Nobody was around. 

Mark was alone.

Finally, he thought. He was playing with his skin—pricking it with his long fingernails. He would've cut himself with something sharper but because of Professor Jang (who has seen him cut himself—he forbids it), he couldn't. 

Crap, he thought. I've almost gotten away with it.

When his arm started bleeding, he stopped.  He lifted up a finger and placed it on the cut. He started brushing his finger against it, not feeling any particular pain. He smiled, rocking back and forth. 

His psychiatrist was going to visit him, today. His name was Jo Sang-Guk, but of course, Mark had to call him Mr.Jo.

Mr.Jo has been visiting Mark ever since his mother got anxious over what Mark was doing—cutting himself, hiding in his bedroom. She also heard the rumours the kids in school created. Their neighbour's kid back in Seoul was Mark's classmate, and his classmate told his parents all about it. And his mother invited them once and seeing that Mark wasn't around that time, the kid's parents told his mom all about it.

Mark heard the conversation as he hid behind the living room walls.

The thought, of course, made him angry.

The past is in the past, he thought as to calm himself down, the past is in the past.

He brushed his finger against the cut harder, almost pressing against it. Blood seeped out and he stopped, thinking about what Mr.Jo might think about it. He cursed, searching the room. He could use some tissue or a bandage or whatever. That way Mr.Jo will think he's more stable than he was the last time Mr.Jo visited.

But going through the hall  was Mr.Jo, searching for the room number, '105'. He stopped when the numbers turned to 100s. He scanned the area and when he found the room '105', he walked towards it, knocking on it. 

‘Mark Tuan? Are you in there?’ he asked. Mark's head shot up, looking at the door to his room. He looked at his cut, thinking that it wasn't that bad. He sighed. Everything's going to be alright, everything's going to be alright, he thought. 

‘Yes,’ he said, heading towards the door. He unlocked the door and pulled it open.  ‘Are you ready for today's session?’ Mark saw Mr.Jo, scooping up a few things in his arm. He looked past Mr.Jo, he looked around the hall. There was nobody. Mark nodded, looking at Mr.Jo. ‘Okay then,’ he led the way, passing the dorms rooms in a swift motion. 

Eun-Mi and Min-Young appeared to be the only ones wearing casual clothes. Everyone looked at them weird. A few girls came up to them, ‘What are you dressed up as?’

It was awkward and all but they were both pretty hungry and the food set on the table was delicious. Min-Young decided to watch the performances arranged by a band without Eun-Mi since Eun-Mi didn't want to. Everyone was dancing, here and there, singing along to the song.. And so far, she wasn't having any fun.

Eun-Mi poured punch into her cup and searched for somewhere to sit. But just as she turned around, she bumped into someone. Her drink splashed onto the person's shirt, creating a pink stain. She cursed. ‘Sorry!’ She frowned, searching for something to help get rid of the stain.

Instead, she rubbed her sleeve against the boy's stained shirt. She looked up, looking at the boy. He was a head taller than her. She blushed, realizing that he was throwing a surprised look at her. ‘Umm,’ she muttered and mentally face-palmed herself. 

He laughed, shaking his head. He took out tissue from his pockets and rubbed it against his shirt. The stain was still there  but it wasn't as drenched as before. Eun-Mi raised a brow at him, wondering why he isn't mad.

‘Freshman?’ he asked, throwing the tissue away. Eun-Mi watched as it crashes to the ground before looking at him again. She nodded.

‘That explains a lot,’ he said, looking back at her. ‘I'm Jae-Bum. Call me JB,’

She smiled sheepishly, ‘I'm Eun-Mi. Call me whatever you like,’ 

He hummed approvingly before walking away. She felt her face going red. Whoever that was, he was attractive. Eun-Mi shook all her thoughts away and sat on the furthest bench where no one sat on. She looked at the performances from there, looking at the huge crowd.

They were playing a Beatles song, a song that wasn't fitting for Halloween. But still, they did an amazing job.

‘Oh my god, Eun-Mi? Kim Eun-Mi? Is that you?’ 

Eun-Mi looked beside her, looking at a familiar face. Her mind calculated at first, trying to recall the last time she'd seen that face.

Her eyes grew wide, ‘Mina?’ 

The girl—Mina—nodded, smiling before giving Eun-Mi a huge hug. ‘I thought I'd never see you again!’ she cried.

Eun-Mi hugged her as well.

Moon Mina is Eun-Mi and Min-Young's bestfriend. They got separated at the age of 15.

‘Where's Min-Hee? I thought she'd be here with you?’ Eun-Mi asked, raising a brow. Min-Hee was another best-friend of theirs, who apparently, was no longer there.

‘She's living her dream. Travelling to the U.K. I guess,’ Mina shrugged. ‘She promised to keep in touch, by the way. She changed her phone number, so if you're wondering why you couldn't contact her..’

Mina's eyes then travelled past Eun-Mi. ‘Oh no, it's him,’ she muttered. Eun-Mi looked at where she was looking and spotted a boy wearing a torn grey hoodie, a pair of light green khakis and a pair of slippers.

Eun-Mi stared at him as he passed the field with a man. She wondered if he was going to the party. His head whipped towards their direction, earning a gasp from Mina. ‘Look away! Look away!’ 

Eun-Mi kept her eyes on the odd boy. He did the same too. He wore a blank expression and once he laid eyes on her, he looked away. Eun-Mi did, too. But what she didn't know was; Mark looked at her once she turned away.

there is always a place for the wicked to stay