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ii

[15 October 1999]

"Is this working?" Y/N mumbled to herself, pointing the camera at herself. She was filming another VHS tape.

Today, she was filming her lunch period. Jeongin invited her to eat lunch with him and his friends. Maybe Jeongin felt pity for the poor girl and offered his and his friends' company, Y/N thought. Y/N was recording the experience, and though the group questioned it at first, Y/N explained her intentions and they welcomed the camera afterward.

"I think so, the red lights on," Jeongin noted, his face briefly appearing on screen as Y/N fiddled with the camera some more.

After checking the status of the camera once more, Y/N placed the camera at the edge of the table to capture everyone's faces as they ate their lunches. Y/N ate her meal in silence, listening to the group of friends discuss various topics.

"We should make a short film," Jeongin's friend suggested. Y/N didn't know his name. "Since Y/N has the equipment and experience."

Y/N cracked a small smile at the idea. "That sounds fun," She admitted. "Besides, it'd be a nice keepsake of high school to look back upon after graduation."

Jeongin hummed, stirring his seaweed soup. "Not a bad idea. It'd take forever to script, though."

Y/N nodded. "But as long as we have fun, right?"

Murmurs of agreement rose from the friend group, the lunch period continuing normally until it was time for the friends to return to their respective classes. Y/N placed her bento box in her backpack and walked to her next class alone, parting ways with Jeongin and his friends.

Y/N placed her camera on her desk, facing the lens to her face as her head was bent, neatly writing on her worksheet, concentrating whilst her camera focused on her as she studied.

The recording briefly cut to Y/N exiting her class, her camera pressed against her blazer, occasionally catching glimpses of the classroom's Y/N passed. After Y/N distanced herself from her peers, she comfortably filmed her surroundings as she walked to the Filmography clubroom.

She greeted her fellow club members, situating herself at an old school '90s Windows computer, and booted up her editing program. Today, she will be editing the footage she took on the day she met Jeongin.

She saved her run-in with the boy for personal use and cut the footage and saved it to its drive. Y/N cut out any hiccups in her footage, the clicking of the mouse and the pounding of the keyboard occasionally filling the silence.

Y/N thought back to the suggestion of the short film. Y/N was a junior in high school now. Time had passed by so quickly. Many of her friends would be graduating within the coming new year or would be graduating with her. The short film would be a bittersweet ending to her high school years.

After editing the interview, she shut off the school-issued PC, and bid farewell to her friends, unsure of what to do now as she had finished her work relatively quickly. Y/N glimpsed at her flip phone, skimming through the messages she received.

Y/N exchanged numbers with Jeongin and his friends during their lunch period. His friends were practically her friends now. Y/N didn't have many close friends, but she was grateful that Jeongin was thoughtful enough to welcome her into his friend group.

She noticed that the group of friends was chatting away whilst she was busy editing, discussing their plans for the weekend, worries regarding exams, their club work, and most importantly, the film.

To Y/N's delight, it seemed that the group was dedicated to seeing the short film come to fruition. They discussed who would be part of the main cast, and shockingly enough, Y/N was chosen as the female lead.

Well, go figure. Y/N was the only female in the group amongst eight boys. Minho and Jeongin were selected to star in the film with her together. Of course, they had to pick a stereotypical plot of a high school romance.

Y/N's eyes drifted away, nervous that she would star in the short film. She was expecting that she would be part of the filming crew, nothing more.

Besides, would her performance as an actress be satisfactory enough? These worrisome thoughts plagued Y/N's mind as she filmed her walk home, as per usual.

Today, it wasn't raining, but some pavements were still damp. Y/N's curious eyes watched as bystanders passed her, brown leaves crunching under their heels. Several trees were beginning to lose their lavish decoration, merely falling onto the ground, wasting away.

Y/N sighed to herself, stuffing one hand in the pocket of her coat, the other holding her camera.

"It's the last autumn of the decade..." Y/N remarked to herself. "Would anything change?"

To Y/N, she didn't believe anything drastic would happen. It was just going to be a new year, but a new decade. A few boys in her grade spread rumors that it was the end of the world, to scare underclassmen. Of course, Y/N could only shake her head at the idea that it would be the end of the world.

It was irrational to feed into fear so easily. But of course, you can't help but wonder if it is the end of the world.

Reassuring herself, Y/N continued her walk home, stopping the recording of her camera once she entered her house. As per usual, she greeted her mother and little brother. Of course, her father was working another late shift. He's never had time to spend time with his family.

Y/N stripped out of her school uniform and into more comfortable clothes, a small yawn escaping her lips. Luckily, Y/N didn't have much homework that day, and she decided she would study over the weekend. School was extremely tiring and draining for the poor girl.

She heard her flip phone relentlessly beep on her desk, the old-styled phone tilting to the side due to the number of notifications she was receiving. She scanned the phone open, her eyes skimming through the messages.

'When are we going to script?'

'I'll do it over the weekend. We can start filming by next week.'

'Are you sure you'll be able to finish the script on such short notice?'

'Yeah, don't worry about it.'

Y/N responded to a few messages, confirming with her friends that she'll make time for the film and that she'll bring her camera on the appropriate recording days. She grinned, excited, yet nervous about what was to come.

[End of VHS tape]