Saeyoung couldn't sleep. She felt restless. All she could think about were Jungkook's last words. She didn't tell anyone, not even Arang, the conversation the two of them had because it really didn't make sense. He didn't make sense. What did he mean? Did the two of them cross paths prior to their encounter at the fan-meeting? If that was the case then it couldn't have been all that significant since she wasn't able to recall anything. "Whatever," she groaned, tossing and turning on her bed. She clamped her eyes shut and tried to force her body to succumb to rest but her efforts all ended in vain.

Unfortunately Saeyoung was the type of person who couldn't relax unless her curiosity was satiated. In other words she would be pulling an all-nighter tonight unless she was able to miraculously decipher Jungkook's statement. She was sifting through her memories but came up with nothing. There wasn't anything that stood out to her. Then she remembered something else he had said to her when she had was timid about showcasing her dancing abilities. 

"If you don't even have the confidence, why bother?" Like a vampire resurrected back to life, Saeyoung shot up from her bed, her jaw nearly broken.

"He can't possibly be her." She scrambled off of the mattress and turned the lights on. Thankfully Aesook was sleeping in their parents' room or else the little girl would have woken up, screaming and crying. Saeyoung scanned over the bookshelf stationed besides her desk and spotted the lavender journal she used to write in while she was in the fourth grade perched up at the top. Hastily, she dragged the chair over and climbed up to retrieve the notebook.

Flipping through the worn out pages, she finally found what she was looking for. According to the date scribbled at the top right hand cover of the page the entry was created back on July 15, 2006. That was almost six years ago. The writing wasn't what Saeyoung was interested in though. It was the photo glued next to her chicken scratches that caused her eyes to round in astonishment. The book slipped from her grasp and landed with a soft thud on her rug. She fumbled back and shook her head in disbelief.

What kind of sorcery was this?

The sunlight infiltrated Arang's room and roused her from her slumber. Half-asleep, she staggered out the door and into the bathroom. However, she quickly backtracked after she had noticed something really weird. For a second Arang thought it was her imagination so she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She wasn't.

Sitting at the table was Saeyoung. No, that wasn't the strange part. It was the girl's dreary expression that had caught Arang's attention. How should she explain this? In simple terms Saeyoung looked like a zombie. Lifeless and completely out of it. Of course Arang found it peculiar because less than twenty-four hours ago Saeyoung was probably the happiest girl alive. What was wrong with her? Did something happen?

With careful steps, Arang approached her. Her little still sister didn't react to her presence though. She was spaced out, the kettle pot on the stove whistling nosily as steam shot out of the tiny holy. "Sae?" Nothing. This time Arang raised her voice. "Saeyoung!"

"The answer is B!" Saeyoung shouted mindlessly.

"What?" Arang quirked a brow, clearly confused.

Saeyoung glanced around and realized she was at still at home and not at school. It was an intuitive response. Let's just say she wasn't the most studious student in her class and her sadistic teachers took immense pleasure in embarrassing her in front of her peers.

"What's going on with you?" Arang queried as she went over and turned the fire off. "Why do you look like something tragic happened? After yesterday I thought you would have been rejoicing and boasting to your friends about your time with the guys. Did you get into a fight with them or something?" Teenagers were typically dramatic, it was expected of them. They were still learning to mature so Arang didn't find it hard to believe if Saeyoung and her friends had quarreled because of jealousy.

"That's not it." The younger girl sighed. She propped an elbow onto the table and placed her chin on top of her palm. If that had been the issue she would have been able to resolve it easily. All she had to do take make amends with her friends was gift them a poster of their ultimate bias and the score was settled. Too bad that wasn't the problem she was dealing with. Should she tell her sister?

Arang rifled through her mind for anything that could have led to this and remembered how harsh and blunt the youngest boy had been towards Saeyoung during their visit. It was a stretch but it wasn't impossible. "Does it have something to do with Jungkook?" Arang took notice of how rigid her body had become while her eyes doubled in size. She had guessed right. 

"It does, doesn't it?" She pulled the chair in front of her sister out and plopped down. "Did that kid say something else to you when I wasn't around? I'll totally punch him in the throat if you want me to." Saeyoung was her little sister and nobody outside of their family was allowed to mess with her.

Saeyoung shook her head. "It's a little more complicated than that, unnie." She confessed. "I can handle this one on my own. You don't have to worry about me. Anyways, do you want tea? I'm making some right now." Without thinking properly, Saeyoung got up and tried to pick up the scorching hot kettle pot. She yelped and immediately dropped it back onto the stove once the heat kissed her skin.

"Are you okay?" Arang rushed over and snatched Saeyoung's hand. It was red. "I'll have to disagree with you on this one, Sae. I don't think you can handle anything on your own right now." She dragged her over to the sink and turned on the cold water. "So are you going to tell me what's going on or do I have to go and beat it out of that kid?"

Nibbling on her bottom lip, Saeyoung swallowed and inhaled deeply through her nostrils.

{ April 2006 }

It was spring. The cherry blossoms were blooming and so was love. Couples were wandering around, basking in the beautiful weather while those who weren't in a relationship trudged around, feeling pitiful for themselves. Saeyoung had just finished school and although she usually walked back home with her brother, she didn't today. She had lied to Younghae. She told him she was going to stay behind and ask their teacher some questions but as soon as he was out of sight, she made her leave.

After ten minutes of walking, she arrived at her destination. Saeyoung craned her neck up and smiled. She was at a dancing school but it wasn't just any ordinary dancing school, it was one of the best schools in the city. Stealthily the young girl found her way to the building's rear. She glanced left and then right before she got onto her stomach. There was a small window big enough for her to squeeze in and out of. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she opened it and climbed in.

It was a storage room. The girl had discovered this entrance after she was told she couldn't enter the facility unless she was enrolled as a student. Due to her family's financial instability at the time, Saeyoung knew very well that her parents' wouldn't have the money to send her to a place like this. She wasn't mad, how could she be? 

Maybe sad, but she understood their circumstances. Her older sister had to have a long talk to her about it. Saeyoung had thrown a big tantrum last Christmas about not being able to get everything she wanted. She was selfish and egocentric but it was part of being a child. She couldn't help herself.

Watching all of those idols sing and dance on television made Saeyoung want to do the same. She wanted to be like them. It wasn't because she wanted to be famous and have fans everywhere she went. It was because they all looked like they were having the time of their lives. It seemed like a lot of fun. So she resorted to this. Trespassing was definitely a bad and her mother would certainly scold her until her ears started to bleed but it wasn't like Saeyoung was hurting anyone. The school could think of this as being generous to those in need. It was good karma.

Saeyoung had changed out of her school's uniform and into more comfortable clothes. She opened the door and poked her head out. Nobody was around. Being nonchalant and as casual as possible, Saeyoung slung her backpack over her shoulder and made her way through the building. Every time she ran into someone, her heart pounded like crazy. What if she got caught? She was too young to go to prison! Having a criminal record would not be good thing. However, no one stopped her. All they did was smile and she would reciprocate politely.

What was she even going to do? She didn't know where anything was or how the teachers conducted their classes. Suddenly she heard music and followed the sound, not knowing what else to do. She peered in through the glass door and found a chubby little girl dancing alone inside. She was so cute! Saeyoung watched in amazement as the student executed the choreography without a problem. The music ended and Saeyoung marched in, clapping like a seal.

The student spun around, alarmed. "You were so cool!" Saeyoung gushed.

"Who are you?" The child frowned.

"A-ah me?" Saeyoung coughed. "I-I'm a student like you!"

The tubby girl cocked her head to the side. "No you're not. I've never seen you before."

"T-that's be-because I just joined!" Saeyoung huffed defensively.

"Why are you talking like that? Do you have a speech impediment?" She quipped.

"What? No! I take it back! You're not cool at all! I'm leaving." Saeyoung whirled around to leave but tripped over and fell down. Her shoelaces were untied.

The student snorted and laughed. Then she went over and extended a hand out to Saeyoung. Begrudgingly she accepted. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Saeyoung dusted her shirt and just as she was about to bend down and tie her shoes, the other child kneeled and did it for her.

"What's your name?" She asked, not bothering to look up at Saeyoung.

"S-Saeyoung." Saeyoung replied, flustered. After she was five and learned how to tie her own shoes, no one had ever done it for her anymore.

"Cool. My friends call me Kookie." The girl informed warmly.

"Cookie?" Saeyoung repeated, her brows arched. "Why?"

Cookie stood up and waddled over to her bag. She pulled out a box of Oreos and Saeyoung was able to place the pieces together. "Do you want one?"

"Sure." She beamed; how could she refuse? Oreos were the best! "Does this mean we're friends?"

"I guess so but if you're going to lie about being a student here you have to be more convincing. I didn't believe you at all." Cookie advised, munching on the sweet dessert.

"Wait? So you're really not going to tell on me? Thank you so much!" Saeyoung threw her arms around Cookie and bounced up and down. "I change my mind again! You are cool!" She was so happy that she didn't realize how stiff the other girl was.

{ p r e s e n t }

"Oh, it's you." Jungkook deadpanned once he opened the door and saw Saeyoung standing on the other side.

"You ass," the girl snarled before she sent a fist flying towards his face. Jungkook fell onto the floor, holding onto his jaw. He was about to yell at her until he saw the fire behind her eyes. "Are you kidding me? You were a fucking boy?"

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author's note

» ayyyyyyyyyyyyyye, more of Saeyoung and Cookie's past will be revevaled! Ahahahah can you imagine all of the things Sae did because she thought Jungkook was a girl? OH MY GOOOOOOOOD so funny!