By the time Park Chanyeol returned to the school building, he was alone. I, on the other hand, decided to head home. Probably not a good idea given the confused state I was in. I didn’t even bother getting permission or any of my things in school. Nor did I think twice about walking home when I realized I had left both my mobile phone and my wallet, and consequently my T-Money card, in my bag. Thankfully, my house was just two bus stops away from school.

To be honest, I still couldn’t figure out how I felt about everything. It was as if my mind was racing with thoughts; but any time I tried to focus on just one thought, my mind suddenly goes blank. It felt like trying to grasp at clouds even though I knew that I can’t but I keep on doing it because I feel like I have to and it gives me a headache.

“Paran.”

I almost stopped walking when I heard Chanshik's voice. Almost. I fought the urge to face him and ask all the questions that were making my head hurt at the moment.

“I know that you know.” He spoke in a voice that made my blood run cold and made the hairs on the back of my head rise. My body screamed for me to run away, exactly like the first time we met. But my feet felt like they would give way if I tried. So instead of running, I continued to walk at a quicker pace. I just need to ignore him.

“Paran.” He called out my name again, in a softer voice this time—and the sound of it sickened me. It was the same voice he used to fool me in to ‘helping’ him, into believing him even when my instincts told me otherwise.

“I’m sorry.” I heard him mutter in the smallest voice. This time I couldn’t help but freeze in my tracks.

Honestly, his sudden apology confused me. It made me want to turn around and ask him: Why? It made me remember the boy who smiled brightly when I agreed to help him, who consistently pestered me on my commutes to and from school. The boy who, despite trying his best to look cool and collected all the time, betrayed loneliness in his face—because not even his family was there for him.

Or so I thought. I heard myself let out a bitter laugh as I finally found the will to walk away, slowly at first but I soon found myself running. I knew Chanshik wasn’t following me but I kept running until I reached my doorstep.

That’s where I hesitated—which was a big mistake.

Because then I realized my breaths had been shaky not because I’d been running. Because right then my mother chose to open the front door to see me, a huffing jumble of emotions. Because at that moment, she decided to call my name the way she always did when she sensed something was wrong and I felt the gravity of all those feelings crashing down on me.

And I felt her pull me into her arms. And I felt myself choking at the first sob that escaped my mouth. And I heard myself gasp the one thing that was on my mind the whole time.

“He’s dead.”

A/N: Confession: I was tearing up (okay maybe crying) when I was writing this last night. But now that I read it again, I think I might've been overreacting. Haha. /hidesinembarrassment

*Clears throat*. Anyway, now that the (dead) cat (or Chanshik) is out of the bag, I can tell you about the format of these chapters. Obviously, each Encounter refers to Paran's encounters with Chanshik. I split them into parts for two main reasons: (a) to create a "cliffhanger" effect, and/or (b) to isolate each "scene" for easier understanding [and organization, on my part]. Hope that makes sense! :D 

Now, I need to go back to writing!!!

Edit: The T-Money card is like a tap-to-pay card that can be used to pay for transportation/fares, as well as other things as well (e.g. buying stuff from convenience stores, vending machines). It's similar to HongKong's octopus card.