There were ten vaults in the middle of the last room. And on top of the 5th vault was a printed letter.

 

Myungsoo walked towards it, picked it up, and read it aloud.

 

"Inside each vault lies the key to your release. Each of you will be given a chance to guess the answer to your chosen vault. Be careful. You only have one chance. Guess wrong and say good bye to the world."

 

Minwoo gulped. Kyung looked uneasy. Hana started to hyperventilate. Myungsoo froze. Yoomi blanked out. And Jihoo scowled.

 

Myungsoo dropped the paper and pulled his hair. He didn't know what to do.

 

"Wait," Minwoo said and kneeled to take the piece of paper. "There's something at the back."

 

Myungsoo hastily took the paper from Minwoo and read it.

 

"Vault one: we need to talk. Vault two: we don't need an incompetent teacher like you. Vault three: I will, I promise. Vault four: I don't like to date girls like you. Vault five: people will beg me to hang out with them, not the other way around. Vault six: someone will see her anyway. We might get blamed. Vault seven: I can make better music than Beethoven. Vault eight: you don't belong here, you're not even smart or good looking enough. Vault nine: why is someone like her here? And she's the smartest? Vault ten: if he can't be mine, then he can't be anyone else's."

 

"What..." Hana began but couldn't continue. She could remember those words...

 

A stout sophomore passed by her female classmates, only to be tripped by one of them.

 

The stout girl fell face first on the floor. She stood up, only to be laughed at by the female sophomores.

 

"Oh my god, I have never seen someone so unattractive, so ugly, ever, in my life," the sophomore responsible for tripping the humiliated girl said.

 

"Are you talking to me?!" the stout girl countered.

 

"Ooh, she talks back!" a tall girl teased.

 

"Get out of here before we do more to you," another girl hissed straight at her.

 

"You don't belong here, you're not even smart or good looking enough," another girl from the group said, Hana, and sent the stout girl running away with tears falling from her eyes.

 

Yoomi was positive she had said something like those words mentioned in the paper. She just couldn't identify when she had said them. But she was a hundred percent sure she did.

 

The 34 year old clumsy and untidy teacher entered the class of 2A. It was her homeroom, but she was also teaching science.

 

She had been a teacher for more than ten years already. But she was new to the school since she has just transferred.

 

"Okay, class. Let's begin," the teacher said and took her study plan too quickly, causing the papers on her desk to fall and scatter on the floor.

 

Yoomi rolled her eyes and scoffed. She hated mess. She was obsessive compulsive. She hated how the teacher was so messy and clumsy. She hated how the teacher didn't at least brush her hair before starting the day. She hated how the teacher wore clothes with colors too bright, neon bright, for teaching. She hated how she taught.

 

Yoomi could learn more just by reading the book. The teacher wasn't even teaching anything trivial. The teacher wasn't even making the subject interesting. Biology was interesting, but she had made it dull.

 

Yoomi laid her head on her desk and decided that she had too much of the teacher. She decided to take a nap.

 

"KWON YOOMI!" the teacher bellowed, slapping her stick on the teacher's desk.

 

Right on time. She hasn't even drifted to sleep and she was caught. Not that it mattered.

 

"What?" Yoomi said with a tone that meant she doesn't, didn't, and wouldn't give a damn at all.

 

"Listen," the teacher instructed sternly.

 

"Whatever," Yoomi muttered and continued to rest her head on her desk.

 

But before she could, the teacher slapped her stick on Yoomi's desk.

 

The stick hit Yoomi's cheek and had scratched it, making it bleed.

 

Yoomi glared at the teacher, who was too shocked and whose mouth formed an 'o' after realizing what she had done.

 

"You!" Yoomi screeched as she stood up. "We don't need an incompetent teacher like you."

 

That was all Yoomi had said and stormed out of the classroom, knowing that it would be the last time she'd see the woman.

 

Myungsoo knew it. He had said those exact words written on one of the clues. He just didn't know when he had said those, and how the person doing this to them knew that he has said such words, when he had only said it to the girl whose confession he rejected.

 

The first half of classes for the day has just ended and it was now lunch break.

 

Myungsoo went to his locker to drop his books and notebooks when a post it was stuck on the lock.

 

He took the note and uninterestedly read it.

 

"Meet me at the rooftop after school."

 

Myungsoo was intrigued. He knew that it was another confession. How many times have girls sent him letters or told him to meet them at the rooftop of the school.

 

He could just ditch them. But he couldn't. He wasn't a complete jerk that leave girls hanging. He'll have to reject another girl later.

 

When will these girls get it in their heads that he wasn't interested?

 

If he wanted a girlfriend, he would, he could. But he didn't. A girlfriend was a waste of time an money. Girls would have to wait til' he's done with high school.

 

After class, he headed to the school's rooftop. And there she was, the school's most frank girl. She was pretty. Her ulzzang looks were Myungsoo's type. But her personality wasn't. He liked shy and quiet girls. Girls who are deep and aren't shallow.

 

"You probably know why you're here..." Hayoung said.

 

"Yeah..." Myungsoo replied blankly.

 

"Well?" Hayoung asked, looking at him expectantly.

 

"I'm sorry," he said and took note of Hayoung's frown. "I don't like to date girls like you."

 

And after uttering those words, he left the girl there.

 

Minwoo was shocked. Words he had uttered days ago were on paper.

 

"Minwoo ah, how was school?" his mom asked as soon as they settled on their seats in a cafe.

 

Minwoo had to meet his mom to accompany her with groceries.

 

"Fine," he replied with no enthusiasm in his voice.

 

"You don't sound fine," his mom said.

 

"I don't really have friends, mom," Minwoo replied.

 

His mom looked at him with raised brows.

 

"Why not? My good looking, smart, talented son has no friends? Don't kid with me, Minwoo," his mom said.

 

"Not really the way you think, mom. Everyone wants to be my friend, which is irritating, because I want someone I can trust and relate to. People just want to be my friend to copy off from me, to gain what they could from me," Minwoo said. "People will beg me to hang out with them, not the other way around."

 

"Oh..." his mom said and went back to sipping her non fat latte.

 

Kyung took the paper from the dazed Myungsoo and repeatedly read the clue to vault 6 and 7. He was sure he had said those words on the clue to vault 6 during the time when they fled when they had witnessed a hit and run accident. And Zico had said those words on vault 7. It even became quotable for the both of them.

 

Zico and Kyung were on their way to their usual hang out place. The walk light was on and the two had 10 seconds left to cross the street.

 

They had successfully crossed the street when they heard a car screech behind them.

 

The both of them turned their heads and saw the car drive away and a girl, wearing the girl uniform of their high school, lying on the road.

 

"Holy..." Zico said and cursed.

 

"Let's go..." Kyung mumbled, getting worried.

 

"What? What about her?"

 

"Someone will see her anyway. We might get blamed," Kyung reasoned before pulling a slightly frozen Zico behind him.

 

That day, instead of hanging out some place else, they decided to go home and relieve themselves of the scene before them.

 

---

 

It was a music class and the students were to play their own composition.

 

They were surprised when their usual old female teacher didn't come in. Instead, there was a female teacher, far from the definition of attractive, replacing their musical genius professor.

 

"Mrs Kang was taken to the hospital yesterday. So I will be teaching in her behalf," the new one said and continued to introduce herself.

 

"Mrs Kang gave me her lesson plan and it said here that you are set to perform your composition and I will give my own remarks. But I will let your classmates grade you..." the substitute said.

 

Kyung came first and the teacher gave him safe praises.

 

Zico was fifth to go. He was Mrs Kang's favorite since he was amazing and was flexible in all musical genres. 

 

Zico played a remix of upbeat and classical music, which awed his classmates. But not the substitute.

 

"What was that Mr Woo?" the teacher asked him with an incredulous tone and look on her face.

 

"My composition," Zico said as if it was the most obvious thing, which really was.

 

"I mean, what was that?! It didn't sound as a good composition at all. It sounded as if it was done by a five year old. Like someone just put in two trashy song instrumentals together!" the woman commented harshly, causing the students to either, gasp at her remarks, glare at her because she didn't have ears for good music, or gossip how she's incompetent and how she could diss their musical genius Zico.

 

Zico was furious. Never had he heard such horrible words about his composition. Sure, he could accept corrections here and there, but not trashy criticism.

 

"Shut up," Zico said, causing the blabbing lady, who kept on bad mouthing his composition, stop talking. "Do you really teach music? Do you? You have no right to tell me my music is trash. Even Mrs Kang doesn't say those kinds of words to me. Can you even compose and top my composition? Are you deaf? I can make better music than Beethoven. So shut your pie hole."

 

The substitute gaped at him and was about to make a comeback when Kyung stopped her.

 

"If you value your pride, you won't."

 

Jihoo was deep in thought. It was just a phrase. But he knew exactly when he has used it. And who he had said those to.

 

He wanted out. He never really loved her from the start. He needed someone to experiment with. He knew that it was to early to express his feelings for that certain girl he had always wanted to have, but can, maybe, never have. So he needed to experiment. And she was the perfect one for it.

 

But she was taking it too far. She was a noona by a year. She was also good looking, very good looking. And smart too. Her IQ was said to be just near Einstein's. Therefore, she was ranked 1 in their school. Only after she had graduated did Jihoo take over her place.

 

But she had attitude problems. Because she was smart, she doesn't forget easily. She didn't forget who those people who owed her, or so she thought.

 

During their relationship, which was only known by the seniors that time and a few juniors, Ga Eun would see to it that no one confesses or tries to flirt with Jihoo. 

 

Jihoo didn't care about other people. But Ga Eun had crossed the line by messing with Yoomi. Ga Eun had told Yoomi to limit her time she spends with her brother.

 

Jihoo wanted out now.

 

A day after Ga Eun assaulted Yoomi, Jihoo waited for her outside her classroom for her classes to finish.

 

"Hey!" Ga Eun exclaimed excitedly as she saw Jihoo waiting for her.

 

She went towards him and tried to kiss him as a greeting, but Jihoo leaned away. It caused Ga Eun to raise her brows.

 

"What's wrong?" she inquired.

 

"We need to talk," Jihoo said, void of emotion.

 

He walked away, knowing Ga Eun was following him and went towards a secluded area somewhere in their school.

 

Ga Eun giggled at the thought of doing something naughty there.

 

Her thoughts were broken when Jihoo uttered those words she dreaded to hear.

 

"Let's break up."

 

Ga Eun refused to believe. Her breath caught up in .

 

"What? Why?" she finally spoke.

 

"You told my sister to stay away from me. You can't do that. You can say that to all the other girls. But not my sister," Jihoo said.

 

"I'm sorry. It's just that, I get jealous of you two. You two are too close for siblings...and you spend more time with her than you do with me. You spend time with her at your home. And then even at school. What about me? We rarely even date," Ga Eun reasoned shakily.

 

"Whatever. Let's break up anyway. I don't even know if I really like you," Jihoo said and turned to leave.

 

"No!" Ga Eun shrieked and pulled Jihoo's arm, stopping him from walking away. "Stay with me. I promise I'll change! For you!"

 

Jihoo just shook his head at Ga Eun who was now on her knees.

 

"I can't be with someone I don't love," Jihoo said. "I love someone else."

 

Ga Eun grew mad at the confession.

 

"Then why lead me on?!" she spat.

 

"I never led you on. It was you who kept coming to me even though I kept pushing you away," Jihoo replied. "I love someone else. And nothing can change that. You crossed the line."

 

"Wait," Ga Eun said, stopping Jihoo who was walking away.

 

She stood up and slapped him.

 

"You're disgusting," she said. "You're in love with your sister."

 

Jihoo's eyes widened.

 

"You think I don't know that? Please! The way you look at her when you're beside her. The longing look on your face when you're here and she's there," Ga Eun revealed.

 

"Don't you dare tell a soul about this," Jihoo hissed as he gripped on Ga Eun's wrist tightly.

 

"Oh, don't worry. I won't tell anybody. I'll make you say it yourself," she said before walking away, wiping her face from her half dried tears.

 

---

I fell asleep writing this, listening to After School's Shampoo on repeat. Haha.

 

Gaaaaaaah! That was a long chapter. Haha.

 

Sorry for the errors.