Four months,

Two weeks,

Five days….

That’s exactly the time Hana has spent with her new friends. She used to dread meeting them, the idea never failed to make her frown but now, the exact fact has her rushing out of bed every day. The nightmares were long gone and for that made her even more ecstatic. Every moment since the past few months she had spent with them was pure bliss. The noisy bickering, the random jokes, everything about them that had annoyed her even the least were now the factors that made her admire them even more.

She could feel the change herself.  Her smiles grew, both in quantity. The smiles were a great achievement for the boys. After hearing from her aunt about the impact her parents’ accident had had on her, they wanted nothing more to help the girl, and to see their result of their persistence was an accomplishment they had been hoping for.

They were enjoying the fruit of the three they had planted, however, the yield was not ripe yet, and they’d have to be patient if they wanted her to be open to them completely. A fact they were aware of. The thought only made them want to work harder towards her. If they were to be completely honest, the first two weeks they refused to let the girl be was out of sympathy of her situation. However, being with the girl, even with her lack of responses and enthusiasm, was something they had learned to enjoy.

They enjoyed scrutinizing her expression, noticing the little changes. Hana too, had gotten used to being around them. There would be days when she wouldn’t be able to meet up with them due to her checkups, in which case she would always excuse herself from the meeting through a text, always informing about her absence.

Which is why, when Lay couldn’t spot Hana on her usual seat at the end of soccer practice, and when the girl wouldn’t answer his texts or calls, he was engulfed with worry. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo had both been informed, and although at first they thought their friend was only over reacting, their anxiety also grew with each passing second.

After the first two hours without any trace of the girl was when Lay had had enough. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were ordered to drop by at her house to personally check her absence, and because the soccer field was nearby the school, he himself bolted towards the principal’s office but before he could even make a move, coach pulled him back, screaming about an extra 30 minutes drill. Lay respected his coach greatly. He had never had any objections with him even with all the times he was served with detention for being late to practice. However, this time, he wanted nothing more to ignore the older man’s order because the only reason he started coming early to weekend practices was so that he wouldn’t have to stay back late, and right now, his coach holding him for practice when he should be looking for Hana was not the reality he wanted.

The messages from Kyungsoo and Baekhyun did nothing more but boost his anxiety. The text came nearly five minutes ago and it was written, in clear bold words, that Hana was not present at her house. The information made him forget about the fatigue he was currently enduring and ran towards the school building.

He knew he was only trying his luck but he felt that her aunt would be the only person who knew where the girl was. He wasn’t surprised to find the main door locked. Of course, why would you leave the door open during weekends?

He went over every possible place he figured the girl could be and came up with nothing. She had never expressed her desire to visit a certain place, or suggested on an outing location, she just tagged along quietly to wherever they took her. She had never even mentioned any of her hobbies and although Lay had seen and observed her intellect in music, he was aware that she had not yet fully expressed herself.

His phone rang and he brightened at the sound because although the girl had never actually called him before, hoping was something he couldn’t help. The caller was not the person he was expecting, but Baekhyun whose thick voice made his sentiments evident.

“Any clue?”

“No man, she’s not here. But….”

“But what?”

“Kyungsoo just got a call from Principal Kim and…she asked when we’ll drop Hana home…..”

“What?”

“She uh…. she said that Hana left home early…and texted her saying that she’d be with us….”

“ She WAS supposed to be with us!”

“I know! But there’s one more thing…..Principal Kim said that she’d would be back from the graveyard by 3.....and that we should bring Hana back by dinner because they are going to have a memorial dinner tonight..” Baekhyun drifted off and Lay grew confused with every syllable uttered by the boy.

“Lay, it’s her parents’ death anniversary.” Baekhyun’s words now suddenly made sense, but that didn’t help him in any way, in fact, they practically threw him off the edge. Hana was alone on the date that held the most dreadful memories for her and the reality that she was nowhere to be found was making him loose his mind.

“Here Kyungsoo wants to talk to you-

Hello? Lay? You there?”

“Yeah….” He answered, sounding lost. It was like his brain had stopped processing.

“Listen get a hold of yourself and don’t freak out after what I’m about to tell you, alright?” Kyungsoo said in an authoritative tone. He was trying too hard to maintain his cool but the latest piece of information he had received made him panic.

“I just got off the phone with the principal and she was thanking us for taking care of her niece and being there for her today. She also told me that…”

“That…?!”

“Don’t freak out..”

“Just shut up and tell me God damn it!”

“She said that the last time Hana had……tried to overdose….” Kyungsoo spoke each word slowly and carefully. “And before that she almost cut herself.”

Lay’s mind had shut down. But as the words slowly sunk in and new waves of worry crashed over him he began to panic. Kyungsoo called him out several times to make sure he had not lost the boy.

“Look-“

“We have to find her”

“I kno-“

“I’m hanging up.” Was the last response he gave before he abruptly cut the call.

Lay ran out the school gate and continued running around aimlessly. He had never seen her with someone other than himself and the others and he was positive she doesn’t have many friends. he had no idea what he was doing or where he was looking he just knew that if what her aunt said was true, and Hana had lied to her about being with them, then she was in danger and needed protection from herself.

He ran past a music store and caught a glimpse of black hair. The girl he saw may not be Hana, but the piano that was placed behind the girl flashed several memories and the tune that he had heard several months ago, replayed in his mind, still as fresh as ever. His instincts gave him a direction. The burning in his lungs and the aching of his muscles was forgotten, along with the fatigue he was suffering from.

Despite being scarcely used, the corridors of the second school building were as spotless as ever. The classrooms were all shut tight and even with jiggling the knob several times, he was unable to unlock even a single door. He had switched to speed walking, so that he wouldn’t miss even a single class. It was the same corridor where he had first seen Hana and it brought back memories which, if it wasn’t for the given condition, never failed to make him smile.

This was his only hope, the only place where he thought he’d be able to locate the girl, hopefully, without any wounds or injuries. He twisted the knob and it produced a ‘click’ sound, granting him entrance. The sight before him drained all color from his face. There in front of him, was Hana with her back facing the door, sitting on the piano bench with her head resting on the piano and her arms dangling lifelessly in the air below her.

_ 

this was supposed to be up hours ago -.-

stupid internet