“Nayeon, why are you crying?” 

She doesn’t answer, and Yoona doesn’t know what to do. Nayeon stays seated in the corner of their living room, hiding her face and hugging her knees while crying.

“Please don’t cry.” Yoona pleads, reaching out to pat her hair.

“Don’t touch me!” 12-year-old Nayeon suddenly lashes out. “This is all your fault!” Her words seemingly stunned Yoona.

“My classmates hate me because I’m in a family that makes money out of fooling people! And Jaebum-oppa’s gone!” 

“You know we’re not fooling anyone, Nayeon. It’s in the family; this has been a family thing for decades.” Although hurt by the younger’s words, Yoona dodges Nayeon’s latter concern and tries to reach out again, only for Nayeon to step back.

“Then what am I?” Nayeon laughs mirthlessly. “Unlike you and everyone else in this family, I don’t see nor feel all this spirit thing.” She harshly wipes her tears. “I didn’t get the family memo. Or are you all fooling me too? Is oppa with you, too?”

“No, Nayeon, please, you’re–”

“Stop this! This–this freakshow you’re doing! I don’t believe in any of this!” Nayeon snarls out, overlooking the immense hurt that flashes Yoona’s face. “I wish I wasn’t in this family! Then my classmates won’t make fun of me!”

“You don’t mean that, Nayeon. You’ll understand soon when you’re older.”

“No! I will never understand! And I’m not a freak like you!” Nayeon rushes upstairs and slams her doors shut. Hearing her sister’s sob afterwards makes her regret her words a bit.

(“But I’m not like them.” She would say to herself. “Spirits aren’t real.” With that thinking, she doesn’t apologize the next day, nor the following days, or years.)

To see is to believe, people say.

But seeing the book just pass through Chaeyoung, Nayeon doesn’t know if she would believe it. Or if she is ready to.

She didn’t know how she ended up sitting in the grass gaping at a horrified Chaeyoung, who was frantically but carefully fussing over her (without touching her, Nayeon notes). She might’ve fallen while screaming, she thinks. She continues to stare at Chaeyoung, not believing anything that had happened for the past few minutes.

She was just supposed to take a short rest in the garden after going to the infirmary and taking some meds for her headache to mull over her dreams, but this had to happen.

Chaeyoung, or some sort of apparition that looks like Chaeyoung, just had to be there.

“That was some scream, unnie. Are you okay?” Chaeyoung’s question went unanswered, with Nayeon still gaping at her. “Look, unnie, I know it’s hard to believe–”

“This is just a dream,” Nayeon says to herself repeatedly.

“No, unnie, please–” Nayeon suddenly slaps herself, still gaping at the freshman, and Chaeyoung groans. “I tried that. It doesn’t work.”

Nayeon snaps her attention to the freshman that’s standing in front of her. Chaeyoung was wearing the same outfit she had before disappearing. There were no visible injuries on her, no signs of dirt whatsoever. She doesn’t even smell. She looks at Chaeyoung’s face, the cub’s eyes look tired, but her face doesn’t. She seems so ordinary, except for the fact that her book just passed through her.

This might be some elaborate prank Jeongyeon has set up, she thinks. Nayeon knows Jeongyeon is into techie stuff, but this was on a whole new level, holograms and all.

(She just denies the obvious, but she can’t immediately believe in such things, can she?)

“As I was about to say, I don’t–” Chaeyoung gets cut off for the nth time.

“Where’s Jeongyeon?” Nayeon suddenly asks with a hint of desperation in her voice. Chaeyoung doesn’t know what to think of it.

“I don’t know? Isn’t she supposed to be in class?” 

“If this is some elaborate you’re pulling me, I’m having none of it!” Nayeon stands abruptly and heads towards the classrooms.

“Wait! No!” Chaeyoung follows with a groan. “Unnie! Listen to me first!” Her pleas fall on deaf ears with Nayeon still brisk walking towards the art room where her class with the juniors is supposed to be.

All the lamp posts near the police station are now filled with missing posters. Jeongyeon just sighs; she hasn’t been in the central district yet. 

She hasn’t slept since she woke up in a daze when Chaeyoung disappeared. 

You were drugged. It wasn’t your fault, the police said. Jeongyeon doesn’t remember a thing, but it wasn’t an excuse for what happened; under every circumstance, Chaeyoung is and will always be under her care. What an irresponsible hyung.

The police claim that they are doing everything to find Chaeyoung alive as much as possible. But it’s been two days, and Jeongyeon seems to have her hope diminish slowly but surely. 

She hopes Seungwan’s hopes aren’t diminished like hers.

She puts up another poster of Chaeyoung on the wall beside the restaurant she and Chaeyoung frequent. A bell rings, and she finds the restaurant owner looking at her. She bows in greeting, and the owner smiles.

“Jeongyeon-ah, let me take some copies from you. I’ll give it away to my customers.”

“Ah, Kyuhyun-oppa, no need to do it.”

“Please, it’s the least I can do to my favorite customers.” Kyuhyun offers a smile while taking half of the posters Jeongyeon has. She can only bow so low in thanks. “Chaeyoung will be fine. She’s a tiger; we all know that.” Jeongyeon can only smile. It doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

I really hope so.

The door to the art room slams and Momo curses in surprise, her pencil slipping from her fingers, a crooked line suddenly in place instead of the table’s straight line in front of the room. She looks to give a glare at the offending person who thinks it’s a good idea to slam the door, only to find frazzled Nayeon breathing hard, looking around the classroom.

“Miss Im, Sojung said you’re in the infirmary. Why are you suddenly here?” Their art teacher voices out her question for her. Nayeon seemed to snap out of her reverie and blinked at the teacher.

“Uhh,” Nayeon answers. “I, uhh–The nurse, yeah, he gave me some meds for my headache, and he said I’m good to go.” Nayeon smiles, and Momo notices that it’s forced. “I lost my note coming here.” She adds, and the teacher lets her in with a wary look. The teacher then goes out, and Nayeon then carefully closes the door.

What are you doing, Nabongs?

“Psst, Nayeon, we told you to rest!” Sana hissed everyone’s unvoiced concerns. “Why are you not in the infirmary?”

“I thought–” Nayeon stops, thinking whether she should tell the truth or just make up some make-believe excuse. “It’s stuffy ther