Freeze

Kim Minjeong was an ordinary kid. She was the typical child that came from a normal house, doing normal things and planned to have a normal future.

A part of her wondered if she would ever break the typical stereotype. Because she didn’t want to be the usual quiet girl who studies hard and was always the top student of her class.

She remembered during her elementary years when the class erupted in excited shouts and praise because her classmate discovered they had superpowers.

Because some were born with it, others develop it sometime as they grow up. But usually around this time of childhood, it would be too late to discover their superpowers.

Minjeong waited for hers.

And no one could ever compete with the feeling of her disappointment when she finished middle school, and she still had no powers.

But she got over it quickly. Finding the simple solution by burying her nose into her studies. It was the easiest thing to do for her and it did its purpose by distracting her from the fact that she would never be a superhero.

Sometimes a part of her wondered why she wanted to be one so badly. Her parents were normal, her older brother Mingyu was normal. But her brother was already doing something to make the world a better place in his own ways.

Mingyu became a doctor himself, but he managed to get into a prestigious school abroad and eventually worked at a hospital as a surgeon.

Minjeong decided to let that be her motivation to try her best and become a hero in her own way.

School was never difficult.

Minjeong didn’t take her studies lightly, knowing that her motivations had shifted and all she wanted to do was her best. And she did.

She had the highest honors in elementary school and middle school, and she just needed to do the same for high school. Though, she was aware of the horrors she had to face once she did enter high school.

Minjeong had seen her fair share of bullying from her classmates back then and she knew it was just going to get worse once she was with more students who were going through puberty, filled with developing hormones and angsty feelings.

But she always believed that bullies were made by being bullied themselves or because of neglectful parents. And she was smart. Smart enough to not be involved in anything. She should just focus on her studies and keep herself out of the limelight of school.

Things had been easier since she made friends with Yizhuo. She was an exchange student from Harbin, China and when they were paired for a homeroom activity, they became instant friends.

It was just fortunate for Minjeong that she didn’t need to learn Mandarin to be able to talk to Yizhuo, the girl was already educated with basic Korean and Minjeong took the liberty to help Yizhuo if there were still some words she couldn’t understand.

Minjeong felt content, she made a friend in her first week of high school, and things were going smoothly. Soon their pair had an addition when they met Ryujin and the three became inseparable after.

Of course, Minjeong always believed that she was better off alone. But Yizhuo never really understood that. Always saying that alone time was good, but Minjeong couldn’t possibly spend the rest of her high school life as a loner with her nose in between books all the time.

Ryujin on the other hand was dumb, but not dumb enough to lose track of her common sense. She just wasn’t in the same ranking as Yizhuo, and definitely far off from Minjeong. But the friend didn’t mind, she excelled in other things, mostly sports.

Plus, Ryujin was their protector too, always made sure no one bullied Yizhuo for not being Korean, and protected Minjeong because she was meek and an easy target to pick on.

Minjeong loved them, but she wasn’t the type to express her feelings quite as eloquently as Yizhuo. But she still showed it in her own way.

At least high school wasn’t going to be bad. Mingyu said it was the stepping stone to a lot of things and she was in for a ride.

She will never forget the day she first saw Jimin.

It was the middle of her first year in high school. Minjeong was walking along the hallways of the campus, Yizhuo and Ryujin were by the cafeteria buying snacks and Minjeong decided to walk back to her classroom to pick up something she left.

Minjeong turned the corner and felt her body hit an imaginary brick wall when she first saw her.

She saw a group of girls by the water fountain, laughing at something but the one who caught her eye was the tallest one out of all of them. Someone called her name through the halls and she turned to smile and greet them back.

“Yu Jimin!”

Yu Jimin. Minjeong repeated in her head.

And there was something about Yu Jimin that seemed different for Minjeong. How her eyes turned into crescents when she smiled or laughed. The sound of her deep voice when she talked, her stance, the beauty. How was a teenager blessed with this much beauty?

Minjeong felt her heart shoot to her throat when Jimin glanced at her and smiled. There was a mole under her lip. How could an ordinary beauty mark make her heart beat erratically like this?

But Minjeong didn’t smile back. Instead, she panicked, quickly turned around, covered her mouth with her hand and ran back to the cafeteria.

She believed she didn’t have the guts to walk past Jimin without being a complete mess. Much more with Jimin's friends who were also tall and good looking. But not as good looking as Jimin.

Though it made Minjeong even more flustered at the fact that she was feeling this way for the very first time. She was aware of Mingyu and his childhood best friend, who she knew deep down inside that they were something more than that.

But she didn’t bother asking her brother about it, nor did she ask about the nuances of the feeling because she believed that it was never going to happen to her. She kept telling herself that she didn’t have the time to think about feelings and the like. She didn’t look at boys the same way, she didn’t know if this is what it’s like to be attracted to one.

Maybe she needs to sleep it off. Or study. Right. Yes. Study. Because she’s still a student and studying is her main priority.

Yu Jimin was just… another pretty face.

It had been a year and Minjeong was going crazy.

She hadn’t told a single soul about her silly crush on Jimin, and she would like to keep it that way. She didn’t even confirm it with herself.

Did she have a crush on Jimin?

She scribbled on her little notebook and a part of her felt so guilty for having it. She only ever wrote on it when she was at home, in her room, where it was locked. Usually when her parents would start fighting and they could be heard downstairs.

Mingyu wasn’t there anymore so she had no one to protect her but herself. So she drowned her thoughts in studying.

If it wasn’t studying then it was in this little notebook of shame.

She opened the pages where she left off, because she refused to tell her friends, this notebook was the only way she could let go of her feelings.

A year worth of shameless note taking. Just so she could let the feeling out. So it wouldn’t consume her.

Yu Jimin, 15 years old
Student Council Vice President
Likes to play football
Has a mole under her lip

Next page.

Likes to play with cats outside the school
Very nice to others (and to me)
Likes the color blue
Has a mole under her lip

Next page.

Has a lot of friends
But we never talk.
Cute smile. Cute mole.
Will never notice me.