"Get in the trash can!"

Ilhoon held his breath as he tried to hold himself back. Although he was a few inches away from the black trash can, he already knew what was inside: Tuna sandwich and banana peels with milk spilled all over it. When he saw the white droplets stuck on the trash bag, he wanted to throw up.

"G-Guys, l-let's talk this out!" Ilhoon stuttered, sinking down. However, two other boys picked up his legs and carried him over to the trash can. Ilhoon felt dizzy as the strong scent of tuna and banana filled his nose. Just before the bullies were about to drop him into the large can, they heard heels tapping against the floor.

"Shoot, shoot!" JB whispered. "Drop him!"

Fortunately for Ilhoon, he was dropped back on the ground. The other boys ran off to hide, and they left Ilhoon in pain. From the corner of the hallway, he managed to spot the nurse walk forward. When their eyes met, G.NA gasped and ran over to the boy with her hands out of her pocket. She bent down, and helped him up.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed in English. "What happened to you?"

"I tripped over my own shoe," he lied.

"What shoe?"

Ilhoon looked down, and realized that his shoes were missing. He bit his bottom lip, embarrassed.

"Um, I mean... I tripped over my own foot?"

"Ilhoon, be honest. Are you being bullied or anything?" G.NA asked, guiding him to the nurse's office. Ilhoon felt his heart stop for a moment. Cold sweat stained his forehead and he wiped them with his ruined blazer.

"U-U-Um... No. N-No, I'm not being bullied. I m-must've m-misplaced them somewhere," he stuttered. G.NA gave him a skeptical look. When he looked away, she heaved a sigh, giving up.

"Okay, but let me know if something's happening," she said. Ilhoon gave no response. When they arrived at the nurse's office, G.NA opened the door and motioned Ilhoon to enter first. When he did, a familiar sensation of loneliness filled every inch of his body. G.NA flicked the light switch on and looked under the cabinet, where she store in some shoes.

"These would do, right?" G.NA asked, raising up some shoes. Ilhoon nodded. As he took the shoes, G.NA sat behind the nurse's desk and smiled. "Guess what?"

Ilhoon only looked up. "Hm?"

"You know my friend who I promised that you can meet?" G.NA asked, reminding Ilhoon about her friend. He nodded his head. "Well, she managed to book a date in her schedule where you can talk to her about anything you want."

"Will she cry or anything?" Ilhoon asked, slipping on the shoes.

"I believe not. However, she does have one condition," G.NA said, handing Ilhoon a sticky note. "You guys are meeting on Saturday, during lunch. On that day, she's asking for you to take her to your school."

"But during Saturday, it's only clubs--"

"She doesn't care. I don't know why, but she wants to visit your school. Oh, and she said that if you want to talk to her about her sister, then she has an additional condition."

So picky. "What is it?"

G.NA gave him a faint smile. "She wants you to meet her younger sister's tombstone, then ask her questions."

On Saturday at noon, Ilhoon and Namjoo sat down at a table outside of an ice cream shop. Although it was Saturday and they didn't have to attend any clubs, they still wore their school uniforms in order to get access in the building when the nurse's friend wanted to. As the two shared a chocolate ice cream, Namjoo had her eyes on every suspicious looking person.

"Do you think it's her?" Namjoo asked, eyeing on the woman with red hair.

"Doubt it," Ilhoon said, scooping up a mouthful of ice cream. "Maybe it's that girl with short hair?"

"No, she doesn't seem suspicious enough. Plus, she already has a kid with her. I don't think the girl we're looking for is a mother," she replied.

"Who knows," Ilhoom muttered. "Lots can change in two years."

"And lots did," said a voice from behind them. They gasped, and turned their heads around, only to see a full-grown lady wearing large, black sunglasses. From the elegant summer dress the brunette woman wore, the two could tell that she was a foreigners.

"Are you Jessica?" Namjoo asked, after finally recovering from her shock. "The nurse told us that you'd be blond."

"I dyed my hair to get rid of my past. You know the cliché lines we female speak of when it comes to memories," the woman said, taking a seat between the two. She swiped off her sunglasses in one swift motion, and gave the two a gentle smile. "But to answer your question, yes, I am Jessica. Jung Jessica. So, how may I help you? My friend told me that you wanted to ask me certain questions."

Ilhoon glanced at Namjoo, waiting for her to speak. Namjoo took a deep breath, and wiped her sweaty palms against her skirt.

"U-Um, we'd specifically like to talk about something that happened two years ago and a few people whom you might know of," Namjoo explained.

"Does it include my sister and the school your uniforms belong to?"

Namjoo nodded her head. Jessica heaved a sigh, then dropped her sunglasses in her bag. She stood up, and the two other students did the same.

"Very well, I'll answer your questions. However, I do believe that my friend, G.NA, asked for your cooperation, yes?" Jessica asked. Namjoo and Ilhoon nodded their heads. Then, the older woman called a taxi, and told them to hop in. "Any questions that has to do with Krystal will be answered at her tombstone. I believe that she needs to listen to your questions, too."

An hour or so later, after taking the taxi to the train station and getting on a train, the two arrived at a rural area where hardly any people were to be seen. The three walked up several green pastures and the students often admired the crops and animals. Then, they came over to a large cemetry with dying yellow grass and a mourning tree. There was a faint sound of cicadas, but it was as if they were singing a cacophony song to the spirits floating around the deserted area. When Jessica stopped in front of a tombstone with a small pile of dirt in front of it, Namjoo and Ilhoon also stopped.

'Jung Krystal,' Namjoo read. Is it really the Krystal back in kindergarden?

"Hey Krystal," Jessica whispered softly, plucking out the weeds. "It's been so long. How are you?"

As expected, there was no response. Ilhoon glanced at Namjoo strangely, wondering what he should be doing. Namjoo squatted down, and Ilhoon did the same. The two watched Jessica talk to the stone and pluck out the weeds which hugged the dry earth.

"No one really came to see you, hm?" Jessica asked. "I'm sorry. I went to America for the past two years to reflect on my actions. Maybe it would've been best if I was a good girl and allowed Mom and Dad to divorce without being worried over me. By the way, once you were gone and I left, Mom and Dad did get a divorce. Um, I don't contact them much, and I have no idea where they are. Sorry."

Divorce, huh? Ilhoon thought. That sounds pretty rough.

"Mm... I just came back last week or so, so I have no idea how everyone else is doing. Let's see... I don't know how Myungsoo is doing. I'm pretty sure he's doing great. Um, when you passed away, he asked his aunt to finish graduating at that high school and then left for some high-standard college. Minho... The frog boy... He graduated at our school, too, but I don't know what college he went to. He did say 'sorry,' to me at your funeral, though. It's a pity that it was only him and me who attended your funeral. I also used up the rest of your school's tuition money to make a grand funeral, too. I hope it wasn't a waste."

Namjoo felt her mind click. She reached into her blazer, and pulled out the hit-list Kai had crumbled up. She opened it, and widened her eyes. There, on number one and two, was the name "Minho" and "Myungsoo." She felt her heart race once she felt like the pieces of the puzzle was coming together.

As Jessica plucked the last of the weeds, she then said, "Oh, I brought visitors. They want to get to know you better. I don't know exactly who they are, but they're students from your school. Say hi to..." Jessica looked up at them. "Oh gosh. You guys know my name, but I don't know yours."

"K-Kim Namjoo," Namjoo stuttered, turning slightly pale.

"J-Jung Ilhoon," Ilhoon followed.

"Before anything, can I ask you s-something?" Namjoo asked. Jessica nodded her head. "I-Is... Is this Krystal... When your sister was in kindergarten, was she a protector or something?"

Jessica blinked her eyes, then laughed. "Well, I don't remember anyone saying that Krystal was a protector or anything. However, there was one event that caused her to have a blurry memory of her past..."

"Can I ask you how she died?" she questioned. Jessica's face turned dark.

"I thought my friend told you. It was my fault. I was trying to hard to keep the family together, and it drove her crazy--"

"No. I don't want the cause of her death. I want to know how she died," Namjoo repeated. Jessica raised an eyebrow, amused of the questions she was given. She glanced at Ilhoon, who kept quiet in respect for the dead. Jessica took a deep breath and dropped the pile of plucked weeds in a plastic bag.

"Mm... How should I explain? I'm not too sure of what happened, but when I was going to Krystal's school to pay for her tuition money, I saw her fall from the building with someone else," Jessica explained.

"D-Do you know the person who fell with her?" Namjoo asked, her hands in her blazer. She crumbled up the hit-list in her sweaty palms, wondering if she was actually going to find out about the entire story. Jessica forced a smile, then shrugged her shoulders.

"I wasn't there for the entire story. But there are two people who should know," the brunette explained. "Maybe three... or four..."

The adult paused for a few seconds. Her eyes stared at the tombstone for just a few moments. Then, the black orbs turned away and she forced a smile at the two other students.

"T-This must be v-very d-difficult for you to t-talk about," Ilhoon muttered, sympathetic over the older woman.

Jessica forced a laugh. "It's fine. It's about time the truth got told."

"T-Then if you don't know the entire story about how she died, what about the two names you've mentioned before? Minho and Myungsoo? Who are they?" Namjoo askde.

"You're a keen listener, aren't you?" Jessica . Namjoo flushed her cheeks and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, as for Minho and Myungsoo... Let's see... Minho was just your average kid. He said that he was Krystal's friend, but I don't know that for sure. Um, Myungsoo... Myungsoo was Krystal's ex-childhood friend who didn't want to do anything with her." Jessica her lips. "I hate them both."

A gentle breeze passed through the empty spaces between the strands of her hair, causing it to lift itself up. Namjoo's short hair drifted in the air, and the wind kissed Ilhoon's bare neck. The three kept quiet, knowing that what Jessica had said created an awkward atmosphere. Finally, Jessica tried to break the tense conversation with a brief chuckle.

"I apologize," she said softly. "It's been a while since I've talked about those two. Hm, life sure was chaotic back then."

"Do you know K-Kai?" Namjoo questioned her. Ilhoon shot her a rude look, while Jessica hid her shocked expression with her long hair.

"K-Kai... Kim J-Jongin..." she whispered. Namjoo widened her eyes after hearing Kai's real name.

"You know him?"

"Ah... I wish I didn't," Jessica murmured. She looked at Krystal's grave and patted the tombstone. "If it's about Kai, we shouldn't talk about it here. Krystal wouldn't like it. Let's get up."

Jessica and Namjoo stood up and dusted themselves, but Ilhoon remained still. He had a worried expression on his face, and he wouldn't move his legs. After making the two ladies wait for him, Ilhoon finally faked a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um... My feet are asleep," Ilhoon told them shyly. "I can't get up."

Namjoo gave Ilhoon a dumbfounded expression while Jessica raised her eyebrows. She glanced over that the tombstone that engraved Krystal's name, then sat back down. Namjoo did exactly what Jessica did, not sure of what to do.

"I guess Krystal wants to listen about Kai, then," Jessica said.

"How do you know?" Ilhoon inquired.

"My sixth sense. I guess it's like a sisterly connection," she replied.

"Oh," Namjoo muttered quietly. "So we were talking about Kai."

Jessica tensed up. "Ah, yes. About Kai... Where would you like me to start?"

"How Kai relates to Krystal," Ilhoon responded. Jessica nodded her head, and stared down at the ground.

"Mm... Kai used to be a sweet boy. He used to be friends with Myungsoo and Krystal. They used to play a lot together, but one day, Kai became... unstable, I guess. No one knows why, and I bet he doesn't know, either. He just found a sudden interest in being powerful. He looked up to Krystal the most, since she used to be a tough cookie. But I think he was somehow doubting her, and began to give her strange tasks that Krystal magically accomplished while getting injured."

"What kind of tasks?" asked Namjoo.

"Dangerous tasks. Once, Kai pushed Krystal in front of a moving car. Fortunately, the car managed to stop when the driver heard Krystal scream in front of him. Another time, Kai had told Krystal that knives were safe and almost made her cut herself in order to 'release the pain of her family.'"

"What stopped her?"

"Myungsoo. Myungsoo was two years older than both of those kids, so he was able to save Krystal from playing with the knives."

"He seems a pretty nice kid. I don't understand why you hate him."

Jessica forced a fake grin. "Little girls wouldn't understand such a complicated matter."

Namjoo glared at her. "I'm about the same age as your sister over there."

"Yes. Yes, you are." Jessica paused, then sighed. "However, there was a third task that caused a corruption among the friends. Have you ever heard about an article or news about a house bursting into flames? There was a crying boy and two friends glued beside him to comfort him."

Namjoo and Ilhoon kept quiet. Then, Ilhoon widened his eyes and pounded his fist against the palm of his other hand.

"Oh! I remember that article! It was a huge topic back then when I was a kid," Ilhoon exclaimed, nodding his head.

"Well, that crying boy was Kai. The two friends with him was Krystal and Myungsoo. No one really knows how the fire started, but I do remember Krystal coming back home with tears and holding a dress I bought her back then. Now that I think about it, the dress was ruined and there were burnt marks around the rim of the dress. My mother told her to throw it away, and when she didn't, I threw it away for her."

Ilhoon was just about to ask a question until Namjoo stopped him. She got up, and finally Ilhoon (who finally felt his legs) stood up. Jessica got up, too, and she forced a smile.

"I think that's enough stories for Krystal today," Jessica said. "Now, I had a second condition, yes?"

Namjoo nodded her head. "Yes. Let's go to our school. I'll give you a small tour, too."

"... Kai, what's wrong?"

The tanned boy, who was looking outside of the third floor's window, snapped out of his deep thoughts. He turned to his friend, who slightly tilted his head with curiosity. Kai forced a smile, and shook his head.

"Nothing," Kai assured him. "I just felt like a storm was coming."

His friend snorted. "A storm? Wait until it's summer, Kai! Though it's going to be summer in a few days, isn't it? It's already June..."

Kai nodded his head and glanced back at the window, only to see a few petals from the trees flutter down to the ground.