It was Monday, the day school reopened. Summer was officially over. For a lot of students, they were groaning as they woke because they weren't ready for school, especially for those who had screwed-up sleeping patterns.

In Jihyun’s room, her eyes flew opened the moment her clock struck six o’clock in the morning. She immediately got out of bed and literally bounced to the bathroom. Once she was all dressed in her school uniform, she examined herself in the mirror. She nodded in approval, fixing her hair and planting a huge smile on her face. She made sure her bag was packed and ready before she slipped her shoes on.

She checked her wristwatch: 6:30AM. School would not start for another hour. “Time to wake Hyunyoung,” she murmured to herself, heading toward the bathroom that connected her sister's room with hers. She knew how difficult it was to wake Hyunyoung up.

So she was surprised to see that she was already awake, on her sofa bed, making yet another sketch with the bed lamp switched on her next to her. Hyunyoung looked up when light flooded in the room from the bathroom. “Oh, you’re all ready for school?” she greeted. But then she noticed that she was still in her pajamas and something struck her mind. “Were you up all night, Hyunyoung?”

“Uh . . .”

Jihyun gave her a pointed look. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Not really . . .?”

“Oh.”

Hyunyoung nodded. There didn’t seem to be any signs of fatigue in her. “It’s become a habit,” she explained, closing her book and placed it besides her. “But maybe I should get ready for school now.” She got up and Jihyun went back to her room, hearing the bathroom locked with a soft click.

Twenty minutes later, the girls were downstairs in the dining room, having their breakfast together with their mother. Sora was bustling about, going through a quick checklist of things that should be in their bags.

She was still going on about it, giving a few tips and reminders while they were in the car while Jihyun and Hyunyoung both listened patiently and obediently to their mother.

“Goodbye, have fun at school, girls! Tell me if there had been any bullies and don’t bully the others!” their mother called before they went inside the school building.

Hyunyoung turned to Jihyun once their mother was gone. “Do you remember how to get to the school's office?” she asked, knowing that it had been years since Jihyun was back in school and a lot had changed since.

“Vaguely,” she replied. “Show eonnie?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

The two walked to the office together in silence but the crowd around them wasn’t as quiet. There were guys wolf-whistling as they walked past. Hyunyoung ignored them, knowing that they were meant for her sister. Jihyun, on the other hand, thought it was because her sister was popular in school. She glanced nervously around them.

“Wow,” she chuckled nervously, “you’re sure popular here.”

“They’re wolf-whistling at you, not me,” she replied plainly.

“Wh — what?” Jihyun yelped. “No way. Why would they? I’m not that pretty or . . . anything special in comparison to you.”

“Don’t put yourself so low, eonnie, you're beautiful,” Hyunyoung smiled sweetly.

She softened and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “You are the sweetest little sister anyone could ever ask for and I am so glad that it is me, of all people, to have you.” She smiled cheesily.

“Don’t push it.”

They glanced at each other and burst out laughing as they reached the office. They went inside and got their schedules before walking out of the door, examining it together. Hyunyoung pointed out the directions of where Jihyun’s classes were going to be before the two of them split up.

As Jihyun headed toward her homeroom class on the second floor, she couldn’t help but feel slightly queasy. It had been long since she had been the new girl in school; all the butterflies were coming back to her. She would never admit it but she had nearly asked Hyunyoung to chaperone her to her class. Hyunyoung was always the more capable one between the two of them, even if Jihyun did have confidence in herself.

She was so focused on making sure she got to her class on time, she didn't see the path in front of her and bumped into someone, making him drop his folder. “Omo, I am so sorry!” she quickly apologized, a blush creeping to her face. Great, it hasn’t even officially started yet and already I’ve made a fool of myself. Way to go, Nam Jihyun.

“It’s fine,” a male’s voice answered as the figure bent over to pick his folder. He looked at her and blinked a couple of times. “Are you new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

Jihyun nodded, detecting sincerity in his voice rather than using the famous pick-up line she’s heard guys used on others before. “Neh, I’ve transferred schools from Chungcheong,” she explained. “Doing my final year here.”

“Really? Huh.” The boy looked genuinely interested. “It’s my final year, too, so I am guessing we are the same age.”

Jihyun smiled warmly. She may be afraid to get to homeroom alone but she was never one to shy about when it comes to making new friends. She held her hand out. “Nam Jihyun, of Class 3B.”

The boy broke into a wide smile, taking her hand and giving a firm handshake. “Lee Sungyeol, of Class 3B.” He chuckled. “I guess we’ll be in the same class for the whole year, then.” He cocked his head toward the direction of their class. “Let’s get there before we're late, hmm?”

She nodded, laughing slightly. “That was what I planned to do,” she quipped back and the both of them fell into steps toward their classroom.

Nam Jihyun . . . Sungyeol thought, could she possibly be the sister of my junior, Nam Hyunyoung? He shot a glance over to her. She does look a bit like Hyunyoung too. “So, what made you change schools?” he wanted to know. “Did you not like your old school that you decided to change?”

“What? Oh, no, nothing like that,” Jihyun laughed heartily, making him smile along with her. “No, I decided to spend my final year — and possibly college as well — with my mother and sister. My parents are divorced, you see, and I’ve been living with my dad so now I want to live with my mom,” she explained.

“So you are Nam Hyunyoung-sshi’s sister,” he mused thoughtfully.

She blinked for a bit, processing what he just said. “How do you know she’s my sister?” Wo