Two; 

When I got home, the house was silent, empty. It had been like this for a while, I'd come to realize. Minseok was busy at work until late at the hospital most nights. He was almost finished with his last year of residency, working in the emergency room of one of Seoul's' best hospitals, and was picking up a lot of extra shifts to earn extra money. Residency didn't pay well, and we didn't have a lot of money to spare. I knew Minseok hated not having savings, because he was always one to be prepared for emergencies. Also, there was my college tuition that we had to start paying soon. 

Kim Minseok was not related to me by blood. My parents had adopted him as a baby, and he was six whole years older than me. I had grown up with him by my side, and I'd always considered him as my bother. When our parents died in my second year of high school, Minseok became my legal guardian and my only family left. 

I sent Minseok a message, reminding him to eat dinner and not over work himself. Then, I made myself dinner and sat down at the kitchen table with my books. The college entrance exam was coming up in just weeks, and we didn't have enough money to send me to a cram school. It was okay, though, because I studied well on my own. While Baekhyun didn't seem worried, I knew that I had to score well in order to get into a good college. Hopefully, I would get a scholarship, and Minseok would be able to rest more. 

I studied in silence, preferring that to background music or television. I had gotten use to silence in the past few years. Being alone wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I took a break when it was already dark outside and ventured back into the kitchen to get some water. 

When I got back to my table, I could hear dogs barking outside and the pitter-patter of footsteps. I moved in front of the window and looked outside. Jongin was down on the street, holding his three dogs by their leashes. Jjangah, Monggu and Jjanggu were excited to be out for their walk, running between Jongin's legs and tangling him up. 

"Stop, guys, stop," Jongin was muttering, trying to keep his balance. His hair flopped off his forehead as he struggled, and I wondered where Jongin's brother was. His dogs were way too high maintenance to be walked by one person. 

As if hearing my thoughts, Jongin looked up right at my window and locked eyes with me. For a moment, he just stared, but then he sighed and tilted his head, asking me to come out.

I guess I should hate Kim Jongin, but I really couldn't. He had every right to say that he didn't want to love me. Sure, the whole situation at school was uncalled for, but by isolating me like that, I had made a true friend in Baekhyun, who stuck by me no matter what. I was never invited to any parties and didn't have guys chasing me, so nothing distracted me from my studying and I got good grades. Also, maybe it was just part of the Script, but I always felt drawn to him. We were soul mates for some reason after all.

I pulled on one of Minseok's snapbacks from the coffee table on my way out of the door. Jongin was still struggling with his dogs when I got there, and he immediately handed Jjanggu's leash over to me.

All three of Jongin's dogs were excited to see me and immediately jumped on me. I used to spend a lot of time with them when I was little, before the Script, and I knew they missed me even if Jongin would never admit it. 

"Where's Joonmyun oppa?" I asked, looking toward Jongin's house. All the lights were on in the Kim household. It was a stark contrast to my own house right next door, where every room was now dark.

"Hyung got home late from work so he's still eating dinner," Jongin answered. He finally untangled his legs from the last two dogs and started down the street. I followed silently, letting Jjanggu run up with the others. 

Jongin's brother, Joonmyun, graduated from Seoul National the year before with a business degree. He had invested in a chain of noodle restaurants when he was still in school, and the investment had paid off. In fact, Joonmyun found himself as the co-owner of several popular restaurants even before his graduation. I wondered if Jongin felt burdened by having such a smart and successful brother. Minseok's success and hard work was a burden to me, and I didn't even have parents to prove myself to. 

I didn't ask. 

We walked the rest of the way in silence, a path that we were both familiar with. The path wound through the dark neighborhood streets, ending at a small park that we used to play in as kids. We let the dogs off their leashes and they bounced around chasing each other, tiring each other out. Jongin and I sat on the swings and watched, making small conversation. 

Jongin's phone ran a few minutes later, and he answered it after a slightly hesitation. "Hey baby," he said. "What's going on?"

I looked down at my shoes, avoiding his gaze. I knew Jongin had a girlfriend. In fact, Jongin had many girlfriends. He was the most sought after boy at school – handsome, decent grades, from a well off family. 

Still, as I tried to tune out the sound of Jongin's voice, I couldn't help but think that it should have been me. I was his soul mate; shouldn't he be with me? It was so unfair for me to be so close to my soul mate, yet knowing that he will never be mine. My right hand moved to grip at the bracelet again, as it did every time I thought about the Script, about Jongin and me. 

When Jongin hung up the phone, I didn't bother asking who it was. Jongin switched girlfriends more often than most people switched their SNS profile pictures. 

We walked back after another ten minutes. The dogs were much calmer on the way, out of energy to jump around. When we turned the corner onto my street, I saw that someone was waiting for me outside of my house. Baekhyun was learning against the seat of his motorcycle, eyes fixed on the phone in his hand and a backpack slung over his shoulder. I wondered where he went after school, because he was still in his school uniform. Probably to a PC bang to play League of Legends. Although Baekhyun and I both lived in Gangnam-gu, he lived in a much more upscale area in Cheongdam-dong. 

"Is that Byun?" Jongin's voice turned hostile for the first time during our trip. 

I gave Jjanggu's leash back to Jongin and leaned down to give each dog a soft kiss on the head as goodbye. "You should probably stay back," I mumbled, pushing him back around the corner. No one else at school knew that Jongin and I were neighbors, and it was probably best to keep it that way for the last few weeks. 

Baekhyun heard my footsteps as I approached and he pushed himself off the wall, hastily sticking his phone into his pocket. "Inna, where did you go?" he asked. "I was waiting for you."

"Study break," I told him. "Why are you here?"

"Can I come in?" Upon seeing my unimpressed look, Baekhyun pressed on. "No one is home at my place and it's so lonely, don't you know? My parents are out of the country for work and the maid's daughter is getting married this week so she's not even there."

It was getting late already, but I still needed to review another chapter of calculus and two of literature. 

"Only if you promise to be quiet and study with me," I replied. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, but hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me up the stairs to the door. "Okay, okay. Promise."

To my surprise, Baekhyun actually took out his math book and studied with me, leaning over my shoulder to check my work whenever he got stuck, which was every other practice problem. He also seemed to have had a pit stop on at a convenience store on his way here, because half of his backpack was filled with snacks, which he spread all over the table where books didn't already occupy. I think, deep down, Baekhyun really just wanted company. I understood loneliness better than anyone, and it was nice to have him breathing next to me, invading my space.

Baekhyun left around midnight, and Minseok came home a few minutes before 1AM, bleary eyed and stumbling just as I was putting my books back into my backpack. I heated up some leftovers for him, and watched him eat at the kitchen table. 

"What, Inna?" he sighed, catching my gaze.

"I'm worried about you," I told him truthfully. "You look really tired, Oppa."

Minseok let out a waned smile. "I don't have a morning shift tomorrow so I'm going to sleep in until ten thirty, okay? Oppa is okay, just make sure you get to school safely."

"I think Baekhyun is picking me up," I said. 

Minseok's nose crinkled. "Motorcycles are not safe. That Byun boy is a walking disaster."

Minseok liked to pretend that he didn't like Baekhyun, but I knew that it was just a front. He knew that despite all his short comings, Baekhyun was a sincere and caring person. When my parents had died, Baekhyun had acted as my pillar, even though we had only been friends for a year. Baekhyun was by my side to keep me strong when no one else was. <