The runaways continued to stroll around aimlessly for a while, paying attention to nothing but themselves whilst maintaining synchronised steps.

It was only when a sense of familiarity struck Yoon Bomi that she glanced around their surroundings, realising how they had somehow arrived at a location she was definitely no stranger to: they were half-way up the small hilltop that guarded their city, the destination that could magically sooth both minds and hearts with the sceneries it had to offer.

However, despite of its usual deficiency in visitors (with Bomi being the only loyal guest), the trio weren’t the only ones present at the scene this afternoon; an elegant figure could be seen occupying the wooden bench in the distance, an air of melancholy surrounding her lonely presence.

Surprisingly, regardless of the mysterious figure having her backside facing the approaching students, one could already recognise their identity.

Although there was still quite some distance in between her party and the girl, her gut instincts were screaming out an incredibly familiar name.

Naeun was honestly taken aback by this coincidence, yet she could somewhat guess the reason behind the female’s visit.

Meanwhile, the clueless duo were staring at the stranger with different emotions, the older being slightly annoyed by the unwanted ‘trespasser’ as she was a bit territorial to what she had claimed as ‘her’s’, while the younger was silently debating with herself on whether if that was Park Chorong or not; the figure’s backside did resemble closely to the girl whom she had witnessed crashing into her best friend that one fateful day, with the sight of Chorong running away afterwards being quite unforgettable. She wasn’t used to trusting her memory nor instincts, though.

As they gradually reach the top of the hill, Naeun grasped onto Bomi’s arm and leaned towards her ear, whispering, “Go talk to her, Bom-sshi.”

The delinquent could only blink back at her in confusion, a bit startled by the sudden intimacy. “Uh… you want me to scare her away?”

Eunji, who had already leaned in to eavesdrop on their conversation, couldn’t stop herself from bursting into an immediate round of laughter. “Bruh, why the heck is that the first idea to pop in your mind?!”

“B*tch, I don’t know! What else was I supposed to assume?!”

“Wait- are you seriously telling me I’ve somehow managed to recognise her quicker than you?”

“Come on Jung Eunji, literally every long-haired student from our school looks like that from behind.”

“Just think about it for a second, Bomi- who else would know about this unusual and unpopular spot other than you?”

“Uh- perhaps anyone with a pair of functioning legs and a brain that can remember places, the ?”

“I think Eunji-sshi’s trying to hint a certain day where you watched the sun set with a certain person, Bomi-sshi.”

“What the- were you two actually stalking me that day?!”

“Well, I like to describe it as ‘friendly monitoring’, but moving on- stop being such a confused b*tch and go talk to her already!”

“NOW WAIT A GODDAMN MINU-”

Jung Eunji, to her friend’s dismay, did not wait for another minute and mercilessly shoved Yoon Bomi towards the oblivious female, the sound of unstable footsteps and a couple of swear words easily gaining themselves attention.

Visibly startled, Park Chorong jumped up from her seat as she whipped her head around towards their direction, her eyes automatically widening themselves upon spotting three familiar-looking faces. One was obviously flustered, another was flashing her iconic eye-smile, while the final one had a mixture of both an apologetic and sheepish grin plastered on her face.

Their presence caused the lone female to hastily blink her tears away whilst her entire body slowy burnt up, embarrassed to be suddenly caught in such a state; she never allowed herself to weep in front of others (with the exception being Son Naeun, of course) yet it was far too late to hide away her sorrow now. She had no choice but to confront them with her slightly puffy eyes in full display, with nowhere to hide nor an excuse to say.

“Oh um… w-when did you guys get here…?” she asked as she quickly wiped another tear away with the back of her sleeve, trying her very best to not crumble before their staring gazes.

“Just now…” Bomi answered as her gaze faltered from looking back and forth in between the girl’s large yet slightly red eyes, shocked and heartbroken from the sight she was witnessing. “Chorong-ah, why are you-”

“AH CRAP! I completely forgot I had something to do around this time of the day,” Eunji abruptly cut herself in before tugging Naeun closer to her side, hooking an arm around her slim waist. “and I just happened to need this one’s help, so um, if you’ll excuse us and uh… okay BYE!”

And just like that, Eunji made a run for it with a wrist in her grip, leaving Naeun with no other choice but to leave the speechless duo behind.

They were out of sight within a single minute, and it didn’t take long for silence to take over the scene, with neither of the girls knowing what to say.

Yoon Bomi was still far too stunned Naeun’s story to be facing the protagonist of the said-story; she was struggling with absorbing all the information she had just learnt, even more so when it came to accepting the fact that her crush was actually an entirely different person than what she had thought.

The ‘Park Chorong’ she once knew was merely a name that was stolen, with the student whom she felt attracted being practically non-existent.

By pretending to be her deceased sister, Park Seunghee was literally deceiving everyone around her- and Bomi was simply one of the many victims who had given her their earnest trust. ‘Chorong’ was just an act, and everything she ever known about the girl turned out to be distasteful lies.

She was incredibly confused by the unexpected situation, and no longer did she know how to feel about the timid female before her.

Park Chorong, on the other hand, really didn’t wish to be seen by others right now; she had came to this specific location in search for some peaceful solitude (as her home no longer provided such an atmosphere) and she had hoped to seek for some comfort from tonight’s upcoming sunset.

However, before the time had even come close to arriving, her plans were abruptly altered by a small reunion. They were also the exact same people whom she had hoped to avoid for a bit, as she no longer owned the courage to face them after they had came to her rescue, only for them to walk into a conversation she didn’t want anyone to hear.

It was safe for Chorong to assume that Bomi was now completely aware of her history, no matter how much she wished for it to be otherwise.

She couldn’t read the expression on the girl’s face, and she was a bit too scared to know what was on her mind. Perhaps she was disgusted by the truth.

Perhaps she now viewed her as a dirty little liar, just like everyone else who had known her from the past.

“Chorong-ah, are you alright?”

The delinquent’s husky yet gentle voice broke their silence without a warning, resulting the other female to flinch ever so slightly.

Chorong stared on as the girl made her way over to her side before taking a seat onto the wooden bench, acting as a reminder that she was still standing stiffly in front of it. She followed suit and sat back down, leaving a fair amount of distance in between their bodies.

“I’m… I’m not sure.”

“Still bothered by what happened back there?”

“I-I suppose so...”

“Want me to go hunt them down and give them a round two of a beating?”

“T-That wouldn’t be necessary!”

Seeing such a flustered reaction, Bomi couldn’t help but to chuckle slightly despite of her g

She was still a bit anxious about their complex situation, and her mind was begging for a distraction.

She settled with retrieving her lighter from her pocket, playing with its flint wheel.

However, she was indirectly exposing her nerves, as her hand was trembling far too much to start up a flame.

She had to settle this as soon as possible.

“Say, Chorong-ah…”

The timid one’s heart skipped a beat as she braced for the unknown, while the tough one let out a shaky breath as she finalised her decision.

Bomi couldn’t tell if it was the right choice for herself or not, but it was the answer her heart was yearning for.

Hence, with a clear of and a final inhale,

She asked ever so cautiously yet sincerely,

“Can I… would you mind if I called you Seunghee instead?”

And with another flick of her finger, a tiny warm flame was now dancing under the calming blue sky.