One Year Later     “I’ll wait for you at the school gate, alright?”   Nari nodded, and she parted ways with Jimin, each going to their respective classrooms. It was the first day of their second year of high school, and the two were once again assigned to different classes, much to the disappointment of Jimin.   During the past year, Nari could sense a change in the boy. He had become more protective of her, never forgetting to walk her home after school. He was also more… how should she put it? Discreet.   One of the good things of his change was that he had started to take action for his dream. Over the summer, he had started practicing dancing on his own, with the support of Nari. He had been severely beaten by his father when his parents found out, but despite their opposition, he had told her he was going to try out for the school’s dance team.   She smiled at the thought of him taking control of his future and trotted up the stairs.   Though she barely saw the others now, they still kept in frequent contact, even Yoongi.   She had found a decent paying job for Yoongi at a woodworking store a few weeks after their talk at the hospital, and as far as she knew, he still worked there. Thankfully, his grandmother was well, off medicines for about a month now.   Whenever they texted, he seemed cheerier than last year, despite his dry tone. But that was just his personality; Nari knew to look past that.   Jungkook, she saw the most often out of them, since they lived in the same area. He was overall the same, still fighting with his parents and skipping school if he felt like it. Nari always tried not to nag whenever they contacted, but it was hard. She could write a whole essay just of his talents, yet he never listened, choosing instead to waste his time in pc rooms. Sometimes, she felt like his second mom, and Jungkook had even started calling her that.   As for Namjoon, he was still working at the gas station, and from what she could tell of his messages, his boss had not changed a bit. His wages hadn’t either.   Nari suggested he quit several times, but he always resisted, saying that although his boss was a complete jerk, he still gave Namjoon his full salary without words, something his former jobs didn’t do. And she understood, having quit too many part-times because she either hadn’t been paid the right amount or not at all.   Unfortunately, it seemed his family’s financial situation had worsened with the birth of yet another baby brother, and he was currently searching for a second part-time he could do on the weekends after his gas station one. Nari had promised to contact him if she found anything.   Reaching the third floor, she walked down the hall toward her class.   And as for Taehyung… She actually didn’t know much about him. They texted now and then, but Nari could feel an invisible veil that he held in front of himself, preventing her from seeing past the written words in his messages. It frustrated her.   He was also not coming to her part-time jobs anymore. She had subtly tried to find out the reason by asking him about his family situation, but seeing as how he always changed the subject, she guessed that things hadn’t changed in that area. And upon hearing from Namjoon that Taehyung skipped school more frequently than Jungkook made her worried.   She wished she could see him in person, but they hadn’t seen each other since that time at the hospital.   Hospital. Nari sighed when the thought came up.   For over a year, Seokjin was still laying in the same hospital bed, the same tubes and wires attached to him, and the same peaceful expression on his face.   She never really understood what had caused his coma. Whenever she tried to listen to the doctors’ explanation, it was full of technical terms she didn’t understand, and it only made her head hurt.   The only thing she got was that Seokjin didn’t have the will to wake up. Whatever that meant.   Letting loose a deep breath, she slid open the back door of her new classroom and headed to her pre-assigned seat, reading her schedule on the sheet of paper she held. Her seatmate was already there, his back to her. She placed her backpack in her seat and stood next to the desk.   “Hi, my name is Park Nari. How..” her voice trailed off when her seatmate looked up.   After that day, Nari had lost all contact with Hoseok, though she had texted him many times. When she called him one day, it turned out he had changed his number.   They weren’t in the same class so she had no idea how Hoseok was doing. Jimin certainly wasn’t going to tell her anything.   She had seen him a few times in the halls, but Hoseok always disappeared into the crowd before she could get near.   That very same boy looked up at her, just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.   “N-Nari?” His bangs had grown longer; the tips hung over his eyes. “You’re my seatmate?”   ~~   Jungkook walked down the street and took a left at the corner. A familiar shop came into view, and he trotted to the entrance to push open the door. After greeting the workers, he beelined his way to the back of the place where Yoongi was and tiptoed up to him in thoughts of scaring the older boy.   “Why aren’t you at school?” Yoongi asked without turning around.   Letting out a huff, Jungkook walked over to th