At Yusin High School, Kim Kwangwoon sat quietly at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his hands buried in his pockets.
The classroom was empty, the silence stretching around him
His thoughts drifted back to the moment he saw Irina the way his breath caught, the way fear tightened its grip on him.
He hadn't even found the courage to face her and apologize of what he did.
Instead, he turned and ran, choosing escape over standing before her and finding the courage to speak.
-
Inside the apartment bathroom, Choi Giryang stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection
"You're late, son?" his mom's voice echoed faintly from the living room.
"Yeah, yeah. It's fine," he replied absentmindedly, eyes never leaving his reflection.
He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back before pulling out his slider phone taking a multiple photos of him.
After that he wore his uniform and didn't even bother buttoning it up.
Just as he was about to reached for the door.
"Hey. Choi Giryang."
He paused.
Turning his head, he saw his second older sister standing in the hallway, arms crossed, gazing sharply at him.
"I told you to get rid of the cigarette smell before coming in," she said quietly. "Do you want Dad to go crazy if he finds out?"
"Oh, is it really that bad?"
He sniffed again, but his nose had probably grown used to the smell. "It's not that strong."
"Where did you even pick up all that bad behavior?"
Holding his phone and scrolling through the inbox of messages, he said, without even glancing at her, "For real"
Then he simply waved a hand at her and said dismissively, "Noona, keep my secret, okay? Haha. I'm off!"
She stood there for a moment, rubbing her temple, and could only sigh.
-
Early evening at the library, when the fading sunlight slips through the tall windows and paints the quiet room in warm shades of amber and gold.
Seolhyo and Mijin sat side by side. Seojin sat directly across from Seolhyo.
Though there were three of them, only Seolhyo was actually studying. Seojin leaned lazily in his chair, his eyes wandering aimlessly around, while Mijin had fallen asleep, her head resting in her arms, which were folded over an open book.
Seolhyo glanced up at him, visibly annoyed.
He was just sitting there, leaning back slightly, looking completely have no intention to even touch one .
She sighed under her breath."Why even bother coming to the library if you're not going to study?"
He was just sitting there, leaning back slightly, looking completely uninterested, with no intention of touching a single book.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he calmly unwrapped a grape-flavored candy.
She watched him unwrap it, her gaze steady as he leaned forward and held the candy just in front of her lips.
She met his eyes for a moment, then shifted her attention to the candy, parting her lips as he gently pressed it against them.
She then glanced over at Mijin, remembering how she had insisted on the way to the library that she would seriously study this time.
She stood up and nudged her shoulder. "Hey. Park Mijin. Get up."
Mijin cracked one eye open. "Hoooaaammm…"
"You're going to fall asleep in ten minutes anyway. Why even bother studying? Let's go in."
Mijin slowly lifted her head, hair messy. "Ugh… I was really going to study. Why am I so sleepy…"
Seolhyo then looked at Seojin. "You too. Get up."
He gave a lazy shrug and stood, dragging his feet slightly as he walked beside her.
As they walked into the hallway, Mijin groaned.
"Why is the library so intense? I didn't even know our school had this many model students."
"There are always some kids who study hard," Seolhyo replied.
Seojin spoke casually, hands in his pockets. "I heard every wrong answer means a beating from a teacher."
Mijin gasped loudly. "No way! Then I'm doomed! Even if I start studying now, I'll still fail!"
Seolhyo slowed a little, still worrying and thinking about what Seojin said earlier.
"That couldn't be true… right?" she muttered. Then more firmly, "Still, I should probably go to the study room this weekend."
Their glances shifted forward, and as Hong Aera walked by, their eyes met hers.
Hong Aera's eyes met theirs for a moment before she looked away, noticing Seolhyo and Seojin's hands intertwined.
Her expression stiffened.
Then she looked away with a sharp click of her tongue.
Tsk. Everywhere they go, they're holding hands…
at this rate they should put up a billboard announcing they're dating.
Their gaze followed Aera's retreating back for a moment longer than necessary.
Mijin leaned closer and whispered, openly showing her annoyance . "Her eyeballs are gonna pop out if she keeps staring like that."
Seojin just glanced sideways, unimpressed.
"Is she skipping night study or something?" Seolhyo asked, raising a brow.
Mijin she said chuckling at her misfortune. "I heard she's attending some non-smoking program. Maybe she got caught smoking."
Seolhyo tilted her head. "Non-smoking school? What do they even do there?"
Mijin shrugged. "It's just some prevention class or whatever. No night study. Must be nice."
She smirked. "A couple acupuncture needles and boom, done."
Seolhyo slowly turned toward her. "…How do you even know that? Have you been there too?"
Mijin grinned proudly and gave a thumbs-up. "Of course. I was the first one from our school to get sent there."
There was zero shame in her voice.
"I quit now though," she added quickly.
Seojin raised an eyebrow. "And you're proud of that?"
Mijin scoffed. "Hey, it's called development. How can someone develop if they don't have anything to improve on?"
Seolhyo laughed under her breath, shaking her head. "Wow, That's one way to put it."
Seojin gave Mijin a look. "You know smoking messes up your stamina, right? And your skin. And your lungs."
Mijin waved him off. "Relax, Mom. I said I quit."
Seolhyo's attention suddenly snapped to something a bright red stain on Hong Aera's skirt, impossible to miss.
Without hesitation, she yanked off her gym clothes and called out sharply, "Hey!"
Surprised, Hong Aera turned back just in time to catch the clothes thrown at her.
"Why are you throwing your gym clothes?" Seojin asked, confused.
Noticing Seojin starting to turn around, Seolhyo quickly grabbed his collar and gently pulled his head down, locking it under her arm to keep his eyes forward.
"What the...?"
Holding the clothes, she looked down in confusion, unsure of what to do.
Gym clothes...?
Seolhyo looked at her seriously and said, "Change your skirt."
Later, in the girls' bathroom, Hong Aera stared at herself in the mirror, the glaring red stain on her skirt refusing to fade.
Exasperated, she sank down against the wall, resting her palm on the cold tile.
"Fuck... Should I just quit school..." she muttered under her breath.
Night had fallen, and night study was set to begin in a few minutes.
In the boys' classroom, Seojin sat on Park Dong's desk, idly flipping through Suwon's sketchbook, while Park Dong was absorbed in his phone.
Suddenly, Park Dong stood up.
Suwon looked up. "Bathroom?"
Without even glancing back, Park Dong muttered, "No. To catch a bug."
Suwon blinked, confused. "…A bug?"
He glanced at Seojin, who shrugged and then nodded.
Quietly, both of them got up to follow him.
Outside the school, they spotted someone waiting in the corner.
Seojin's eyes narrowed instantly it was Kim Kwangwoon, Irina's ex-boyfriend.
He stepped forward, his voice sharp. "Didn't I tell you not to show your face around here?"
Before he could say or do anything, Park Dong placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a look that clearly said to leave it alone.
Reluctantly, he stepped back.