║My Luminescence ༄

3) School

On top of a steep hill stood Dareun High School. A school for the locals and a rival for Hwang-Geum Academy. Hwang-Geum Academy, a prestigious place of education for the rich people of Dareun; Even a scholarship wasn't applicable if you wanted a seat. Not that you wanted one, but it was guaranteed everyone did, at least at one point. You did too once.

Your backpack was burning into your shoulders as you entered the school grounds alongside Iseul. As usual, no one was in sight, nor where the lights on. You liked to come early, and out of sight. Sighing, you and your sister parted ways - you towards the balcony and Iseul towards the basketball court.

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Finally, you made it up the stairs and to the school balcony. Sitting down on the worn-out bench, you took out your sketchbook and a pencil. The morning sun flooded your surroundings in a luminescent light as you carved your endless fantasies onto the pages. Your pencil ran along the paper, lightly as it fell upon the cherry blossoms and in sharp cuts as you shaped Mulan's katana. After a while, the new page had an occupant, who stared into the depths of your soul. Satisfied with the outcome, you shut the book and put it back into your bag. Wrapping yourself in a fluffy blanket, you watched the sun rise over the frosted pine trees and the sparkling waters in the distance.

A carefree morning like this one, were ones that got you through everything and anything. Your mind was happily confined into a meditative state, and no emotions lingered in your heart. Every decision that you had made in the past two years, was in this state of mind. 'It helped' was an understatement. It guided, calmed and strengthened you. Every decision you made here, was final and never failed you. It showed you that you only needed yourself, you never had to depend on anybody.

The sun had risen half-way into the sky, no longer peaking through the pine forest, lighting the snowy grounds of Dareun High which showed students slowly making their way into the school. Some were meeting up with friends after a long weekend, others were ritually smoking in hidden corners, and the rest with their noses stuck in a book, busy trying to absorb last-minute information for assessments.

Reluctantly, you stood up and took the blanket off your shoulders. Almost as soon as, the bell rang, signaling everyone to move to lessons.

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1: "Hey! How was your weekend?"

2: "What can I say? I sat studying for the whole two days! I can't believe that Miss Song set us that much homework!"

1: "Yeah, it's not like Korean Literature is the only subject we take."

2: "And my Biology teacher gave us a whole project to do for a week. There was honestly so much work, and I had to lock myself in my room."

3: "Are you sure Taehee?"

2: "What do you mean?"

3: "Jitae is giving a speech about how he spent a great weekend with you."

You mutely walked past them, not even engaging in a friendly smile or eye contact. You were past pleasing people. You no longer wanted to be just eye candy, just someone who's there for pictures and not for life. Time proved you who was going to pluck the flower and who was going to nurture and grow the flower.

Silently, you went and sat in your usual seat, near the window at the back, away from distraction and vile comments. Some may have called this giving up, that you were not fighting back, but you'd rather live isolated and alone forever than get shoved around and beaten up for every time that you raised your voice and stood up for yourself.

However, you weren't alone or isolated. You had two faithful friends - they were the one who watered the flower. At a young age, you didn't know the value of friends, you thought that everyone who played with you and talked to you were your friends. That wasn't the case. For you, it wasn't too late when you realised that fact, but maybe others didn't even know yet.

Chaeyoung and Sehun were your escape world. Together, they lifted the chains of responsibilities and anxiety off you. After the long months of darkness, they were the rays of sunshine that shone through. They brought laughter, colours, rain, home-made food, raw emotions all back into your life. You couldn't be more grateful for any other people than them.

In school, you were inseparable. You either had Chaeyoung or Sehun or both in all of your lessons. All of your time in school was spent with them, you never had to be alone - they never made you feel alone. You all laughed, giggled and shared an infinite amount of inside jokes. The closeness of the three of you shocked you as much as it did others. Not even a word has to be said to understand one another, the eyes could speak for itself and even the fake smiles. They never questioned it, because they knew. A friendship like that is not just for a moment, but for a lifetime and you'd fight to keep it forever.

"Y/N~" you heard a voice beside you. It was Chae. She'd sat on the table in front of yours, like usual.

She had tied her hair into a low ponytail today, letting her front pieces gently frame her oval face. Every time you saw her, you were reminded of how you once wished you had her hazel-tinted almond eyes, that cute button nose, and rosy full lips.

"Chae~" You replied copying her expression.

"How was your weekend?" she chirped happily, getting her books ready.

"I guess it was okay, just went to work, then studied," you answered. "The usual. How about you?"

"Pretty much the same, but I did visit Sehun's house," she replied.

"You never told me!" you exclaimed. "How's he?"

"Sorry," she said. "He's still the same, his temperature is still the same."

"Oh."

"But I did give him some medicines and fruits," she said, shuffling through papers. "Oh, and I left some meals that I made."

"Hmm, you really are acting like his mum," you answered. "You know what they say, men look for their mum in wives~"

"Oh shut it," snapped Chaeyoung.

"You know it's true," you replied, a goofy grin on your face.

Sighing, Chaeyoung turned around, but you could see how her ears were tinged the brightest red.

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