Lonely, which was what the 17-year old girl felt.

Kang Mira generally fought it to keep it from progressing to paranoia by interacting with others around her, but still felt the same. However, there were times when she wanted to be lonely. She wanted to sort her own thoughts and block out the incessant, meaningless, self-involved blather of others. The more she thought about it, the lonelier she became; the lonelier she became, the more she removed herself from other people’s company, making interactions with others almost unbearable. That was when she became fixed on the idea that no one else felt lonely, it was just her, imposing true loneliness upon herself.

Alone, which was the way she chose to live.  

She wanted to keep her distance away from other people. She didn’t want to waste time bonding relationships with others when she knew that the word forever didn’t exist to her. She didn’t want to listen to others chatter about their day-to-day routines which didn’t even spark any interest in her. 

Nobody knew that she had lost the key to unlock her heart.

Mira knew that her classmates were once again whispering behind her back about how she never smiled, or spoke much to anyone in school. It was true that she didn’t say much in school and that the students had never seen her smile once, but what was there to smile about when her life was so dull and meaningless?

Basically, the whole school had one title implied to Mira. They called her the ‘Ice Princess’. Some students were frightened of her while some felt intimidated by her. Some were interested in her while some were just curious about her. Overall, they all knew that she didn’t show any emotions and that she had a rough attitude. No one wanted to be near her, it was as if she was some sort of virus that they didn't want to catch.

“I heard both her parents were murdered.”

“People say she’s a e.”

“Why does she always look like she’s mourning about something?” 

Why was everyone so naive? Why was everyone so profound and inquisitive to know about someone else’s life? It was none of their business. Couldn’t they just think by themselves for once and not get easily swayed by what others had made up? None of it was true. There were all just rumours so why did they believe it? She didn’t want to admit it, but it did make her angry that people judged her without knowing her true self. She didn’t care though, she was just slightly irritated.

Mira finally turned around to glare at the students who were speaking nonsense about her. They didn’t need to be told, they could see the fiery look in her eyes which told them to keep their mouths shut. Of course they were scared so they quickly ran out the classroom not wanting to be in her sight, they didn’t want to affront her any further. 

She was glad that it was finally lunchtime, but there were still some students in her classroom to her disappointment. She hated eating in the dining hall as it was simply too noisy. The other areas in the school were just the same as students would blabber and blabber nonstop. She wanted to spend her break alone and the only place which was quite suitable was her classroom. It still meant that there were others around her, but there weren’t too many.

“Kang Mira!” A voice suddenly woke her up from her train of thoughts. 

Mira faced the door to be greeted by none-other than the school drama queen, Park Hyerim. What does she want now? All she wanted was some time alone, was that too much to ask? 

“Did you hear what I just said?” Hyerim glared as she stomped her way toward Mira while her minions followed her every step. The other students in the classroom excitedly waited to see what would happen next, but Mira groggily rubbed her eyes and blankly stared at Hyerim, annoying her. “I heard you’re working as a hostess,” she stated loud and clear so that the others in the room could hear the ‘news’ as well. 

Seriously, give me a break. Mira sighed in annoyance, however still gave Hyerim a blank look which provoked her.

Hyerim angrily slammed both of her hands on the table in front of Mira. “It is my duty as the Executive of the Student Representative Council to preserve our school’s image from being ruined,” she proudly exclaimed while her minions clapped their hands in admiration. “I expect you to stop working as a hostess, or else I would have to report this incident to the Board Director.” Hyerim threatened and then left the classroom with her minions. 

Mira rolled her eyes at their stupidity. They were just like the rest, they also believed in the rumours. She still couldn’t understand why the whole school had voted Hyerim for the leadership role. She didn’t have any qualities of a leader. In fact, she was an attention seeker which was the trait Mira hated the most.

Royal Seoul Academy was the top prestigious school in Korea.

Many people admired the Academy for the superb facilities which suited the needs of the students.

The Academy was made up of five sections which were the classrooms area, the clubs area; where students took part in many activities such as learning various musical instruments, dance, vocal, art and more, the sports area; which included different areas for the main sports which students took part in: tennis court, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a soccer field, basketball courts, golf course and running tracks, the entertainment area; which literally was an arcade room and lastly the seminar hall; where important events were held in.

The Academy also provided the top teachers from around the world who taught the students excellent source of education.

Only rich kids attended the Academy, obviously. However, the public knew that the students at the Academy were all arrogant and spoiled as they only liked to show off and brag about the things that they had, or had bought. They only cared about themselves.

The thing which infuriated Mira the most was that they were ungrateful of the things that they had and desired even more.

The place was sickening.

Mira hated it, but she had no choice but to attend the Academy. She didn’t want to, but she had to. She knew how important human status was. She knew that if she graduated from the best Academy in Korea, she would have no difficulties in finding an occupation. Everything would run smoothly for her. She also knew that people wouldn’t look down on her as they would all be well aware of her income.

Money meant power.

She would be able to live peacefully by herself without any worries.

It wasn’t that Mira was poor. She wasn’t those cliché scholarship girls either. In fact, she had plenty of money. Her parents had left all their prosperities under her name after they both died in a car accident when she was 13. After that, her grandfather from her mother’s side took care of Mira, but soon later passed away in two years. At the age of 15, that’s when Mira started living on her own in an apartment that she had purchased. However, her grandfather had told some trustworthy attendants to take care of Mira after his death, but she persuaded them that she didn’t need any help when she turned 16.

Of course, lots of paperworks had to be filled for this to happen. 

She had already lived alone by herself for two years and she wanted that to continue.

Nobody in the Academy knew about Mira’s background, or her identity. They also didn’t know who her parents were, or what business she was going to inherit in the near future. All they knew was her name; Kang Mira and her age; 17. They also knew that she always took the bus back home from school while they had their personal chauffeurs take them back to their vast mansions. They just couldn't figure her out. Mira wasn’t friendly either so they had no chance in getting to know her, but it wasn't as if Mira wanted friends in the first place. She enjoyed being by herself. 

Lunch was finally over which now meant that it was time for students to participate in their club activities.

Mira yawned while stretching her arms in annoyance as she lazily made her way towards the clubs area. What she hadn’t noticed was that her left arm had lightly hit someone’s shoulder when she walked by the corridor. She rubbed her eyes and finally looked up, only to see some boy standing in front of her. She had to squint her eyes as the sun brightly shone through the coloured windows, the fact that the boy was also a head taller than her didn’t help her much to get a better view either. 

Who the heck does he think he is? “You’re blocking my way.” She exclaimed as she literally pushed the boy aside so she could continue walking. She didn’t want to arrive late and get herself an hour of detention.

Students gasped in shock at the scene.

“Did you just see that?”

“She just pushed Jongin.”

“He’s going to be angry.”

Some girls worriedly rushed towards the boy who had just been pushed by Mira. “Jongin, are you ok?” One petite looking girl asked with wide eyes. Another scanned his body and asked if he was hurt anywhere. “Everyone in the school knows that she has some sort of behavioural disorder.” The first girl spoke again as she batted her fake eyelashes, trying to get his attention.

Jongin watched as the girl walked around the corner. He didn’t even realise that his lips had twitched upwards into a slight smirk, amused at what had just happened. It was rather comical how the girl had shouted at him earlier, telling him to move out the way when it was clearly her fault from the beginning.

If she hadn’t stretched her arms carelessly, the incident would have never occurred in the first place. In fact, it was more surprising that he hadn’t lost his temper at her for what she had done. Instead, he was smirking. He was so amused at how she had the guts to push one of the richest and not to mention, the hottest chaebol in the Academy and not even glancing back once at him. 

Slightly smiling, he continued to wander around the Academy.   

---

The 18-year old boy wanted to run away, Kim Jongin wanted to disappear far away. 

He wanted to avoid the thick darkness that he saw every day. Why did he have to continue the rough road in front of him that wouldn’t end? Why did he have to embrace the world that he couldn’t have? However, he was used to it now. He was used to the darkness, he was getting used to the misery as well.

Empty, that was what Jongin felt. He carried the feeling of emptiness inside of him every day as he felt as if he was missing something in his life. What was the point in living when nobody understood him? That’s when he decided to live with no desires, hopes, dreams or a future.

Girls squealed in glee when they caught sight of Jongin. Some tried to look seductive while some quickly fixed their makeup, but he coldly walked past them as if he hadn’t even seen them in the first place. He didn’t have time to think about being in a romantic relationship, he didn’t even want to be in a relationship. The simple reason being that he didn’t believe in love. He couldn’t even look after himself so how was he supposed to look after someone who would be dear to him? He honestly didn’t even know the definition of love.

Jongin knew that his friends were probably searching for him right now, but today he didn’t feel like dancing. Him and his friends took part in the dance club and they had never once missed a lesson. In fact, everyone in the Academy knew them for their dance skills and good looks. Jongin was the best among his friends and was the main dancer of the group. He was literally called the 'dancing machine'. They often represented the Academy when it came to dance and had won every single competition that they had participated in.

However, Jongin wasn’t in the mood today. He was actually going to quit dance and was deciding on which other club activity he should take part in. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t come to hate dance. He loved dancing, he still wanted to continue, but his parents had other plans for him.

The Kim family owned the largest Law Firm in Korea which was well known in many other countries as well. Mr. Kim wanted Jongin to quit wasting time with dancing. Instead, he wanted Jongin to study law so he could have some experience as he was the next heir. Jongin's future was already set, he had no say in what-so-ever. Even his love life was decided for him as Mrs. Kim was currently looking for a fiancé for her son. He knew that it was just for a business reason, it was just an agreement between both businesses making a promise to support each other at any cause by selling their children into an arranged marriage.

There was just so much pressure compiled onto him. He wanted to disappear and run away so he wouldn’t have to fret over all the things that his parents wanted him to do for them. They didn’t understand his needs, neither his worries. They had never once encouraged him, or supported him. They had never once shown him love. Both his parents were basically strict. They thought they were doing the best for their only son, but they just hadn’t realised yet that they were making him chase after their own dreams, not his.

Maybe, this was the reason why Jongin always felt the feeling of emptiness, the reason why he felt that he was missing something in his life. The matter being that he just wanted someone in his life who truly understood him.  

Sighing, he ruffled his jet black hair wanting to forget about everything that was on his mind.

Suddenly, a melancholy melody, one he had never heard before flowed into his ears. The noise was the sound of stalactites and little sleigh bells mixed into one impacting combination. He could slowly feel the sadness of the music seep into his body. The sound drew his curiosity as he slowly advanced towards the door at the end of the corridor. He then pushed the door open with a slight creak of its hinges and peeked in. He could see the back of a girl who was seated at a wooden bench, her swift fingers on the key of ivory white and smaller keys of charcoal black brought the piano to life. The girl wasn’t just playing music, she was pouring her heart and soul into the song.

And then all of a sudden, she stopped playing and turned around.

Oh. She was gorgeous.

Jongin hadn’t realised that he was standing in the middle of the room when girls squealed, happy and excited to see him while some boys murmured to each other as to why Jongin was here in their club room. He bit his lips to stop his smile from appearing when he noticed that the girl was the one who had pushed him earlier. Jongin couldn’t deny how gorgeous she looked. He had seen her for only a few seconds before, but right now he could clearly see her face.

She was effortlessly beautiful, well...to him.

Her dark, lustrous hair flowed in waves and hung loosely over her shoulders to enhance her glowing, porcelain white skin. Her almond shaped eyes, framed by long lashes were bright, brown marble-like and even sparkled at times, he was the only one who noticed that. A straight nose, natural full pink lips-she was the epitome of the word perfection. When she looked at Jongin through the depths of her brilliant brown eyes, the view took over his soul and wrapped itself around his heart. Innocent and pure, but yet cold and distant with a face that made him stop dead in his tracks, he lost his sense of place and time.  

“Kim Jongin, what brings you here?” Mrs. Shin, the music teacher asked with raised eyebrows.

Jongin quickly cleared his throat, ignoring the question that the teacher had just asked while looking away from the girl. “I want to join this club.” He quickly stated, but mentally sighed at his lame excuse. He didn’t even know why he had just said that and he knew he was going to regret it later. The main problem being that he didn’t even know how to play a musical instrument. 

Everyone in the room gasped in surprise, even the teacher, but not the girl who stood near the piano. She blankly looked at Jongin uninterested and furrowed her eyebrows when she heard his statement.

“Very well then, I guess there is no harm done. Take a sit,” Mrs. Shin lightly commented and told the girl to go back to her seat.

Jongin decided to sit next to the anonymous girl, ignoring the pleas from other girls wanting him to sit next to them. He just didn’t want to deal with his 'fangirls' asking him endless questions about his relationship status. 

“Kang Mira, 98.74,” Mrs. Shin stated as she recorded down the score into her book. Jongin turned to look at Mira, only to find her looking so expressionless. She didn’t even seem surprised, or pleased about her score. She just slightly bowed her head at Mrs. Shin.

“What? No way!”                                                                      

“She got the highest again.”

“I have to admit, even though she has a bad attitude, she plays the piano really well.”

Students in the room whispered to each other, once again surprised at Mira’s score. Even though it wasn’t a perfect score of 100, she was the closest to that score from everyone else. They couldn’t deny the fact that Mira was the best student in the music club. 

“Alright, quiet down. Choi Heesun, you’re next.” Mrs. Shin called the next student over.  

Jongin had his eyes fixed on Mira. Something about her intrigued him. He didn’t want to admit it, but she resembled him quite a lot by the blank look on her face and how distant she seemed from others around her. 

Kang Mira was the first girl that had caused Jongin to stop breathing, literally.

He had heard many other people play the piano before, but the way Mira played the piano was something different. He had seen and heard the best pianist in the world play in front of his very own eyes, but he never once felt something trigger inside of him. How was it possible for Mira to make him feel the emotions and feelings that she felt when she played her piece earlier?

“You’re staring, stop it.” He suddenly heard Mira call.

Mira had noticed how the boy had been staring at her for a while now. She tried her best to ignore it, but in the end she didn’t have the patience to simply pretend as if he wasn’t looking at her.  

Jongin shyly looked away, embarrassed that he had been caught red-handed by her, but without his realisation, his eyes were once again fixated on her. 

Mira occasionally looked toward Jongin to glare at him but he longed for that single moment where she would actually look right back at him. 

Then for a split second of pure bliss and perfected joy, their eyes finally met.

As she looked at Jongin for those two and a half seconds, his heart had been stolen.