As the morning alarm rang, Hana reached for her phone with half-open eyes. "When did I even fall asleep?" she wondered. She hit the snooze button for another five minutes and pulled the blanket over her head.
Hana was a 17-year-old high school student—neither the type to wake up early and start the day full of energy nor the kind to completely ignore the alarm and sleep through it. Most of the time, she barely made it on time because of these five-minute delays. She had thick, dark chestnut hair, but every morning, she woke up with it messy and frizzy. Her brown eyes were often slightly squinted due to lack of sleep.
Of course, those five minutes would never actually be just five minutes.
The door opened, and her mother's voice echoed in the room.
"Hana! Are you late again?"
Hana shut her eyes. Maybe if she ignored her, her mother would go away. (She didn't.)
Her mother pulled at the blanket. "Get up already! You're going to be late!"
With a sigh, Hana sat up in bed. Her hair was a complete mess—frizzy and untamed. Her eyes were still drowsy, but she had no choice but to return to reality. She got out of bed and walked to the mirror. "Great. I have the energy of a zombie and the sleepiness of a cat."
After fixing her hair, she put on her school uniform. Grabbing the bag she had left on her chair, she stepped out of her room.
Her mother called out from the kitchen. "Are you leaving without breakfast again?"
While trying to put on her shoes, Hana replied, "I'll be late. I'll grab something from the cafeteria."
Her mother sighed. "You never eat properly…"
"Yes, yes. Have a good day too!" Hana said as she opened the door and stepped outside. The cold morning air hit her face. As always, she was on the verge of being late.
She hurriedly crossed the pedestrian walkway and, like every morning, found Gaeun waiting. Arms crossed, head slightly tilted down, she was tapping lightly to the rhythm of the music playing in her earphones.