"Hey, Myungsoo."

A quiet sigh escaped Myungsoo's lips when he heard that all too familiar voice, and he rolled his eyes as he flipped the page of the comic book he was reading. It was one that he had read countless of times already, but he still wasn't bored with it as he lay sprawled out on his bed.

"Kim Myungsoo." He ignored her, choosing instead to flip the page once more. "I can hear you reading that book, Myungsoo. I know you're awake."

With a disgruntled sigh Myungsoo groaned before rolling onto his back and glaring up at the ceiling. This girl could be really annoying sometimes.

"You're listening now, right?"  

Myungsoo shut his eyes and grunted in response. He couldn't believe he was actually answering the girl, but anything to get her to shut up, right?

"Good. Now open up your window. "

Myungsoo didn't move but he turned his head to glance at his window curiously. The blinds were drawn but he could see small rays of sunshine peeking out from the edges, and Myungsoo found his eyes narrowing at the sight He turned over onto his side so that his back was now facing the window, and covered his face with a pillow.

"Did you open the window?" The girl's voice asked, causing Myungsoo to groan and press the pillow down harder against his ears. She could be really annoying.

"Kim Myungsoo."

Stubbornly, he ignored her once again.

"I swear, Kim Myungsoo, if you don't open your window right now I will go outside and throw a rock at you─"

With a huff of frustration Myungsoo sat up, throwing his pillow at the door and shooting a glare at where he assumed the girl was standing. He got up and made his way to the window, throwing open the blinds. He flinched away as the sunlight blinded his eyes and he cursed, bringing his hands up his face. Once he had adjusted to the sudden brightness, what he saw caused him to pause and he stared at what was sitting on his windowsill in surprise.

A bright yellow sunflower stared back at him.

Suzy smiled a victorious grin when she heard the sound of the window being opened, and she sat down in her usual spot, satisfied.

"Do you like it?" She asked, "How long has it been since you've seen the sun?" As expected, Myungsoo didn't respond, and Suzy huffed in feigned irritation.

"Not even a thank you?" She joked, "Do you even know how hard it was for me to get that there? Climbing balconies isn't as easy as it used to be, you know? I─"

"You were wearing a flower in your hair."

Suzy jumped, mid-sentence, at the sudden proximity of Myungsoo's voice. She had not expected the boy to sneak up on her like that.

"You were wearing a flower in your hair." The boy repeated as Suzy's eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Daisies."

Oh.

"You do remember me!" Suzy said excitedly. "I used to always wear daisies in my hair when I was younger. I thought─"

"You fell from the balcony and broke your arm."

Suzy froze, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as the smile slid off her face. "Wait, Myungsoo─"

"You cried loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood and─

"Stop!" Suzy cried. Her face had turned a bright red and she raised her hands to cover her cheeks. "Of all memories why did you have to remember that one?"

What sounded oddly like a soft chuckle escaped from Myungsoo's door as Suzy quickly began rambling, desperate to change the subject.

Sungyeol glared at him with eyes full of hate and contempt. No, actually he wasn't. Because there was nothing there. Two gaping black holes where Sungyeol's eyes should have been stared back at him. Myungsoo wanted to gag at the sight.

"You did this to me."

No.

Sungyeol was raising his arms, grasping at the empty air before him. Myungsoo took a step back, his breath hitching in alarm.

"You did this to me."

No, I didn't.

Sungyeol lunged towards him and Myungsoo screamed─

Myungsoo's chest heaved as he wrenched his eyes open, forcing himself to wake up from his dream. He lay in a pool of his own sweat, shrouded in darkness until he noticed a soft glow under his door and the sounds of a familiar song reached his ears.

For the first time ever, he was grateful for that girl's presence as he sat up, his breath slowly evening out as he stared at the door.

"What are you doing?"

Suzy looked up slowly from the sketch book she had been scribbling in and turned to glance at the door. She knew that Myungsoo was awake, she had heard him gasp just moments before.

"I'm drawing." She said simply, "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No."

"Did you have a nightmare?" Suzy asked gently, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What are you drawing?" Myungsoo asked after a pause.

"A picture." She replied, deciding not to pursue the subject if Myungsoo was so adamant on avoiding it. "Just a picture."

"What kind of picture?"

Suzy glanced down at the book in her lap and a mess of colors looked back up at her. "It's not really anything." She said finally. "When my head is a mess I just throw colors onto paper. They told me it was a good way of relieving stress."

"Who's they?"

"A secret." Suzy smiled, "Do you want to try it?"

As she had expected, Myungsoo was silent and didn't give her an answer. Suzy looked away with a sigh before she reached down to close her book. Just as she was about to put it away, she heard a low voice, barely higher than a whisper.

"Yeah."

"You gave him your sketchbook?" Sungjong asked, the surprise evident in his voice from over the line. "Really?"

"Why? Is that weird?"

"No but, are you alright without it?"

"Of course," Suzy grumbled, "I'm perfectly capable of functioning without my sketchbook for a few hours. Besides, Mrs. Kim gave it back to me already."

"Are they talking again?"

"No." Suzy sighed dejectedly as she sprawled herself out onto a couch. She was sitting in the living room, waiting for her mother to come home so that they could eat dinner together. "She said she found it in the hallway, right outside his door."

"Well at least he gave her a sign of life." Sungjong answered brightly, "It's better than nothing."

"Yes, but..."

"But?"

"I wish she would try a little harder.." Suzy trailed off quietly, "I still can't believe she's given up on him just like that."

"She's probably afraid of rejection."

"I guess," Suzy said softly, pursing her lips. "But if she really did love him I don't think she should just give up on him like that. What Myungsoo needs right now is reassurance that people still care about him, and attention, and love, and─"

"Are you speaking from experience right now?" Sungjong asked, cutting her off.

Suzy paused, blinking as her friend's words sunk in. "I-I guess I am." She said finally, "I didn't even realize it myself."

"That's nice of you, Suzy." Sungjong said gently, "But everyone is different. For all you know, this isn't what Myungsoo wants."

"Are you saying that I should give up?" Suzy asked, crestfallen.

"No, but maybe you should look at things from Myungsoo's perspective."

"Myungsoo's perspective..." Suzy said quietly to herself, glancing at the coffee table to her right. The sketchbook that she had let Myungsoo use sat there.

Absentmindedly, Suzy sat up and reached for the book, flipping it open to a random page towards the back. What she saw there caused her to gasp and she almost dropped the book in alarm.

"Suzy?" Sungjong asked, his voice over the line worried. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Suzy said after a pause, "I just saw something that surprised me."

From the sketchbook, harsh, angry black lines stared back at her. They were splattered all over the pages, as if Myungsoo had tore through the book with his crayons. Dark red was blended into the mess, and Suzy found her eyebrows furrowing at the sight. The words death and blood screamed at her from Myungsoo's pictures, and she found herself shuddering as she flipped through the pages.

The pictures all appeared the same until she reached the last page, and Suzy paused at what she saw, taken aback. It was the same, dark scribbled mess that she had come to expect, but at the very edge of the page she saw a light smear of yellow crayon. The sight caused her to smile in spite of herself.

It was a light in the dark.