on the day the mirror broke . kth

01 | THE GIRL

The curtains in Yoon Sumin's room draw back at five-thirty like always, letting sunlight to spill over her face and splash against the walls. Her father had put together a device that opened the curtains automatically so they didn't have to wake her up themselves

Sumin scrunches her faces at the sudden red blaze against her eyelids, giving herself only a moment to revel in her bed's warmth before throwing off her blanket and rolling to the floor.

As in, she literally rolls off her bed and lands with a soft thump onto the fluffy rug she had lain on the floor for just this purpose.

She pulls herself up by the edge of her bedside table, rubbing at her sleep-heavy eyes, then quickly makes her bed before she can give in to the temptation of sleeping in. Today is her first day of eleventh grade and she was not going to be late.

Earphones, thinks Sumin. Where are my earphones?

She finds it hanging off her table and scoops it up, changing into workout gear and grabbing her packed bag, and leaves the house quietly so as not to wake her family.

Her dad, Daebong, owns a high-end restaurant and at the moment he would be getting ready to set off. Her mum, Jaein, was still at her night shift as a nurse at the town hospital - Sumin wouldn't see her until after school - and her brothers had moved out a few years ago. Unlike Sumin, her sister Emily could afford to sleep in for a few hours more.

Only a glance is spared to the big house at the end of the cul-de-sac before she jogs out of her street, taking her usual path.

That particular house had been the topic of much talk on her street.

The inhabitants of the single-story building were only seen once and only by Ms Kang. It's hard to trust what she says though, the spritely little widower was notorious for being the gossip queen of their town. Ms Kang had said she only saw a glance of a family - they had come with their rumbling moving van in the dead of night, at most taking an hour for it to be emptied before the last echoes of its engine died down.

Since then, the front door has stayed shut, and Sumin should know. She had gone there multiple times with cookies to welcome them to their new home, but no one had answered the door.

Sumin brings her mind back to making sure she stayed on the right path. Like she has every morning for the last four years, she jogs to Sweet Life Cafe, straight to the drink chiller to buy a bottle of grape juice before going off in the school's direction.

Even though she was moving so much, dawn seemed to be touching her with frigid fingers, seeping deep into her bones and cradling her in ice. She salutes the guard at the school gate, and he returns it with a well-worn grin.

In the gymnasium, Sumin waves at the leaders of other sporting clubs who were setting up in time for their activities. As usual, she's the first in the club room that shoots off from the side of the gym, and she takes a moment to marvel at the new foam mats and open shelves that had been added during the holidays.

"Hi Sumin!" Huening Kai pokes his head into the room with Taehyun clinging to his arm and waves cutely.

Before she could reply, a tall body forward rolls through the door and nearly knocks out the two boys. Soobin springs up and winks at a confused Huening Kai. He's followed by Yeonjun pushing Beomgyu forward by dancing provocatively on him.

"Yeonjun, I swear, if you don't find someone else to grind against, I will set fire to your hair."

Yeonjun immediately backs off, only to jump on Soobin's back as the latter falls to the ground again. It takes a few minutes for Sumin to untangle them and bring control over the group again, but when she does, they're dead focused.