You sulk as you stare at the alarm clock for over two minutes, wishing you had powers to turn back the time, you continue staring at it. You toss and turn when you hear a knock on your door and pout when you hear your grandmother announcing that she’s coming in.

“Yoo-hoo,” She giggles as she enters the room, you have your back to her, the right side of your bed sinks in and you know that she’s sitting on your bed. A hand ruffles your bed hair, “I know you’re awake.” She says sternly. You can never understand her mood swings sometimes, you’re happy that she’s sometimes stern with you, you like that better than her behaving like you’ll break if you’re not watched.

“You need to get ready for school,” She tells you as she yanks the covers off you, “Mrs. Nam is waiting downstairs – she’s going to take you there – ” You abruptly sit up and you cling to your grandmother, you shake your head quickly and that makes your head start throbbing but you don’t stop. “I thought we talked about this.” She sighs; you shake your head before you pull away from her. You stare at your bedcovers and hold them in a tight grip.

“HoWon will be there,” You know she’s trying to buy you, you ignore that and you keep staring down. She lifts your chin and you find her pouting. Well, she’s full of surprises. You think as you try to look way but she has a tight grip on your chin - not enough to hurt you, more like scare you.

“I’ll tell you what,” She starts after a long pause, “You go to school right this instant and look around – if you don’t find it appealing or satisfying enough for you – you’re still going to Woollim though.” She says, her tone holding no room for arguments, you slowly nod your head. She pinches your cheek lovingly and smiles before she stands up. “I’m off to work now, if you take too long, Mrs. Nam will check on you.” She kisses your forehead, “Have fun.” And she walks out of the room.

You sit on the bed and stare at the wall, you hop off bed and you grin at how strong your legs are now. You look around your room before your eyes landed on the clock against the wall. I still have 45 minutes to get ready, you think as you adjust your pajamas after stretching. You walk towards the bathroom but you freeze when your hand touches the doorknob.

I forgot something.You let the doorknob go and you step away from the door. You turn around and you quickly walk to your bed, you sit on it and turn around to the nightstand. You open the last drawer of the three, you pull out Hoya. You flip through the pages, most of Hoya is empty. You smile sadly and you close Hoya. You stand up and you scan the room for a pen. You walk over to the study table and pick up a pencil when no pen is in sight. You open Hoya again and you write in it. 

Wish me luck, Hoya! I hope I meet nice people; I hate myself for being such a coward around strangers. My breath starts getting heavier each passing second like I’m about to suffocate. Oh, you’re not a diary, sorry.

I’m an idiot. You think as you close Hoya, you dump it on your bed before you sigh and make your way to the bathroom. When you’re done, you walk over to the red and black uniform with a white shirt. You raise your eyebrow at it and your lips crawl into a thin line but you put it on anyway. You walk out of the room and you close the door before you walk through the hallway to the stairs, you walk down the stairs and you head for the kitchen.

Mrs. Nam is there reading a magazine, she looks away from it and waves at you with a happy smile. You wonder where WooHyun is, you shake your head and wave back at her. You walk over to the fridge and you open it, you pull out what you need and you sit across from her.

 “Got everything you need?” She asks cheerfully, you pause before you nod. “Your schoolbag is already in my car,” She informs before she returns to her magazine. You stare at her – you have a habit of staring when you’re alone with someone – you take in her whole look like a scanner.

She looks a lot like WooHyun – wait, you think dumbly. WooHyun is her son, so WooHyun takes after her. You correct yourself and then you being to wonder if WooHyun has a brother or sister. Same with HoWon, you try to hide the smile but she sees it.

“Thinking of someone you like?” You quickly shake your head and you turn to your breakfast.

¤¤¤¤

The drive to Woollim is alive because WooHyun’s mother won’t stop talking, you reply to her by writing on her phone. She gave it to you before you both entered the car – you fear for your life, so you don’t write much on the blank note you open on her phone. You give her nods when you understand and agree with what she’s saying, at times you smile and at other times you want to snort because she’s hilarious.

She talks a lot about WooHyun and his brother BooHyun – you snort at the name without intending to but she laughs with you claiming she wasn’t in her right mind when she was naming her first born. You smile, you hear how she talks about them, the way she picks and chooses her words – from her words and expressions, and you can tell how much she loves her two boys. She doesn’t talk much about their father, only that he’s a busy man – he travels a lot more than she does.

The car comes to a halt stop and your eyes grow wide, your jaw drops at the sight. “I know,” She giggles, “Come on, I need to get to work – I have to be quick now.” She steps out of the car and you want to throw a tantrum but you don’t. You walk out and slam the car door shut; you open the backseat and grab your schoolbag.

“To the principal!” She shouts, earning attention from the students there. You flash and stare at the ground; she hooks arms with yours and leads you to the principal’s office. You’re told to stay outside the office; she makes her way in without you. The secretary gives you a smile before she turns back to her computer. 20 minutes later, Mrs. Nam walks out with a tired look; she makes talking gestures with her hands and makes funny faces.

“He talks too much,” She sighs and hands you a few papers before staring at her wristwatch. “Shoot!” She exclaims, “I have to go to work.” She says and you nod, she throws a smile at you, “You’ll manage? You can meet the principal after school – he has to be in the school auditorium now.” She tells you sweetly, you nod with a smile even though you’re dying inside.

You watch as she walks away, you sit there dumbly before you decide to stand up, you have to be in the school auditorium in 15 minutes – all students have to be there – and you have no idea where it is – you want to ask the secretary but you shrug, you’ll get there somehow.

¤¤¤¤

You find the door and you smile happily to yourself, you give yourself an imaginary pat on the back before you go in. All eyes turn to you, you immediately sit on the first empty seat your eyes land on, it’s next to a guy but he doesn’t budge – he doesn’t notice you because he is talking to someone sitting ahead of him.

“…aren’t you going to be on stage today?” You hear the person on the roll ahead ask him, it’s a girl. The guy beside you shakes his head, there’s a lot of noise and chaos around. I don’t think the teachers are here yet, you think as you look around.

“I’d rather sing then go up there and embarrass myself.” The guy says grimly.

“What?!” The girl shouts loudly, “You’re a good dancer, what is wrong with you? Is it because of your small eyes? Can’t see your steps?” She flicks his forehead; he rubs his forehead and flicks her back. “You’re just like my cousin!” She hisses, “He wants to act though – what an idiot,” You raise your eyebrow at that.

“Well, he does love acting,” The guy mumbles uninterested.

“Huh – speak of the devil,” The girl stands up; you turn your head to your side to follow where her eyes will land, you meet a pair of eyes before you look at the newcomers face, you swallow. Is he glaring at me? You think as you look away and stare blankly at the stage. The newcomer sits next to you without commenting on the girl’s statement.

“Boo!” A loud voice says into the mic, shocking everyone including you and excluding the two guys you’re sitting between. The bright lights go out and your eyes widen, you drop the papers onto your lap and you hold the arm your hands land on, tightly.

“Welcome back to Woollim High and for the new ones welcome to Woollim High!” The voice practically screams you hear people complaining.

“Settle down everyone,” Another voice says calmly. “Before we go further into today’s program – quiet children – Kim Sunggyu and Kim MyungSoo, I need you backstage this instant.”

The guy the loud girl was talking to groans lowly before he gets to his feet.

“Ahem.” You hear someone clear their throat but you ignore that. “Ahem.” The person clears his throat louder, your eyes widen and you look your hands, you’re holding his arm in a tight grip. “Can I have my arm back?” He questions blankly, you quickly let go of his hand and you stand up for some reason and the lights turn on.

“You in the back there,” The person on stage calls, you look at him with wide eyes, you point at yourself and he nods, “Yes, you.” He says, “Dance student?” He asks, you hesitant before you give him an unsure nod. “Come up here if you don’t mind.” The man says politely, you hear people talking and pointing at you.

You’re about to shake your head but the guy you clung onto stands up and grabs your wrist. “Come on,” He says coldly, “Payment for borrowing arm without permission. Deal?” He tells you lowly, you nod like a little child. The other guy with the small eyes shakes his head before he walks past you. The guy holding your wrist drags you with him to the stage.

One person starts clapping and everyone else follows the action. You step on stage and the guy lets go of your wrist but before he goes away, you cling to him. Don’t. You think looking up at him with teary eyes; he raises his eyebrow before he shrugs you off. He walks to the person who called you up and they exchanged a couple of words.

All lights go out again and you feel yourself being lifted up, you wrap your arms around what you think is the neck. Familiar scent, you think.

The person carrying you says your name and your eyes widen in the dark.

HoWon.

¤¤¤¤¤

>____________>