Where does a story truly begin? In life, there are seldom clear-cut beginnings, those moments when we can, in looking back, say that everything started. Yet there are moments when fate intersects with our daily lives, setting in motion a sequence of events whose outcome we could never foreseen.

In my case, I could clearly remember how everything started.

It was nearly two A. M., Monday, and I was still wide awake despite the fact that it’s a school day and I should be getting enough sleep while I can. Earlier, after crawling into bed, I tossed and turned for almost an hour before I finally gave up. I resorted to staring up at my ceiling and counting the cobwebs that had been left for cleaning by the previous tenants.

You might be curious as to what was making me restless. Well, it was for the fact that I had changed schools and a new environment frightens me, too much than usual. My parents recently got their divorce and since my mother was not financially stable, the court favored my father for custody. So my father, being a frugal man he is, decided to move back to his parents’ house in Busan which was on rent for years. I felt bad for the renters for the sudden notice but still, I was in no position to feel pity when we were just finding ourselves a shelter.

I didn’t know I have been lying for three more hours until the alarm on my bedside went ringing. I jumped out of bed to do daughterly duties. But as I approached the kitchen, my good ol’ dad was already busy cooking breakfast. It was unexpected of him given that in my thirteen years of existence, I never saw him get busy in the kitchen.

He was too focused on flipping the pancake that I thought he didn’t notice me sneaking up on him. But then it was just my thought. “Good morning, princess!” he greeted, brightly than usual. Like the divorce never happened.

“Good morning, Dad,” I greeted back.

He put the finished set of pancakes in front of me and poured a vast amount of chocolate syrup on top of mine but I didn’t mind. I’m a er for anything chocolaty. “So, first day today, huh? How do you feel?”

I pursed my lips and wanted to dismiss the topic but I knew he would press me on telling him my inner thoughts. He’s a psychologist, if you may ask, and he loves to read people’s mind.

“Well, nervous? I mean, it’s not just a first day in school. It’s my first day in high school. I would have preferred to be in Seoul and enjoy the company of my old friends.”

Dad was a bit taken aback hearing me complain. As far as he’s concern, I haven’t said a word about the divorce. I mean, I had seen my parents fighting from the range of material to immaterial things so in my perspective, the divorce did the three of us a favor, only a slight shortcoming on my part.

After breakfast, Dad and I went to our own business of preparing for the first Monday without Mom. Luck must have been on his side because as soon as he resigned from the hospital he’s working in Seoul, he got a call from his friend about an opening for a resident psychiatrist in a hospital here in Busan. So in general, it’s his first day, too. But he was not as nervous as I was. I wondered if it has to do with the fact that Busan is his hometown.

When the clock seven o’clock, we’re on our way to our own destinations. He drove me to school and after dropping me off, he sped away towards his new workplace.

As I stepped on the gate of the school, I felt the cool breeze touched my face. I looked around and saw students bickering and laughing with each other. It seemed to me that friendships have already been developed. Like everyone already knew each other and I was standing out as the new girl. I looked around some more and I realized that some students were already throwing strange stares at me. Was it too obvious that I’m a new girl in the block or was it because I’m not wearing uniform? Either way, I hated to be the center of attention so I walked quickly towards the administration office to pick up my schedule.

Minutes later, I found myself walking in a narrow corridor on my way to my first class. And then it happened. Remember that moments I was talking about earlier? The moments which you thought was nothing at first turned out to be the beginning of something?

At first, it was just me taking my sweet little time walking to my first class but then a sudden weight that came from nowhere bumped into me and threw me out of balance. To make matters worse, I fell to the floor, face first. As I flipped on my back, I noted dully that there were too many stars. Wait. Stars? Was it nighttime here? Anyway, for a moment, I wondered why I couldn’t draw breath, then quickly I became more concerned with the pain that was coursing through my body. All I could do was lie on the cold, concrete floor and blink with every throb.

From somewhere far away, I heard a jumble of sounds, and the world slowly started coming back into focus. I tried to concentrate and realized that it wasn’t a jumble; I was hearing voices. But only one voice was distinct and it seemed to be asking if I was okay.

At the same time, I gradually became conscious of a warm hand on my cheek. I blinked once more, turned my head slightly, and was confronted by an angelic face. Even with worry painted in his face, he was, undeniably, beautiful.

“Ahhh…,” I whimpered, trying to sit up. As I moved, Mr. Angelic Face shifted and put his hand on my shoulders to support my shaky state.

“Are you okay?” the voice said, sounding clearer. “Are you okay? Maybe you shouldn’t try to get up yet.”

“Maybe we should bring her to the clinic and let the nurse take care of her,” another voice said and even it didn’t sound close as the first voice, I could tell he’s annoyed.

“I’m okay,” I said, finally raising myself into a seated position. I looked around and saw that a crowd of students had formed in a circle around me. Their faces were a mix of curiosity and irritation. What a great way to start my year, I thought.

“Are you sure?” Mr. Angelic Face asserted. “I could carry you to the clinic, if you want.”

“What? No, I’m really okay.” I stood up hastily just to end up falling into his arms.

“See? You’re not okay.”

“I think she’d be uncomfortable if you take her, Taemin,” a girl, who emerged from the crowd, said. “I’ll take her.” Then she turned to me. “That is if you want to.”

I would have refused her help if not for the throbbing of my head. “Yeah, I want to.”

The girl wrapped her arm around me and walked me towards the clinic, leaving the crowd behind us. We were practically strangers but here she was helping me. I have to admit though that as soon as we rounded the corner and the buzz of the crowd faded in the background, the atmosphere became awkward.

“Um, thanks for helping me,” I began, trying to make a conversation.

“No biggies. Taemin and Kai always cause an accident every time they goof around narrow corridors.”

“You seem to know them so well.”

“Not really. I mean, we knew each other since we were kids but we’re not really buddies,” she explained as we near the clinic’s doors.

The nurse gave me two capsules of pain reliever and made me stabilize my breathing by letting me inhale and exhale on a brown paper bag. After five minutes or so, I’ve gained complete consciousness and the throbbing at the back of my head faded.

“So, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet,” the girl said cheerfully, as we walked out of the clinic. “I’m Oh Hayoung. You?”

“I’m Son Naeun,” I replied timidly.

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “I’m a transferee. Am I that obvious?”

“Um, sort of. The lack of Busan accent pretty much gave you away. Besides, if you grew up here, you would have recognized the infamous Lee Taemin right off the bat.”

“Lee Taemin?”

“Yeah, the guy who got you in the clinic.”

Ah, so Mr. Angelic Face has a name and it’s Lee Taemin, I thought to myself.

“What is your first class? Maybe I could take you to your room,” Hayoung offered with a bright smile on her face.

I stared at her and concluded that she is beautiful with that straight, long hair, high cheekbones, small lips, and fair skin. But her main asset is her eyes-a chestnut brown, fringed with long curly eyelashes. She’s an epitome of beauty and with her height that I presume to be almost 170cm, she could pass for a Miss Korea title.

“Biology I, with Mr. Ji Suk Jin,” I said, glancing at my schedule.

“Really? So am I!” she squealed in delight. “Wow. You must really be God’s sent.”

“Why?” I asked, suppressing a laugh from her cheesiness.

“Nothing. It’s just that my best friend moved to Seoul and I’m in hunt of a new best friend. Though I know every living species here in school, none of them met my standards. And then you came and even at first look, I knew we will be best buds!”

While I am not much of an introvert, I am not also that friendly. I felt really awkward the way she wrapped her arm around my shoulders like we’ve been best friends for years. But as much awkwardness I felt, I still let her. I thought of it as giving back for the help she gave me.

We walked towards our first class and saw that it already started but Mr. Ji allowed us in with the help of the note from the nurse. I wanted to seat at the front but Hayoung pulled me to the back and I found myself seated facing the back of Taemin’s head. He turned around as soon as Mr. Ji resumed discussing. He asked if I was okay and I nodded lightly, feeling my cheeks burn. With my clear sense of sight back, I could clearly see the imperfections that wasn’t registered into my mind a while ago. His lips were thicker than I thought, his cheekbones were higher than mine, and he has softer features compared to other guys I know. But still, those didn’t make the crazy beating of my heart slow down.

When the first class was over, Taemin came over and introduced himself formally. He apologized for what happened and he explained that if not for his friend, Kai, I wouldn’t have been hurt. I assured him that it was okay and since nothing big has happened, we should just put it behind us. As I was saying it, Kai snickered so I glared at him.

“What?” he said, still laughing. “I’m sorry, I just find her so funny.”

Taemin rolled his eyes at Kai. “Don’t mind him. He just doesn’t have anything to do.”

From that day, I had a feeling that Kai and I will never be get along. And I was right. While Taemin and Hayoung helped me a lot to get used to my new environment, Kai always found a way to make fun of me. He seriously annoys me to the depth of hell. And as much as I wanted to get closer to Taemin (because obviously, I like him), I couldn’t because of Kai and I thought I would never have a chance to do so until one day.

It was Monday and our exams have just ended the week before so everyone was in relaxation mode. We just finished our lunch break and it was time for Calculus. Ms. Song Ji Hyo marched to our room as soon as the bell rang and made an announcement to change the seating arrangement because of the cheating issues addressed to her by some of the teachers. The chairs were parted into nine columns with aisles after every three columns. At group of three chairs, she made a boy sit in between two girls. Hayoung and I were separated and I was sent to the front row. In my mind, I was fervently praying for Lee Taemin to be put beside me but I think the gods were sleeping at that time because of all people, Kai was made to be my seatmate.

“Hey, clumsy!” he greeted as he sat down. 

I pretended not to hear anything and just continued scribbling at the back of my notes.

“Woah, woah! Are you ignoring me? Or have you become deaf?” he teased again.

I didn’t budge a bit. In my mind, I knew he’ll get tired of it eventually. He didn’t speak again and I thought it was the end of it but I was wrong. He snatched the notebook I was scribbling and put it above his head. Ms. Song was still busy with the seating arrangements so she didn’t notice what was happening.

“Give that back!” I demanded as I tried to reach for my notebook.

“I won’t!” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

I sprang out of my seat to reach his hand and thankfully, I was successful, only that when I sat back on my chair, I found myself being face to face with him. His face turned serious and he swallowed hard. He was holding my gaze for as long as I can remember then I got back to my senses and hastily pushed him away. We both inhaled sharply and straightened our uniforms.

“Wow, Son Naeun,” he said, chuckling without humor. “You just made me realize something.”

I was really annoyed to even respond to him but my curiosity got to me, so I asked, “What?”

He sighed theatrically before he faced me with a serious look in his face. “You just made me realized how…” he trailed off and stared right through me like he’s reading my mind. The way my Dad look when he’s talking to his patients. I stared back a