Chapter Text
Suhyeon had always loved the way the sea shimmered around Eostopia, her family’s kingdom, basking in the sun that reflected upon it. The sound of the soft and strong waves; the scent of the salt; the smile that would appear on her face when she captured a pretty picture on her camera.
But tonight was unlike any other. The water felt vast, and cold—almost like it was swallowing her whole.
She stood on the back of her family’s private ferry, her eyes lingering on the glimmering lights of her home, fading away in the distance.
“This war changes everything, my Dawn Flower.” In the back of her mind, she can still hear her father’s voice, echoing, “Seoul is where our enemy’s sun sets. You and your sister must go, and you must blend.”
“Suhyeon-ah?” A voice called out, footsteps clicking gently against the wooden plants beneath. Lean hands softly placed themselves on the banister next to her.
Suhyeon looked to her left, locking eyes with her older sister, Yerim, her own gaze a little blank, “Hm?”
“You look sad.” Yerim pouts slightly, a rare sight for the usually pro-positivity woman, “I know this war is a lot to think about… It’s bound to linger in our minds…” She pauses, placing a gentle hand on her sister’s shoulder, “Come on, we’re gonna be travelling all day. Better get some rest while you still can. This ferry’s gonna be three hours and then we have to get a train to Gwangju-”
“Then a flight to Incheon, then another train to Seoul.” Suhyeon finishes for her, looking at her tiredly, sighing as she leans against the banister. “I know. You’ve only told me about fifty million times.”
Yerim stares at her with an unreadable look, but the younger girl knows exactly what she’s thinking.
“Look, unnie, I know this is our first time travelling, never mind the first time even stepping foot out of Eostopia, but I’ve got the plan down, alright?” Suhyeon says, her quiet voice meshing with the crashing waves below them. “It’s gonna be fine.”
It was, in fact, not fine.
To avoid any attraction, the girls’ parents suggested that they travelled alone, with no bodyguards.
Living on one single island your whole life, having not left it ever, yet being expected to travel across the country is… Certainly a challenge.
“Do you see a black Mercedes-Benz anywhere, Suhyeon-ah?” Yerim asks, her voice barely heard above the busy streets of Seoul, “It was supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”
Suhyeon’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, her eyes darting around the tall buildings that surround them. Her eyes land on the neon blue sign above them, “You’re one hundred percent sure? Are we at the right place?”
“Yes! And it says that they’re already here.” The older girl shows her the screen, the app indeed saying that it’s already here.
“We’re doomed.” Suhyeon sighs, leaning back onto the wall behind her, “We’re actually… Doomed.”
Yerim immediately grabs her shoulders, gripping them firmly before shaking her with wide eyes, “No! We have to get to that house no matter what. I’m telling you, I’m not sleeping on these streets, Suhyeon-ah!”
The girl blinks in surprise at her sister’s concern and determination, “O- Okay, okay. Well, what are we going to do?”
The two girls looked at each other for a moment, supposedly brainstorming ideas on how to get out of this situation.
Suddenly, though, Yerim’s stomach grumbled, the noise loud enough to hear over the traffic.
Suhyeon blinked at her, “Do you want to get something to eat?”
It only took a nod from her for them both to end up in a tiny Korean bbq restaurant squished between a convenience store and a trendy fashion store.
Back at home, they didn’t get takeouts or eat at restaurants very often—or even just food made by other people in general. They had always eaten food made by their family’s trusted chefs.
This was a lot different. The experience of eating inside a restaurant was new and exciting for the both of them.
After they finished groaning at their bloated bellies, they finally left the restaurant.
It had already been three hours since they were supposed to have been picked up. By the time they sat down to eat, they had given up and figured that the app lied to them.
“Try it again.” Suhyeon says, pointing at her sister’s phone, “We don’t have the time to rent or buy our car right now, so we have to either figure out how this stupid app works or figure out how to use public transport.”
Yerim glances at the bustling streets, then looks back at her in horror, “Public… Transport…?”
Two days had passed since Suhyeon and Yerim arrived in Seoul.
They did manage to get the app to work in their favour, getting an uber to their new home successfully.
It was today that all of their belongings had arrived. Though, as they’re trying to fit in as regular girls in Seoul, they had to leave a lot of their proper clothing back home, as well as other belongings like jewellery and accessories.
So, after they unpacked (which didn’t take long due to the lack of clothes), they decided to go shopping for new clothes.
Before leaving Eostopia, Yerim had researched what girls like them wore these days. Immediately, she fell in love, falling down a rabbit hole of some fascinating app called ‘Pinterest’.
It was a little sad, but their parents had forbidden a lot of social media growing up. So at the ripe ages of twenty four and twenty one, they were pretty oblivious to what’s trending recently.
Of course, it’s not like they ever really needed to know. They were expected to be living in Eostopia for the rest of their lives, carrying on their duties as princesses.
This sudden twist of events was abrupt, and now Suhyeon would be attending university in the busiest city in South Korea as a normal girl, while Yerim would have to find a job like a normal girl.
Later at night, the pair gets back home, their limbs sore in every place, with too many bags to count.
Suhyeon lets out a loud and long sigh, “I’m exhausted.”
“Tired already?” Yerim smiles, stretching her arms above her head, “Come on, Suhyeon-ah, we need to do a fashion show.”
“Now?” Suhyeon groans, her head falling back against the fresh sofa, “No way, unnie. I need to sleep, that’s what.” She sighs again, “Plus, it’s my first day of university tomorrow. It’s already ten pm.”
“You’re telling me you don’t secretly stay up watching TV after ten pm?” Yerim raises an eyebrow at her younger sister, “Mother and father didn’t care enough to check on us. You really go to sleep at ten pm?”
“Well, yes?!” Suhyeon pouts a little, “That’s when I get tired, okay? It’s not even that early.”
Yerim rolls her eyes, “Alright, Grandma. You go to sleep while I have the most fun in my entire life, a fashion show by myself, without you.” She walks away and up the stairs with all of her bags. Somehow.
It was Suhyeon’s first day of university.
That morning, she woke up at five am and made herself breakfast, just a simple avocado on toast. She also rummaged through her many bags of new clothing for an outfit for today.
She didn’t wear jeans often, nevermind in public, but it was extremely comfy. Yerim had told her that baggy ones specifically were good to buy right now, so that’s what she did.
Zenith University was a ten minute drive from her new home, so she reminded herself to definitely buy a car later. For now, she has to take the bus, which makes her feel nervous.
What if she gets on the wrong one? What if there's a queue and she holds them all up because she doesn’t know what she’s doing? What if she gets the timing wrong and ends up late on her first day? What if the driver crashes and they all die???
She took a deep breath as she got onto the bus, finding a free seat near the front. For the next ten minutes, it felt like she barely breathed, her gaze fixated on the scenery outside the window that blurred together.
As she arrived, she stepped off the bus with a sigh. Fresh air feels good.
The area was filled with fresh grass, the flowers already in bloom.
Her eyes slowly scanned over the building in front of her. “Is this it?” She mumbled to herself.
There were multiple buildings, all of them just as large as the other. She arrived early for her first day, but there were still more students walking about than she expected.
Finally, she made it to her first class of the day. It was English Literature.
Are there assigned seats? She glanced around, noting that people seemed to just sit dotted around. She approached the stairs, Hmm, maybe not... She sat in the middle, up the back, making sure she would get a good view.
Sitting on the seat beside her is a girl, blonde hair and her height a little shorter than Suhyeon.
Catching her gaze, the blonde turns her head slightly to look at her. Her eyes are big and round, a smile appearing on her face a second later, “Hi. You don’t usually sit here, right?”
Suhyeon shakes her head quickly, “Ah, no. No, I don’t. It’s actually my first day here.”
“Yeah… Makes sense.” The shorter girl nods, “I’m sure I’d remember someone so gorgeous.”
She smiles wider as she notices Suhyeon’s flustered expression, continuing, “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Yoon Seoyeon.”
Suhyeon’s eyes widen in surprise, her mouth forming an ‘o’ shape, “Seriously? My name is Suhyeon too.” She lets out an airy chuckle that can barely be heard within the quiet background of students settling in, “Ji Suhyeon. Nice to meet you too.”
“Oh my god, that’s so freaking cool.” Seoyeon laughs as she sits upright in her seat, her eyes bright with amusement, “Wanna have lunch with me and my friends later?”
Suhyeon smiles, letting out a relieved and thankful smile, “Yes, please.”
After Suhyeon’s first English Lit. class, she and Seoyeon head to one of Zenith University’s cafeterias for lunch.
“We always go to this one. The food’s the best here. The rest are… Meh, they’re alright.” Seoyeon tilts her head as she speaks, a constant smile on her face. “It’s kinda just our spot.”
Suhyeon chuckles lightly, her hands glued to her jacket pockets, “Um, what’s-”
“Seoyeon-ah!” Someone calls, a few hands waving in the air from a table in the cafeteria. It’s a group of three, two with distinctive hair colours.
I’ve always wanted to dye my hair… It’s so cool that college students here can just do whatever they like. My parents would kick me out and then throw me down a well if I ever did that.
“Hey!” Seoyeon smiles as they approach, Suhyeon following with a shy smile of her own.
“Who’s this?” A girl with a relatively deep voice, and brown hair with bangs, asked. She had a cool style, Suhyeon thought, glancing at the backwards cap on her head and hundreds of piercings on her ears.
“Ma’am you’re so pretty!” The pink-haired girl said, her voice loud with enthusiasm. It was almost like she had never seen a pretty girl before.
“Nien, stop flirting with people who don’t know you!” The other girl scolded, whacking Nien’s arm with her hand. She turned around and Suhyeon noted her dark red-ish hair, as well as her sweet smile, “Sorry, she gets like that sometimes. Just ignore her.”
Suhyeon chuckled a little, only slightly overwhelmed by the strong, new characters in front of her.
Everyone she knew back in Eostopia were formal, and strict, and almost too stiff for her liking. This was so different, yet it was way more comfortable.
“H- Hi…” She stuttered, pressing her lips together in embarrassment, “It’s nice to meet you, uh, I’m Ji Suhyeon.”
The red-haired girl’s face lights up, “Ouh, another Suhyeon, huh?”
“That’s bound to get confusing.” The girl in the backwards cap laughed, leaning against the back of her chair to look at the two.
Suhyeon glanced at Seoyeon, then back at the three girls, contemplating something in her head. After a second, she speaks up, “Well… Um, if it’s easier, you can just call me Jiyeon.”
Seoyeon’s eyes widen and she looks towards Suhyeon, “Really?” She laughs a little, “I’m flattered.”
“Yeah.” Suhyeon nods, “I don’t mind. I’m the new one here anyway.”
Nien smiles, “Alrighty then. Jiyeon it is.”
“Ah, by the way…” Seoyeon starts, pointing at the girl with the backwards cap, “This is Kotone. Our resident skater. From Tokyo.”
Her hand then shifted over to the pink-haired girl, who was already smiling at her, “This is Nien, my girlfriend. She does flirt a lot.. But it’s just friendly, trust me. Besides that, she’s part of the track team.”
Jiyeon’s eyebrows raise a little, and she nods, girlfriend?
Something inside of her ticked, but she wasn’t sure if it was good or bad. Or, maybe, it was neither.
Until today, she had never met an outwardly open gay person before. Everyone back at home was portrayed as heterosexual, and everyone’s lives were so private. Her parents never exposed her and her sister to any of it.
It was new, and almost refreshing.
Then, Seoyeon finally gestured towards the maroon-haired girl, “Lastly, this is Dahyun.” She smiles, “Best singer I’ve ever heard. She’s in a band. Her girlfriend’s the drums.”
Dahyun smiles too, nodding, “Check us out sometime. We’re pretty cool, not to toot my own horn.”
“For sure.” Jiyeon offers a smile.
Then, Nien finally waves her hand, “Why’re you guys still not sitting down? Come on!”
Jiyeon had arrived back home from school, finding her sister sitting on the couch with her laptop in her lap. Yerim looks up at her with a smile, “You look happy. Good first day? Tell me everything, Suhyeon-ah!”
And so Jiyeon told her everything that happened to her that day, and Yerim listened intently, adding in her own little things here and there.
Before they realised the time, it had already been three hours since Jiyeon sat down. “God, I’m starving.” Yerim groans, leaning back against the sofa, “Should I make us dinner just now?”
“Can you… Cook?” Jiyeon asks, her voice curious and hesitant. Yerim has a tendency to overestimate her abilities.
“Of course I can cook!” Yerim huffs, bouncing off the sofa, heading towards the kitchen.
Jiyeon follows, her eyes narrowed, “And how, exactly, did you learn you could cook?”
Her sister presses her lips together, her face a look of sheepishness, “Well, I… Haven’t exactly-”
“So you’re going to set the house on fire.” Jiyeon nods, sighing, “Great!”
The next morning was almost the same, but she felt less nervous. She had made new friends, so she didn’t have to worry about being alone—not that it would have bothered her too much. But it was nice to know she had a few people there for her.
Jiyeon arrives at her first psychology class, taking a free seat, just like yesterday in English Lit.
She sighs, placing her bag on the floor beneath her seat, pulling out her laptop and sitting it on the desk in front of her. She doesn’t usually use a laptop, so she’s still getting used to it.
She immediately gets to work, having to catch up on everything she missed in the past couple of months.
The thing about “transferring” late is that she has so much work to catch up on. Honestly, it’s a lot and really stressful. But she perseveres, knowing her parents would kill her if she fell behind.
But, it was either studying like crazy, or getting caught in her kingdom’s war.
Jiyeon thought that the former might be a little bit better.
“Can you stop tapping so loudly? God…” The girl sitting next to her whispers suddenly, her voice dripping with annoyance.
Jiyeon freezes, slightly embarrassed, glancing at the girl. Her hair is long and brown, her face pretty,,, But so annoying.
Just looking at her makes Jiyeon want to roll her eyes. Though, she did begin typing a little bit quieter from then on.
The following few days followed more complaints.
Day 2:
“Why’re you holding your pencil like that? It’s weird.” She raises an eyebrow, glancing sidewards at Jiyeon’s hand.
Jiyeon pouts a little, looking down at her own hand.
Day 3:
“Do you always wear a mask?” The girl, whose name is Gong Yubin—in which Jiyeon learned from the front of her notebook, asks.
She continues, “What, did you break out, or something? Nobody’s gonna care. Everyone here’s a slob, anyway.” She sighs, subtly rolling her eyes.
Jiyeon narrows her eyes but ignores her, trying to stay focused.
Day 4:
“Get those a lot, huh.” Yubin’s hand barely reaches out, her finger pointing at Jiyeon’s raspberry smoothie that she brings to class every day, “Don’t like raspberries… Too hairy.”
“You can’t feel the hair in the drink…” Jiyeon mutters back quietly.
Day 5:
“Why’s your lockscreen a random swan?” Yubin asks, noticing Jiyeon’s phone lighting up with a notification.
Jiyeon’s eyebrows furrow, turning her head to look at her, “She’s not a random swan. She’s my pet.”
She watches as Yubin physically holds back a laugh, their eyes locked. Jiyeon blinks, confused and a little hurt.
Yubin’s eyebrows raise, realising she’s not joking. What a weirdo… Who owns a swan???
Day 6:
“Still wearing that damn mask…” Yubin says as she glances at Jiyeon, “You’re ugly, right?”
Jiyeon looks back at her, bewildered, “What?”
“Well, one would really only wear a mask to class if they had something to hide, right?” She questions, her elbows resting against the desk.
Despite Yubin's obvious question, she was just saying it to hide the fact that she actually thinks she’s really pretty.
Anyone would be able to tell. Even if you didn’t catch her vibes that screamed “I’m pretty, but I don’t want the attention!”, you would be able to tell from her wide, round eyes; the way she styles her perfect hair; the way her skin looks perfect, too; the way she dresses, like she’s going on a date every single day; and the way her fresh scent lingers wherever she goes.
These things that Yubin had noticed… It was so incredibly infuriating, yet she somehow didn’t mind getting used to it.
Yubin was working her shift at the library on Wednesday, after school hours.
Sometimes, she would tell her teachers that she spent so many hours at the library. Although she isn’t exactly lying… She actually sits behind the front desk playing Minecraft on her phone.
The sound of the library doors opening lifts Yubin’s head up, her eyes catching onto the ones belonging to none other than Ji Suhyeon.
As the girl diverts her gaze, she heads towards a table in the corner of the building. Jiyeon thought the place was a bit small, though she supposed it would do.
Settling in, she got her stuff out and began studying. Since she had transferred a few months into the year, she had lots to catch up on.
The first few months are the busiest, the time where the most content is covered.
So, to Jiyeon, it felt like literal hell.
It was only her second week of university, but she had already begun feeling like a zombie.
It was nothing like having lessons back at home. She and her sister had always had people come in and do one-on-ones with them, making sure they would get the best education possible.
But at Zenith University… The teachers had hundreds of students to teach. It would be impossible for every single one to have private lessons.
Jiyeon sighed many times as she studied, flipping through her books back and forth. She almost gave up twenty minutes in, ready to pack her things and bolt out of the door.
Especially since she could feel a pair of eyes on her every so often.
Stop looking, Yubin… Yubin scoffed, trying to focus on killing the zombie in her phone. She's nothing special.