Chapter 3

The rest of the class was practically normal, except for the fact that Mrs. Port had to go out of the classroom to get some air for a few minutes after that big explanation. Mrs. Port let us relax several minutes before she excused us from class.

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Hansol whispered when she left.

“I was curious! And you know that you don’t have to whisper? Everyone else is talking,” I answered back in my normal voice, turning around in my seat to face him.

Hansol smirked and leaned back in his seat. Did he think that this was my way of flirting? “But you know what they say…curiosity killed the cat.”

“It helps me understand more things about this place.” I tried to tell him. “Considering that you didn’t help me last night.”

“Oh,” A-Tom elongated the word as he put his hand over his mouth and Yano was trying to hide a laugh.

“Whatever,” Hansol sneered, “you were going to learn it one day anyway.”

“Yes, but a little help would’ve been nice.” I said. “And she did say that they couldn’t talk about it, so it’s not all my fault. She decided to tell us.”

“No, but you just had to open your mouth.” Hansol said.

I bit my bottom lip as I noticed that he was right. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. None of that information would’ve been told if I hadn’t asked. And maybe it was for the better.

“Do you know anything about that myth that she mentioned?” I asked Hansol honestly.

“Of course I do,” Hansol smiled.

“Hansol!” A-Tom put his hand on Hansol’s shoulder. “What has P-Goon told us? We’re not allowed to talk about it unless they are of age.”

“Oh, one of the youngest members is trying to follow the rules, when you hang out with Mr. Rule Breaker over there.” Hansol pointed to Yano. He glared over at Hansol and crossed his arms.

“That’s because you don’t know how to have fun.” Yano whispered. “And I don’t always break them! I always make sure I’m with one of the older members.”

“Even if you are with one of them, they won’t let you do it. At least they shouldn’t, not at your age,” Hansol told him back.

“That’s not true! Hojoon let me use them!” His voice starting to rise. “Although he didn’t approve that much.”

“You know…it’s true. Hojoon seemed a bit frustrated, but he didn’t really seem to mind it.” I whispered.

Was that a thankful look on Yano’s face for a second? Was he thanking me for backing him up? I don’t know what his problem was with me when I first came here, but hopefully we can get closer; I could see us becoming good friends. I returned a simple smile towards him.

“Alright, class, you are excused for today,” Mrs. Port announced as students started to collect their belongings and exited the room. As soon as I was getting my things, Hansol, A-Tom, and Yano were already out of the door, waiting for me. Mrs. Port walked right in front of me before I could leave the room. “Trinity, I understand that you are new, but listen carefully, we are never to talk about what I just said in today’s class. If he ever found out that I released some information to some minors, it could cost me my job, maybe even my powers. Now, listen carefully, I want you to forget everything that I told the class. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I answered nodding my head.

“Good, have a good day.” Mrs. Port smiled and got out of my way and I left the room, joined by the three boys.

“What was that about?” A-Tom asked me as we made our way back towards the staircase, students getting out of our way, well, that was only because of A-Tom, Yano, and Hansol being with me. I could feel the glares on my back from the girl students as we walked.

“Oh, she just didn’t want us, especially me, to mention what she told us, about the boy.” I explained.

“Told you not to do it,” Hansol sighed.

“It wasn’t my decision to tell it!” I said, my voice starting to rise just like how Yano’s voice did back in the classroom.

“Hey, hey, hey!” A-Tom said and came in between Hansol and I, putting his arms around us. “Why can’t we just get along?”

“That’s not as easy as you think,” Yano rolled his eyes.

“You should see us when we’re all together discussing important matters. Man is that one big ride to go through!” A-Tom laughed trying to ease the tension.

As we passed the halls, a boy with periwinkle hair, who I remembered was named B-Joo, made our way towards us and bumped into Hansol’s shoulder. Hansol glared at him and put his hand on his shoulder, making B-Joo turn around to face him.

“Don’t forget about tonight’s meeting. If you are late again, P-Goon would have to take in actions again,” B-Joo smiled innocently as if what he did to Hansol was on accident. “Wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”

“Meeting?” I asked, wondering if he meant a meeting between all of the students, although my instincts told me that it would just be between them.

“That’s not important to you,” B-Joo sneered at me.

“Hey, watch it,” Hansol started to get all defensive.

“Yeah, that’s what you said last time, and look where that got you,” B-Joo smirked. “Watch your time, you might be late for class. Better not be late for the meeting.”

“Just head to class, otherwise you would be late,” Hansol said as he let go of B-Joo’s shoulder.

“What was that about?” I asked as B-Joo was out of ear shot.

“Those two…well, it’s kind of complicated.” A-Tom started to speak for Hansol, who just walked with his hands deep in his pockets, his head on the ground.

“A-Tom, can you not? Not with all of these people around,” Hansol whispered.

“What? It’s not like they don’t know the story,” Yano shrugged.

As we got to the stairs, A-Tom and Yano raced each other to the top, entering the Air and Water wing that Hojoon showed me yesterday. I saw the men nod their heads at them as they entered, but they stopped every other student who crossed their way.

“Well, this is the big moment for you, choose wisely.” Hansol said as he ascended up the stairs. I wasn’t too far behind him and when he entered the Air and Water wing, he stopped and turned around, leaning against the railing looking down on me. He was probably wondering what element I was going to pick.

“Trinity Hess,” The man on the left said in a booming voice. “Age nineteen, birthday unknown, element unknown. You are one of the few students to come here with no knowledge of what you possess. Today will be the day where you will decide your fate.”

Boy, this guy made it seem like everything was like in a video game. “So, what will it be; Air, Water, Fire, or Earth?”

I swallowed nervously as I could hear a student sigh loudly behind me. I had to make up my mind soon; otherwise the other students would be late for class! And then that’s when I felt something in me tell me in a sense which one I need to choose.

“Air, I choose Air,” I answered with confidence. Hansol’s face went into a frown as the man smiled and nodded.

“Welcome to Air, Miss Trinity, your room is the first door to your left.” he said sort of ushering me with his hand. I walked the rest of the staircase and met Hansol at the top. He looked sort of irritated and saddened at the same time.

“Air?! Seriously?!” He sighed.

“What?” I asked giving him a little glare. “Is that bad?”

“No,” He faced me, his head tilted a little, “but did you see what I could do? Doesn’t that interest you in anyway?”

I tilted my head and gave my cutest thinking look while I bit my lip, making him tempt my answer even more. “Mmm…yes, but Air just feels right to me right now.”

“And what if your feeling is wrong?” He smirked.

“Then I’ll just have to try another element. But right now, I’m trying Air.” I told him as I gave a little wave and headed to the first door to my left. It was a grey-blue with the brass number 1 on top. I’m guessing that the numbers were the year that the students were in, but yet again, I could be wrong. As I grabbed the handle, I took in a deep breath and braced myself to see who I was going to take the class with. Well, A-Tom and Yano did come this way, so maybe they could be in my class? As I entered the room, the first thing that I noticed was the wide open windows at the side of the room. The desks were arranged normally, each of them were paired next to each other. On the walls were posters explaining the different things with the element, Air. In the corner of the room was a poster about…I strained my eyes to see what it was about, but all I could manage to get was something about senses; I wonder what that was all about? My eyes scanned the room to see Yano and A-Tom talking to each other in the back of the room, laughing in between talking. Well, they are in my class after all, I looked around to see if anyone else was in the room that I knew and before I knew it, they landed on a boy with dark blue hair and rounded glasses; Hojoon! I smiled as I made my way towards the desk next to him and tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, stranger,” I said.

Hojoon looked over at me and a big smile appeared on his face. “Hello person that I don’t know,” He said playing along. “So, you chose Air?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why, though,” I smiled as I sat down in the desk next to him.

“Sometimes you just know,” His smile never leaving, “it’s like the feeling of going to an amusement park and knowing that you are going to have a fun time.

“HEY! Guess who chose Air!” A-Tom said as he came over to my desk and leaned against it. Yano leaned against the desk chair that was across from me, his arms crossed and his annoyed look never leaving his face. “Yes! This year is going to be fun!”

“Joy…” Yano whispered.

“Yano, watch it,” Hojoon said in a serious voice. “A-Tom, just make sure that he behaves.”

A-Tom smiled and put his arm around his friend. “Of course! Come on, Yano, we can talk to them later in Element practice, see you later!”

They went back to their original seats, or that’s where I thought they were going. Instead they went over to a group of girls, who were obviously eyeing Hojoon and I, putting on their cutest faces and trying to be flirts with them.

“So, are Element classes boring?” I asked.

Hojoon leaned on the desk and crossed his arms in front of him. “Well, it all depends really. For a first year, well, you’re technically a first year, it will be a bit difficult to understand and grasp, but it will grab your attention, nonetheless. This is my second time being in the Air class. I wouldn’t say it’s the most boring out of all of them, but it has its ups and downs.”

“Wait, this is your second time?” I asked.

Hojoon smiled and nodded. “Yep, when I first came here, it was hard for me…I-”

“Good morning, class!” The teacher came in, interrupting our conversation. His brown suit was clean and cut, the gold clock stitch in the same place where everyone else’s was shined brightly, almost as if it was covered in polish. Rectangle glasses were on the bridge of his nose and his black hair was slicked back; he couldn’t be past the age of 30. He put down his black suitcase on top of his desk and clapped his hands together. “Alright, alright, everyone calm down and go back to your seats, it’s learning time.” The man turned around and started to write “Mr. Eves” on the board. After he was done, he looked towards me and smiled. “Welcome, Trinity. You have chosen Air for your element, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded towards him.

“Well, I hope that you are capable of building up the power to control the Element,” He smiled.

“I will definitely try, sir,” I answered back.

“Great! That’s what I love to see from a…” He paused and saw how old I seemed to be, clearing his throat and lowering his voice, he spoke seeming to find the right words, “new student. It’s nice and refreshing to see new students who are determined. Now, onto our lesson,”

“Mr. Eves is a good teacher to have, I heard many things about him,” Hojoon whispered over to me as Mr. Eves was getting out his planner, “He’s nice and relatively new as a teacher, so he’s still not used to addressing the students in a…polite manner sort to speak.”

“Now, let’s start from the beginning,” Yano and A-Tom could be heard giving little groans in the back. “No, Yano and A-Tom, I’m not skipping this part, even if you guys did hear it a couple of times already. I’m required to tell everything again to reset your mind and to have the new students, well in this case, Trinity, about the Element.”

What did he mean by that? Wasn’t it their first time in this class? Clearly they were here longer than me and they both possess the Air element; maybe they just didn’t have this class before? But what was with that ‘1’ on the top of the door about? Maybe it wasn’t what I thought it meant.

“Let’s dive into a little history for several minutes, shall we? For one, Kaalud, Ikrek, and Vandenis were all controllers of Air from the Original 12. Because they had the power of Air, they liked to go with the flow, just like the Element. Although, when Air clashes with another Air, it could lead to some troubles. They say that when two people with the same Element come together, it could be either great or a really big pain in the . And sadly for these three, they all seemed to agree to disagree in some cases. But let’s save the rest of that for the History class.”

“Too late,” I giggled over to Hojoon, who found it funny as well and a little laugh escaped his throat.

“They say that Air is the most boring Element to control, well, actually, it’s not. You can do many things. Like for one, if you can expand your powers enough, you may be able to control the actual wind. Now, some people think that that’s for the Earth Element. Well, they are wrong. The Earth Element can only go so far as to connecting to the Earth itself. Another neat thing about the Element,” Mr. Eves took a candle and lit it, the flame giving off a radiant glow. Taking his hand, he cupped the flame carefully, and, when he removed his hands, the flame went from a bright orange to a dark brown, almost black color. His hand was glowing orange, and with a single blow, the whole room felt warmer. “We can sometimes trick other Elements into thinking that we can control them, such as Fire. What I just did takes a lot of practice and patience. But as you can see, I took the warmth from the flame and I spread it throughout the room. This could also be done with Ice.”

“Amazing…” I whispered amazed at what he did. And what I thought Air did was just blow wind!

“And some might argue that Air is the least important Element; it’s actually not. Air is like the glue to the others; Water and Fire is made of Air, and some of the Earth Element does need Air to process. So, whenever someone says that Air is a useless Element, you can tell them otherwise. People who also possess the Air element is also more capable of doing at least one more element, most likely the Water element. The Air and Water elements work well together, hence why the school was divided up this way. The four Elements consist of Air, Water, Fire, and Earth, as you all probably knew that already.” He looked over at me and I nodded. Of course I knew; who didn’t? “People who possess these Elements have another special ability; senses. Our senses are heightened just by a little bit. People with Air have heightened sight. We can see, depending on the person, for miles. Put one person on a football field with a sign, normal paper sized, and put the other person on the other side. They will tell you what is written on that piece of paper from the other side.”

What? Is that why I could somewhat read the poster that was hung up on the other side of the room when I came in? And the Academy and the clock when I first came here? No one would’ve been able to see it through that fog! But what about the teachers glasses? And Hojoon’s? If he has really good eyesight, then how come they need glasses? Maybe it was for show? Or maybe something personal happened to him? I decided not to ask.

“Fire has heightened taste, Earth has touch, and Water has hearing. There was really no information as to why we have these heightened senses, but all we know is that it came with our powers. Now, you’re probably wondering how we develop these powers.” Mr. Eves turned around and sighed. “Yano, don’t think I don’t see you passing notes back and forth,”

I looked behind me and saw A-Tom nudge Yano in the ribs. “Told you that was a bad idea,” A-Tom whispered. I rolled my eyes at Yano and turned back around, Hojoon looking quite saddened.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered.

“Ah, those kids,” Hojoon sighed. “Since I’m with them most of the time, I’m technically in charge of them. And they’re acting like this…in class. Last year, P-Goon took care of them in class; they paid attention and didn’t fool around.”

“Maybe they’re testing you?” I asked, but quickly stopped our conversation when Mr. Eves gave me a little look as if the next thing he was going to say was directed towards me.

“The element that you possess all depend on your birthday,” And I was right, as he explained and started to write the three zodiac signs on the board that coincided with Air; Libra, Gemini, and Aquarius. “And since it’s the beginning of Libra, the seventh house of the zodiac, those born a Libra will be a bit stronger during this time than the other Air signs.”

“But…I don’t know my birthday,” I whispered over to Hojoon, who obviously knew about it.

“Don’t worry, I know a thing or two that I can teach you,” He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

“Ah, Trinity and Hojoon, you two seem to be getting along pretty well, and that reminds me. Everyone pair up and teach each other how to gather up your powers, if you know how to do it,” Mr. Eves seemed to have something on his mind. “Let’s see how well you guys can do it without a teacher.”

“But, don’t we do this during Element practice?” I asked the teacher worriedly.

“Ah, that’s practice, Trinity. In this class, you will learn how to gather them. It’s easy, right?” He asked the class.

“Of course it is,” Yano answered smartly.

“Yano, this is no time for your smart mouth,” Hojoon warned him.

“Yes, mom,” Yano answered back.

“But, what if we don’t know anything?” I was just as curious as any new student in this room.

“When you first gather them, you will know.” Mr. Eves smiled reassuring. “The feeling is unlike anything that you have every felt. Hojoon, you seemed to do well last year, I’m sure that you could show her.”

My heart rate sped up as Hojoon smiled and nodded. “Now, everyone pair up. Yano, you better watch your actions. One of your older members is in this classroom, remember that.”

Everyone got up and paired with someone, while I turned around in my seat looking down at my lap. How was I supposed to do this?

“Hey, don’t worry about it, you will know,” Hojoon smiled as he took my hand and brought us both up from our seats. “Mind if we can try to gather our powers outside? It might help Trinity to get closer to the Element itself.”

My cheeks blushed as he was thinking of me, being the new student and all; it was really cute. Mr. Eves sat there and thought for a moment before looking outside. He sighed and stood up. “Everyone head outside.”

A-Tom seemed excited about it as he raced to the door and out the hallway, dragging Yano along with him. The other students followed their lead, with Hojoon and I last in line.

“Why outside?” I asked Hojoon as we walked down the stairs towards the entrance.

“This is what helps me connect to an Element, so, it might help you,” He smiled.

“Speaking of which,” I tried to keep my cool as we entered outside, the cool autumn feeling still hung in the air, sending chills down my back, “what you said back there, you had a hard time when you first came here? Why?”

We stopped in an open field, the grass was still a bit wet, but that didn’t really bother me that much. Hojoon made me face him and grabbed my hands into his, never letting go. Blush spread across my face at his actions.

“What are you doing? Aren’t I supposed to-” I started.

“Don’t worry, this will help you,” Hojoon gave a smile and squeezed my hands. “Just close your eyes and let me do all the work.”

“What do you mean all the work?” I asked.

But he didn’t answer as he closed eyes, concentrated on something, and as I closed my eyes, I felt something run through me. It was as if my blood was on adrenaline and my whole body felt as if it was floating. The feeling was phenomenal and it felt like we were in the clouds with no one to bother us. All of a sudden, my mind and soul felt as though everything was clear. A sudden warm feeling spread throughout my body and smiled at the feeling and felt at ease.

“Open your eyes.” Hojoon told me, his voice almost a whisper.

I did as I was told and saw that we were both floating in mid air! Immediately my grip on his hands tightened and I scooted, uh floated, closer to him, practically hugging him. He laughed at my reaction as I saw that we weren’t that far off the ground, but it was still surprising.

“Are you doing this?” I asked.

“Nope…you are…well, I’m helping, too, but you are contributing,” He answered.

My eyes widened as I realized that I didn’t let him go and that we saw the other students practicing some of their techniques; it was no surprise that Yano and A-Tom were together.

“B-but how?” I asked.

“You could say that I helped you open up more to the element.” He answered as he never left his grip on me. “In order to control the element for the first time, you have to open yourself to it, inside and outside. But, since you don’t know what your element is, your own senses didn’t open up to it. I did some special tricks to have yourself open up to Air. In a way, I let Air into your system.”

“So, does this mean that I can control Air now?” I asked looking up and I noticed that our faces were very close together, which made my face just go even more red. A little laugh came from his mouth as we descended back down to the ground. I sighed out in relief and let go of Hojoon, although I didn’t really want to.

“Not really,” He answered as we saw Mr. Eves calling for all of us to come back to the room. “I just opened up your soul and mind to the element. You’ll have easier access to it. I guess that you can I opened the door.”

“But what if my element isn’t Air?” I asked as we made our way back.

“I have a strange feeling it is. You seem to be that go with the flow person. I took notice of that last night when they showed you their powers.” Hojoon answered honestly.

“I was a little bit confused as to what was going on, but I’m surprised myself that I didn’t faint.” I laughed lightening up the mood. We were getting closer to the Academy, seeing Mr. Eves smiling at the doorway as the students entered. “You know…you never really answered my question from earlier. I would love to know your story, as you’re probably interested in mine.”

Hojoon opened up his mouth for a second, and then closed it, a heavy sigh coming out of him as if he was thinking of his answer. He shoved his hands deep inside his pockets and walked in front of me backwards up the stairs, a little smile on his face.

“You have lunch next, right?” He asked.

“Yes, why?” I asked back.

“Have lunch with me? I’m sure that the other guys won’t mind me missing,” He smiled as he stopped with his hands behind his back.

I blinked in surprise and stopped my footsteps as he brought his hand around, holding a freshly picked daisy. “When did you get this???” As I raised my hand to take the flower, Mr. Eves shouted for us to hurry up. “Yes, I would love to!”

“Great, meet me out by the garden, you do remember where it is, right? There’s a little gazebo in the back. Oh, and make sure that Seogoong doesn’t see you with the flower, he might get upset.” Hojoon winked at me as he turned around on his heel and ran back to the Academy. I smiled as I smelled the sweet flower and made my way up towards the entrance.

“I see that you have an admirer.” Mr. Eves said as we made our way back towards the classroom.

“Oh, no, I just met him,” I sighed. “I don’t think I would have an admirer this early.” Although that might be a lie concerning Hansol; he is doing the flirting thing all the time with me. Hojoon…he just seems to really see me. There are no sarcastic tones, glares, or sneers. He takes my jokes and I take his. He seems to be somewhat mysterious, which really pulled me in.

“Are you kidding me?” Mr. Eves sighed. “Don’t think I didn’t see you two together out there. I ship it!”

My cheeks blushed at the thought and a small smile appeared on my face as I remembered our little moment. Before we got to the staircase, the lunch bell rang. Students from all sorts of classes came running out of rooms and went out the front door. Soon the staircase was starting to fill with students and I could see Hansol walking down the stairs, his hands in his pockets. He lifted his head and smiled when he saw me, as I tried to hide the flower as much as possible.

“I’ll see you, tomorrow, Trinity, keep up the good work,” Mr. Eves told me as he kept walking upstairs.

“So, why’d you pick the Air head class?” Hansol asked as I turned around, hiding the flower behind my back so that way he wouldn’t see it.

“It was my choice,” I told him for what felt like the hundredth time. “And they aren’t air heads.”

“Yeah, ok, have you seen Yano? He’s in his own little world most of the time.” Hansol said as we entered outside and started to go around the Academy to another building. Unlike the Academy and the dorm buildings, this one was a small building in comparison. As we got to the building, I could start to see the little details in the stone; dates on the blocks with student names with their element. It must’ve been some monument?

“Wow, how many are there?” I asked as I starred at it amazed at how many there were.

“How many of what?” Hansol asked looking where I was.

“The names? Must be thousands!” I exclaimed.

“You can see them from here? Huh, you might just be Air after all,” Hansol stated and then I remembered what the teacher said; Air has heightened sight. But then again, Hojoon helped me with getting the abilities for Air in me… We entered the cafeteria that was bustling with students, and the noise was so loud that I was surprised that I didn’t hear it outside!

“Spaghetti today, great, something messy to eat when I just washed this,” Hansol whispered.

“Trinity!” A familiar red head shouted as A-Tom rushed over to our side.

“Speaking of something messy,” Hansol said to A-Tom.

“Hey, watch it,” A-Tom gave him a glare. “I’m glad that you have lunch with us! Yano got his schedule changed this year and doesn’t have lunch with me for the first half, just Hansol and Hojoon…”

Hojoon! My eyes went in shock as I remembered that I promised to meet him in the garden’s gazebo!

“You ok?” Hansol asked, looking concerned.

“Uh, yeah, I just…” I looked around the room trying to think of what to say. “I think I forgot to get something from my last class, I need to check that out,”

“Oh, well, have fun,” A-Tom said as he did the quickest wink that I have ever seen. Did he know about me meeting Hojoon? Hansol raised an eyebrow as I took a hand from behind and waved at them, a little smile on my face. I quickly took the flower and held it in front of me as I turned around from the two and made my way outside. By this time, the students were all where they needed to be, and I hoped that I wasn’t breaking any rules at this time. My memory tried to picture where the garden was from where Hojoon showed me, and a sudden blast of wind blew towards my right, back to the Academy. Although that was weird, an instinct in me thought to trust it, and as I followed the wind’s direction, I saw the garden, filled with flowers, and as I came closer, I noticed that there were also fruits and vegetables mixed in there as well. It was empty, but at the end of the garden, there was a white gazebo; it was covered in vines and flowers, and the way that the sun was beaming down made the flowers blossom. Sitting on the bench was Hojoon, quietly eating his packed lunch with another little box next to him.

“Hey, stranger,” I said, leaning against one of the pillar’s. Hojoon’s face lit up and scooted on the bench for me to sit down.

“You remembered,” He smiled. “I saw you walking with Hansol towards the cafeteria and I was worried…”

“Oh, no, he just...he started to follow me, I guess you can say that he showed me where the cafeteria is,” I said as I started to play with the daisy’s petals. “But I had to give a reason to leave, and here I am!”

“Well, I’m glad that you are here! Here, this is for you,” Hojoon pushed the little box my way. I put down the flower and opened up the box to find a sandwich and sides. “I figured you didn’t want the crappy cafeteria food.”

“Where’d you get this?” I asked as I started to eat one of the sides.

“I made it,” He smiled proudly. “The others and I have special privileges; we can make lunch on our own, if we wanted. That’s what I usually do every day, only because I don’t like the cafeteria food.”

“It’s really good, thank you,” I smiled as my stomach started to get filled with delicious food. “By the way, what do you mean by special privileges? I noticed that you have different uniforms than the others; why?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t really tell you why we are more special than the others. Only the seniors and graduates know. It’s part of our group.” He frowned.

“Ah, mysterious, I see,” I raised an eyebrow and smiled. “It’s ok, I was just curious.”

“I noticed,” Hojoon smiled with a little laugh. “But that’s ok, because I was curious when I came here, too.”

“Which reminds me,” I said after I took a sip of water from the water bottle that was with my little box that Hojoon made me. “How was it for you when you came here?”

Hojoon put the food that he had on his lap and moved it over to the side. He scratched the back of his head, ruffling his feather-like hair into a little mess, but I swore that it made him just that more cute. “Well…to be honest, I was just like you when I came here. I didn’t know my sign or my Element. Actually, I’m still trying to find out what it is.”

“Even after one year?!” I gasped.

“Yeah, you can say that I haven’t had the best of luck,” He sighed. “I’ve been trying all of the Elements throughout semesters, but sadly I haven’t really mastered them completely. When I first came here, the others saw something important in me and they let me join their group, hence why I have their uniform, but I’m not technically with them sort to speak. They look after me, in a sense. And when I started to show signs that I was strong in at least one, they backed off a little bit, but since you’re here…”

“They would have to keep an eye on me,” I finished as I nodded understanding the situation.

“Especially our leader, P-Goon,” Hojoon added. “He’s one that you don’t really want to mess with. Anyway, Air is the only Element I’m sort of strong in doing at the moment, so that’s why I’m with the guys’ who possess that Element.”

“Wait, but you can do the other Elements, right?” I asked.

“Some of them and only very slightly…the members think that I could’ve been born on a cusp, you’ll learn what that is in Astronomy, which could also be the reason why I can control a little bit of the other Elements…”

“But, Mr. Eves said that Air is like the glue to other Elements… Hojoon, what if…what if you are the first one to control Air and could connect it with the Elements; making it possible to control them?”

“It’s a slim chance…” Hojoon sighed. “But I doubt that will ever happen. No one, from what I know of, has ever controlled all of the other elements.”

“It could be possible, though,” We both said at the same time and at that time, we laughed at the little incident.

“So…” I said after our laughter died down, “Did your parents send you off to this school as well?”

Hojoon’s face went from a smile to a complicated look in a matter of seconds. He bit his lip and looked off to the side, closing his eyes as if he was trying to figure out what to say, or how to put words into sentences.

“My parents…I never knew them. I have no memory of them or where I came from. But, I always had this pin,” Hojoon got out a silver clock pin from one of his pockets; it was a newer, updated looking clock than the one I had around my neck. I noticed that it had tiny cracks in it, especially around the number 12, as though it was smashed or something. “The orphanage gave me this pin before I left for the Academy. They said that it was with me when they found me. They wanted to give it to me whenever I would leave, kind of like a going away gift.”

I looked down and brought out my necklace and showed him my clock charm. “My parents gave me this necklace for my birthday yesterday. Don’t know where they got it, but I thought that it was a coincidence considering what this Academy is about.”

“You knew your parents?” He asked.

“Well…my adopted parents. I never knew my real parents, either. Hence,” I got cut off.

“Hence why you don’t know your information, either?” Hojoon finished my sentence.

I nodded and Hojoon came closer to me, taking my hand in his hand and, never letting go, he looked at the necklace closer and compared the two. He frowned and furrowed his eyes. My cheeks blushed a bright red at how close he was. Soon, he leaned back and tilted his head.

“Weird… We both have the same clock, but yours is much older than mine. Are you sure that they didn’t get it from here?” He asked.

“They didn’t say,” I frowned. “I had to go before they could answer. I miss them…”

Hojoon bit his bottom lip and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. Before I could release any tears, Hojoon’s smiling face met mine and I felt happy again.

“Don’t worry, you will see them again,” He said.

A smile appeared on my face and I nodded. I felt bad because he never had any parents, he was in the orphanage all the time, and no one wanted him. How could they not? He was nice, funny, polite…I wonder what drove people ‘away’ from not wanting to adopt him. I could tell that he was hurting a little bit when he said that about my parents. I hoped that he would be able to see his real parents one day… But all of these mysteries about the group that he was in just made me want to know more. Library, right!

“We have more in common than I thought,” I laughed putting the atmosphere in a lighter mood.

Hojoon was about to say something when the bell rang for lunch to be over. I frowned and handed the box back to him.

“You say that your birthday was yesterday?” Hojoon asked as he stood up.

“Well, it was a guess birthday, sort to say.” I shrugged, picking up the daisy, “we always had a different birthday date every year and yesterday was the day.”

“Hm…” He furrowed his eyebrows, “I’ll see what I can do, but as for now, I need to get to History class. I’ll see you in Element practice, oh, I would hurry, too. Seogoong is coming here pretty soon. He might flip if he finds us near the garden.”

“I thought you could sit here during lunch?” I tilted my head as I stood up, still holding onto the flower.

“This is actually restricted, but since I’m with the group, they shouldn’t mind…much.” He smiled slyly.

“You’re very sly, you know that?” I laughed.

We walked out of the garden together, as quickly as possible; students were crowding the walkways again going back towards the Academy, some on their way towards the cafeteria. Hojoon and I swerved out of the way and found an empty space on the side.

“Thank you for sharing lunch with me, and for the meal.” I smiled. “You know that you are a really good chef?”

“So I’ve been told,” He returned the smile. “Thank you for agreeing with me,”

I could feel eyes behind me as we were standing on the side…and they weren’t good. It felt like daggers were digging into my back, but that feeling all of a sudden went away when Hojoon hugged me tightly for a quick second. Before I could hug back, he let go of me and waved goodbye. My cheeks felt hot and it wasn’t until now that I could hear footsteps coming up from behind me. A tap on my shoulder made me jump and I turned around to see Hansol, strong curiosity…or was that anger that was plastered on his face? This wasn’t good. Around his head were little glowing blue snowflakes. I could feel the coldness from them coming my way. And, last but not least, spaghetti stains were on his jacket, a sloppy red streak going down where his chest is.

“You didn’t come back to the cafeteria…” he stated. “You lied.”

“I…I uh…” I said, but I couldn’t cover another lie. Hansol eyed the daisy and took it from my hands. “HEY!”

“A daisy?” Hansol laughed and shook his head. “Boy doesn’t know his game.”

I snatched the daisy out of Hansol’s hands and glared at him. “I thought it was sweet…”

“And you weren’t impressed last night?” He asked shooting a glare at me. “First, you treat me the way you do, and second, I got sauce on my shirt!”

“Would you not go on about your shirt? God, it’s like you are taking that incident on me! And it’s not that I wasn’t impressed by last night, I-” But he cut in again, and I noticed that the little flakes were starting to disappear, a know it all smile appeared on his face.

“So, you were amazed.” He let out a laugh.

“Of course I was…how wouldn’t anyone be?” I asked as I turned around, but Hansol was quick with his hands and took the flower away from me, again.

“Hansol!” I yelled as I tried to get the flower back, but he kept backing his arm away from me.

“Wouldn’t want to get caught by Seogoong.” He said as he took his bag that he carried and opened it up putting the flower inside gently. “I’m only doing this so you won’t get in trouble. Seogoong is very close to his plants.”

I stood there for a moment thinking of what he just did. It was nice…for once at least. A small smile formed on my lips. “Thank you,” I said as I my heel and started to head towards my next class; Astronomy.