It was hectic. Loud music was being played, almost deafening him. The smell of cigarette smoke and booze made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. Some adolescents were making out in the corner while some vomited out in the backyard. The rest were brushing against each other while some stumbled around, drunk and disoriented. Girls were being led upstairs by boys who had the desires for ual needs. The place was sickening. Sehun never really was the party boy.

Rubbing his temples, he decided to make his way into the sun-room. He had been to Sohee’s house before, but today it looked small as it was just too crowded. Girls sent him flirtatious winks and bit their lips seductively when Sehun walked past them. Shivering in aversion, he quickly picked up his pace and climbed down the stairs and into the sun-room and to his relief, the room wasn’t too crowded even though there were still some few teenagers. A group of boys greeted him as they walked out of the room, but Sehun casually continued walking. Girls squealed in delight when they eyed the handsome young male. His appearance stood out from the rest of the boys who were in the room. 

Sehun had his own reputation. Of course, he had the title of ‘bad boy’, but he was famous for his expressionless face. If Mira had the title of being the 'Ice Princess' then Sehun was the Ice Prince. He didn’t know why girls liked him more when they received his cold treatment. Sighing, Sehun mentally blocked his ears before they went deaf from their endless squeals. He couldn’t blame them though, he was the famous model for the Oh clothing which was the number one most desired fashion brand. 

His eyes searched for a place to sit, his legs were killing him. Yes, he wanted to leave this place, but that meant he had to go back home which was a living hell for him. He hated it. He hated home so he decided to find someplace quiet for now. His eyes then landed on a white couch which was already occupied by a girl. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the girl. He blinked in surprise as to why she was dressed just so casually. There was a party here at this house right? But the girl wore simple light blue jeans, white top and had a pink hoodie on top of it. What surprised him the most was that she was putting on her earphones, wanting to listen to her own music.

Is that even possible? The main music in the house was loud enough so how was it even possible to listen to music which was coming out from her own phone. Wasn’t the main music in the house already overpowering it? She would have to blast it on full volume if she wanted to listen to her own music. Then all of a sudden, the girl looked toward Sehun’s direction while adjusting her earphones, making him stop dead in his tracks.

His heart started drumming hard against his chest, almost making it hard for him to breath. He didn’t know why he was reacting this way at the sight of this unknown girl. 

Sehun had high standards for girls and this girl was the complete opposite of his ideal type, but why was he suddenly feeling uneasy and uncomfortable when their eyes locked into each others? Maybe it was her exotic look, the way her eyes stared right through his soul, or maybe it was just her simplicity. He mentally heaved a sigh of relief when the girl averted her gaze and looked down to her phone to pick a song. Somehow, he was also disappointed as now the staring competition had ended.

What the hell is wrong with me? He quickly shook off the feeling and sat down on the same couch as the girl. It wasn’t as if he wanted to, but it was the only comfortable looking couch available in this room and it had enough space for two people. However, he kept a gap between him and the girl. He tried not to let his curiosity take over him, but without him realising he was already eyeing the girl from the corner of his eyes. The ‘Oh Sehun’ was taking a peek at a girl. He was making the official ‘first move’.

Her lips were full and cherry red, calling attention to him to take a simple quirk of her lips, her eyes were big and almond shaped, the colour was clear precise and so unique there was nothing to compare it to, perhaps honey with the light trapped within. Her skin was sun kissed and flawless. She had a womanly aura radiating from her and he knew right away that she was older than him. Maybe, in her early 20s. 

The fact that she was so immersed with the music she was listening to made his lips twitch into a slight smile. “Can she even hear whatever she’s listening to?” He murmured as a smirk appeared on his face.

Surprisingly, the girl’s head shot up and turned to her side to look at Sehun. “I’m actually not listening to anything,” she retorted.

Sehun’s eyes widened in surprise and shock. , she heard me? His stomach was starting to churn and twist into knots when she stared at him, but he mentally told himself not to break away from the eye contact first. “Well, that’s stupid,” he remarked, hoping that the girl would back off.

“It’s actually very useful you know? Even though it’s not that effective, just having earphones in your ears helps block out the endless, meaningless chatter of others a bit,” she stated, surprising him even more.

What was happening right now? Why was she acting so bold and bland? Why wasn’t she fretting over the fact that she was talking to one of the hottest chaebol model in Korea? Why hadn’t she wrapped her arms around him already like the other girls? Did she even know who he was?

This was an upper class party so it obviously meant that rich people were attending it. Each adolescent in this huge mansion had their own reputation and a name, but this girl... Sehun couldn’t figure her out which frustrated him. She didn’t look rich, especially by the way she was dressed but then she wouldn’t be able to come here if she wasn’t. Was she close with Sohee?

Before he could ask her a question, she turned to look at him again with one of the earpiece held out toward him. “Do you want to see if it works?” She asked, her eyes twinkling in eagerness.

---

“Where did Jongin go?” Sohee asked as she looked around, searching for a specific face. Right on cue, Kyungsoo walked into their conversation. “Kyungsoo, do you know where Jongin is?” She batted her long lashes while looking at Kyungsoo who blankly gave her an expressionless look.

“He left,” he casually said and shrugged his shoulders.

Sohee’s eyes widened at the sudden news. “But…why?” She was disappointed and angry at the same time. At least Jongin could have told her that he was leaving, but no he just left without saying goodbye.

“He’s trying to figure out his feelings.” Kyungsoo retorted, but didn’t continue anymore further.

Sohee wanted to know more, but Baekhyun interrupted her. “Where is Sehun?” He asked with his eyes wandering around the room, but he couldn’t see him anywhere either. 

---

He was once again disappearing with heavy footsteps. Once, just once, please look back. Yes, Mira had already agreed with herself that she wouldn’t chase after Jongin anymore, but it was impossible for her to do. 

The hasty wind of which this abrupt love came, blew once more taking him farther away. Mira cursed at her mind, longing to forget him and yet his perfect image still remained. She kept on telling herself that she needed to forget him. She was fighting with her tears once again, wanting to see him and talk to him. Her wounded heart painfully called out to him, but still she heard no response. She waited for him every day, foolishly looking forward to it. Without her realisation, her eyes would search for him once again. She couldn’t stop herself. Her feet started moving on its own as they ran after Jongin. She had to talk to him and put a stop to this. However like always, Jongin disappeared and camouflaged into the crowd of students.

All of a sudden, Kyungsoo appeared, giving her a fright but for some reason she was glad to see him. This time, it was Mira who was the first one to speak. “Hey, how are you?” It sounded awkward at first, but Kyungsoo found it adorable. She was making an effort.  

“I’m fine, thank you. How are you?” He politely asked back.

“Not good,” Mira honestly replied, making him smile. This was what he liked about Mira. She was so honest and straight forward with her thoughts and opinions.

“Has the insomnia gotten worse?” He was literally worried for her. He had experienced it before and it was something which he didn’t want to face again. It was tiring without having any rest and frustrating when he couldn’t fall asleep at night.

Mira heaved a heavy sigh while nodding. “I can handle it though,” she commented.

Kyungsoo knew this was in fact a lie. He knew that she wasn’t ok and could see that she wasn’t either. “Is Jongin still avoiding you?” He asked to which Mira nodded. Aish, that block head, he’s still being a total coward. “Can I ask for a favour Mira?” He suddenly said out of the blue, making Mira blink in surprise.

“What is it?” Mira curiously asked.

“Can you promise me that you will come see our dance competition this coming Sunday?” Kyungsoo asked, almost pleading for Mira to say yes.

Mira didn’t take a second to reply back, she didn’t even hesitate. This meant that she could see Jongin and she wasn’t going to let go of this opportunity. “Yes, I’ll come.”  

---

Mira watched the clock on her room wall tick by, almost as if she was waiting for something to happen but nothing did. She had already tried to keep herself busy by reading books, doing her homework, surfing the internet, watching television, you name it. She had done everything to keep herself distracted so she wouldn’t feel lonely. However, none of it worked.

She was alone and the feeling of loneliness never left her.

Somehow, she felt like she was suffocating, almost as if she was being locked up in her own room. She needed some space, she needed a sense of freedom and she needed fresh air.

Why was that every time she thought that things were going to turn out well, it did the complete opposite? Why did her happiness had to end? Was this her fate? That she would never feel the sensation of happiness? Things always turned out worse and worse for her. Why? Why was that she was always alone in the end?

“This isn’t fair,” her eyes starting to tear up. “Nothing in life is fair! No, nothing in my life is fair. Why? Why do I always have to feel the sorrow and be left in despair?” She was now crying. She couldn’t hold in her emotions anymore. “Am I always going to be left alone? Am I really going to die alone?” Her heart wretched with pain. This was the first time, Mira was letting out her frustrations regarding her life. Yes, she always knew that the feeling of loneliness would stay within her and that it was going to continue on, but why? Why did she feel disappointed when she thought that things would turn out well for her?

She didn’t want to admit it but she knew, she knew that she had changed over the past few months. She was actually growing fond of her new image, her new character. It made her happy that she had finally smiled in forever and this all happened because of Jongin, because Jongin had entered in her life. He was the reason why she was in this state right now. He was the one that made her smile, he was the one who opened her eyes to take a glimpse of happiness and he was the one that made her think for the first time that she was going to have a happy ending, but she hated it. She hated him for making her have a weakness now. She wasn’t saying that she wasn’t afraid of anything, she was now feeling as if she wasn't strong anymore. She couldn’t control her emotions to put on a cold, expressionless, emotionless face anymore. She had changed.

Her parents had already departed this world, her own older brother hated her and now someone so special to her, someone who she thought she was going to spend more time with had decided to also push her away as well.

Tears just kept on rolling down her cheeks, it wouldn’t stop.

“Get yourself together!” She shouted at herself as she stood up from her bed and decided to leave home. She was going to that place. She was going to that secret place. She was going to the place where she felt relaxed. A place without any worries and nothing could stop her.

---

“The lower class rebellions have not stopped their uprising and protest which has caused the Government a huge amount of trouble so now they have come to a conclusion that there is going to be a gate build to separate the two classes,” the news reporter spoke as footages of the latest protest showed on the television screen. “We, the upper class individuals have to work together as one to stop this ridiculous dispute, but beware of your surroundings if traveling to a lower class land-"

Before the reporter could continue any further, Jongin turned off the television.

This was ridiculous. How could the Government be this ignorant? They could clearly see and spot out the injustice and the unfairness which was taking place for the lower status, but still they chose to ignore it and now they had decided to separate the land. 

Jongin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. This was the reason why he never was interested in politics and never did like politicians because they were all money hungry people. They weren’t interested in making the ‘citizens’ of this country genuinely happy. Yes, they would make a load of bull promises when they were in desperate need for votes and obviously the others would vote for them, believing in every single thing that they have promised to them, but in the end nothing happened. They were all greedy, wanting money and wanting the title because they knew how much reputation that the name held for them.

He felt useless as well because he couldn’t do anything about it. Yes, of course he wanted to do something to change the world that they lived in. He wanted everyone to be treated fairly, but it wasn’t that easy.

The doorbell rang, grabbing Jongin’s attention. He was surprised to see Kyungsoo standing outside his penthouse. This was a sudden visit, but he knew that Kyungsoo must have come here for a reason.

Kyungsoo on the other hand was just as surprised. He had expected to see Jongin with Mira right now. “Where is she?” He asked all of a sudden, making Jongin confused.

“Where is…who?” Jongin asked while tilting his head, not understanding what Kyungsoo meant.

“Where is Mira?” his voice suddenly got louder.

Guilt was already washing over Jongin at the mention of Mira. He missed her terribly, but right now he really didn’t know what his best friend was blabbering on about. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“I saw her standing in front of your door a few hours ago when my car past by so I decided to come visit you two later guessing that she was already with you, but….”

“No, she’s not here,” Jongin replied in a cold tone, even though he was worried.

Kyungsoo couldn’t stand it anymore. “Why are you still hesitating damn it!” He growled in frustration as he literally pushed the younger male to the wall. Jongin's eyes widened in surprise at Kyungsoo’s sudden action. He looked up to only see Kyungsoo glaring at him. “She looks terrible these past few weeks, have you notice that?!” He shouted. 

Yes. “She’s not my problem,” Jongin replied, earning another death-glare from him. 

“You are pathetic, I feel ashamed just by watching your cowardly behaviour,” Kyungsoo breathed out. “You were the only one that she had, but now you decided to make her feel and push her away, leaving her alone once again. If you were going to end the relationship between the two of you like this, you shouldn’t have talked to her in the first place. You shouldn’t have made her feel that you are going to stay by her side whenever she needs a shoulder to cry on. Now, look at what you have done. You have truly wrecked her. You have broken her heart,” he finally finished off what he wanted to say in one go and took a deep breath.

It hurt so much. Jongin was at the verge of almost screaming out in frustration because of the situation he was in right now. “Please, just stop. You’re making this harder for me,” his voice cracked at the end of the sentence, but Kyungsoo shook his head in disgust.

“What’s so hard for you? This isn’t going to benefit Mira, or you. This is only causing you both pain. You do realise that you’ve hurt her, don’t you?” Kyungsoo asked, making Jongin look down to the ground in guilt. “DON’T YOU?!” He shouted as he wanted to hear Jongin’s answer.

“YES DAMN IT, I DO KNOW. I DO KNOW THAT I HAVE CAUSED NOTHING, BUT PAIN AND SORROW SO THIS IS THE BEST FOR THE BOTH OF US. IT’S BEST IF WE JUST STOP SEEING EACH OTHER BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO CAUSE HER ANYMORE SUFFERING!” Jongin shouted, taking Kyungsoo back in surprise.

He then realised that Jongin wasn’t selfish, he was just being stupid. His best friend was being too kind-hearted and stupid. He was making decisions that only brought happiness to Mira. He was only thinking about her, but Jongin had made the wrong decision. He was lost and Kyungsoo was willing to help him get back on his path.

“I’ll be making my leave now.” Kyungsoo simply said and left without another word, leaving Jongin in even more confusion, but that didn’t matter right now.

There was only one thing that was on his mind right now.

Mira, he had to find Mira.

Within minutes, Jongin got in his car and drove to Mira’s apartment, but when he got there the receptionist told him that she wasn’t home right now. Panic started entering in every nerve of his body. Please, don’t do anything stupid. He hoped Mira was in her right state of mind. He just hoped she was safe right now and then he knew. He finally knew where she was right now at this moment. How stupid of him? After driving past every red light, Jongin finally arrived at his destination. He got out of his car, not even bothering to lock the doors and sprinted to the lily pond, hoping that he would see Mira there, but disappointment struck him when he didn’t see her figure.

He then quickly ran out to the old school building and searched through almost every room, but she wasn’t there. The only place that was left to search for Mira was the rooftop. Oh god, please don't tell me she jumped off this damn building. Weird scenarios started playing up in his mind and he couldn’t help, but feel nervous. His whole body started shaking when he stepped foot onto the rooftop and then it hit him. Relief, he felt relieved when he saw her.

Mira was blankly staring at what was in front of her, not even moving one bit. As he got closer, he could clearly see that she didn’t look well. Her face looked paler than ever and she had lost some weight. She hasn’t been eating well. This clearly showed him how Mira was coping. For all he knew, Mira loved to eat. She loved food, she ate more than him so it would have been almost impossible for her to skip her meals.

Jongin wasn’t going to talk to her though, he was already relieved and glad to see her once again. If he did talk to her, he knew that he would have to hurt her more to stop their bond from even growing stronger. However, it was too late. Just when he was about to leave, Mira spotted him.

“Jongin?” She called out, almost not believing that he was standing right before her. 

How long had it been since she had finally seem him up this close?

Jongin’s heart hurt in pain. This was the first time he had ever heard her say his name and he couldn’t help, but feel a sense of warmness but he tried not to let that feeling take over him. “What are you? Stupid?” He turned around and shouted at her. Mira winced at Jongin’s harsh tone. She had hoped that he wouldn't act cold toward her, but she was wrong. “Haven’t you heard how dangerous it is to be here? You do realise that you have stepped foot into the lower status land. I thought you were up to date with the news regarding the two different classes. The Government is going to build a gate to separate this land into two,” he kept on blabbering on, but Mira couldn’t focus on it. 

The only thing she kept her focus was on Jongin. 

He was here. He had finally spoken to her. 

“Why did you show up?” She interrupted him, taking him back in surprise.

Jongin nervously looked away, not wanting to make any eye contact with Mira because he knew that if he did, he would definitely pull her into a hug.

“Hurry up, we better leave before the rebellions spot us here,” Jongin remarked, totally ignoring the question. He started walking away, believing that Mira would simply follow after him, but oh how he was wrong.

“You haven’t answered my question,” Mira called out.

Jongin turned around and faced her in frustration. “Let’s talk when we get back, it’s dangerous here and I don’t want to leave you here. I don’t want you to get hurt,” he desperately cried, wanting this conversation to end.

This was when she realised she loved Jongin. 

She was in love with him.

She loved him.

Kang Mira loved the one and only Kim Jongin.

Even if Jongin was cold and harsh toward her, she saw the kindness in him and that he still cared for her. He had just come here to take her back because he didn’t want her to get hurt, this already proved her enough. She didn’t want to frustrate Jongin any further so she followed after him.