CHAPTER 1: RUMINATE

The sun was setting, it's golden rays seeping through the curtains of the room. The room was cozy and comfortable, the wall painted a soft shade of blue.

Sitting near the window, Eunha was lost in her thoughts as she looks out at the trees swaying gently in the breeze, lost in her reminiscences.

She was taken back many years back to her high school days and the memories of her time with her friends cone flooding back.

FIVE YEARS AGO

Anh Eunha was woken up by her alarm blaring loudly. She groggily get up, rubbing her eyes sleepily and looked at the clock.

It read 6:30 am with a sigh, she got out of bed and began her morning routine, her mind still fuzzy with the remnants of the sleep.

As she finished her morning routine she started getting ready for school. She quickly changed out of her pyjamas into her school uniform, brushing her hair and tying it into a ponytail.

After grabbing her school bag, she glance at the clock and saw it was 7:15 am, she still had time to spare.

She grabbed her phone and as she scrolled through her notification she came across a missed text from her friend Jiwon.

Jiwon: "Hey Eun, don't forget today is the first day of new session, hope we are at same class."

Eunha read the text and groaned, suddenly there was a honk outside her window and she looked out to see one of her family's driver waiting in the driveway ready to drop her off at school.

She grabbed her school bag and headed out of the house. As she hopped into the car, she buckled her seat belt and looked out the windows, watching the world go by as the car made its way to her school. She pulled out her phone and started checking her social media.

The driver noticed Eunha, sitting quietly in the backseat and decided to strike up a conversation. He looked at her through the reav view mirror and said, "Good morning Little Miss, have you had your breakfast?"

Eunha looked up from her phone and sheepishly shook her head. "No, I overslept and didn't have time to eat, " She replied.

The driver tsked and scolded her gently, "You shouldn't skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day. You need energy to get through the day especially if you are going to have a long day at school."

Eunha rolled her eyes but smiled at the driver's concern "I know , I know, I'll grab something to eat from the cafeteria later," She reassured him.

The driver chuckled. "Alright, just make sure you don't forget, otherwise I'll be getting an earful from your mother," he said jokingly.

Eunha groaned. "Please don't remind me, my mom would kill me if she found out that I skipped breakfast," she said dramatically.

The driver laugh "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. But seriously try to eat something you don't want your stomach growling during your class and distracting you."

Soon the car pulled up in front of the school, and she could see students rushing into the building, some chatting and laughing with their heads buried in their phones. She bid goodbye to the driver and got out of the car, slinging her school bag over her shoulder.

Eunha made her way towards the notice board, pushing her way through the group of students crowded around it. There were various flyers and notices tacked up, advertising clubs, events and other announcement.

As Eunha looked at the notices one of the board, her eyes widened as she noticed a list had been put up, listing the top performing students in the school who were eligible to be in Class A and Class B in their senior year of high school. She quickly scanned the list looking for her name.

When Eunha found her name on the list, her shoulders sagged with relief. She let out a small breath and gave a small smile, happy to see that she was still in Class A. She had worked hard to maintain her grades and was relieved to see that it had paid off.

As Eunha steeped back from the notice board, she started making her way towards the classroom, but before she reached the door she heard a voice calling out her name. She turned to see Jiwon walking towards her, a smile on her face.

"Hey Eun" Jiwon said, as she walked up to her friend. "I was just looking for you. Did you see the list on the notice board?"

Eunha nodded. "Yeah I did", she said smiling. "I'm relieved to see I'm still in Class A."

Jiwon grinned. "Of course you are. You're one of the smartest in our grade. How could you not be in Class A?" she said, looping her arm through Eunha's.

Eunha laughed. "Thanks Jiwon. What about you? Are you in class A?"

"Yeah, thanks God", Jiwon replied rolling her eyes. " I was worried for a second that I might have to go to Class B, but luckily I made the cut."

"That's good," Eunha said while chuckling. "Atleast we'll be in the same class together. It would have been weird if we were in different classes and couldn't even chat during lectures."

As they entered the classroom, Eunha's eyes immediately scanned the room and settled on a familiar faced. There he was, sitting at a desk near the window of the room, his head buried in a book. Park Sunghoon.

Jiwon followed Eunha's gaze and noticed who she was looking at, she smirked and elbowed her friend lightly. "Hey, look who's here," she said, teasingly.

Eunha cheeks turned pink, she quickly looked away from Sunghoon and sat down at her desk, pretending to be busy getting her notebooks out of her bag.

Jiwon leaned over to Eunha, her eyebrows raised. "Hey isn't it weird that Sunghoon is in Class A? I mean, I thought he was kind of a slacker. How did he end up here?" she whispered.

Eunha glanced briefly at Sunghoon before turning back to Jiwon. "Well, I guess he must have worked hard and got good grades," she said, shrugging. "Maybe he's not as much of a slacker as we thought."

"I guess that's true," Jiwon replied, looking skeptical. "But still, it's a surprise. I wonder what other secrets he's hiding."

"Who knows," Eunha said, trying to sound causal. "Maybe he's just really smart and we never noticed." But inwardly, she was also shocked. Sunghoon was in Class A. What did this means?

Jiwon noticed the hint of surprised and curiosity in Eunha's eyes and couldn't help but smirk. She knew her friend had a thing for the quite boy, no matter how much she tried to deny itm

Jiwon leaned closer to Eunha. "I still can't believe you have a crush on that guy," she said, gesturing towards Sunghoon. "I mean, I get it, he's good looking, cute and all, but why him? You guys have never even talked and now you're in the same class together. Is this some kind of romantic movie cliché?"

Eunha blushed furiously and shushed Jiwon, looking around to make sure no one heard them. "Keep your voice down," she hisses. "And I don't have a crush on him. I just find him interesting, that's all."

Jiwon rolled her eyes. "Yeah right," she said. "I can see right through you, honey. You have a crush on that boy and now he is going to be sitting in the same class all year long. It's like a scene straight out of a drama."

Eunha's cheeks burned even darker. "Don't start, Jiwon", she muttered, trying to sound nonchalant. " It's not a crush. I just, think he's...cute, okay? That's all."

Just then, the teacher walked in, interrupting their whispered conversation. The students immediately sat up straight and focused on the front of the room as the teacher started the lesson.

As the teacher began speaking Eunha's attention was spit between what the teacher was saying between what the teacher was saying and the boy sitting across the room. Every now and then, she would risk a glance at Sunghoon, only to find him diligently taking notes and paying attention to the lesson.

Jiwon noticed her friend's distracted behavior and gave her a playful nudge. "Focus, Eunha", she whisper. " Staring at the boy is not going to get you better grades."

Like that there chit-chat were going for a while. The teacher interrupted the lesson and pointed at Eunha and Jiwon. "Jiwon and Eunha, would you two please stop talking while I'm teaching?" the teacher said sternly.

The teacher look at the two girls and sighed. "Jiwon, Eunha honestly, why do you two always sit together and chit-chat?" she said. "You two know that when you sit together, your chatting is going to be more like a story class than a real class."

Jiwon and Eunha looked sheepish as the teacher continued. "I swear, last year I tried separating you two and it worked out, but here we are again", the teacher said, shaking her head.

The teacher continued exasperated. "And it's only the first day of the session! I can already tell it's going to be a long year."

She look around the room, trying to figure out the best seating arrangement. "Alright, let's see", she said, tapping her finger against her chin. " Eunha, you can go and sit beside Sunghoon and Jay, you can come and sit beside Jiwon."

Eunha's heart skipped a beat as she heard the teacher's instructions. She was going to be seated next to Sunghoon for the rest of the years. She tried to hide her surprise and quickly made her way to the empty desk beside Sunghoon, her mind racing.

Jiwon tried to hide her grin as she saw the panicked expression on Eunha's face. She was going to have a front row seart to this love story unfolding right in front of her.

As they changed placed, the teacher gave a warning look to the class, "No more talking, folks. This is a class, not a social gathering." The class fell silent and Eunha found herself sitting next to Sunghoon, their desk so close that she could practically feel the heat radiating from his body.

She tried to focus on the teacher's lecture, but she was hyper-aware of every small move Sunghoon made. Every time he shifted in his seat, every time he turned the page of his notebook, it sent her heart into a frenzy. Why did the teacher have to sit her next to him? It was like she was deliberately torturing.