Lee Eunjoo never thought this would be the way how her life turned upside down. Just like a sudden storm in the middle of a sunny day, she wasn’t able to do anything about it but to just get wet— drenched, to be precise.

 

                4^th April 2010

 

               That damned day when she lost her entire family in a car crash; on her 16th birthday. And she was the only survivor.  

 

                It was such an irony, completely nonsensical in many ways. She didn’t get it, she couldn’t understand. No, she refused to understand.

 

                She needs to not understand.

 

                How was that even possible? People thought that it was a miracle, but she knew it wasn’t. There had to be something that she did wrong that angers the heaven. It was a punishment, a curse – misery to her life.

 

                She kept asking herself, “why?”

 

                How come she was safe, completely fine and unharmed? Yes, unharmed— because a little stich mark on her forehead doesn’t even mean anything.

 

                Compared to what was lost.

 

                Her mother’s body went missing in the lake where their car plunged into right after the crash. No matter how hard the rescue team looked for her, she was nowhere to be found, hidden on the bottom of the cold lake; probably forever. Her baby sister was thrown out of the car and was hit by a passing truck, midair. And she was just two years old.

 

                Her dad, died on impact from the crash— and the last thing he said to her before the accident happened was;

 

                “It’ll be the most memorable birthday ever!”

 

                —And lord, he couldn’t be more right.

* * * * * * *

 

 

                She didn’t remember much about the funeral.

 

                She was so out of it, moving like a living corps receiving condolences and greetings from unknown people who kept on telling her to be strong, that they were sorry for her lost, and how it’s a relief that she somehow survived the tragedy.

 

                And those words to her were the biggest insult in her life.

 

                It wasn’t a relief at all.

 

                She didn’t ask to live. She would rather be killed, than to be left alone.

 

                She remembered how anger filled her entire body, waiting to erupt like a raging volcano. She wanted to scream and tell everyone that she didn’t want their sorry, that she hated every comforting words they gave her. She wanted to tell them to get lost and leave her alone. She wanted to tell them to bring back her family to life, in exchange of her own. But all she did was to sit in one corner of the mourning room, staring at the pictures of her family members on the altar surrounded by white chrysanthemum flowers.

 

                — The flower of death.

 

* * * * * * *

 

 

 

                “That’s her, the witch,” said one of the boys as she walked passed by the corridor.

 

                “Shhh, she’ll hear you!” the other guy said, in a half hushed tone— as if his was trying to not let her notice.

 

                 Eunjoo kept on walking, ignoring the intense stare and scared looks from the students. It had been almost four years since this kind of thing started happening to her and she just don’t feel like caring anymore.  In some ways, Eunjoo almost believed what they were saying about her. It was not impossible at all, considering the things that kept on happening around her since the accident that took her family away.

 

                At first she thought it was just a streak of bad luck but after a while, she realized that it wasn’t. The disappearance of her previous homeroom teacher, the burning down of the school’s exam hall, there were so many bad things that happened that was being linked to her. The similarities of those incidences were just too much; it’s almost crazy not to believe it.

 

                And the most obvious proof was the date of each occurrence, which happened every four months since the day of her parent and sister’s death.

 

                4^th August 2010, 4^th December 2010, 4^th April 2011, 4^th August 2011, 4^th December 2011, 4^th April 2012, 4^th August 2012, 4^th December 2012, 4^th April 2013, 4^th August 2013;

 

                – There were no missed dates.

 

                On each date, there was always something bad that happened around her. Be it big or small, these incidents caused everyone to be more suspicious on her.

 

                The first four month after the accident, one her classmate broke his leg after he said something unpleasant about Eunjoo’s parent. He then fell down the stairs on his way back to school on the same day due to a spill from the janitor’s bucket, but everyone jokingly said it was because he made Eunjoo mad.

 

                 Soon, four month later a camping event was cancelled due to a landslide at the camping ground. Eunjoo wasn’t able to join at that time, and because of that some students started whispering among themselves saying that it was too much to be believed as a coincidence. Some believed, and some just laughed it off.

 

                 But the third occurrence which was the disappearance of her homeroom teacher, really set off everyone to actually believe that she could curse people and ever since that day she was called ‘The Dark Witch’.   

  

                 The day before the disappearance, Eunjoo’s best friend Dasom got into a fight with their homeroom teacher. Miss Song accused Dasom of smoking after smelling tobacco scent on her uniform but Dasom denied it till the end. The fight was witnessed by the whole class including Eunjoo.  So, when Miss Song suddenly disappeared the next day, the whole school started to point their fingers on Eunjoo.

 

                Now, every four month when the date on the calendar showed the number four, everyone in her school will gave her a scared look. Trying to not mess with her, and just avoided her.

 

                —Except for Dasom.

 

                * * * * * * *

 

 

 

                “Good morning, Lee Eunjoo!”

 

                Eunjoo lifted her head away from her book when she heard her best friend’s loud voice echoing the whole class. It’s the day before 4^th December 2013 arrived and on this kind of day, usually there won’t be anybody who would dared to call her name like that.

 

               Except for Kim Dasom, the only comrade she had left in this world; a sister not connected by blood but through heart. Dasom too was an orphan, even long before Eunjoo became one.

 

                Even when she herself almost believed that she bear a dark curse, Dasom had never turned her back around. She always protected her from the people’s menacing eyes.

 

                “Yah, Kim Dasom. You’re noisy!”

 

                Suddenly a deep but clear voice coming from the back of Eunjoo’s seat startled her from her thought.

 

                Upon hearing the voice, Eunjoo realized that she had forgotten about one more person.

 

                Kim Myungsoo, that's right.

 

                Before her life turned this bad, she used to be close to him. They were very;

                —close.

 

                But the lost made her drift away from everyone. Dasom kept bothering her even when she tried to shy away so she can’t do anything but to accept her, but Myungsoo just looked at her and watched from afar.

 

                As if he was trying to say, “I’ll always be there for you.”

 

                And she can’t help but to noticed it.

 

                Athough she wanted to just run into his arms, she knew she can’t let herself do that. Accepting Dasom all over again was already a huge risk she had taken. What if the curse everybody was talking about was true? She definitely can’t bear seeing both of them to be hurt.

 

                So she kept her distance. Like how she still kept Dasom away from herself most of the times. But she made Myungsoo stayed even further away, so he would be out of her reach.

 

                And it hurts her to do that.

 

                “Kim Myungsoo, mind your own business!” Dasom said as she placed her bag next to Eunjoo’s table and then she turned her attention back to Eunjoo.

 

                “So Eunjoo, do you want to hang out at the library today?” Dasom asked.      

      

                Eunjoo just nodded and then she focused back on the book she was reading,

 

                The school library was Eunjoo’s heaven after all the bad things kept happening around her. It was the only place she could be herself, and felt peace at the same time. After the burning down of the examination hall last year, no one dared to be at the same place with her; especially alone. Even when the police had officially declared that the examination hall started to get caught on fire due to cigarette butts probably thrown away by some of students who were trying to skip class, everyone still believed that she was the cause of it.

 

                Just like that, Eunjoo become the lonely girl in school.

 

                A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I’m the Queen

 

                And it was all just because coincidentally, she was the last one seen walking near the hall and also, because the date was December the 4^th ;

                –Again on the rumored cursed date.

                               

                * * * * * * *

 

 

 

                The library was a little dark and smelled a little rusty but Eunjoo liked it like that. It was silent, with no students hanging around to study. Most of them preferred to revise in the classroom, to avoid crossing path with Eunjoo. Even with the big examination coming up, nobody dared to test their fate.

 

                “I’m sorry Dasom, you know I don’t feel the same way for you.”

 

                A whispering voice a few feet away caused Eunjoo to stop her steps.

 

                “I know you love Eunjoo, I love her as much as you do. But Eunjoo never looked at you all these times! You’ve tried enough already, can’t you give us a chance now?” Dasom replied to the guy— her voice slightly wavering under the whisper.

 

                “I’m sorry.”

 

                The guy answered. He then started to walk away from the rows of bookshelves he and Dasom was standing at, startling Eunjoo and making her unable to hide herself.

 

                “Kim Myungsoo…,” Eunjoo whispered to herself.

 

                A sudden tension rose when their eyes met. Eunjoo felt her whole body grow rigid, and she could hear her heartbeat beating like the waves on the shore.                

 

                Dasom who was trying to follow Myungsoo with tears streaming down her face also stopped once she saw Myungsoo staring at her best friend.

 

                The thing the three of them were trying to avoid all these years; it finally happened. And for the first time, Eunjoo felt that something very wrong was going to happen soon.

 

 

                * * * * * * *

 

 

                Eunjoo stood in front of Dasom, panting and trying to catch her breath. After their encounter at the library, Dasom ran away and Eunjoo found herself to follow her.

 

                She had to; she can’t bear to see Dasom cry.

 

                She had never seen her best friend cried before, except on the day of Eunjoo’s parent and baby sister’s funeral. Dasom cried for her at that time, and she hated to see Dasom crying again because of her. She didn’t even cried when she fought with their homeroom teacher about the smoking incident

 

                Because Dasom had always been strong; stronger than anyone Eunjoo knew, stronger than Eunjoo herself.

 

                “Dasom ah,” Eunjoo said and paused.

 

                She tried to think of the best thing to say to her friend.

 

                They stood there, wordless; just staring at each other’s eyes sadly.

 

                They knew each other so well.

 

                Dasom knew how Myungsoo and Eunjoo feelings for each other, and Eunjoo knew how much Dasom loves her childhood friend.

 

               Because Kim Dasom and Kim Myungsoo, they’ve known each other all their lives. They lived in the same orphanage, they grew up together, and they were each other’s salvation.

 

                Or at least, Kim Myungsoo was Kim Dasom’s salvation.

 

                Myungsoo and Dasom were just like a twin. A very close pair everyone in school know about. Until Myungsoo and Eunjoo met finally met.

                The sparks between them were just so strong. There were no needs of words, both Eunjoo and Myungsoo knew it in their heart that they just fell in love with each other, but neither of them dared to say anything.

 

                Because of all things, Kim Dasom’s feelings need to be protected. Eunjoo can’t bear to hurt their precious friend heart. And Myungsoo didn't want to hurt Eunjoo's.

 

                Thus, the three of them kept each other act of pretense, at least until today.

 

                And now, all hell finally broke loose.