After first period, the cheerleading team met up in the gym. The team comprised of the top students and the dance team that had recently been abolished. The team was formed for the purpose of adding an extra curricular onto the top students’ resumés. Sung Mi was in the top 10 in the school but she only joined because Yeol and Ha Joon begged her to. However, she spent most of the time sitting with Dong Jae, as neither of them wanted to touch anyone. 
While the two of them watched on as the others practiced, Dong Jae asked,
“Jung Sung Mi, I’ve decided to work on overcoming my touch phobia.”
“Really? That’s great,” Sung Mi replied, not being very enthusiastic. She was sincerely glad that Dong Jae wanted to work on his phobia, but she was also envious, as her ability wasn’t something one could overcome. She was stuck with it. 
Suddenly, Sung Mi’s phone rang and she recognized the number as the hospital. She rushed out of the gym to take the call, not being noticed by others except for Teacher Yang. Once outside, she answered the call and a familiar nurse’s voice rang through hurriedly. 
“Sung Mi-ah, your mother just got back from her Pancreatic test and the Doctor would like to see you and your father later today, the sooner the better.”
Sung Mi hung up after agreeing to be there as soon as possible. She didn’t bother calling her father as she did not see the reason for him to be there. 
When she turned around, there stood Teacher Yang, with a worried expression. Sung Mi informed him that she needed to leave school to go speak to her mother’s doctor, and asked him to cover for her. Before he could protest, Sung Mi sprinted off, heading to the dorms to change quickly and leave the premises. 

“I’m afraid that the cancer is spreading quicker than we imagined. She was in bad shape today when you left, which is why we did the tests.” The Doctor sat opposite Sung Mi, trying to explain the situation as best as he could.
“How-how long does she have left?” The tears were forming and she felt her throating closing up.
“She’ll be lucky if she lasts through the week.”
There it was; the thing she feared to hear. She closed her eyes and the tears flowed freely. Suddenly, the door opened and her father stood in the doorway. Once they made eye contact, Sung Mi stood up and bowed to thank the Doctor. She pushed her way through the door and ignored the anxious feeling she got from touching him. 

Sung Mi couldn’t stand to see her mother right now, as she was sure that she would break down in tears, causing her mother more pain. Instead, she made her way down to the lobby of the Hospital. To her surprise, she found her father waiting there for her. She was sure that he was with the doctor, but she told herself that he probably found out via phone call ahead of time.
“Sung Mi-ah,” he said, heading straight for her. 
Rather than stop in her tracks and entertain his company, she strolled straight past him. He called after her to no avail. Sung Mi headed straight to school, never looking back. 
Once she arrived at the gates, she was stopped short when she saw Yeon Doo and Ha Joon laughing happily. She watched from a distance as the sunlight reflected off of Ha Joon’s smooth skin and perfectly groomed hair. She loved the way his hair was set up. In fact, before middle school, she had taught him how to style his hair that way. Now, she regretted doing so as Yeon Doo lifted her hand to move a stray hair from falling into his eyes. 
Feeling the rage of jealousy bubbling  up inside her, she strolled quickly past the scene and made her way to the dorms. 
“Sung Mi-ah!” someone called behind her. She turned to see Yeol approaching her. “Where have you been?”
“Just, around.”
He nodded and smiled sweetly before running off to join Yeon Doo and Ha Joon. This feeling had been all too familiar to her since the semester started; the three of them would head off after saying a few words to Sung Mi, never inviting her. 

As soon as Sung Mi entered the room, her phone blasted. It was the hospital again. A sense of dread quickly overcame her and she dreaded what was to be said from the other end of that call.
“Jung Sung Mi, your Mother is in critical condition. This might be it,” the Doctor said, confidently. 
She hung up the call and crumpled to the floor. She was glad that no one was in the room to see her in such a vulnerable state. She knew she had to get back up and go back the way she came but she couldn’t manage to make her legs obey her. After what seemed like hours, her phone rang again. This time, she recognized the number immediately. It was her Father. 
“Sung Mi-ah, your mother…” 
The phone fell to the floor, still connected to the call. The moment had arrived; the ever-dreaded moment. Her last influence of joy and hope had disappeared. She kicked herself for not going to see her mother before she left. 

Sung Mi never left the dormitory that day. She moved to the bathroom and locked herself in the furthest stall. Her father must have contacted the school, because there were teachers and students going through the halls calling out her name. 
Finally, Teacher Yang was able to find her, curled up  in a ball in the laundry room. He held her momentarily, but Sung Mi never cried in front of him. She remained composed and allowed him to lead her to her room. Her roommates were surprised that a male teacher was leading a girl to her room but once they saw her state, they thought nothing of it. 
“I’ll cover for you, Sung Mi,” the Teacher said before he left her that night.
Sung Mi did not know exactly when but she fell asleep and dreamt of her mother and recalled all the moments when her mother looked after her and her psychometric power.