Crash!

Kai, who was moving around the student council room, accidentally bumped into an expensive glass vase that he had bought a long time ago to decorate the room. His elbow made contact with the clear vase, and knocked it over until it broke into shards of glass. He stared at it with wide eyes, his heart thumping against his chest. He bent down to pick it up with his hand, only to prick the uneven shard against his finger. He gasped, flicked his finger, then began to it.

"What's wrong with you today, Kai?" the student council treasurer asked, bending down. "You're messing up today."

"Sorry," Kai replied calmly. "I was just thinking."

"About what? Kai, we're at the busiest time of our year. Do you think it's time for us to think all day? You're also the one who represents our group, Kai. You need to stay cool and collected," said the treasurer. She gathered all the broken pieces with a broom and threw them away in the trash can. She heaved a sigh, then handed him a stack of paper.

"What's all this?" Kai asked.

"These are the reports from the club activity. It has all the members, what they're planning to do, and so on. If you have any problems with them, I suggest you go and talk to them right now. The ones with the red marks are the ones who should be disbanded, but aren't. I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. I'm sure that they'll listen to you, Kai. After all, you are Kai," the treasurer pointed out.

"Okay. So I just warn them that they should be disbanded and that they should fill out this application to prove that they shut down the club?"

"Exactly. You can start with the Literature Club. They only have two members."

"Got it. Thanks..." Kai paused, and stared at the girl with a clueless expression.

"Sui," she finished. "My name is Sui."

"Sui," Kai repeated. "I'll remember that."

"I hope you don't," she muttered quietly, leaving the room. Kai decided to ignore her and walked outside to clear out the clubs with the red marks. Before he made it to the classroom, he checked outside, only to see the wind blowing harsher and the petals of the flowers on the tress fall in a blink of an eye.

It really seems like a chaotic event is going to happen, he thought, continuing to walk.

"L."

"Yes, Suzy?"

"It seems quite chilly outside."

"No, it's not. It's pretty warm, actually. Want to go outside?"

Suzy shot him a glare as if he had said the most offending question in the world. "Do you think I'm in the right state to go outside?"

L, who was opening a can of soup, shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, Suzy, think about it. It's been two years, and you're still stuck in this room. What do you plan to do in this hospital all day?"

"Live here, I suppose. That's what I deserve. After all, I did kill Krystal in the end," she mumbled, hugging her knees. L decided not to respond to her comment. Instead, he poured the chicken soup into a bowl. Suzy grabbed her spoon, and watched L put her lunch at the table near her.

"Lunch is right here on the table. If you need anything, call the nurse. I'm leaving early today," L said, standing up. He looked over at the window, and sighed. "Suzy, have you ever tried to at least open the window?"

"Don't," she said sharply. "I don't deserve to breathe in fresh air."

L put his hands in his pocket. "Okay, do whatever you want. Just saying, the weather is beautiful today and the wind is nice and crisp."

"Why are you leaving so early?" Suzy asked, ignoring L's beautiful description.

"I'm going to check out and see how our old school is doing. I'm just going to visit a few of my teachers, and I'll leave straight after. Maybe I'll go and see the place where Krystal fell from the roof, too. I think it's time for me to go to high school without any sorrows and such," L explained. Suzy nodded her head.

"Okay. Goodbye."

"See you."

When he left, Suzy quietly ate her soup. As she slurped the delicious liquid, she glanced outside and saw a tree growing pale, pink flowers. The thin branch tapped gently against Suzy's window, and she hesitated to open the window. It was as if the branch was taunting her, and asking for her to open the door so that it could let the falling petals fall inside the room instead of falling against the window. For a second, Suzy found her foot hovering above the cold surface of the hospital floor. Then, slowly, she hopped out of her bed, and allowed her bare feet to touch the hard floor.

It's so cold, she thought, wiggling her toes. As if the branch was luring her, she walked closer to the window, and had her fingers brush against the window pane. She looked down, and realized that if she lifted two switches and pulled the window upwards, it could open. Suzy hesitated. Was it worth it? Could she really do such a thing, such as breathe the same air that had once killed her life-long enemy? The thought of Krystal's bloody figure sinking into the deep snow caused Suzy's heart to pound. She gulped nervously, and stared at the tree, which smiled fondly and kept tapping against the window.

I'm only going to open this because the tree is getting annoying with its tap, she told herself. I'm only opening this to get rid of the branch's annoying sound.

Her skinny, pale fingers lifted the black levers. She heard a click, and her fingers curled over the window. Her hands became sweaty, and Suzy constantly her lips.

Finally, she used all the remaining strength she had and pulled the window open. A gush of fresh air breathed in front of her face, and pink petals rushed into the room. The sound of birds singing echoed in the hospital room, and she could hear kids and elders both laugh from the bottom floor. The sky seemed bluer than any shade of blue crayon she had seen, and the white clouds seemed to be edible. The sun, which shined brilliantly, brought out the hidden beauty behind her tear-stained face.

Suzy took a deep breath, then paused.

"Suzy!" a nurse behind her screamed. Suzy turned around, and found the nurse staring at her with shock. She looked outside the window, and spotted L walking over to the taxi and getting in it. She raised her fragile fingers, and glanced back at the outside world.

What have I been doing for the past two years? she wondered. Suzy turned to the nurse, who only blinked her eyes.

"Nurse," Suzy began, "I want to go outside."

I'm going to school, too, L.

Minho stared at the flowers, which were laid in front of the tomb stone. He blinked his eyes, curious over who had come over to Krystal's grave and gifted the dead spirit with flowers.

Flowers, he thought. Who brought these flowers?

He lifted his head and scanned the lonely field around him. He tried to search for another human being, but there was no sign of movement. He stared down at the flowers, and bent down. He squinted his eyes, trying to see if there was any clues of whoever left the flowers. As he looked through the flowers, he found a small note attached to one of the plant. He pulled it out, and flipped the note open.

At that very moment, Minho felt his heart pound against his chest. His eyes, which were already wide, grew bigger to the size of golf balls. His fingers shook and his heart felt heavy. When he took a deep breath, he found it harder to breathe by the minute. He dropped the letter, and got up from his feet.

"I'm sorry, Krystal," he muttered quietly. "I'm going to visit your sister."

Jessica is back, he said, running to grab a taxi. Jessica is back.

He managed to catch a taxi, hop in, and asked the driver to drive as fast as he could to his old high school. As the vehicle moved, Minho anxiously tapped his feet against the ground. He needed to catch Jessica and stop her before she could leave, or do anything else that would cause her to scorn at him.

He needed her to stop for a second.

He needed her to be in front of him.

He needed to apologize for his sins.

"...And this is the Literature Room!" Namjoo exclaimed, sliding the door open. When they arrived at one particular classroom, it was deserted. She frowned slightly, and stepped into the lonely room.

"A-Are we in the wrong room?" Ilhoon asked, checking the signs.

"No, this is definitely the room," she mumbled back. "Why is it empty...?"

"Maybe there wasn't enough members," Jessica said, grabbing a chalk from the chalkboard. She began to doodle on the board. "Maybe it got disbanded."

"Impossible," Namjoo said. "Even though they hardly had any members, they weren't supposed to be shut down."

"And why not?" Jessica asked, making a line on the board.

"They created the club two weeks ago, and they're given a few more weeks to gather members. I don't think the system is that unfair," she replied.

"W-Well, the student council does go through the list of clubs, their members, and whether or not they can benefit the school's name," Ilhoon pointed out. Namjoo's ears perked up a bit when she heard this. She turned around, and stared at Ilhoon with eyes that shown bitter hatred and disgust.

"Don't tell me who I think is responsible for this," Namjoo said, with a slightly whiny voice. Ilhoon shrugged her shoulders.

"I was just thinking and mentioning up who could be in charge," Ilhoon said, grabbing the erasers from the table. He swiped off Jessica's random doodles and dusted the erasers outside the window. Jessica patted her hands against her clothes and looked up at Namjoo.

"Look, I don't really care what happens to this club or who's in charge," Jessica said. "All I really want to know is how to get on the roof."

Namjoo and Ilhoon looked up. "The roof?"

"Yes, the roof. Can you tell me how to get there?"

"Please, Kai!" an unfamiliar student cried, holding onto Kai's legs. "I will do anything! Just please don't shut down the Literature Club! I beg of you, this place carries memories!"

Kai heaved a sigh, and wrote his signature on a piece of paper. "It says that occasionally, you two have been snacking and messing up the the books in the classroom. By messing up, I mean doodling, ripping pages, or stealing them. This is an unacceptable behavior at this school. You better not push it, first year. I'm already in a bad mood, and I don't want to kick you out of this school."

"Please! I don't care if I get kicked out of this school! At least let this club live! My cousins all were leaders of the Literature Club here. They would be furious if I failed to operate this club," the poor freshmen exclaimed. Kai heaved a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. He shot the younger boy a deadly look.

"I said not to push it. If you keep pushing it, I'll make you in a miserable state at this school, just like what's happening to the Idiot," Kai snapped. He slowly began to realize that it had been a while since he had said Ilhoon's titled name. It made him feel good; it helped make him feel boastful of his status.

"Speaking of that guy," the second boy said, "I saw him going up at the school roof with two girls."

"Two girls?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, two. One was that girl who always hang around him, and the second one seemed to be an older girl. I'm not so sure who she is, but she had brown hair and she looked really pretty," the boy reported. Kai groaned.

"Great," he muttered. "Now I have to take care of some trespassers."

"W-Wait!" the boy on Kai's leg shouted. "Are... Is our club still disbanded?"

Kai pulled out the application which had a stamp of approval on it. He ripped it in front their faces, causing them to stare at it in horror. Then, Kai turned away and stormed off, too annoyed to deal with their pathetic cries. As he climbed the stairs, he could hear some, inaudible mumbles at the top. He heaved a sigh, and gritted his teeth.

When I catch Ilhoon and Namjoo, they are so dead, he thought. When he reached the top, he twisted the doorknob opened. A small gust of wind hugged his body, then left without a single trace. As expected, Ilhoon was with Namjoo, who was talking to someone's back. In order to catch their attention without slipping out a word, he slammed the door shut behind him. This caused Ilhoon and Namjoo to jump from their spot and whirl around with a stunned look.

"Well, well. Looks like the Idiot and the Idiot's Partner is here." Kai hissed at them with a disapproved expression. Recognizing his own nickname, Ilhoon dropped down on his knees and began to bow.

"I-I'm so sorry!" he stuttered. "Sorry, sorry, sorry..."

"And you even allowed to bring a trespasser into this school?" Kai asked, raising his voice. "You know what I have to do? I need to call the police, expel you two, and--"

"Ilhoon, raise your head," the unknown woman commanded. Namjoo and Ilhoon slowly turned their head around. Kai glared at her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I'm sure that you don't know who you are talking to. I am--"

"Kai," the woman answered. Revealing herself, she turned around and gave him a neutral look. Her eyes were flaring with anger, yet she remained her cool. "Otherwise known as Kim Jongin."

It took a while for Kai to recognize the familiar face. When he finally did, his eyes enlarged and his skin turned pale. His teeth chattered as if the temperature had decreased to winter. 

"Jessica," he whispered. Jessica nodded her head.

"Oh, good. So you recognize me," she said, slightly heaving a sigh. Suddenly, the door burst open, and approached a panting man. Namjoo pulled Ilhoon back on his feet and moved aside to watch the scenario. The boy with frog-like eyes dropped his hands on his knees and looked up at Jessica.

"Jessica..." the college student panted.

"Min...ho?" Jessica called. "I haven't seen you in ages--"

"You were the one who brought flowers for Krystal, right?" he interrupted. Jessica nodded her head. Suddenly, Minho got down on his knees and lowered his head in a respectful manner. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

The door opened again, but this time the five were welcomed by Suzy and the man Namjoo had met in the elevator. Kai turned to them, to shock to express a word.

"Suzy!" Namjoo exclaimed, surprised to see her friend outside.

"L," Jessica called him with a harsh tone. L and Suzy stared at Jessica, Kai, and Minho, wondering what was going on.

Their time, which had stopped two years ago, had continued not in winter, but in the dangerous summer heat.