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The clicks of my foot steps echoed through the empty hall. It was the school's hall but different. Everything glowed white--the floors, the walls. The hallway seemed to stretch on for miles with no door to turn out of it. 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXqJopEYsL
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I felt content on this path but couldn't help feeling like I knew there were other paths out there that offered more than just contentment.
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As soon as I had that thought, I noticed something ahead along the right wall. A window. I walked up to it to find a strange but beautiful sight.
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A field of cherry blossoms in bloom but during the snowfall of winter. It was beautiful. The soft, pink clouds of petals lay under a light sprinkle of glowing snow. The falling flakes descended gently like a feather would. I reached out with a need to catch them. But my hand was met by the glass separating us.
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I pressed my palm to it, relishing the cold of the frosted barrier. It was the only proof that what I saw was even real.
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Then suddenly, a sound.
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A soft melancholy tune played within the seemingly never ending building that engulfed me within its everlasting corridors. Muffled and faint but there. Somewhere.
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I turned from the window to find not a hall, but a white room. There ahead of me stood three marble archways. Each one empty. Or at least they appeared to be empty, but I knew within each held something significant in each one. The question was, which one do I choose?
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A feeling arose in my chest. One of sorrowful understanding that I could only live in one of these worlds.
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I walked over to the door on the left and tarried at the opening. An instant sense of home and safety filled me up. It was a place where I could be untouched by all that was evil. My lips instinctively formed a small, fond smile.
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I then walked to the middle door. There waiting for me was a cherry blossom petal. I crouched down to pick it up. As soon as I did, it sunk into my hand like a droplet of water is absorbed by a tissue. I gasped as a sudden tidal wave of heat shot through my whole body. Even the empty arch way in front of me sent a gust of wind with it. It gave such a rush and a sweet assurance that I need never feel disappointment here.
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The doorway leaves an exhilarated smile on my face as I leave to visit the final door.
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When I reached the door to the right, my smile vanished. Anxiety began to grow in my chest. The melancholy song from earlier played louder here. This was where it was coming from. The sad melody seemed to pull my heart towards it. Literally. I stepped forward as the pain in my chest begged me to oblige the music in joining it. Else my heart would leave without my body one way or another.
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But I refused to play by this door's rules.
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I clutched my heart and pulled away with all my might. The resistance against me was so great, I feared I wouldn't be able to escape.
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But with a desperate tug, I was able to peel myself from its grasp and collapsed onto the floor. I stared in horror at the doorway and its terrifying effect on my body. The music now muffled again. Immediately, I ran to the door on the far left that I remembered guaranteed me safety and comfort.
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Wait.
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I stopped. Something bothered me. Something that didn't make sense.
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That music. It was sad and tumultuous, but it was still beautiful. Why would that music mean fear? It didn't make sense. I turned to look back at the marble frame.
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Fear.
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I hated feeling afraid. In the real world, fear didn't feel so easy to conquer. Here, in this dream, well, at least I knew it couldn't hurt me.
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I bade a silent farewell to the other doorways without looking at them. If I looked, there was no telling whether or not I'd have the courage to sacrifice them to face my fears.
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With a deep breath, I dashed toward the third door. The music getting louder and more contentious. My heart wasn't captive this time. Or perhaps I just couldn't feel it since my body willingly moved in the same direction. I closed my eyes as I crossed the threshold.
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I stood in place not knowing what to expect. My eyes were still closed. I felt no difference in my surroundings. Only the sound of a piano playing that same tune.
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I opened my eyes to find myself in another room. In front of me by the opposite wall, was the one responsible for the music. A boy sat playing the piano, completely absorbed in his song. I scanned the room that wasn't plain and white like the others I'd seen. It looked like a small chapel.
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Wooden pews sat in rows, all facing the boy and his piano. But they were all empty. I thought it was a shame that no one else was here to listen to his song. Didn't he care at all that no one was here?
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I brought myself closer toward the boy, being careful not to disturb him. From behind all I could see was that he was well dressed. His dark brown hair was shiny and neatly trimmed. It contrasted his pale white skin. The more I could see of him the more a new feeling began to grow within me. It was a new feeling I couldn't name but it enticed me to get a closer look.
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When I finally circled around to see his face, my eyes began to pool with tears. That new feeling swelled in my heart. Calm, peace, understanding, gratitude. Was there such a feeling with a name where all four of those emotions were present?
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The musician played with his eyes closed which added to the pure serenity radiating from his delicate features. The lights above danced down the bridge of his nose, and the chiseled edge of his high cheek bones and chin. A deep line formed like a canyon formed between his soft, ample lips.
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His long, masculine fingers caressed the black and white keys of the piano with ease and elegance. I drew closer knowing it was okay now. I leaned on the standing instrument watching him play with admiration and that unnamed feeling.
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It was then that I noticed something sitting on top of the piano. A little white bag with blue tissue paper sticking out from the top. It was oddly familiar to me. Like I had seen it before. I grabbed it with a strange need to know what's inside.
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A strong, pale hand seized my wrist. The music had stopped.
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I looked up at the handsome boy, startled, as he now stood much closer. His eyes took me by surprise. For a moment I only stared into them. The fact they were open now somehow made him feel like a different person. No longer just a serene and gentle being but a beautiful tragedy.
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How much history must've been hidden behind those eyes for them to change his whole demeanor? The shape of them were comparable to a feline but their intensity rivaled that of a ruthless dragon.
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I released a shaky breath, nearly crumbling under his gaze.
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"It's not time yet." His voice was low but kind. "Soon."
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Then he walked toward me, maneuvering me backwards until I could feel the piano behind me. My heart sped. The boy then grabbed the gift from me and began placing it back on the piano. His arm slowly reached over my shoulder. Leaning in further until his face was inches from mine.
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My eyes flickered down to his lips that were slightly parted. I looked back into his eyes. They watched me expectedly. Waiting for an answer to a question that needn't be uttered aloud. A smile stretched onto my face, which brought one upon his own. He touched his forehead to mine and we knew each other's thoughts in an instant.
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They were the same.
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The atoms in both our bodies buzzed with a restless need to merge together. It was as though they were confused that these two beings were two instead of one.
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"Yurim-ah..." He whispered. I looked up at him again who returned my glance with misty eyes. The back of his finger traced a line down my cheek. "I...I lov-"
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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
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My eyes shot open to the blackened view of my disheveled hair in my face. I groaned and reached for my phone to turn off the annoying alarm.
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When it was off I plopped myself back in bed. A weird burning feeling was stuck in my chest from the dream.
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The dream.
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I brought my hands over my face. My body writhed in shame. That was so uncalled for! That's what I get for letting his stupid face keep me up late at night!
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How could it not have registered to me that the pianist was Yoongi, the jerk who harasses people and makes them feel inferior with just a look? How could my brain possibly fabricate a version of him that seemed desirable? I whimpered, trying hard to ignore the shameful longing I felt for the dream to continue despite it featuring the wrong person.
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Dreams are so stupid! That's the last time I look to dreams for comfort from reality!
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Last night, mom told us that Hoseok invited him to go hiking with us this morning. How could he do such a stupid thing? Did he not realize this would ruin the whole trip?
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Maybe I could tell them I don't feel well, I debated. Ugh, no. I'm the one who invited everyone here. It would be rude to suddenly leave them or make them feel like they need to cancel plans just for me. I'm not going to make myself out to be a jerk because of another jerk.
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I huffed up at the ceiling.
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"It meant nothing." I said. "It meant nothing. It meant nothing."
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"What are you fussing about now?" Minju complained next to me, half asleep.
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"Get up. It's almost seven. We meet the guys in the rec room before we head out."
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Initially, Minju wanted to stay indoors after last night's events unfolded. But when we were told Yoongi was coming along, she suddenly felt safe enough to leave the building again. Even though she would literally be surrounded by five other people without him. She had a funny sense of logic sometimes.
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After I brushed my hair, I turned to my sister who hadn't budged.
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I whacked her bottom with the brush. She whined into her pillow. "Get up and wake up Hyeji. I'm not telling you again. Or sleep in and miss the hike with Yoongi. Your choice." I taunted her purposefully.
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To be honest I needed her to come along. Especially if she was so impressed by Yoongi, her new fascination. At least she could keep him occupied. But I was torn between letting her loose to annoy him and keeping her away from him.
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Seokjin and Jimin were very unenthused with Yoongi's abrupt presence as well. But at least it gave us something to bond over. Talking to them actually helped my sanity after my unfortunate task of patching him up. Jimin had his own unpleasant encounters with the scary enigma and his evil friends. It was nice meeting someone else who experienced something similar to me. I also learned that Seokjin had tried to befriend Namjoon in middle school.
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Seokjin found out about Namjoon's relationship with his dad and felt bad for him. He tried to befriend him, assuming they'd bond over a common familial issue. But some problems were rooted too deeply in some people. That explained how he knew so much about him that night we ran into the blonde haired delinquent.
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In the night my mind kept me up until two in the morning trying to make sense of Yoongi. I tried to understand why he'd want to come hiking with us and his sudden heroic episode. Not to mention what he said to me last night.
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I thought she was you, he said so matter-of-factly. All I could register from that point was that he saved Minju even though he thought she was me. The girl he and his friends have been working to make miserable. He made no sense!
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I took another breath, careful not to enter another rabbit hole of confusion. After all, some people couldn't be understood no matter how hard one tried to decipher them.
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I just hope everything turns out okay.
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