Jin Hee sat in front of her netbook and browsed through the school website. A particular post caught her attention. It was dated back 10 years ago. The title of the post holds every inch of interest in her soul. "Girl Found Dead on School Fair" is what it says on the headline of the post. Jin Hee clicked on the link and saw the picture of a beautiful girl in her high school uniform. It's the exact uniform that Jin Hee and all the other girls in school wear. There's a name below ... Yoon Ji Hae (Oct 10, 1981-Aug 15, 2000).Below is an inscription that says "You will be missed Ji Hae." There's a short post below the picture regarding Yoon Ji Hae's sudden death. Aug 15, 2000 ... what is supposed to be fun school fair for the students at Kangwon-do All Girl's High turned out to be a mournful day when Yoon Ji Hae, 19 years old, a major in Arts, was found lying limplessly and lifeless at Rm 409 at Kangwon-do's administration building. It was nearly 14 hours before school authorities found her dead body which led to her sudden and mysterious death. There were pictures of the dead Ji hae on the floor as well, lying with her legs spread wide apart and her hair all over her face, with her eyes opened wide. Ji Hee grimaced at the sight and closed her eyes as she shut off her netbook right away. She climbed to her bed and brought up the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes as she tried to shook off the creepy images of Ji Hae on her mind. ...... After her arts class, Jin Hee wandered off the Arts building. The Arts Building is just in front of the Administration Building where ghostly apparitions of Ji hae are seen. JIn Hee stood in the corridor, looking straight ahead at the last room in the building in front of her. She swore she saw someone passed so quickly ...as if it's just a matter of seconds. Her Arts Teacher, Ms. Nam, stood behind Jin Hee."Kang JIn Hee, " Ms. Nam said all of a sudden. Jin Hee spun around and was surprised to see her Arts teacher. Ms. Nam look like she's just the same age with Aunt Eun Soo, the only difference is that Ms. Nam looked very strict and she seemed to know a lot of things. "What are you staring at?"Jin Hee shook her head and looked at the classroom again. Ms. Nam followed her gaze and creased her eyebrows. "Songsaenim (teacher)," Jin Hee started. "Do you know Yoon Ji Hae?" Ms. Nam was taken aback by the question and her face turned into a cold expression. "Nu-gu (who?)" Ms. Nam was stammering. "Yoon Ji Hae?" Jin Hee looked at her. "They said she died in the administration building 10 years ago." Ms. Nam's voice was suddenly alerted and she raised her voice. "Ya! Kang Jin Hee! How come you're believing all these tell-tale lies that people are spreading about our school? Do you know that's a taboo thing?" Jin Hee felt her heart skipped at the tone of Ms. Nam's voice and she gulped. "Mianhaeyo (i'm sorry)." She then walked away, leaving Ms. Nam shaking. ..... Later that afternoon, Jin Hee was walking towards the campus gates when Chun Hyang ran and caught up with her. "Kang Jin Hee! Ya!" Jin Hee stopped and waited for Chun Hyang to catch up. Chun Hyang was panting and took a deep breath as she stopped in front of her. "Omo! Why didn't you wait for me after class?" Jin Hee creased her forehead and stared at her. "Wae yo (why)?" Jin Hee asked her. Chun Hyang smiled and took another deep breath. "It's my Eomma's (mom) birthday. I am inviting you to come over at my place." Jin Hee smiled and shook her head. "Chun Hyang-ssi ...don't you think it's too embarassing to invite me?" Chun Hyang scoffed and stared at her. "Wae?You're my friend so I have every right to invite you. C'mon Jin Hee. You need a life." Jin Hee smiled and nodded after awhile. "Oh ... kurrae! (ok)" Jin Hee was astonished as they step inside the Park's family household. The house is very modern, with a wide lawn outside and it has the era of the Victorian period. It's more European rather than Asian. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Ee bbu da! (so pretty!)" Chun Hyang smiled and look at her friend. "Jo ah? (you like it)" Jin Hee nodded as her mouth is still hanging while looking all around the place. Chun Hyang smiled, "My mom likes European style so much so when she and my dad went back from their honeymoon from England, they decided to build a house like this." JIn Hee looked all around the place and wondered why there's only two of them. "Where's your mom? I wanna greet her a happy birthday." Just then Park Young Ah strolled down from the long and winding staircase. "Oh! There she is!" Chun Hyang exclaimed gladly. "Eomma! Saengga chukamnida! (happy birthday)" Young Ah gave her daughter a hug, "Komawo (thank you)." She then turned to look at Jin Hee who's standing awkwardly behind Chun Hyang. "Who is this pretty girl with you?" Chun Hyang smiled and dragged Jin Hee towards her mom. "Nan chin gu ya. Kang Jin Hee. She just came from Seoul." Young Ah smiled warmly at Jin Hee and JIn Hee bowed politely as a sign for courtesy. "An nyoung haseyo Mrs. Park! Nan Kang Jin Hee imnida!" She held out her hand shyly and smiled, "Saengga chukamnida." Young Ah giggled as she find Jin Hee really adorable. "Oh! So cute!! Komawo!" Young Ah then motioned for them toward the dining area and Chun Hyang smiled at Jin Hee. "Kurrae! Let's eat a hearty meal now!" Young Ah invited. Talking with Young Ah feels like talking to Chun Hyang. They both have bubbly personalities and she also realized they have the same features. Jin Hee can now see where Chun Hyang got her looks and her attitude. Young Ah look at Jin Hee, "So Jin Hee ... do you like your new school?" Jin Hee smiled and took a bite of her crepe before answering. "Hmmm ... yes. But I find it odd as well." Young Ah's eyes were lit up with concern and Chun Hyang glanced at Jin Hee. "Odd?" Young Ah asked. "Why is it?" Jin Hee chewed on her food and took a deep breath. "Because there's something odd about the last classroom on the last floor of the administration building." Chun Hyang giggled and look at JIn Hee. "Ya Jin Hee ... you really don't believe in all those ghoul stories, huh?" Jin Hee look at Chun Hyang and she didn't say another word. Young Ah stifled a tight smile and stood up. "Girls, I have to get something upstairs for awhile. Ok?" After dinner, Chun Hyang walked Jin Hee towards the bus stop. People were scurrying everywhere and the late autumn air seemed to get into their thick jacket uniforms. Jin Hee is usually quiet and Chun Hyang broke the silence. "Jin Hee ... what were you like in Seoul?" Jin Hee smiled and stared at Chun HYang briefly as they continued walking down the road. "Nan? (Me) ... nothing really special. I'm just your average high school girl ... I go to school, attend classes and go home. Study and that's it. My life is fairly normal." Chun Hyang has mischievous looks in her eyes. "You mean, you never had a boyfriend or something?" Jin Hee laughed out loud for the first time with Chun Hyang. "Namja chin gu? (boyfriend)" she exclaimed. "Aniyo (no) ... I'm not a girlfriend material. I'm sure you do have lots of suitors, arachi?" Chun Hyang laughed silently and shook her head. "Aneyo (no) ...eomma doesn't want to." Jin Hee look at her friend, "Wae? Ajumma (aunt) seems to be someone who is open to anything." Chun Hyang shook her head. They reach the bus stop and they sat down side-by-side on the bench. "As a matter of fact, no. Eomma is the best mom in the world. I cannot question that." "Then what's the problem?" Jin Hee asked. Chun Hyang took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I'm gonna tell you a secret. My dad isn't mom's first boyfriend. When they got married, it was all because of pity. Mom married dad because she feels like she have to. She was attracted to someone else but that person loves someone else. Until now, Eomma is still not over him." Jin Hee felt a pang in her heart as she heard the story. "Where's the guy right now?" Chun Hyang shrugged and smiled, "Kurraeso (I don't know.) Sad, right?" Jin Hee nodded and Chun Hyang smiled at her. "That's why she doesn't want me to have a boyfriend. Because she doesn't want me to feel the exact same pain she's been carrying on all these years." Jin Hee stared straight ahead and asked, "Where's the girl that the guy loved right now?" Chun Hyang answered back, "Ah! All I know is that she's dead." Jin Hee gasped and sighed, "That's pretty sad. But you deserve to have your own love story Chun Hyang." Chun Hyang smiled at her just then the bus stopped in front of them. "Oh ... here comes your bus." Jin Hee stood up and smiled at her. "I gotta go. Ajumma might be really worried about me now. Ja rae Chun Hyang!" Jin Hee got up the bus and sat down on the back seat and waved at her. Chun Hyang smiled and waved back at her. "See you tomorrow!" ..... Jin Hee got inside the house and Eun Soo is sitting at the living room, staring anxiously at the clock. She felt relieved when she saw JIn Hee stepped inside. "Omo ... JIn Hee. Where have you been? It's late." There was hysteria in Eun Soo's voice. Jin Hee can't blame her. When her parents died, Eun Soo vowed to take care of her and that's what she's doing right now. "MIanhae ajumma, " Jin Hee said silently. "I just went out to attend the birthday of my friend's mom." Eun Soo's worried face lightened. "Oh really? Which one?" Jin Hee smiled, "Chun Hyang's mom. Park Young Ah." Eun Soo's smile disappeared and her face turned cold like she was hit by a hard block or something. "Park Young Ah? She's your friend's mom?" Jin Hee nodded, "Ye. Wae?" It took awhile for Eun Soo to snap back into reality. It seem as if she remembered something with that name. "Oh ... aneyo (nothing.) You go up and take a rest. I'm sure you're tired right now." JIn Hee smiled and went up the stairs to her room. Later that same night, Jin Hee fell into a deep but restless sleep. In her dream, she was brought back to the same scene 10 years ago at the school's fun fair. Brightly colored Japanese papers were decorated across school lawns and around the campus. Jin Hee found herself sitting in the school park bench right in front of the administration building while on the bench next to her, seated four high school girls, all laughing and speaking loudly, except for one. The silent girl seemed familiar to Jin Hee. She looked like someone she saw before or she knew all along. There's a sadness in her eyes that was covered by her sweet smile. "So Ji Hae, where do you plan to go to tonight?" Ji hae, the silent girl, smiled and spoke silently. "I don't know. Maybe I'll just stay at home." The prettiest girl in the group, looks exactly like Chun Hyang, giggled. "You mean you don't have a date or something?" Ji Hae shook her head and stood up, walked away and went towards the building. A little girl came up to her with an envelope and a white rose. "Eonni! (Big sister)" the little girl exclaimed. Ji Hae looked down at her as the little girl handed her the envelope and the rose. "Oppa (big brother) asked me to give this to you." Ji Hae took the envelope and the rose, and smiled. "Nu gu (who?)" The little girl shrugged and ran away. Ji Hae sat down and tore the envelope open. A note is inside, "Ji Hae .... meet me at room 409. I'll be waiting for you. - Kwon Seung Ri" Ji Hae felt her heart skip a beat and she accidentally dropped the note and ran up the stairs towards Room 409. Kwon Seung Ri is the all-boys school baseball star player whom Ji Hae had a secret crush on. She's been going out with him secretly for five months now without telling her friends. She reached the last floor, panting, she rushed towards Room 409. "Seung Ri oppa!" Seung Ri looked back and smiled brightly at her. Ji Hae rushed to him and hugged him tightly. They haven't seen each other for two weeks now since Ji Hae's grandmother is forbidding her to see him. "Nan bo go shippeo (I miss you.)" Seung Ri smiled as she hugged her tightly. "Na du (me too)." Ji Hae began crying, as they sat down. "What happened?" "Halmuni (grandmom), " Ji Hae began. "She doesn't want me to see you." Seung Ri sighed and there was sadness in his eyes and voice. "I know. She has always been cold to me so I know she'll disapprove of our relationship." Ji Hae held Seung Ri's voice. "Let's just run away. You and me ... let's go somewhere else." Seung Ri took a deep breath and looked at Ji Hae in the eyes. "That's what I'm planning to also." The girl who look like Chun Hyang strolled the lobby of the building looking for Ji Hae. She noticed the piece of paper on the floor and pick it up. "Ji Hae .... meet me at room 409. I'll be waiting for you. - Kwon Seung Ri." The girl crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it as hard as she could towards the wall. Her eyes gleamed with evilness as she stared at the stairs that led to Room 409. JIn Hee was breathing heavily as she woke up and sat up in her bed, panting and breathing heavily. It's a dream ... but it all seemed so vivid and real. .... (for continuation ...) hehe! :)
