SIGNAL // TWICE

[0̻̪͆0̻̪͆4̻̪͆]

It was a dream.

At least that's what I kept telling myself when I woke up in my own bed, completely lost and confused as to how I got there. I remembered what happened at the hospital, with the blue light and alien thing that came after me. And even though I could feel a dull pain in my head, I refused to believe that last night I was being chased by a blue alien disguised as my doctor. Because that sounds completely insane, did it not?

"Thank goodness you came to school," Kyla said, waiting for me at the entrance of the school building. "Are you sure you're fine?"

I nodded with a smile. "No headache today."

Apparently I really was never in the hospital. A very vivid dream I had indeed.

I smiled happily and walked through the front doors of the school.

People smiled at me and greeted me, and I responded to them. I was pretty well-known throughout the school, as I was probably the goofiest person you'd ever meet. It was why I managed to have so many friends and have so many people like me, I suppose. I wasn't complaining since it's nice to be liked.

"Any math homework?" I asked, strolling through the hall with Kyla easily falling in step.

"Luckily, nope. I'll catch you up on the stuff you missed yesterday."

"Ah, thanks—"

"IT'S VERNON!" A nearby girl shouted, looking somewhere ahead of us.

So that wasn't a dream? No, it has to be.

"Let's go see Hansol!" Kyla suggested, tugging my arm as she pushed through the crowd. "He's been dying to see you again."

All of a sudden I felt my heart skip a beat. I was meeting my old best friend, whom I've lost contact with. What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore? What if we tried picking up where we left off, but we just have drifted away, no longer sharing the same interests as we did three years ago? What if he heard that I was in the hospital and doesn't want to be with someone as dramatic as me?

But all those thoughts were pushed out of my head once I laid my eyes on him. Hansol still looked the same, half Korean and half Caucasian, although he did grow quite a bit, since I used to be taller than him. Still, I couldn't be too sure if he'd act the same way as he did before.

His eyes rested on me, and a familiar, dorky smile made its presence. His arms stretched wide as he walked towards me, and I smiled back at him.

"Somi-ah!"

Yep, that's him.

He pulled me into a hug that I couldn't resist returning. Not that I wouldn't want to. I haven't seen the guy in three years, of course I'm excited to see him.

"It's been so long," he said after he released me.

"And you've gotten so tall," I commented, looking up at him.

"I'd hope I wouldn't stay short forever. Kyla-ah told me that you had been sick the past few days. Is everything alright?"

I nodded as images of the blue alien and the blue light popped into my head, but I pushed them out as soon as they had came. "Head pain. Nothing too bad."

"Good. I was hoping we could catch up after school, maybe grab a bite to eat. Does that sound okay?"

I grinned up at him. "Sounds great!"

He smiled and nodded, and we talked for a bit before parting ways, him being in a grade higher than me. Kyla and I walked to our classroom, myself unable to stop beaming over Hansol—Vernon—coming back. That plus me not having a headache that morning, maybe life is back to normal.

Or so I thought.

《》《》《》

Hansol walked me to the place he thought about coming to, a bubble tea shop up the corner from school. We ordered and sat outside, talking about what's been going on the past few years of our lives. His time in America sounded fun, although he expressed that he very much missed Korea, which I was happy about. It meant that he wouldn't willingly want to leave this great country behind.

While he was talking about his grandmother's dog being pushed into the pool, I felt a faint thudding in the back of my head. I tried ignoring it, thinking it would go away once I ignored it. But it steadily grew, and it hurt more and more with each passing minute. No matter how much I tried to not actively think about it, it was persistent and was intent on letting me know it wasn't going anywhere. It soon became a full-on migraine, and I clutched my head, groaning in pain.

"Somi? Are you okay? What's going on?"

I felt cool hands on my arms, but they weren't enough to distract me or will the pain to go away. And I heard the voice I've been dreading once again.

Save Korea...Come to me...Get back my girls...

What girls? I wanted to cry because nothing was making sense. Not once have I understood what that stupid voice was saying, nor what was going to happen to Korea. Besides, I thought it had all been a dream!

Not a dream...I altered time...Come to me...

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" I screamed with abandon. I was going to be driven crazy if this doesn't stop immediately.

"Somi! Calm down!"

Bring me my girls...Save your country...

"WHAT GIRLS?"

Nine of them...find them...Help everyone...

I had to go along with this nonsense, whatever it was. If I was truly still in the hospital, and this was some kind game to get me out of my coma, then I was going to follow it so I wouldn't wake up insane.

Fine.

Perfect...

And just like that, the pain began to slowly fade away. I blinked my eyes open to see Hansol staring at me, as well as a small crowd of people murmuring to one another, wearing expressions of worry and confusion.

"Somi? What happened?" Hansol asked in a low voice.

Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"I have to go," I said, before I stood and ran in the direction of my house, away from the crowd, away from Hansol, away from normality.

Okay so I completely forgot I pre-write chapters for this book, which is why I haven't updated in...over a year. Haaaa, don't hate me. I wasn't motivated to write as much over the summer so I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me.