[𝙎𝙐𝙉𝙁𝙇𝙊𝙒𝙀𝙍𝙎 𝙄𝙉 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀] ~ 𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙀𝙎 𝙈𝙊𝙍𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙎

1.

4 years old

The little girl's hands reached out to hug her brother one last time. She didn't understand why her eomma was in such a rush to leave, neither did she know she would see her twin for the last time in a long while.

"Eomma? Where are we going?" she asked once they got in the taxi, looking up at her mother. The woman caressed her curls, not answering.

Feeling her eyes close, the little girl let her head fall on her mom's chest and fell asleep.

When she woke up, she saw tall buildings with bright lights all around them.

9 years old

    Hwa-Young walked through the corridor towards her friend, holding her notebook close. She stopped, however, when she heard a few boys mock her by slanting their eyes and talking in made-up chinese. 

    She looked down and felt tears start to pool in her eyes. 

    "Are you okay?" a small voice said. Hwa-Young looked up and saw a curly haired boy, seemingly concerned. She nodded shyly. "Hey, don't mind them. They're just trying to make you feel bad. I think you're really pretty." 

    They both smiled. "Thanks." Hwa-Young said before bowing. The boy imitated her gesture, making her giggle. He extended his hand towards her. "I'm Miles." She shook his hand. "Hwa-Young." He asked her which class she was in and realised they we're in different classes. 

    "Well, I'll see you around, maybe?" Miles asked. The girl nodded before heading to class.

14 years old

    Being a freshman isn't easy. And Hwa-Young, being herself, despised the thought of having to go to a school filled with people she doesn't know. 

    She got out of the car and headed to the trunk to get her suitcases. Another thing she hated. Having to be away from her mom for so long, and only being able to see her on weekends. She sighed and put her luggage on the sidewalk, next to her. Her mom came up behind her and put and arm around her waist as she was looking at the building. Brooklyn Visions Academy. It wasn't the high school she wanted, but something inside her told her that she's meant to be here.

    "Ready for your first day?" Soo-Ah, her mother, asked. "Not really." She sighs. "I'll miss you, eomma." Her mom kisses her forehead gently. "It'll all be okay honey." She smiles reassuringly. Hwa-Young smiles as well. "All right then. I should get going. The opening ceremony is starting soon." She hugs her mom one last time, and heads towards the opened doors. "Don't forget to use your "code name" sweetie!" her mom yells behind her. "I won't! Love you eomma!" She replies.

    As she's walking up the stairs, she hears a voice on a speaker, who she later sees is a police speaker. 

"You've got to say "I love you" back."

"Dad, are you serious?!"

Everyone around stops and looks at them, including Hwa-Young. A curly haired boy is standing on the opposite side of the staircase that she was on. He seems.. familiar..?

"I want to hear it."

"You want to hear me say..."

""I love you, Dad"."

"You're dropping me off at school..."

"I love you, Dad".

"Look at this place!"

""Dad, I love you"."

The boy sighs.

"Dad, I love you."

"That's a copy."

    He groans and turns around, speed walking into the building. Hwa-Young giggles to herself and walks into the building as well. 

    After the opening ceremony, the freshmen hurry to find their dorm rooms. She looks over at her timetable and checks her room number. Room No. 738. Great. Let's check it out. 

    When she finds the room, she hears some shuffling behind the door. Ooh, my roommate's already here. She thinks. Her hand reaches up to the door, knocking gently on it. "Come in!" Comes the voice from behind the door. She turns the doorknob and sees... a boy. Sitting on the window seat, a sketchbook on his lap and headphones around his neck. He is just as confused as she is.

    "Um, I think you're in the wrong room." She says. "I could say the same about you." The unknown boy says, now standing in front of her. Hwa-Young checks her room number once again. No, she's pretty sure she's in the right room. Her name's on the timetable and all. He does the same. "Room 738?" He asks. She just nods. "Hm, maybe it's a mistake? Maybe-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door. It opens, revealing a security woman. She asks them for their timetables. The kids ask her if there's been a mistake. She tells them that no, it's not, before leaving to check if everyone was in their room.

    Hwa-Young looks around the room. It was pretty spacious. There was a bunk bed on your right side as you entered, and two desks opposite of the beds. In between them was a window seat, large enough for both of them to sit on, under a big window that gave them a view of the city.

    She sat next to him and leaned on one of the pillows. They didn't say anything, but the silence between them was comfortable. She looked at him from time to time, and recognised him as the boy from that morning, with the speaker incident. Still... he seemed familiar. She brushed the thought away. 

    "So um... what's your name?" He asked. At the sound of his voice, Hwa-Young's heart fluttered. She shook her head slightly and answered. "I'm Skylar. Kim Skylar." He smiled. "Pretty name." She thanked him and did a little bow. When she looked up at him, she saw a faint blush on his cheeks. "Are you gonna tell me yours?" She said. The boy laughed.  

"I'm Miles."