White ceiling is the first sight I see after I open my eyes. My whole body feels painfully weak, and I feel like I can’t move a muscle. I collect my soul, and try to remember what happened. Summer camp… The abandoned school… Kim Jongin.

       His voice was the last thing I heard. I fell from the stairs, then lost my consciousness. Am I okay? I fear something would happen if I move, so I stay still. I look around, and I’m in a hospital ward. I look to my left, and my eyes widen. Jongin is sitting near the edge of this bed, he’s sleeping as his upper body leaning to the mattress. His folded arms hide half of his face, and I can only see his closed eyes.

       My breathing somehow gets short, and I try to function my limbs. They feel okay. I lift my hand, and touch my head. No bandages. My body seems to be unharmed. I look at the curtains surrounding my bed, and exhale. What time is it? Jongin even fell asleep… Did he wait here all the time?

       I push the nurse bell, and a few minutes later a nurse pulls aside the curtain, and gives me a smile. “Hello, Miss Lee Aria. You’re awake. The ghost was scary, right?”

       I heave a deep sigh. The nurse chuckles, and checks on my temperature and body parts. “You have such interesting eyes. Are you half Korean?”

       I blink, and realize my eyes. There’s a small panic state happening inside of me, and I look down. “No, my eyes are just like this.”

       “Oh, that’s fascinating. They’re pretty.” the nurse checks on a bandage on my right elbow, and I realize it feels painful there. The nurse glances at Jongin, and adjusts my blanket. “Your boyfriend never left this room.” the nurse smiles like a proud mother. “You will be able to leave in the morning, I’ll leave you two here.”

       I was too weak to refute, and look at the clock on the wall. Two… Does it mean 2 AM? The nurse pulls the curtain and leaves. The noise makes Jongin squirm on his sleep, and awhile after his eyes slowly open. He narrows his eyes to see me, and sits up straight.

       “Lee Aria.” that’s the first thing he blurts out. “Are you okay?”

       I look at his post-awake figure, and nod slowly. “I think I’m okay.” I answer. Jongin is blinking to keep himself awake, and our eyes meet. I try to look at him, but I stare at my lap quickly.

       “The doctor removed your contacts, it wasn’t safe to have your eyes closed with them still inside.” Jongin says.

       “Oh.” I shortly reply.

       There’s someone peeking from outside the curtain. It’s Dahye, and behind her are our roommates. I’m glad to see them, but then I remember my eyes. Their faces have almost similar stunned looks, and I don’t know how to look at them. They’re bringing my stuff, and awkwardly stand beside my bed. “Hey… Aria. Are you okay?” Dahye asks.

       Jongin excuses himself out silently, and I focus to my friends. “I’m alright. Oh my… Thank you for bringing them all.”

       “No problem.” Heejin hands me my small black pouch that contains the contact lenses container, among the others. “Aria… Are those your real eyes? They’re so pretty!”

       The others echo her compliment, and a lot of things are going on inside my head. They’re looking at me as if I’m a completely different person. Mari doesn’t even look like she knows me.

       I look down, and open the pouch. I eye a new contact lenses box inside. Dahye spots it, and grabs my hand. “What are you going to do? No, Aria, don’t.”

       “Yeah, Aria, you don’t have to wear the lenses! You’re even prettier without them!” Heejin exclaims. “I will show them off if I were you!”

       No… You don’t understand. At a glimpse, this may look cool to you all… But you should walk in my shoes. “I… I just don’t want to.”

       “But Aria—“

       “She has her own reasons.” deep voice cuts through the current high-pitched voices in the room, and Jongin is facing my friends. I thought he went outside? “It’s up to her whether she wants to show or cover them.”

       The girls look at Jongin, and then they awkwardly look somewhere else. Dahye is still holding my hand, and touches the pouch. “Yes… It’s right. Anyway, Aria, we’ll always be there if you need something. Okay?”

       I pat Dahye’s hand. “Thank you… I’m still a bit confused because people aren’t used to see me like this.”

       After a series of hugs, my friends leave the ward and Jongin comes back inside. Why isn’t he leaving too? “You’re not going back with them?”

       Jongin has his hands on his pants’ pockets, and looks at the dark window. “Because of you things are being reconsidered, anyway.”

       I swallow. Jongin walks around the ward, and I notice a ripped part on his sleeve. “Is that—because of me?”

       Jongin sees where my eyes are directed to, and lifts his hand. “Nah. You didn’t even pull that hard.”

       I grip on my blanket, and look somewhere else. What am I supposed to say now? Sorry? Thank you? How am I going to say those words?

       The door is opened, and the worried faces of my parents appear. They rush to my side, and before either of them can speak, Jongin bows. “I’ll get going.”

       As my parents shower me with concerned exclaims, I can only stare at the door where Jongin just disappears from.

*

       I’ve been at my parents’ house for two days, and yesterday a representative of the summer camp committee visited to relay their apologies. I don’t really think much about it, and I’m neither happy nor sad that the camp is finished.

       Summer vacation continues, and there’s a week left before classes start again. I’m on my way to campus to return a forgotten overdue book, and I’m not really thinking about anything. I haven’t met any of my friends since the camp ended last week, which is good in one way that I don’t have to use my contacts. It feels a bit uncomfortable to wear them again after a long time, though.

       The campus is expectedly nearly empty, and I spot a few fellow freshmen but since I don’t know them personally, we didn’t greet each other. I spent less than five minutes in the library, and go to the main entrance’s direction. Looks like it’s going to rain. I speed-walk, and go by the line of restaurants in front of the campus. My eyes meet someone who is walking to my opposite direction, and the guy looks like he recognizes me. Oh no, do I know him?

       I remember that he’s a fellow freshman, and I saw him a few times in the dining hall during the summer camp. He walks faster, and gives me a smile. “Hi! Lee Aria, right?”

       I smile back awkwardly, and hold onto my bag strap tighter. “Uh… Yeah.”

       “Are you the kid with blue eyes? Is that true?”

       My mouth parts a bit, and I feel stuffy inside. The guy still looks at me, waiting for an answer. He’s looking into my eyes, like he’s trying to find something. Like Dahye did. I look away, and blink a few times.

       “Hey, Lee Aria. Have you waited long?”

       The sound comes from behind the guy, and I close my lips tightly to see who it is. Kim Jongin is approaching us in exercising attire, with sleeveless black shirt, training pants, and a sports bag hanging from his hand, complete with boxing gloves strapped to it. Once he’s beside me, he pulls my shoulders to his side.

       Jongin stares coldly at the guy. “You got anything more to say to her?”

       The guy takes a peek at Jongin's boxing gloves and his face gets darker. "No." he replies, and before the guy can move, Jongin lightly drags my shoulders to get inside the nearest eatery. Raindrops are heard once the auntie leads us to a two-seated table, and I keep standing silently.

       “That guy was quite loud, I heard what he said.” Jongin says as he puts his bag on the table. “One look at your face and I already know.”

       The rain outside gets bigger, and I, a person with no umbrella, give in and sit in front of him. Okay… This might be the time to thank him, also for that last time in the hospital. After ordering food, I’ve opened my mouth but Jongin gets up and takes his bag again. “I’ll change my clothes.”

       I let my shoulders down. Well. When he comes back, his boxing gloves take my attention. “So you do boxing?”

       “Yeah.”

       “My classmate takes boxing classes too… Shin Wooseok.”

       “Oh, him? I KO’d him today, he might not want to meet me for awhile.”

       I close my eyes. My intended small talk is going nowhere. “Oh wow.”

       “Have you been well?”

       I lift my head, and we look at each other. “I’m… Good.”

       “Nice.” Jongin comments flatly. “You might hate being here with me, but I guess we need to wait for the rain. I can’t do anything either.”

       What? He thinks I hate it? He saved me from unnecessarily weird situation earlier, and I still feel indebted for what happened in the camp, and he thought I hate being with him? Awkward, yes, but I actually have things to say to him. “No. Actually, I’d like to thank you. And I haven’t thanked you for that time… The night course. Thank you so much.” Well, that’s a lot of thanks.

       Jongin’s face doesn’t change, and he nods. “You’re welcome.”

       We eat in silence, and the rain shows no sign of slowing down. Jongin drinks the last drop of his water, and exhales. "As for me, I'd like to apologize."

       “What?”

       “Well… Everything. I might have made you uncomfortable with my words or actions. I can be harsh sometimes. I’m sorry.”

       I don’t know what to respond. Quick, think of something. I nod first, and grab my bag strap. “Apology accepted." I take a napkin and wipe my hands. The rain is no more, and I get up. "I'll get going."

       We pay for the food, and go outside. It's bright back on. "Where are you heading?" Jongin asks.

       "Um... That way. My apartment's two blocks from here." I point to the left.

       "Oh. I'm heading there too."

       I silently worry as we start walking. What if he lives in the same building with me? There are a lot of students living there, I might just not realize it. The walk is spent in silence, and my building is seen. "I live there."

       "Ah." he comments. "Some of my friends live here."

       But he doesn't? Good. "Well then. See you... Um... Later."

       I walk up to the stairs, and turn my head slightly. Jongin’s still there, watching my back. “I’ll get going.”

       He forms a small smile, and leaves. Wait… He smiled? That was the first time. I unconsciously watch him walking away until he disappears to the next block, and I look to the front again. It’s been quite a unique day.