********

The library of the University was engulfed in the blissful peace of the night. Not many people were fond of studying in the library, especially not at such late hours. The numerous, incredibly tall and majestic wooden bookshelves gave it an astonishingly classy atmosphere – however, it could also feel dark and intimidating to most. But not to the single student studying in the library that night. She always felt comforted there, almost as she was being embraced by the grandeur of the place. As if it gave her hope she would someday be seen the same way – and holding on to hope was what kept her going through many excruciatingly long nights of studying.  

The student’s focus was unusually disturbed by fast footsteps, echoing violently in the wide, empty room. Even though she was intrigued, she decided not to break her focus for any longer. But this person wasn’t going to simply walk and sit – they were going to drag chairs and tables back and forth, and they didn’t intend to stop anytime soon.

Exhaling heavily through her nose in annoyance, the student got up from her seat and took firm steps towards the source of the noise. As she reached it, under the table, she could see the lower half of a body – a female body – crawling. The student wrinkled her forehead in confusion, then whisper-shouted “HEY! What do you think you’re doing?”, making the female figure come out from underneath the table, resting her on her heels. Now, her whole body was visible.

Great, just another snobby, entitled Business freshman. Silver-spoon, future heirs of already established corporations, school paid in full by mommy and daddy, good looking, young, never went through any hardships, would never have any idea what less privileged people go through – people like the student herself.

This particular one was Cheng Xiao Xiao. Heir of WJSN. A perfect fit for the student’s description. But there was something about the freshman’s insanely beautiful face that day… she was… crying? What was she looking for? Her 6^th smartphone of the year? A diamond bracelet?

“M-my… book… have you… seen it around? I rented it… and now I don’t know… where it is… I’ll be… in so much trouble…” The girl answered between uncomfortably loud and ugly sobs.

The student had to control herself not to open outrageously wide. There she was, having just crafted an entire judgment about this girl, and there was her, the incredibly rich freshman, rich enough to acquire the whole library itself. Crying because she lost a rented book she would get in trouble for, to the point of coming back for it during a cold, dark night, by herself. That was too… noble. Too… adorable.

“I-I… I’ll… help you look for it.”

The student, however, had already seen the title on top of the table beside the one she was previously sitting at. She “helped” her look for it during a few more minutes, trying to buy time to satisfy her curiosity about the girl. But nothing came out. Eventually, they reached the area where she was sitting, so she had to give in and pretend to find it, handing it to the freshman.

“Thank you so much, senior! I owe you so much now!” She said, now much more relieved, no longer sobbing.

“No problem, it happens to everyone sometimes.”

After a second of silence, in place, before leaving, Cheng Xiao spoke.

“Senior!!! S-senior K-Kim Bona! Am I right?” She said excitingly, but also with a tinge of embarrassment.

“Y-yes…”

“I admire you so much, Senior… You always have the best grades, you’re so smart… nothing like me. I can’t do it. Plus I don’t have much time to study or come to classes because I need to spend a lot of time at my father’s company, getting the hang of things and taking care of some business. But you work so hard… I think that’s amazing!”

Bona was in shock with what she had just heard. Cheng Xiao ADMIRED her. One of the girls she thought had everything. She wanted to be like her, even if just in that way. There was nothing that had ever made Bona feel so respected, so powerful, so appreciated. And this girl had just made her realize something about all these Business students she had made such harsh assumptions about – it’s not because they’re rich and born into privileged families they are snobby and entitled. And it’s also not true that they never face any kind of hardships – but they experienced them in a very, very different way, which she would never understand.

As much as she did not lead a very privileged life, she did have time to come to class and study hard, achieving great results. Bona wouldn’t possibly understand what it was like to be born already with such a big responsibility on one’s name. To have your whole life planned ahead before you’re even born, with virtually no chance to decide differently.

That short meeting with this pure, adorable soul of a girl made her realize just how much she had been absorbed in her own arrogance and preconceived notions, and how much she had to lose by holding on to them.

 “Hey, I practically live here anyway, so you could… come keep me company here whenever you want. I’m pretty sure I still remember first year stuff, so if you think you need some help, come by… okay?”

********

“Hey! Focus! You’re the one with the problem and you’re just standing there spacing out? This is serious! Just think about what could happen should someone try to pretend they’re you! How can you be so calm?!”

“For real?! She barely just left the hospital, she can’t make physical or mental efforts on doctor’s recommendation, and you’re basically insisting she gets stressed out and runs off looking for her phone?”

Cheng Xiao was taken from the world of happy memories back to earth by Bona’s panicked remark, after she realized her boss was staring right in her direction with blanked out eyes, instead of sharing their efforts. Clearly, her mind was somewhere very far away that moment – she was in the moment she first met Bona, ironically, in a situation in which they had also looked for something together, this probably being the reason she had just been triggered to remember it. The moment that had sparked the beginning of their lasting friendship.

---

This whole thing had started when Eunseo suggested she should look through her phone, to try to remember more people, places, and events. She once again took Cheng Xiao’s small clutch from her bag, which she had looked for and grabbed in a rush before taking her to the hospital, as she rightfully thought her keys and documents would probably be useful. There was no phone in it. Or in the bottom of Eunseo’s bag. Or on any surface of the living room. Or inside anything. Or under anything.

Even though Bona had been the first to run through the whole room at light speed, with Eunseo diligently joining, the one who was actually missing her phone was a little bit off. She wanted to find it just as much, but according to what she knew of herself thus far, she was probably the single culprit of leaving it somewhere silly around the house.

Cheng Xiao thought Bona was definitely overreacting and creating conspiracy theories. Eunseo didn’t seem to think she made sense either and was simply motivated by being of use. Besides, she was definitely not happy about how much Bona was panicking and trying to drag the CEO along with her.

“Wait, I don’t think you understand Xiao is the CEO of ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN KOREA. Someone getting a hold of her phone is DEFINITELY something to worry about.” Bona was way more aggressive than passive.

Just as Eunseo was going to open to fight back, Cheng Xiao interrupted.

“Hey! Please don’t fight over this… I know this is serious, but we haven’t even looked through half the house. If you stay calm we will have an easier time finding it. I’m sorry, I’ll help.”

“But you shouldn’t----“

“That’s okay, Eunseo, I promise I’ll take care. Let’s just keep looking and we can laugh about this when we find it, okay?” Cheng Xiao’s eyes curved into a bright smile, secretly satisfied with Eunseo’s protectiveness.

However, a small part of her serenity was forced. Even though she wanted to think all of this was nonsense, a strange, uneasy feeling was conjuring in her gut. Either way, she really wished Eunseo and Bona would stop making the situation even worse than it was already and that they would just get along, because it was aggravating her bad feeling.

----

The three girls had swept through the house thoroughly, opening every drawer, looking under every piece of furniture, to no result. The further they went, the more they became aggravated and uneasy, especially Bona, who simply couldn’t stop spitting her panicked thoughts over and over out loud. She had long started to get ignored by Eunseo, who was more than glad everytime she could disappear to an entirely different place of the house. Cheng Xiao was half-ignoring her as well, only muttering a few calming words from time to time.

Just as Cheng Xiao was about to finish looking through her bedroom, she was astonished by what she found on the top drawer of her bedside table.

It was not her phone. It was the very, very important thing she had forgotten at home before travelling to China.

“So… anything new here?” Eunseo was shyly peeking inside by the door frame, asking even though she knew there probably weren’t any news. She was just worried about her condition and that was the best she could come up with.

Cheng Xiao heard her, but didn’t process what she said. Her gaze was locked on the object in her hands. She did not even turn around. Eunseo slowly approached her, noticing her unusual behavior.

“My parents.” Cheng Xiao muttered almost inaudibly, her face unreadable. Eunseo was now standing beside her, also staring at the picture frame in her hands. “They’re missing.”

The man and the woman in the picture were clothed in formal business attire, the man’s hand resting over the shorter woman’s shoulders. Both of them were smiling widely, and to Cheng Xiao they looked very familiar, but there were only two things she knew about them. One, they were her parents. Two, they had been missing for a very long time, and she had long stopped looking for them. But somehow, she was moved by a slither of hope, an almost superstitious hope that led her to think that the picture absolutely had to go with her to China.

Somehow, from the moment she woke up that morning, with all the information she had already taken in that day, with all the emotions she had been overwhelmed by already, her family hadn’t crossed her mind. She had probably just subconsciously assumed she was doing well, living by herself, while her parents had comfortably retired and left her running the company.

She was over blaming herself for not having thought of them or remembered them. It was only logical that she wouldn’t, given the fact she hadn’t seen them for a long time. Instead, she was regretting having found that picture, as she was not prepared to deal with it at the time. Too much was on her mind already. Why today? Why now? The last thing she needed to think about was the whereabouts of her parents.

Eunseo quietly approached Cheng Xiao, resting one trembling hand on the shorter girl’s shoulder. The other trembling hand slowly and gently approached her face, wiping away the single tear streaming down her flawless, porcelain-like cheek. Reluctantly, the taller girl placed her hand on the opposite side of the crying girl’s head, as carefully as if she might break her, tilting her towards her, making the shorter girl’s head rest on her shoulder.

None of them said anything for some time, as there was nothing to be said. Cheng Xiao didn’t need any words. Once again, the comforting, peaceful embrace from Eunseo allowed her to slowly let go of her bad thoughts. She didn’t quite know the reason, but the very depths of her were telling her this was all she needed and wanted to know about it at the moment. She didn’t remember anything else, but she didn’t want to. Not today, not now. She had to shake those thoughts away immediately, as thinking about it was becoming so uncomfortable it felt like a knot had been tied in her gut. Focusing on the warmth of Eunseo’s embrace and her sweet, intoxicating scent had to do it. And somehow unsurprisingly, it was working too well.

“We are calling the police. NOW!” Bona yelled, barging into the room with sheer panic painted on her face, completely unaware of having interrupted the moment. 

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A/N: OMG BEFORE WE GET TO THE ACTUAL AUTHOR'S NOTE GUYS! You watched After School Club with WJSN last week didn't you? I WAS IN IT, I ACTUALLY TALKED TO THEM AND THEY SAID I WAS PRETTY AND SENT ME HEARTS AND STUFF GUYS THIS IS SURREAL!!! I was the first fan to be broadcasted, with the red hair. I was legit dying and fangirling my heart out, I seriously didn't believe that was actually happening and I still kind of don't believe it wasn't a dream, I seriously hope they didn't think I was crazy xD. I'm just so happy and grateful and I just wanted to share this with you, please don't mind the excessive excitement (and caps :p )

On with the actual note, here is a new chapter, starting with a flashback on how Bona and Xiao met. I decided to try something a little different which hadn't been done in this story yet, so I hope you liked a little glimpse of the past. I am not entirely confident in how this chapter turned out, as I think it might be a little confusing/stale, but I hope you can still enjoy it and understand all of the new information. 

I have started a new job this week, so I'm not sure I can update as frequently anymore, but if everything goes well, I will still be able to update weekly. If not, I'm sorry, and I hope you stay interested in the story! Thank you so much for your patience, votes, comments, and subs, I really appreciate everything and it really keeps me going :D