A Fated Fall

Chapter 01

Hwan Injae slumped in the back of her parents' car, sipping on her mango iced tea. Today was a typical day for her; she woke up at 8 a.m sharp and made sure to have some breakfast. She didn't like being so early, but she enjoyed spending time with her classmates, and that was what mattered most to her. Her mom, however, felt differently. For her, Grades meant everything. She wanted Hwan Injae to have good grades in all things. Hwan Injae sighed as she looked out the window. It was starting to pour outside, which wasn't a surprise; they were already going through a rainy season.
She checked her phone and frowned when it was already 8.50 a.m. "You should go now, or else you'll be late." Her mother, who had parked the car, said quietly, causing Hwan Injae to jump slightly. She nodded quickly and gathered her school bag, slipping her jacket on before opening the car door. She stepped into the drizzling rain and ran towards the school building. "I am so going to get detention!" She said under her breath and quickened her pace.
Once inside her classroom, she spotted her friends sitting by themselves near the windows. As she approached them, she could see that they were all talking about what happened during recess yesterday.
Hwan Injae stopped and plopped down beside them. "So, did you guys know?" jaewoo said.
"That you almost gave hinseo a blow job yesterday in the cafeteria?" Minchae replied wittily, "of course we know; the whole school's talking about it."
Minchae and Jaewoo; are iconic couple of Seoul High School. They were popular due to their outgoing personalities and because they had been dating each other since they were in 7th grade. They were both seniors this year.
"How does one almost give a blowjob to someone?" Hwan Injae questioned.
"He was drunk off his ass; he thought he got caught but ended up getting caught anyway," Minchae replied.
"Well, I'm glad we weren't there to witness that!" Hyunjin chirped.
Hwan Injae laughed. The quartet was not the most popular in the school moreover the one that knew the most people.
They talked amongst themselves until the bell rang. Hwan Injae stood up and grabbed her stuff, waving goodbye to her friends as she walked away. Before long, she was walking up the stairs to her third period and sat down in her seat near the front. Mr Lee arrived in class 10 minutes later and took attendance.
At first, he was silent while taking attendance. When he finally decided to speak, he said, "The weather today is not very pleasant. Please take note of this." He paused, looked at Injae, then continued, "In a few days, there will be no more rain, but please don't expect too much from nature.

I look forward to a lovely, sunny weekend. Now open page 165 of your books."
The whole class Injae kept thinking about that look Mr Lee just gave 'wtf was that' she thought.
She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened her textbook to read. The rest of the lesson flew by, but it was time to go home before she knew it. She hurriedly picked up her bag and headed straight toward her locker. I was pouring again. She reached her locker and began looking for her umbrella. The umbrella that was always present seemed nowhere to be found...she looked around for any sign that her usual brown, fluffy umbrella had been brought up here. She searched everywhere, hoping and praying to see her umbrella. Nothing. Just then, someone knocked on her locker. "Excuse me." A voice sounded close behind her.  She turned around. The person standing behind her had black hair and a pair of glasses. They were smiling sheepishly. "Are you okay?" They asked.
"Oh yeah..." Injae replied, "I just forgot my umbrella."
He reached in his pocket and pulled out an umbrella. "Here," he held the umbrella out towards her.
"Oh, um, thanks..." She slowly reached out her hand. "By the way, Mr Lee was calling you. He's waiting in the library."
"Thanks," she smiled.
"No problem," he winked and began walking away.
As soon as he was gone, Injae put on her coat and walked toward the library.
She arrived at the library and looked around for Mr Lee when something caught her eye. A book popped out of one of the shelves from the back so misfitted from the ones around.
She walked over to the bookshelf, carefully pulling it out. She examined it for damage but couldn't find anything wrong with it. It seemed intact. In fact, in excellent condition, the silver hardcover illuminated in the light from above her. The title is written in an ombre from a light rose quartz to a pretty serenity colour. "Thirteen makes one,"  she whispered to herself. She flipped open the cover, expecting to discover more information than the small summary at the start. Instead, what she saw shocked her. Her mouth hung open as she stared at the page. Her fingers traced the familiar letters on the page. "Don't expect too much from nature. All I look forward to is a nice, sunny weekend." The exact words Mr Lee said in his classroom. Flipping along the pages more, a bookmark fell from the book. The bookmark depicted a young boy with a smile plastered on his face. His name was printed neatly under the photo, or so what she presumed it to be. "bichgwa bi" translating to rain and light. "What a weird thing to name their child." She stared at it for a little longer before turning her attention to the book. Flipping through the pages, a flash of huge lightning struck outside the room. The thunder rumbled and shook the ground, causing Injae to flinch and drop the book. As soon as she was able to stop shaking, the ground quieted.  She picked up the book and noticed the book had a strange light escaping from the middle of the spine. "What the hell? Did I break something or what?" It kept running, making her surroundings brighter, so bright even she couldn't see what was happening around her. Squinting her eyes, she tried to see around the room when another thunder was heard, and the world was engulfed in blinding white.
It was then the entire room seemed to shake. The noise coming from the walls and floor, the wind howled outside. In a minute, it was all gone.

Injae was in her bed again, and her eyes popped open. This time she stayed awake, watching the ceiling intently. "Was that a dream?" After a few seconds, a knock on her bedroom door caused her to jump and fall back onto her pillow. "Yeah?" she called out to whoever was on the other side. There was a slight pause before she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her door. Her heart started racing as the steps grew closer, the doorknob twisting frantically. The door swung open, and there stood her mother.
"Injae!" she shrieked as soon as she walked in. She immediately knelt next to her daughter. "It's 8.10, and you're still not up!? You want to be late again!?" Injae was dumbfounded
"HUH?"  Was all she could manage to say, completely stunned.
"You need to be in school at 9; what are you still doing?"
"Huh...what do you mean?"
"You've been sleeping all morning. Get dressed, and let's go!" Mrs Hwanscolded.
"But mom-" She didn't dare to finish her sentence; she'd never seen her mother this angry before. She got up and started getting ready with only one thing in her mind "What's going on? Was all that happened a dream? No, It was too real for a dream." walking out of her dresser, all dressed, her eyes landed on her study table—a familiar shiny silver book with beautiful rose quartz and serenity ombre title. Injae's throat is now dryer than the Sahara desert.