CHAPTER 1: Small World

I smelled the fragrance of the crisp leaves on the ground as I crunched my way to the school gates of Soo Man University or SMU (A/N: I know. SM is getting too cliché. Don’t have ideas for a name though). It was cold out so I wore my bright red bonnet to warm up my head and to prevent the wind from making a haystack out of my messy bob.

From the moment I woke up, Sooyoung unnie was already clanging in the kitchen preparing my favorite breakfast. It was the first day of school and I felt as if I was going away to enlist in the army. Trust my sister to be so dramatic in moments like these. She even insisted that she drop me off at the school gates, which I didn’t mind either way.

“Remember to call me whenever there’s a problem, alright, Jung-ie??” Sooyoung’s concerned look suddenly eased my nervousness.

            “Unnie,” I whined, “I’m in college now. You don’t need to baby me anymore.” She looked hurt so I added, “But I would still have those freshly-baked oatmeal cookies and warm milk when I get home.” She beamed, kissed my forehead, skipped to the car, and sped off. After she left, I immediately took off my granny sweater and ‘Potter’ glasses and slipped on those glassy circle thingies. I was still new at it so putting it on was a challenge.

            It was all Hyeri’s fault.  She barged in my private den yesterday.

FLASHBACK

I jumped as I heard a bang from my door and saw Hyeri taking of her sunglasses.

“Why is it freaking hot in this house?” She tossed me a box and the aircondition in my room. I dove for it before it hit my striped tabby who seemed dead to the world. When I opened it, I stared at nothing.

“You should try those on,” she urged.

“Try ‘what’ on?”

“Oh, come on. Those are contact lenses, Soo. They’re harmless. You know those are the trend these days.”

She didn’t seem to get it so I gave her my ‘I-don’t-care-if-these-are-the-trend’ look.

 “I know, I know. Well, that’s why I got you the transparent ones. You still get to keep your original eye color. Don’t be such a baby, Soo. We’re university students now. Glasses are so last year. If you still want them to see you as a ‘geek’ then suit yourself. But moi’s going to be a different person tomorrow,” she gushed.

“You do know that there will be no improvement for me. I will always be this short boring girl.”

“Yah, Soojung! You are not allowed to talk like that in front of me.” Trust this girl to be all ‘motherly’ at times. “How are you gonna get your namja chinggu if you keep on degrading yourself like that?”

“I know but—“

“No buts, Soo. Trust me. You are beautiful. I wouldn’t be your friend if you weren’t. BWAHAHAHA! Toodles, Soojungie! See you tomorrow! Oh, by the way, could you please text Tao to fetch me tomorrow? My handphone died. Gomawo!”

She left me staring at the box. I opened it and took off my glasses. After a few tries, I was successful in putting the contact lens on. I blinked at the strange girl in front of me. Hyeri was right. This was better. I was still short though. I frowned, thinking about how life was unfair. My sister has an incredibly model-like height and I unfortunately inherited my mom’s shortness.

Eomma. My eyes started tearing up and shook my head. I took my handphone and texted:

To: Kung Fu Panda

Tao-ya, you’re yeoja chinggu wants you to fetch her tomorrow. Her handphone battery is empty.

Message sent.

END OF FLASHBACK

Okay, I admit I did look a tad different. New wardrobe, new look, and, thanks to my braces (which I’m not wearing anymore), new teeth. As I walked in the hallway, I could recognize some faces from high school but it seemed that they didn’t recognize mine. As soon as I saw Hyeri, I scurried to her side. Tao was already with her.

She glanced at me once, paused, and scrutinized my look. “Well, well, well. You don’t look so bad, Kim Soojung. That’s an understatement—you look gorgeous. Let me just put this ribbon up here. There, perfect! Isn’t she beautiful, oppa?”

Tao grinned. “Of course. A friend of my beautiful girlfriend would also be beautiful.”

“Ugh that was so lame,” I faked a gag.

“Shut up, Soo. You’re just jealous cause I have a perfect lovelife.”

Perfect my . They couldn’t even last a day without an argument. Still, they were together for 3 years now. I couldn’t help but agree with her, for once.

“Yah! Why’s your skirt so long? Can’t you pull it up a bit?” Aaaaannnddd there goes the nagger. I rolled my eyes and dragged her to homeroom before she could even see more imperfections.

* * * * *

            “Soojung? Kim Soojung?” Ms. Lee, our homeroom adviser was checking our attendance and trying to match the names from her list with our faces. I raised my hand and continued doodling on a fresh page of my notebook. I was currently in an Art Appreciation class. Both Hyeri and I chose Literature as our courses since we both loved books. We practically had every class together.

With a of luck, Hyeri and I ended up in the same section…again. The administrators are seriously gonna regret this. My thoughts suddenly departed from me when a crumpled paper bounced off my head. I whipped my head to Hyeri’s direction and gave her my ‘what’s-with-the-throwing’ glare.

            “What?” she whispered. “I called you a gazillion times. It’s not my fault if your head is in the clouds.”

            “Stop the hyperboles and idiomatic expressions. What do you want?” I hissed.

            “Kai’s been staring at you for the past 10 minutes. I think he likes you,” she giggled.

            “Kai likes everybody. Stop assuming things. It’s not healthy.”

            “I think he doesn’t recognize us.” More giggling. “Gee, looks like only a few of us here came from the same high school.”

            “Yeah, I can see that,” I was being sarcastic.

            “You’re being grumpy today.”

            “It’s all your fault.”

            “You’re using short sentences. I don’t like it.”

            “Gaaah! I’m not being grumpy!” I inhaled, trying to control myself. “I’m just trying to pay attention here, Hyeri-ya.”

            Someone cleared and my heart froze for a second when I saw Ms. Lee by my side.

            “As I was saying, Ms. Kim, this school strives for academic excellence. And we discipline our students here to be behaved, well-mannered, and competent. So, are you up for the ride?”

            “Ne, Seunseung-nim.” I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. When Ms. Lee walked up the front, I elbowed Hyeri, who was getting red from snickering.

            “Soojung.”

            I whipped my head to Kyungsoo’s direction. “What?” I hissed.

            The boy wasn’t even flustered. “Your zipper’s open,” he replied with a monotonous tone. I turned red from embarrassment and checked my skirt.

“I meant your bag’s zipper,” he hastily added. I glared at him and threw him my pencil eraser. “It’s too early for jokes, Kyungsoo-yah!” I whispered. The latter just stuck his tongue out at me. Chen, who was beside him, snickered and gave him a high-five. “Nice one, bro!” I swear I’m gonna shave their heads someday.

            Ms. Lee finally sat at her desk, looked at her records, and said, “So this class is composed of 46—“

BAM!

            All heads turned to the door where a tall, dark-haired guy stood.

            “—47 students. Welcome Mr. Park. Please have a seat,” Ms. Lee continued.

            “Sorry I’m late, Ms. Lee. Traffic,” he apologized.

            I wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. My eyes were glued to this “Mr. Park.” Slowly, my hands crept and tugged Hyeri’s sleeve. She stared at me, confusion evident in her eyes. I leaned in, and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes grew wide and glared daggers towards the tall guy.

            I touched the tips of my dark short locks and harked back to the painful memories when I once had my long beautiful hair. Summer camp. Broken strings. Scissors.

.

.

.

            “It’s him. It’s Park Chanyeol.”

A/N

            How was my first chapter guys? Did I do well? Was I able to catch your interest? I will really try making this story an interesting one in the long run. Don’t forget to vote for this story! Saranghaeyo! EXO jjang!

            I would probably update in less than a week so look forward to it! I might not update always because I’m preparing for my LET (Licensure Examination for Teachers) that’s happening in August. But because I love you I’ll try updating once in two weeks, or less. Annyeong!!!