With a small nudge I'm awake and looking into the huge eyes of Jasmine staring into my soul. I jump out of my skin and smack her without hesitating as she sighs with relief and smiles lightly. I look around only to meet the eyes of Hwang Hyunjin staring me down as intensely as Jasmine was but still no sign of our brothers.
"Are you okay, Rose?"
His voice is gentle and worried, nothing like what I saw earlier with Jisung and Jeongin, and again I wonder, what is this boys deal?
"Rose?"
Jasmine snaps my name looking concerned again and making me come out of my haze.
"Yeah, yeah sorry, I'm good just think I may have over worked myself yesterday with the drills on top of today and then drinking coffee right after probably made me weak."
She nods and starts rambling about something but my mind isn't processing her words, I'm frozen to my spot staring out the window, looking out at the snow. The flakes fall lightly and sparkle with the glint from the kitchen light, while still keeping the same white gentleness that they always have. It's calming and I find myself relaxing to a point I haven't felt in years, making me feel very tired. I start to close my eyes and drift to sleep lying on the couch that Jeongin must have set me on when we got to the apartment.
The next morning is a draining Monday morning and I wake to the sounds of alarms blaring as all 4 of our phones go off and the battle for the bathroom begins. I win because I was asleep on the couch about 2 meters from the door, but once I leave I hear thundering footsteps of 2 boys making a straight shot for it and smashing into the door frame on either side of themselves because they hit the door at the same time. Jasmine being Felix's older sister by 30 seconds just hits the floor laughing and clapping frantically. I bolt for my room where the vanity is and start rushing through my hair routine and get my makeup done before slamming the door shut and changing into my uniform.
My only reason for rushing is that today is my day to do the breakfast cooking and lunch money grabbing to make sure everyone has what they need before leaving. Since none of us really had anyone caring for us over the years and through our childhoods, we learned to rely on each other and because of that, we made systems for our habits. Mondays and Fridays are my days every other week, so we go every four days taking care of the days habits and needs for each other.
"Rose! are you ready to go?"
"Yeah Chan, just give me one more second to recount and make sure we all have enough for lunch and snacks and drinks for the day, and grab my bags!"
"I have your bags Rose, don't worry about them, do that last bit and let's skedaddle!"
"Jasmine, who the heck uses the word skedaddle?! Let's just go before I get smacky again."
I hand everyone their cash for the day and check to make sure nothing was left behind or forgotten by anyone, then slip outside through the front door into the snow patch on the front porch before the stairs down to the first floor. I smile at the cold and grab my bags from Jasmine who's all smiles too, and we walk arm in arm to the bus stop to hop on it and catch the early train to our school's stop.
When the bus pulls into the stop at the station we have a few extra minutes to spare so I grab some snow and launch it into the back of my brother's jacket, and as he slow turns to look at me I wail him in the face with another patch of snow then fall back laughing as he shakes his head to knock off the snow. Jasmine sees what I do and we all start firing snowballs at each other, boys against girls, trench style, Jasmine building a small wall, and me firing ball after ball straight at her brother who is also attempting to build a wall.
"YOU KIDS! STOP THAT NOW! YOU'RE MAKING A MESS AND FOOLS OF YOURSELVES!"
I have no idea what came over me, but I look at the older man, maybe in his mid 30's, and slowly pull back my hand catapult style, then fire my snowball directly into his chest knocking him to the ground with a force I only use on Chan... who's currently staring me down with a deadly glare, which tells me I screwed up big time.
"Young lady! How dare you disrespect your elders! Apologize immediately!"
I dead pan the man and look at the angry and stupid look on his face, and can't help but crack a smile. He gets angrier and stomps his way over to me just screaming loudly, not even saying comprehensible words anymore.
"Sir, nothing you ever say or do will ever be worse or equal to what my parents did to me and my brother, and honestly, as I see it, you didn't respect me, so... why should I respect you? I mean, you came yelling and aggressive while we weren't hurting anyone."
That made him fully pissed and to the point of no return. His face turns ro a bright tomato red and he stares into my soul as he grabs the top of my head and tries shoving me onto my knees in apology. The only thing that stops him is my maniacal laughter and something as strong as a truck ramming into his side tackling him to the ground.
"Do not ever touch that beautiful blossom you hear me? Fear me for I know not of pain worse than death but I feel no wrath greater than grief. Leave the other young ones be and fight me if you must, but lay not a finger on her once more or I shall show you what awaits you deep in Hell."
Hwang Hyunjin was on top of the man with his knee pressing into his chest hard enough the man was gasping for breath, and I numbly walked over next to him and put my hand on his shoulder gently. A shock fills my body and I back off quickly, feeling like a gong went off where my heart beats.
"Hyunjin, come on, the train for school should be here soon. He's not worth the time and effort, I think he's learned."
He turns his head slightly without loosening his grip on the man's arms pinned to his sides. His eyes lighten a little on contact with me and he turns back to the man with an even harder aggression.
"You're best and only option is to not look at, not talk to, and not even think about approaching anyone in our uniform from now to the end of time, I will be watching always."
He pushes down on him as he gets up and the man scrambles and runs the other direction, looking for a safe place as he stumbles around unsure and unaware of the edge of the platform as he stumbles... and trips... and falls over onto the track. I yell and run to him to try and help him, just as the train barrels through and crushes the man under the wheels between them and the metal track itself.
I scream as someone sees the mess and dials the police, to get someone here, but we all know that he was gone for good at that point. It was only a matter of us getting on the train and going to the school. I'm silent as I find a seat and curl into a ball while the train sets off for the next stop, with Jasmine next to me sitting in shock of the events that just happened. The world has to be ending right? There's no way that it's not.
The rumble and rolling is hypnotic and my eyes trace the mountains off in the distance as the train rolls along, and by the time that there's no longer color to the world outside and it's all but a blank white sheet, I see my reflection in the window, my face blurred but a crown of bright pink flowers atop my head, and my imagination takes over, painting a sky of beautiful pinks and oranges and purples as the sun sets over a magnificent field of daisies and tulips and lavenders and rose bushes. I close my eyes a little and let the colors reflect back into the world outside to allow the vivid images of colors and flowers in full bloom, the wonderful smell of spring filling my senses and encapsulating my very being into a whole other self and world.
I gasp and open my eyes to the the ground under me moving and turn to see Chan carrying me over his shoulder. I punch him and wiggle around while yelling "Hey!" repeatedly only for him to ignore me and plop me in my chair at my desk.
"What the heck man!"
"You listen to me. You saw nothing, you heard nothing, you did nothing. I want you to stay very far away from Hwang Hyunjin, and if I see you even looking at him, you will be missing your ballet classes until the construction is done, got it?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Stay. Away. From. Him. No if's and's or but's."
The first bell rings for homeroom and we all scatter to our seats, well not me, I just watch Chan walk away glaring at me as he slips into his seat. I sit at a desk alone so I just put my head down and try to sleep some more. The teacher comes in and starts the attendence sheet and gets to my name, then says another name, but I'm supposed to be the last on the list so I drowsily pull my head up and look at the teacher who looks all smiles.
I look at the other students in the room who are staring at something next to me, mostly the girls who look insanely mad or jealous, so I look to Chan and he looks pissed but clearly he isn't going to do anything. My money is on it being Hyunjin, so I just put my head back down and try sleeping again.