come to think of it, it started that day.
ᅠᅠ╰─> HAM HARU felt somewhat pressured by how over familiar Ban Yeoryeong was as they happily conversed. Though maybe that was because the girl was affectionately touchy, but since she found her ring, Ham Haru didn't mind the interaction anymore. She even encouraged Ban Yeoryeong to slip a text for Ham Dan-I.
I know I'm being sadistic, but I wanted to know if she really did have our numbers magically saved in our phones all of a sudden... Contrast to her outside friendly actions, her intentions weren't as kind as it seemed to be. Ham Haru's trail of thoughts were then cut off. Since she was facing to her left, she saw her younger twin stand up from her seat abruptly with a terrified expression. The two girls she was chatting with earlier seemed surprised as well.
Ham Dan-I looked nauseous as her face went pale.
Did something happen..? Just before she could head over to her younger sister, something more surprising happened next before I could even take action.
Eun Ji-ho, who looked apathetic sitting like a badass the last time everyone checked, suddenly stood up and walked to the middle of the classroom.
Followed by his steps, girls sitting on that side were about to spit their hearts out of their mouth. Same with the boys. No one could help to have their eyes on that attractive boy walking confidently across the middle of the classroom.
While everybody was looking at Eun Ji-ho, what he said was, "Who's Ban Yeoryeong?"
As the twins heard in the morning, his voice was unbelievably low and calm for a freshman in middle school. He then looked around the classroom with his freezing black eyes.
Ban Yeoryeong is... Ham Haru turned to her seatmate.
"It's me." Ban Yeoryeong answered curtly and everybody's gazes directed to her figure.
"You're the one that came first place?"
"Yeah. So what?"
She replied and looked in front of her with an icy cold attitude. She had been so kind and sweet to Ham Haru and Ham Dan-I in the morning, so her attitude seemed unpredictable.
As Ham Haru watched her for a while and looked around, there were girls biting their nails scowling at Ban Yeoryeong. Ham Haru couldn't help but overhear because no matter how hard they tried to whisper, they didn't lower their voices that well.
"What an arrogant girl! How dare she speak that way to one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Eun Ji-ho!"
"So rude!"
The Four Heavenly Kings...? What on Earth is with that getup?
Ham Haru deadpanned, feeling a sense of déjà vu as this happened. The situation was similar to the one the twins encountered at the entrance this morning. She just bumped into a top tier good-looking chick, and the consequence is death.
This isn't some novel or otome game...but what if it is...? All Ham Haru wanted was to watch this in a VIP seat, not the casts seats. If this goes on, she might be tempted to just not care at all and treat everything like a joke.
As Ham Haru turned her head back, Ban Yeoryeong and Eun Jiho, came into her sight, neither yielding to the other in front of her.
They were staring at each other so fiercely that the ebony girl felt an electrical spark occurring between them. Their stares were so intense the viewers could have thought they were having a crush on each other.
With this, they're going to have a wrong impression on Ban Yeoryeong. I don't think she's a bad person at all...for female lead, I mean. For some reason, Ham Haru couldn't tolerate the gossips. She didn't mind them, but it would be annoying if it would get worse and cause trouble for her in the future. Since she had connections with Ban Yeoryeong, it was possibly inevitable that she wouldn't get involved as well.
"Murasaki girl ~ babe ~ you shouldn't be rude to someone you just met." Resting her hand on Ban Yeoryeong's tensed shoulder, Ham Haru gave her a chill smile when they faced the ebony girl. Both were stubborn enough to keep their mouths shut for a while, so Ham Haru had to speak up.
Please don't make such as scene if you say we're really friends, please. Ham Haru internally pleaded with Ban Yeoryeong despite the cool, calm and composed face outside. Honestly, if they're popular, you wouldn't want to mess with them at all since it has downsides. But then again, Ban Yeoryeong was popular too, so it's a double kill.
Ban Yeoryeong didn't say anything as Ham Haru locked eye contact, but her cold eyes softened.
The boy Eun Ji-ho fixed his seemingly glare towards the Ham older twin's direction. She noticed his brows slowly knitting together before he shifted his attention back to Ham Haru's beautiful seatmate.
Was he irritated by my comment...? Or is it because I interrupted his so called moment with Murasaki girl...?
He just literally snickered and said, "Interesting. Just you wait. I won't go easy on you in the next exam."
"Seriously? We're you actually going easy on me?"
Eun Ji-ho sneered at her cold reply before turning around to go back to his seat.
"Just wait and see."
It made Ham Haru think he was the arrogant type. But remembering how he was such a gentleman to them this morning when the twins got lost, maybe he reacted the way he did because his ego got crushed by a girl he barely knew.
As Ham Haru looked at the retreating silver hair, a golden-brown haired boy jumped into Ban Yeoryeong and held her hands. When she looked back with surprise, the boy smiled gorgeously.
He's Woo Ju-in... The cute looking sociable boy who seemed to be close friends with that Eun Ji-ho guy. He really likes holding hands, huh... Looking down at his familiarity stunt once more, She was no longer surprised if he did that.
Woo Ju-in grinned and said to Ban Yeoryeong, "Wow! You're amazing! You're the first girl to ever talk to him that way!"
"Ji-ho?" Ban Yeoryeong asked back in wonder. A bit dumbfounded by this different approach. It was friendlier than the previous one.
All the girls in the class were talking about the Four Heavenly Kings. It was only her who had never heard about the name 'Eun Ji-ho.'
Woo Ju-in, however, smiled and nodded as if nothing was wrong. Then he followed this with his kind explanation.
"Yep! That guy's name is Eun Ji-ho. I'm Woo Ju-in!"
They started a conversation as if they were already close friends. When Ham Haru glanced around, the girls looked angry with fires in their eyes on Ban Yeoryeong.
As both continued their conversation in front of the ebony girl, Woo Ju-in had a big smile again and shook her hands up and down. "Anyway, you're the first person that I've ever seen to win against Ji-ho! Let's be friends~!"
There was, again, something going completely wrong. What is that dialogue that would be said in a TV show? Is this really a TV series? Were they shooting a prank right now?
As Ham Haru turned her head, she noticed Yoo Chunyoung and Kwon Eunhyung of the Four Heavenly Kings looking over to their direction with excitement.
Yoo Chunyoung still had that icy cold expression. However, his blues eyes gazing at Ban Yeoryeong seemed to have a different kind of interest upon her. Kwon Eunhyung, on the other hand, just stared at Ban Yeoryeong with a smile.
Ham Haru was looking at them ─ no, most of the girls in the class except Ban Yeoryeong were looking at the boys. However, they were only looking at Ban Yeoryeong. How could one explain this, it was like watching a well-manipulated play.
"And Haru as well!"
At that cheery voice mentioning her name, Ham Haru was snapped from her daze.
Huh...? Trailing her vision to the source whereher uncertainties came from, there was Woo Ju-in givingthe girl a broad grin. It was no different from the one he gave to them near the bus stop and the one he showed to Ban Yeoryeong just now.
Due to the ebony girl's confusion, she wasn't able to stop her face from displaying a rather perplexed look. Even Ban Yeoryeong expressed her obliviousness to this subject. Nevertheless, Woo Ju-in detached his hold of Ban Yeoryeong's hands and grasped Ham Haru's tightly with admiration.
"You placed 2nd in the exams! What's impressive is that you even made Ji-ho 3rd place for the very first time in his life! You two are so awesome!"
Ham Haru froze internally as she felt my smiling face crack. I've never placed 2nd place in the overall exam before though...? How come I suddenly reach that high...
Stealing a glimpse of Ham Dan-I's expression to see any signs of agreement to Ham Haru's puzzled self, Ham Dan-I only flashed me a pitiful look.
Why is she ─ Her younger sister just gestured as if this was also normal and Ham Haru felt a spooky chill creeping behind her. She was strangely acting like Ban Yeoryeong who claimed to be friends with them as if they were the ones who got amnesia.
Little did Ham Haru know, she had already knew the answer to her own question deep down.
Before she could say anything, Woo Ju-in lets go of her and gave Ban Yeoryeong and Ham Haru a wave.
"Well, I hope we become good friends!"
Feigning a smile as Ham Haru was still left in the dark, she was so engrossed with the possible explanation for everything that she became unaware of the fact that all of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' had their eyes dead set on her.
....
At last, school ended. As the kids bid farewell to their teacher, they grabbed their bags and ran out of the classroom.
Ham Haru wasn't able to make any new friends since Ban Yeoryeong hogged all of her attention for herself the whole time Ham Haru sat on her seat.
"Let's go home together!" Ban Yeoryeong took Ham Haru's hand happily.
Ham Haru was a bit anxious about her reaction now. After their talk with Woo Ju-in, she had this look of sadness sometimes either directed to her or Ham Dan-I. Ban Yeoryeong told her that she wasn't convinced that Ham Dan-I wasn't ignoring her. Because even after she stared at Ham Dan-I for almost an hour or so, per Ham Haru's advice, Ham Dan-I never turned her head to their direction.
Oh, yeah...why was she harsh to Eun Ji-ho? Ham Haru's only guess was that Ban Yeoryeong must've been moody. But well, considering the aura Eun Ji-ho carried in her presence, it was a bit understandable.
Ham Haru intently stared at Ban Yeoryeong who waited for her reply. Dealing with everything seemed like a pain in the ass. Novel-like story wise, the conflict is that Murasaki girl and Dan-I aren't getting along. Since I cleared my route, Dan-I should be the one to reconcile next... Since we're out of options, I suppose the best way to deal with this crazy event is to go with the flow...
Getting an idea, Ham Haru glanced at her younger sister who was packing up her things to leave before Ham Haru's lips tugged up. She was yet going to plot a sadistic, yet productive scheme.
"...say, Murasaki girl. Why don't you go home with Dan-I together?" Ham Haru offered a sweet smile. "Maybe if you talk it out with her, she'll feel better. Now's the best time to settle things together, don't you think so too?"
The beautiful girl in front of her looked like she was about to cry at Ham Haru's words. The older Ham twin felt Ban Yeoryeong's body trembling as she hung her head down.
She looks genuinely upset about my sister's so-called not feeling well issue... In any case, that was good since that'd mean she'd be easy to manipulate if her weakness is affected.
"I...I will...!"
Ban Yeoryeong declared to her as if she had already made her resolve to be a good friend. Meanwhile, Ham Haru clapped her hands to cheer Ban Yeoryeong on.
"I'll leave my sister with you then so you'll have some alone time together and feel comfortable." Ham Haru gave the Ban Yeoryeong a wave before heading to the door, completely unnoticed by Ham Dan-I.
As Ham Haru shut the door behind her, she saw Ban Yeoryeong with the broadest smile for the first time today.
"Ha..."
Ham Haru sighed as she positioned myself to run a marathon. With one foot behind, she exerted all her strength in there as she propelled herself forward and sprinted out of the school building with speed. The ebony girl passed the classrooms, the people, the halls, the staff room, and finally reached the gate of Ji Jon Middle School.
Pausing, she scooted to the sidelines to catch her breath. It felt as though she hasn't ran that fast for a long time and now was left in a panting mess. But this wasn't the time to be resting.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to run again to wherever she might end up at. Ham Haru didn't care. She just ran with all her might.
The ebony girl didn't know how long she ran, but when she opened her eyes again, she found herself beside a road. There was a bench beside a vending machine not too far from where she stood, and so she went there to take a break.
This place is probably far enough... Ham Haru dumped her sling bag beside her as she leaned back to close her eyes again. She was extremely tired from all the physical exercise than she looked. She probably was not compatible to run that fast at that speed.
At any rate, that's not really a good sign... She deeply thought. If ever she ends up in a more dangerous situation, this wouldn't be good.
Ham Haru got out a notebook from her bag and held a pencil.
"Let's see..." She wasn't able to sort things out this morning because of distractions. That said, everything happened so fast, she couldn't even think straight. Ham Haru needed a secluded place where everything seem slow and normal. A quiet place to sort out her thoughts in times of distress. Though I feel bad for using Dan-I as bait for my escape. Was I always someone like that?
As if to justify her seemingly selfish actions, at the back of her head, she somehow convinced herself it was for a good purpose as well. After all, she was hoping to get answers from those interactions.
Since the beginning, I've been acting carefree because I wanted to see how things will go. Regardless of how we react to our situation, this doesn't explain the world today... Ham Haru tapped her chin with the mechanical pencil. Everything was getting strange. People whom they've never known pops up out of the blue acting like they were friends, and the setting's just like a drama or a web novel.
First, let's get to the bottom of this. That's right. There was no need to panic. There must be a logical explanation about this. All I have to do was investigate 'when' the weird events happened first.
Jotting down the word 'start' in an empty page, Ham Haru began to turn gears.
Okay, what did I do yesterday? Ham Haru was about to write what automatically urged her left hand to do, but then she froze and her mind went blank.
"Huh...?"
She couldn't believe it.
Ham Haru tried to think hard, but no matter what she did to try and jog the memories back, she couldn't remember a single thing that happened yesterday. Not only that, she couldn't recall what occurred even in the days before that.
This must be a dream. It must be. It was the only thing that supported her theory. A place where you can't remember yourself sometimes and a place where it seems as though it's reality but it really wasn't.
"...a dream."
Checking her phone, Ham Haru looked up the word dream in the dictionary just to be certain. Under the word dream, it said, a series of thoughts, visions, or feelings that happen during sleep; an idea or vision that is created in your imagination and that is not real.
I see... Sometimes we mistake dreams for reality. There are times when we realize this but still remain unconscious in the real world...that must be the case.
Ham Haru covered her mouth before writing the word 'dream' in the notebook.
However, everything is just so realistic that it drives me to pursue second thoughts... But no. I already made up my mind. I wasn't suffering from amnesia or some kind of disorder that prevents me from remembering. If that was the case, I would've woke up at a hospital or my 'parents' should have mentioned a thing or two about it. However, that never happened. That means, I was the only who was conscious about this mystery. The exhaustion is real...the emotions I felt when Kiro's ring was gone... It was possible that even Ham Dan-I experiencing the same thing she's going through is also programmed in her dream.
Ham Haru contemplated for a possible reason again. She had a hunch that Ham Dan-I might also be just a fictional character created in her dream. After all...I realized I had just been her sister.
That was the setting, and it must be.
In this dream, I am somewhat programed to be a kind eldest daughter who has a younger sister named Ham Dan-I. We woke up one day that strangely resembles a web novel. We met handsome and beautiful people...so...is my 'sister' Dan-I the protagonist of this dream?
Scribbling down what she had been mumbling internally, she wondered what could be the reason this was so. Actually, it was said that some dreams occur the way they do because it reflects your deepest desire in your heart. But now that Ham Haru couldn't recall anything else before waking up in this dream world, the answer remained hidden.
What kind of person was I in reality then? Am I really a caring and nice older sister just like this morning? If so, what desire would I have craved for with that character?
Ham Haru was still left in the dark. She clenched her teeth around the nail of her thumb. That was all she could do. Think and bite ─ it helped her calm her nerves while she identified the problems and come up with solutions. Judging by the effects of it, it probably was a bad habit of hers back in the real world.
Noticing this, Ham Haru quickly took note of it as well. It doesn't seem I'll wake up anytime sooner...but that doesn't mean I should stay ignorant. She still had to learn all she could to survive in this dream world she's currently stuck in.
The ebony girl scanned the stuff inside her bag and even the notebook in her hands. Some were empty and some had the handwriting similar to hers.
It's like I'm thrown into a play and the script is impromptu... The people Ham Haru met earlier were probably the main characters and so she wrote their names and the little data she gained.
Seeing how she was normally studious and patient enough to organize her own thoughts and carefully articulate future actions, Ham Haru could only guess she must've been a hard working student in reality or either a perfectionist, or even a worrywart ─ that's why she keep things in check.
"...whatever the answer is, I'll know soon enough when I finally wake up."
Yes, all I need is just to survive in this dream. Just go along with the flow and enjoy the story plot. That in mind, Ham Haru felt a ease and her heartbeat was even again. She didn't realize it was pounding rapidly in her chest till now.
Maybe I worry too much after all... Her tense self relaxed as the breeze brushed against her rested figure. The silence was relaxing.
"Haru...? Why are you here?"
Who...? Ham Haru's eyes slowly opened when a familiar voice resounded.
What caught her attention was the red wine coloured hair dancing with the wind, and the green orbs locked with her brown ones.