“Are you sure you don’t want to stay with us for a while?” asked Hoya as he carried her bag inside before setting it by the couch while she closed the door behind them. Despite already knowing the answer still he wished she would change her mind.

Chorong smiled her long-time friend and shook her head. “It’s okay. I don’t want to burden you.”

“You’re not a burden,” he disagreed. “If you’re not comfortable having me around I can stay at the hospital’s dorm.”

“See? That’s why I said I’d be a burden.”

“I don’t mean it that―”

“It’s okay, Hoya,” she reassured him. “I’m fine on my own. It’s not like I’m a little kid who can’t do anything by myself.”

“I know, but still.” He looked down, shifting his weight to the other foot, one hand scratching the back of his neck. “I’m worried, you know?”

“I know, and I’m grateful for that. But I’m okay. I really am,” she told him again, smiling a bit more. “I can just pretend Minhyuk is on another trip.”

He nodded in defeat. “About hyung, I’ll do my best to get him transferred back as soon as possible. I promise you that.”

Chorong flicked her fingers on his shoulder, a little gesture they’ve been doing ever since they were kids that tells the other to cheer up. Surprised by the sudden prickle against his skin, he glanced up and met her gaze, and they both chuckled at the memories it reminded them of. “You need to go back to work right? Have you eaten? I can make you something before you leave,” she offered.

“Thanks,” he said, laughing a little while patting his stomach. “You just saved me from having to eat Bbom’s packed lunch.”

She chuckled and head over to the kitchen, trying to ignore the striking yellow sticky note on the refrigerator as well as the lump in .

: :

They were standing behind the sink, shoulders hunched, hands busy scrubbing the oils and chili stains off the bowls and plates. The older of the two stole a quick peek behind at the ones in the living room, and once she made sure their attentions were on something else, she turned the tap off. “No, seriously,” she began, popping a breath mint into . “How do you live eating that kind of food every day?”

Hoya laughed, picking up the lasts of the chopsticks, rinsing the white foams off with clear water. “I got used to it, I guess.”

“I thought Minhyuk’s awfully sweet honey fried rice is genius enough, but grapefruit-seasoned meat?”

“Well, let’s just say she’s a little too creative.”

Chorong glanced at the two who were already drawn in by a documentary on television with Minhyuk explaining something to Bomi which she probably didn’t get judging from her expression, and snorted. “What are they thinking, really?” she asks to nobody in particular, without really expecting an answer.

: :

“If you need anything, we’re just a phone call away. You know that, right?”

She nodded and smiled, and once he exited the house, the clicking sound of the door vibrated on the walls and echoed throughout the whole flat. The air felt thinner and colder even though the windows were shut, piercing her lungs and every other organs of her. The silence suffocated her, and she could only see the ghosts of Minhyuk all over the room, smiling at her and calling her name.

After counting to two, she grabbed her jacket, as well as her keys, and headed out.

: :

Chorong couldn’t really figure out why she went there again, but something about the atmosphere that kept her there. Cupping her chin with her right hand that was rested on the metal railing, she stared at the pristine water, recalling how it turned frightening in a split second and engulfed her whole without mercy.

“You’re not thinking of jumping again, are you?”

Surprised by the remark, she turned around, and found a man no younger than she was ten meters away from where she stood. He had his back leaned against the railing, cigarette bobbing limply in between his fingers, its smoke rising and dissolving into thin air before it could reach the clouds. His gaze was somewhere else, past the passing cars and people they didn’t recognize, so she couldn’t really see his face. “Huh?” she blurted out, head tilted to see more of him.

He took a deep drag, and white smoke gushed out from his mouth as he finally faced her. “Didn’t you do so some days ago?”

“I did not… How did you…?” she trailed off flabbergasted, the rest of her words suspended mid-sentence.

He grinned. “I didn’t expect you to remember me actually.” He dropped the stub to the ground and crashed the flickering end with his sneaker. “Did you get the sunflower?”

Chorong’s frown hardened, a thousand thoughts running through her mind. “Who―”

“I’m Woohyun,” he cut in, that boyish grin still gracing his lips. “When you fell the other day I’m the one who dived in to save you.”