You opened your eyes. You noticed you were still lying on the float in the pool.

Did I fall asleep?

You turned your head and saw Mr Lee waiting for you at the other end with your towel. You swam towards the edge and pulled yourself out from the pool. You took the towel from him and dried yourself.

“Are you excited Young Master?” Mr Lee smiled at you.

You noticed how the wrinkles beside his eyes appeared. He was getting older. You put on an expressionless face and shrugged.

“It’s the start of senior year. I just want to graduate and get out of there.”

“What about making some friends? Girls your age should be going out to shop for clothes, accessories and do other girl stuff. Wouldn’t you like that Young Master?”

“I’m not like the other girls Mr Lee. You know that I have no interest in all that.” You sighed as you handed him back your towel.

Mr. Lee shook his head and you felt a little guilty. You understood why he was trying so hard. Ever since the death of your beloved father and how your mother never really talked to you anymore, you kept things to yourself. 

You used to always talk about stuff. Like why the sky is blue or how flowers grow or why there was a leprechaun at the end of every rainbow. But now, you barely tried to start a conversation with anyone. 

You headed back to your room and changed into your uniform before looking at yourself in the mirror. Your skin looked healthy and tan, since you were always either at the beach or at the pool. But your eyes, your eyes were lifeless. They looked like they were just empty orbs in your skull.

You sighed and heard a soft knock on the door.

“The car is ready for you Young Master.”

Of course you went into the most prestigious school in Korea. All the rich kids do. The car pulled up at the entrance and Mr Lee hurriedly went to your side to open the door for you. You alighted and straightened your uniform.

“You know I could open the door myself.” You looked at him and he smiled at you.

“Young Master, it is my duty to do so. Have fun in school, concentrate in class and please make some new friends Young Master. I’ll pick you up when school ends.” He said before going back into the car and drove off.

You rolled your eyes.

New friends my . All the kids here don’t even dare to walk near me.

You noticed how the other students that were coming in stealing glances at you and whispering. Of course, you couldn’t care less and just made your way to class.

Lessons have not started yet and I already want the day to be over.

You pulled on the straps of your bag and kept on walking. When you were nearing your locker, you noticed how there was a small crowd in front of it. You furrowed your eyebrows as you noticed how more and more students had gathered in front of your locker. Majority of them were girls though.

Is it one of those kids who vandalized my locker again? Great, I’d have to spend the whole one hour of recess cleaning it up again.

You sighed and trudged on. However, instead of finding vulgarities scrawled on your locker, you see a boy leaning against it with his hands in his pocket. You raised your eyebrows and pushed past the crowd in front of you. The boy turned and noticed you.

His face seemed cold at first but as soon as he saw you making your way towards him, his face lit up like a child that was about to receive some  candy for Halloween. You couldn’t deny the fact that he was a little good looking but you kept on a straight face and approached him.

Never seen him before. Must be a new kid.

“Hae Ra! I knew it! I knew this was your locker!” the boy cheered as he threw his fist up in the air.

All the other girls started to swoon over him and giggled flirtatiously. You looked at the boy with a confused expression.

Wait, how did he know my name? Is he a stalker?!

“Uh, excuse me but who are you?” You asked.

“It’s me! Don’t you remember? Well of course you don’t since we only met once. But wow you sure do look the same as you did back then! Do you know how hard it was to find you? I’ve been searching for you all over Seoul-“

“I don’t think you heard me. Who are you and why are you standing in front of my locker?” You interrupted him.

The boy looked hurt for a moment due to the harsh tone that you were using but it was only for a few seconds before he turned back to his bubbly stuff. You gently pushed him aside so that you had access to your locker.

Who is this kid?

He does seem a little familiar but I still have no clue.

“Yah, how could you not remember me! It’s me-“

Just then the school bell rang, signaling the start of the first lesson. The crowd around you started to disappear.

, I’m going to be late and it’s all his fault.

You quickly put your bag in the locker before taking the books you needed for your first class.

“You know what, forget it. I don’t who you are and I’m late for class so if you could please excuse me, I don’t want to get detention on the first day.”

Before the boy could open his mouth again, you pushed past him and made your way to class. There’s no way in hell you were going to get detention on your first day of senior year. All you wanted to do was to just end the day and head straight back home and swim in the pool again.

You got to class and as usual all eyes were on you. But you were used to it anyway. Your eyes scanned through the class and you spot an empty seat at the back.

Perfect.

Without missing a beat, you weaved through the other tables at the front and dropped your bag on the last table in the corner. The other kids continued what they were doing earlier and you slumped in your seat. It was right beside the window and since nobody had ever wanted to sit beside you, it was perfect.

It’s been like this ever since you entered the school. But you liked it that way. Because then you wouldn’t have to fake a smile or make any comments about anything. You couldn’t be bothered about what’s going on in the school or outside for that matter.

Because of your cold exterior and how you’d always avoid everyone, the kids in school started to pick on you instead. But since they didn’t really dare to bully you in person, they’d just vandalize your table, books and locker. It was difficult at first but after spending almost three years in the same school, you’ve gotten used to it.

Just then your homeroom teacher, Mr Kris walked in. All the girls in your class swooned after him except for you of course. Well, you have to admit he was a little good looking. Tall, nice hair, flawless face as though he came out from a manga. Actually he came from Canada. But you had no idea why the girls in the school were so infatuated with him.

Mr Kris cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Now class, welcome to the new semester. New semester means new teachers, new subjects and new friends. And speaking of new friends, we have a new classmate. Come in!” He called out towards the front door of the classroom.

The door slowly slide open and again, the girls started giggling as soon as the new kid walked in. You felt your jaw went slack.

Not him again.

“Hello everyone! My name is Park Chanyeol but you can call me Chanyeol, or Yeol, or Yeollie, or Park-ster, or Yeolda, or Park-man or-“

“Okay that’s enough Mr Park. Now could you please take the seat beside Miss Kim  at the back of the class. Since you’re tall you wouldn’t have a problem seeing the board from there.” Mr Kris pointed him to the seat beside you and your face fell.

No.
This cannot be happening. Is he really going to-
 

“Yah, you’re in my class?! Awesome!”

Oh great. Just great.