The God's Instrument

A Step Towards Tomorrow

Ariya's alarm rang at six in the morning.

She groaned and pulled her blanket over her head, hoping that if she ignored it long enough, it would stop.

It didn't.

With a reluctant sigh, she reached for her phone and silenced the alarm. She lay still for a few seconds before remembering what day it was.

Her exam.

"Oh, come on."

She sat up immediately and looked towards her desk, where her textbooks were still scattered from the previous night. She had promised herself she would wake up early enough to revise a few things before leaving, but now that she was awake, all she wanted was another hour of sleep.

Unfortunately, her exam wasn't going to wait for her.

After dragging herself out of bed, Ariya got ready for the day. She pulled on her cropped burgundy hoodie over a black fitted tank top. A thin silver chain with a butterfly pendant rested against her chest. She paired the outfit with high-waisted, faded black wide-leg jeans and chunky black-and-white sneakers.

She checked herself in the mirror, adjusted her necklace, and grabbed her phone.

One last look at her books wouldn't hurt.

Or so she thought.

Five minutes later, Ariya was still standing beside her desk, flipping through pages and trying to convince herself that she remembered something from the previous night's revision.

Eventually, she gave up.

She needed breakfast.

And perhaps a miracle.

---

Ariya was in the kitchen eating breakfast when her phone vibrated beside her plate.

She glanced at the screen and smiled when she saw Lea's name.

Her fingers moved quickly across the screen as she replied to the message.

Her mother watched her for a moment.

"Is that Lea again?"

Ariya looked up, trying to hide her smile.

"Ain't she your favourite person in the world?"

Her mother ignored the question.

"Is she the one sitting the exam for you?"

Ariya slowly put down her phone.

"Why is everybody against me this morning?"

Her mother laughed.

Ariya shook her head, trying not to smile as she picked up her phone again.

She was about to reply to Lea when she glanced at her watch.

Her eyes widened.

"s**t, I'm late!"

She quickly stood up, grabbed her bag, and hurried towards the door.

"Bye, Mum! Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" her mother shouted as Ariya rushed out.

"Have you found her?"

A Veiled man stood across the room from a figure staring out of the window into the darkness.

"No," the figure replied.

"What are you waiting for?"

The figure turned to look at him."If it were that easy, you'd have found her yourself."

By the time Ariya arrived at the examination centre, she had already decided that she hated exams.

Not the subjects themselves.

Just the part where she had to remember everything she had read while sitting in a room full of people who looked suspiciously calm.

She spotted Lea among the other students and hurried towards her.

"You look too happy for someone about to write an exam."

Lea glanced at her.

"And you look like someone who didn't study."

"Excuse you. I studied."

"Then why do you look like you're about to cry?"

"Because I'm surrounded by enemies."

Lea burst out laughing.

Before Ariya could respond, the examination supervisor called for the students to settle down.

The laughter died almost immediately.

Ariya found her seat, arranged her pens, and took a deep breath.

She could do this.

She had studied.

She was prepared.

At least, that was what she kept telling herself as the question papers were distributed.

When the exam began, she turned over her paper and scanned the questions.

For a few seconds, she simply stared.

Then she picked up her pen.

There was no point panicking before she had even started.

She answered the questions she knew first, occasionally pausing to think through the more difficult ones. Somewhere across the room, a chair scraped against the floor, making her look up briefly before she returned to her paper.

By the time the supervisor announced that there were fifteen minutes remaining, Ariya was beginning to feel the pressure.

She hurried through her final answers and checked what she could before the papers were collected.

As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted Lea waiting for her.

Ariya walked towards her with a tired expression.

"I'm never doing that again."

Lea raised an eyebrow.

"You say that after every exam, Ariya."

"And I literally meant it every single time."

"You're just lazy."

They began walking home together, talking about the exam and comparing their answers. Every now and then, Ariya insisted that her answer made sense, even when Lea wasn't entirely convinced.

By the time they had finished arguing about one particularly difficult question, Ariya had almost forgotten how nervous she had been that morning.

Almost.

---

They were walking along the road when Lea suddenly spoke.

"I think I've found the university I want to attend."

Ariya turned towards her immediately.

"Wait, really? Which one?"

"Kangwon National University."

Ariya blinked.

"Okay, and where is that?"

"South Korea."

Ariya stopped walking and turned to face her friend.

"South Korea?! Lea, are you serious?"

Lea laughed at her reaction.

"Yes, I'm serious!"

"Girl, when did you even start planning this?"

"I've been looking into universities there, and I found one that seems suitable for me. It offers the course I want to study, and yours is available too. We could even end up at the same university."

Ariya's expression changed.

"Wait. My course is available there too?"

"Yeah."

A slow smile spread across Ariya's face.

"Okay, now you've got my attention."

Lea smiled.

"Come on. Let's sit down first."

They stopped at a park a few streets away from Ariya's house. The afternoon breeze stirred the leaves overhead as they settled onto a bench.

Ariya pulled out her phone.

"Kangwon National University," she murmured, scrolling through the results. "In Chuncheon?"

"Yeah."

She looked through pictures of the campus, taking in the buildings and the surrounding scenery.

"But, Lea, Chuncheon isn't close to the airport. How are you planning to get there?"

"I've already looked into that." Lea shifted on the bench. "There's a train called AREX. I'll take it from Incheon Airport to Seoul Station, then transfer to the ITX-Cheongchun train and take it to Chuncheon Station."

Ariya slowly turned towards her.

"Jesus, Lea. All this in a new country?"

"I know." Lea laughed softly. "I've been looking into it."

"And you're not scared?"

"Of course I am. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't go."

Ariya looked back at her phone.

"How much does the journey even cost?"

"I'm still checking the exact train fare, but there's another option. There's a direct bus from Incheon Airport to Chuncheon."

Ariya turned towards her.

"How much?"

"About twenty-five to thirty thousand won. It takes roughly two and a half hours, depending on traffic."

Ariya slowly lowered her phone.

"You've actually researched everything."

Lea shrugged, though the smile on her face gave away how pleased she was.

"I'm serious about this, Ariya."

Ariya looked at her friend for a moment, then glanced down at the pictures of the university on her phone.

The idea of studying in South Korea was beginning to feel real.

It wasn't just a country she had heard about or seen in pictures anymore. It was somewhere she could actually go, somewhere she could study and experience a completely different environment.

And Lea had found a university where they could both pursue their chosen courses.

Ariya looked at her friend again.

"If you're doing this, we're taking the direct bus."

Lea nodded, then turned to look at Ariya.

"We?"

"Yes, we. You think I'll leave you to make this whole journey alone?"

"So, you're following me?"

"Obviously."

Lea stared at her for a moment before asking, "What will you tell your mum?"

Ariya sighed.

"I don't know… she'll understand."

She looked at Lea as though she were trying to convince herself as much as her friend.