The calming moonlight kissed their skins ever so lightly, as if in preparation to fully embrace the beginning of a new night.

Out in the isolated streets were a boy and a girl, their silent footsteps heard over a mile away. Silence was a form of communication. In fact, the pair did this every single night; walking together on the streets of Seoul with no words whatsoever.

It was a way for them to reason with their inner battles. To find peace and serenity amidst their hectic lives. And it was a secret unknown to all.

No one knew where they went at that hour. No one dared to ask. And no one even knew that they were together in the first place.

Not romantically, but side by side. Walking in the lone hours of midnight with a companion doesn’t come off as a bad idea. After all, safety does come first.

--

“It would be great, wouldn’t it, to be in a quiet place once in a while?”

“Maybe you should go out at night then, noona.”

“…That… really isn’t a bad idea.”

“Truth to be told, I have been contemplating about it too. The late night walks I mean. But…”

“But you wouldn’t want to let your members know as you’re afraid they’ll get stressed because of you.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“…Maybe….Maybe we can go together…”

“Wouldn’t the others be suspicious? I mean it’s not like… “

“Of course we’re not together silly. But the others don’t need to know.”

“But wouldn’t that be bad, noona? Not telling anyone?”

“You have me.”

“For what? Safety? You’re not exactly fit to be my guardian, noona.”

“What, so now I’m incapable? Come on. I’m way older than you. Therefore, I have more experience.”

“Experience in what?  Night sightseeing? This doesn’t change the fact that you’re a girl, and I’m a boy. I will still feel obligated to take care of you. And you’re not that much older than me anyway, noona.”

“You don’t have to say it directly in my face, you know…. Well, how about it? Want to go for a walk?”

“…I really don’t feel like taking care of anyone at the moment. Sorry noona.”

“All right. Let’s make a deal. I take care of you and you take care of me. But in normal circumstances, we take care of our own selves. Deal?”

“…It’s not as if I have a choice.”

--

The very thought of that very first memory with him had the girl smiling ever so slightly, her head turning away to make sure her companion would not be able to see it.

Truth was, that was the very reason Tiffany felt so drawn to the boy. He may be young, but he was smart. And he understood her like no other. But between the two of them, she knew that a romantic possibility could never come true. The girl treated the boy more as a brother than a companion. What could she say? Good looks run in the family.

Yes, they were that connected to each other. No one knew, of course. If they did, Kai would have gotten into a whole lot of trouble. The members would chide him into not bringing them along for the late night walks with her. That was how she imagined it to be.

“Noona.” His voice whispered in the eerily cold air.

“Yeah, Kai?”

“We’ve been walking for over an hour now. And honestly, I don’t feel so good.”

“So you want to go home… Let’s go. Don’t want you to be catching a cold right now.”

“Actually, I was thinking of walking back to my dorm.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Alone.”

“You want to go alone?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t let you. You said you’re not feeling well. I’ll drive you home.”

“Noona…”

“No excuses.” Tiffany said firmly.

“I said I wasn’t feeling good. That is different from me getting sick.”

“Oh… Are you sure? I mean, my car is just parked around the corner.”

“And we have to walk back for another hour? Nu-uh. I’ll pass. Sorry noona.”

“Fine, fine. The only reason you want to walk alone was to admire Earth II, right? Like I didn’t know…”

“Noona…”

“Tomorrow then. I’ll see you at 12am, same place.”

“Right. Bye noona.”

-

An hour of walking alone passed by briefly and Tiffany started the engine of her car. Her walk back to the car may be fast but she knew the drive back home was going to be long. It wasn’t that she had zero confidence in her driving, but it was more of her fear of the roads.

The empty roads at night that scared her to her deepest end. How was it possible for the streets to be so empty? Why was everyone asleep? Were they tired, like her, as well?

And how long has she been driving now? 1km? 2? 3? She lost count.

All she could think of was to get back home safely. Or not.

There she goes, passing by EXO’s dorm. If Kai was with her right now, she would have dropped him off. Discreetly of course.

Her eyes lingered onto the window pane to her right, slowly taking in of the reflections of the dorm passing her by.

Thud.

It was dull and silent, but it was loud enough to have her heart race fast. She stopped her car and tried to get a hold of her breathing.

How fast had she been driving? She knew she didn’t exceed 60km/h, what more in a street like this. How loud was the crash actually?

Tiffany got out of her car, her eyes scanning through her surroundings. No lights were being switched on at all in any of the houses. Could no one hear her accident?

Were people really that tired to even notice the collision?

She found her legs increasing their speed towards an unconscious body by the road. There was a small trail of blood on him, but she was sure that it was nothing too serious. The blood didn’t spill on to the road, after all.

She continued running after the body. Why were her legs taking so long to get there? The poor man could have been dead.

Oh wait, his chest seems to be rising rapidly. That means he’s breathing.

A few more steps to get there.

Wait, the clothes seemed familiar…

Could it be?

“K-K-Kai?!”

“N-noona… It hurts.”

“K-Kai! Stay with me!” Tiffany shouted in his ears, her hands finding their ways to carry the poor boy back to her car.

“N-noona… It hurts. My head hurts.”

“S-Stay with me. I-It’s nothing serious, I promise.” Jongin ah. Please stay awake. I’m trying my best to bring you to the hospital.

“N-noona. I… I can’t…”

“Jongin ah! Open your eyes! It’ll be better.” Tiffany exclaimed, her eyes lingering down the trail of blood on his face.

“Noona…”

“We’re here! We’re at the hospital! Stay with me Jongin ah. Walk with me. You’ll be better, I promise.”

All I have to do are open the doors, find for a doctor, and everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to be just fine, Tiffany.

“D-DOCTOR! DOCTOR! I… I NEED HELP. MY FRIEND… HE’S KNOCKED DOWN. PLEASE HELP ME!”

“Calling for two nurses. We need the boy in the emergency room, stat. Hurry! A life is at stake.”

“Jongin ah. You’ll be all right. The doctor will take care of you. You’ll be all right, I promise.”

“P-Promise?”

“Promise.”

--

Drip Drip Drip.

Never had the unscrewed tap felt so annoying in all her life. Tiffany sighed as she went back to sitting, standing and back to sitting again; waiting impatiently for the doctor to come out of the emergency room.

The accident wasn’t a severe one, right? She hit him lightly, there was no way he could have died.

But… But the blood on his head says otherwise.

“Tiffany ssi.” The girl looked up to see the doctor standing to her front, his eyes drooping low.

“H-How do you know my name?”

“You’re a member of So Nyeo Shi Dae, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes…” She didn’t liked where this was going. Not one bit.

“And I assume the boy inside is a member of that new group your company recently debuted.”

“Y-Yes.”

“…Well maybe we should start the explanations with a company representative present.”

“N-NO! J-Just tell me. I… I would tell them myself.”

“…If you say so. Well, your friend inside… I’m sorry to say but…”

“But what?! Tell me!”

“He’s… He’s not waking up.”

The girl felt the beads of tears forming around her eyes.

“H-H-He’s… Dead?”

“Oh no! I’m dreadfully sorry. I should not have phrase it like that. You see, the boy inside is in comatose. There aren’t any signs that he would be waking up any sooner. I’m really sorry…”

She felt the tears all right. Heavy tears, in fact. All dripping down her already wet cheeks.

“W-Wait! I… I need a favor, Doctor.”

“What is it?”

“Can… Is it possible to keep this under the sheets? Away from the media? I… I think that’s what my company wants the most.”

“Here at Seoul’s Private Hospital, we do keep our patients admission confidential should they ask for it… But of course… should they not pay…”

“We’ll pay all right. I’ll pay. I’ll see to it that his bills are taken care of.”

“Then we won’t have a problem, Tiffany ssi. Have a good night, and again. I’m sorry.”

--

Her hands traced his hands, her fingers intertwining with his. It was pitiful to see him like this. Not waking up after what she promised him.

Guilt. That was what she felt. What would others think of her if they knew she hit him?

What would Kai think of her?

That’s it. She has to lie.

There were no witnesses whatsoever, right? She could have just been in the area when she saw him on the road.

That’s it. That was a possible scenario wasn’t it?

But it was a bad one. That means she has to lie. And lie she hated; despised.

Tiffany sighed as she weighed all the possible scenarios. She could just turn herself in. That’s right. She could do that.

And be a big disappointment to everyone around her.

Yes, that’s right.

She could share the burden.

Only a single person had to know the truth. That would make her feel better. And from there, she could ask the person what they thought was the best idea at the moment.

Yes, of course. Should the person think that going to confess her crimes was a good idea, she would do it. She needed opinions.

Her hands found the phone in her pocket and with a reluctant heart, she dialed the number of the person that came to her mind first. It rang for a few seconds, and she could hear someone picking up the phone over the other line.

“Hello, Luhan?”