Three weeks later 

Mina 

"Hey, do either of you know where Chaeyoung went?" 

Tzuyu and Dahyun looked up at Mina from the table they were sitting at, an untouched deck of cards lying in front of them.  

Tzuyu and Dahyun were two of Chaeyoung's close friends. The three of them lived in a dorm together, after all. But Chaeyoung was nowhere to be found. It seemed like only Tzuyu and Dahyun had ever lived in the dorm. There were signs that Chaeyung had definitely not been here for a long time: Bare bookshelves, a cold, unwelcoming kitchen, and a general feeling of emptiness that shouldn’t be there. But that was understandable – at the age of twenty-seven years, no one would be staying in a dorm they had occupied in high school. People would have their own houses. But Mina still hoped Chaeyoung lived there, even now. She hoped that as soon as she'd step inside, she'd see Chaeyoung, welcoming her back with open arms. 

Fortunately for Mina, she had access to their dorm whenever she wanted. Chaeyoung had given her spare keys once, which meant she could come and go as she pleased. And these days, she'd come and go every hour, checking for Chaeyoung. However, Chaeyoung was usually never present, which baffled Mina. Before the incident, Chaeyoung would always be in the dorm. She'd never go outside, not even for some fresh air. Mina would have to drag her outside.  

Looks like Chaeyoung enjoyed the fresh air now. 

Tzuyu and Dahyun exchanged knowing looks. Without meaning to, Mina started to grow irritated. It was just a habit of hers – she had always been patient about most things, but when it came to people knowing things she didn't, and not telling her what the problem was, her patience would be thrown out the window. Finally, Dahyun spoke up, quiet voice surprising Mina – back then, ten years ago, Dahyun was the loudest person she knew. "Minari, I'm sure you know where Chaeyoung's gone." 

"I don't," Mina sighed, feeling a wave of disappointment crash over her. She was Chaeyoung's best friend, so how did she not know anything about Chaeyoung's whereabouts? Not even her phone number! "I tried calling her maybe a week or two ago. I think she's gotten a new phone, maybe, because the call wouldn't go through. So now I don't know where she is and I don't have any way to contact her." 

Tzuyu and Dahyun exchanged another glance. "What if," Tzuyu said slowly. "Friend Chaeyoung does not wish to talk to you?" 

Mina glared at Tzuyu. "What?" She felt like screaming – of course Chaeyoung would want to talk to her! They hadn't talked in ten years! They were best friends! But she couldn't bring herself to scream at Tzuyu. The younger girl had a hard time communicating with everyone else, especially since Korean wasn't the language she grew up speaking. No matter how impatient one was, they'd have to wait for Tzuyu to get her whole sentence out before speaking. 

"No, no, I didn't mean that," Tzuyu laughed. She immediately swallowed her laugh and looked down when she received another ice cold glare from Mina. "...What I mean is, what if Chaeyoung does not have the...means to speak with you? Perhaps, she...she...forgot?" 

"Tzuyu!" Dahyun yelled, springing up from her chair. She covered Tzuyu's mouth with a hand and looked at Mina, a guilty expression on her face. "Don't mind Tzuyu. Chaeng didn't forget. She totally, definitely didn't forget. At all." 

Lies. 

"I want to talk to Chaeyoung myself," Mina said slowly, enunciating every word she said in the hopes of getting her message through to Dahyun and Tzuyu, who obviously didn't understand what she wanted.  

Either that, or they were hiding something. And Mina had a feeling that in this case, the latter was true. 

Silence responded to Mina's words. Mina felt her heart breaking; one crack for each second that passed. She didn't need to hear the confirmation from Dahyun that Chaeyoung had forgotten her. 

Forgotten. 

They had been friends for so long. They had made promises saying they'd never leave each other. 

Chaeyoung broke that promise. 

Chaeyoung forgot Mina. 

"Never mind," Mina whispered, trying hard not to let her voice shake. She turned to leave but just as she stepped out the door, a hand came down on her shoulder. She whipped around to face Tzuyu, whose eyes were wide with guilt and regret. "I'm sorry, Mina," she said softly. "If Chaeyoung comes back, I will make sure to tell her you were looking for her – and I will definitely try to talk to you as well." 

Mina managed a small smile in response. She knew Tzuyu wasn't lying – if Chaeyoung did happen to come by, Tzuyu would most likely force her to stay and then immediately fetch Mina. Tzuyu was just that type of person. But there was no point. If Chaeyoung hadn't come back all these years, there was no way she'd just come by now. It would be extremely coincidental – and coincidence wasn't a word in Chaeyoung's dictionary. Mina knew that from experience. Chaeyoung would always announce a visit ahead of time, or she'd plan something out. Her schedule was always so organized, there was no chance a coincidence would occur. 

There was no chance she'd come. 

There was no chance Mina would ever see her. 

Mina didn't know Chaeyoung's phone number, or her address. Or any of her social media. Or any of her other friends. 

Despite knowing Chaeyoung for years, Mina knew nothing about her now. 

It must be like fog to Chae. I must be like fog to Chae. 

If I'm just fog, then why did I ever wake up? 

I should've stayed asleep.  

I don't want to be fog. 

But there was nothing she could do. 

To Son Chaeyoung, Myoui Mina was fog. 

Fog.

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i'm sorry i haven't updated TT

irregular updates yanno? it's gonna be a while before i update Lost bc i can't find my flash drive, which i need to transfer chapter 7 from my desktop to my laptop. yes, i write most of my stories on a different computer. don't question it.

i might edit a bit of this later. editor-nim (chaiomi lmao) hasn't edited it yet since i just finished, so when they check and edit i'll add those edits.

let's see if i can update within 2 weeks lol