It was a brisk March morning, the first school day in the year. Jae Hyun was awake, not to the alarm clock, but the savoury smell of pork ramyeon. His mom was cooking him a big breakfast downstairs while he was lying in his bedroom. But with the super senses inherited from his mother, it was not difficult for him to scent it. Quickly brushing his teeth and washing his face, he rushed down the staircase for his meal.

"Stop running! You're gonna fall if you keep running like that," So Hyun grumbled.

"I'm sorry mom," he flatly replied and started digging in right away. Finishing the food, he retrieved his backpack, put the weights onto his ankles and opened the door. It was just a second before he left the house that his mother called him back.

"Hol' up, Jae Hyun," she beckoned him and slipped a barbell into his backpack, "Bring this with you, it will keep you from floating up."

"Mom, it's so heavy. Can I just go to school without it?" he bargained.

"You can't. You don't know how to control your power, what if you accidentally fly during school?"

"OK, fine!" he sighed.

******

Jae Hyun hopped on a bus and went to school. He really wanted to have a good start for the year. But he was late for his first day of school, in the most awful way ever. The moment when he got off the bus, the security guard also began closing the gate. Although he tried his best to run, he did not manage to reach the gate in time with the weights on his feet.

To make matters worse, a girl suddenly collided with him on the way. Knocked off balance, Jae Hyun fell off and his right elbow was scraped against the road. Only his elbow was in contact with the ground. Meanwhile, the remains of his body floated up in the air, with his legs pointing at the sky. Lucky for him, that only happened in an instant and his whole body dropped onto the ground unnoticed. He was safe, at least for now, despite having a piece of skin peeled off. It might not be too bad for normal people, but because Jae Hyun's skin was very sensitive, he felt as if there was a knife cutting into his flesh.

"Are you hurt? I'm really sorry," the girl rushed over to help Jae Hyun up. "Does your arm hurt? Is everything alright?" she kept asking him if he was alright while he was rendered speechless, unable to process the unexpected encounter.

"Ah... I... I... am OK, don't worry," he stuttered and hastily stood up.

"Hey young man, you're alright?" the security man approached Jae Hyun and gave him a plaster.

"Yes, uncle," he nodded, "I'm sorry for being late."

"It's fine, what's your name? And your class too?"

"Myeong Jae Hyun from class 3.01," he said while anxiously rubbing his temple. It was obvious that nobody would want to be late for school on the first day.

Unlike Jae Hyun, the girl did not seem to be really cooperative and kept pleading with the security guard not to note down her name. She did not succeed though. In the end, she still had to tell him her name, Oh Hae Won from 3.01, the same class with Jae Hyun.

Jae Hyun and Hae Won ended up being made to run five laps around the schoolyard before going to class. Despite the cool morning, Jae Hyun struggled with the ankle weights, panting for breath while his shirt stunk of sweat. In stark contrast, the girl seemed as relaxed as if she was just walking, showing no sign of being tired. It was also that moment when Jae Hyun noticed that Hae Won had a pretty athletic appearance with her short hair held by a headband and a pair of running shoes.

"Arghhh!" Hae Won suddenly tripped over and fell off, holding her left ankle. Just by looking at the fall and the way she scrunched her face, Jae Hyun could know how painful it was. Her ankle was literally bent ninety degrees inwards. He could also hear the cracking of bones and the popping sound of her tendon being torn.

"Are you OK?" he ran over and nervously asked her.

"It's fine," she awkwardly looked at him, "Just keep running, you still have two more laps to go."

"But... it looks hurt, doesn't it?"

"I'm fine, trust me," she moved her ankle around for a few seconds and then stood up, continuing her running.

Jae Hyun could not help but gaped at her in astonishment. Was she faking her injury? She was definitely not. He could see and hear her feet when it was bent, and his senses never lied. Then how could she stand up and run after such an incident? That kind of injury could badly torture a professional athlete. Was he seeing things? Was she a human? Was she Wolverine, or Deadpool? Those questions incessantly filled up in his mind until her pat on his shoulder snapped him back to reality.

"Run, what are you doing?" she sniggered.

Blinking his eyes once, he went on to finish his running, "Ah... sure... I'm going after you."

After the draining run, Jae Hyun and Hae Won could finally come to class. Coincidentally, the last two tables left, nestled in the corner near the window, were next to each other. They both got a chance to sit close to one another. Several study periods passed, and it was finally recess for class 3.01.

"Hi Hae Won," a handsome guy with long hair approached Hae Won with a grin and then turned to Jae Hyun, "And you too, new student." There was also a girl accompanying him, having a cute and beautiful face as if she stepped straight out from a school romance K-drama.

"Sung Ho, Ji Woo, hi guys," Hae Won cheerfully replied.

"Oh... hi, I'm Jae Hyun," he stood up, shyly smiled at the new friends and extended his hand, waiting for a handshake.

"I'm Park Sung Ho, the class monitor," the guy shook his hand, "If you wanna ask anything, come to me... By the way, this is Kim Ji Woo, the secretary."

"Hi," Jae Hyun timidly said.

"Hello, I'm Ji Woo... or Hae Won's best friend, for your information," the girl sniggered and half-jokingly said.

"Guys, that's enough for the introduction," Hae Won turned over and knocked her hand onto Jae Hyun's desk, which was behind hers, "Shall we go to have lunch now?"

"Sure, let's go," Ji Woo nodded and grabbed Sung Ho's arm.

"Wanna go, Jae Hyun?" Hae Won smiled at her new friend.

"Ermmm... I... is it OK for me to go with you guys?"

"Of course it is," Sung Ho said.

"Jae Hyun-ah~~" Hae Won said with a cute baby voice, looking at Jae Hyun with her sparkling eyes and her chin placed neatly in her hands, "Let's go with us!"

Hae Won's unexpected actions rendered Jae Hyun speechless and baffled, not knowing how to react. He could feel his feet beginning to leave the ground while cold sweats were trickling down his spine. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he tried to clutch the table sides with his hand to stop himself from flying.

"What's the matter? You good?" Hae Won inquired.

"Guys, I gotta go now... just have your lunch first, I'll join you later," he hastily said without any intervals at all. The flustered boy then ran straight to the restroom, locking himself in a toilet and trying to breathe deeply into a plastic bag as a vain gesture to calm himself down.

"Holy crap," he leaned on the door and muttered, "That was close."

It was also that moment that Jae Hyun truly understood what all the heavy things his mother made him bring to school for. But for the weights on his ankles, he might have flown up the class ceiling before he even had the chance to rush over the restroom.

******

A few first weeks in school seemed quite good for Jae Hyun as he performed well academically. But that was also what got him into trouble. Knowing that he was an academically excellent student, a girl in his class asked him to write her name down on his test paper, while she would write his name. She then left without waiting for any answer, assuming that his silence meant agreement. Jae Hyun did not comply though, so when the test results were out, the girl was punished. Blaming him for her predicament, the girl and her boyfriend beat him up right in the class.

"You bastard," the girl's boyfriend landed a full-on punch at Jae Hyun's face, giving him a sharp pain that he never experienced before. Collapsing on the ground, Jae Hyun buried his face in his hands and kept moaning in agony while nobody else showed any sign of wanting to stop the bullies.

"Hey, you," Hae Won yelled at the bullies as she walked into the class, "Stop bullying him or I'll report this."

"Report us? I dare you to do that," the girl scoffed.

"What are you gonna do, huh?" the boyfriend continued.

Without a warning, Hae Won launched herself at the girl and punched her face, giving her a nosebleed.

"If you just touch him once again, you're dead meat," she grabbed the girl's collar.

"This b*tch has no manners at all..." the girl mumbled. "See me this evening after the remedial class. You messed with the wrong girl," she flung off Hae Won's hand and whispered into her ears before retreating to her table.

"You good?" Hae Won helped Jae Hyun up.

"T... thank you, Hae Won... sorry for... getting you into trouble," he stuttered.

"Did you get hurt? There's blood on your lips," she nervously queried.

"It's fine. But...she wanted to see you this evening, will you be alright then?"

"Don't worry, she's too cowardly to do anything to me," she wryly laughed, "But wait...you could hear her?"

"Oh... well... yeah, I have... good hearing," Jae Hyun spluttered as he almost revealed his super power to her.

As darkness completely filled up the sky, the remedial class for Hae Won and the girl also ended. They came to the school backyard for a confrontation. But things did not turn out as Hae Won anticipated when the girl had a whole gang on her side.

"You f*cking coward!" Hae Won exclaimed and made a kick at the girl's stomach, sending her sprawling to friends.

"You guys, go get her," the girl told her friends.

The girl's friends kept beating Hae Won up, but she seemed unshaken and only went for the girl who bullied her friend. Shoving the female bully onto the ground, she relentlessly punched at her opponent's face. In the midst of the tension, the girl's boyfriend suddenly showed up and hit Hae Won's head with a baseball bat, but she did not show any sign of feeling the pain.

"I... need to... teach you a lesson," Hae Won panted and put her hands on the girl's neck.

Desperate to find an escape, the girl cut Hae Won's arm with a paper knife. It was a deep cut and blood gushed out from Hae Won's wound like a river. Just a moment after that, the boyfriend kicked Hae Won a few metres away. But Hae Won did not falter and threw herself at the girl again. Unlucky for her, the girl pointed the knife outwards, stabbing Hae Won's chest to everyone's horror.

Thank you very much for making it this far! If you enjoy reading my story and are excited to find out what is going to happen next, don't forget to click the star to vote for me as well as recommend my story to your friends. You votes really motivate me a lot^^