Chapter 3:

Sora was pacing around the infirmary, weighing the two options in her head.

Seungyoon was lying on one of the white hospital beds lined up at the cream-coloured wall, still passed out and with a troubled expression on his face.

The nurse wasn’t present, so the office was empty except for the two students.

Sora bit her lip, glanced at the two backpacks on the floor next to Seungyoon’s bed, sighed and gave up the contemplation. It was useless, Mirae made a decision unnecessary  the moment she walked in and dropped off the two backpacks.

“I should drop him off at his home. With his current condition, he won’t be able to take the classes anyways.” She glanced at the sleeping figure. “Or should I call his parents?”

At that moment, Seungyoon started to stir in his sleep until he woke up with a gasp. His eyes lingered a while on the ceiling before a cough made him advert his eyes to the source of the noise. He was met with a figure leaning against the window.

“You’ up?”

The sun was shining through the glass, wrapping the girl in bright light.

An angel.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Her voice took a more serious tone as she approached the bed.

“Yeah.”, was his short reply before he got up. He froze when he spotted the backpacks on the floor.

Sora who caught his look, slung her backpack on her shoulder while holding the other on her arm.

“You didn’t seem to be in the condition to attend classes, so Mirae brought them here. I think it’s better for you to go home and rest. Can your parents pick you up?”

Seungyoon flinched slightly which Sora didn’t miss but decided to not address and shook his head.

“I’ll walk.”

“Are you sure? I can call someone to pick us up and to drop you off, you know. Five minutes only.” Sora offered, her phone already in her hand.

“No thank you very much“, he snatched his backpack from her and brushed past her into the hallways.

Sora stuffed her phone back into her backpack and hurried after him.

“Wait up!“

“You should go back to class.“ Seungyoon stated while speeding up to leave the school grounds.

“And leave you in your poor condition all by yourself? You could faint again! Or get run over by a car when you cross the street!“ She huffed in response.

“I don’t live so far away, I’ll be okay by myself.“

“We’ll see about that...“ She smiled, following him onto the streets.

Seungyoon sighed. He lost.

This girl isn’t going to change her mind... Might as well tell the truth.

“Actually... I do live a little bit further away than previously said.“ He murmured, glancing at the girl to see her reaction.

Her smile just grew bigger which reassured him somehow.

“Then, the problem’s solved.“

After a good twenty minutes of awkward silence for Seungyoon and relaxing silence for a curious Sora who took interest in discovering the neighbourhood, they finally arrived at his place. It was an old borderline run-down apartment building with five floors.

“Do you want to come in?” Seungyoon blurted out before realising how weird it actually sounded. “I mean... Do you want to come in for a cup of tea or something as a ’Thanks’ for helping me out today?” He blushed.

Cute.

“Sure, why not? I won’t be having classes today anyways.” She replied and eyed the building.

“It looks worser than it actually is.” Seungyoon avoided her eyes and went ahead. Sora could feel his uneasiness and quickly matched her steps to walk beside him.

“Appearance doesn’t matter as long as you feel at home.” She shugged her shoulders and stared ahead.

Seungyoon glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and his posture relaxed.

At least someone who doesn’t give stupid remarks about his home.

He didn’t really want to move, too many memories.

They headed inside the building and climbed up the stairs.

No lock on the front door, neither a doorman, nor an elevator. Not the safest place to stay.

They arrived at the fourth floor, panting slightly. “Stairs are a pain, no matter how much of a sporty person you are.” Sora thought.

Seungyoon’s apartment was located on the far end of the corridor which had five other doors for the remaining five flats.

Upon entering the room, Sora noticed the coldness and emptiness of the apartment. She didn’t know why but she felt sad, scanning over the sparse furnished room which was the the living room and kitchen.

Suddenly, a certain smell struck her nose. It was faint but still intense enough to linger in the room. Seungyoon who didn’t seem to notice it, went to the kitchen counter and pointed to the small couch.

“Please sit.” He returned with a glass of water and gave it to Sora. She accepted it with a thankful smile.

“I...I think I’ll take a shower if you don’t mind.”

His face was still pale and a thin layer of sweat was on his forehead. He wasn’t that well yet. With a nod of her head, he got up and disappeared through a door at the other side of the room.

Sora took a gulp of her water and looked around the room. It was rather simply decorated; a TV, a couch, a small wooden table, two plastic chairs, an ordinary kitchen counter with a small fridge. It had a typically university student slash bachelor habitation flair.

That faint but bothering smell was omnipresent in the room. It was like something was burned. Sora got up with her now empty glass and made her way to the sink. There she found the source of that burned scent.

A frying pan, lying in the half-filled sink with a burned something on it.

Sora wrinkled her nose. Delicious.

She opened a window to let fresh air enter the place. She sighed. That burned something seemed to be a supposed-to-be omelette.

His breakfast? That would explain his fainting. He skipped his meal.

‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You have to eat a lot to get enough strength for the day.’

Sora remembered her mother’s words better than anything else. How often did she get scolded by her for skipping them and waking up later on in her own bedroom to her worried face.