Luckily, I have an excuse to ditch the soccer game tonight.

The first thing Haemin says when I walk into the Honey Cafe is, “What the hell happened? You look... amazing.”

“Long story,” I say, cheerfully tying my uniform apron around my waist. “I’m ready to work!”

“And you’re happy, too,” she says incredulously, trailing behind me as I clear off tables with a grin. “Did you get a life coach, too?”

“Nope. I’m just happy because the Andong Aces are going to lose their match tonight.”

“Huh?”

“Well, I mean, I’m hoping they lose their match tonight.” I pause. “See, there’s a certain lucky charm that lets them win every match they play. I don’t know if it works, but, well they don’t have it tonight. So if they lose- which they hopefully will- then I’ll be super happy, because I hate the soccer team and I hate Sehun.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Haemin holds up her hands. “I’m going to ignore 99% of the rambling that just came out of your mouth, and focus on one word: Sehun?!”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you! We hate each other.”

“How do you forget to tell me something like that?! What the hell, Mihi? Is this because of the Fall Ball?”

“Autumn Ball. And, uh, kind of, yeah.”

Haemin is rubbing her temples. “Oh my... Jesus, Mihi. I’m so lost. First you show up looking like one of those rich girls, then you tell me you’re in a blood feud with Sehun- no wonder you took a week off work last week.”

“It’s been an eventful 7 days,” I admit. “And I’ll be joining a club, too.”

“Which one?”

“The Astronomy club.”

“Ew. Why astronomy?”

“I don’t know. I don’t play a sport and I’m not musically or artistically inclined. An academic club’s my best bet.”

“Why do you even need to join a club in the first place?”

“That’s... also a long story.”

Haemin chortles. “I see rich kids' high school lives are just as complicated as ours. I’m just surprised that it took you so long to conform. Marry a rich boy for me, Mihi.”

“I won’t need to if I’m rich myself,” I laugh.

It’s a Wednesday night, so the cafe is pretty empty. Haemin and I sit at a table and split an eclair, occasionally joking around with our customers.

What I love the most about Andong- the town my school’s located in- is that it’s a cozy little place whose residents mostly consist of middle-age families or senior citizens. It’s your typical small town, an hour drive away from the nearest big city. Everyone’s sweet and nonjudgemental. I rarely get to interact with people like that in school, so I cherish my lighthearted interactions with the Honey Cafe’s customers.

I am in the middle of dropping off empty plates to the kitchen when my phone buzzes.

Group Text

Min: MIHI YOU JUST MISSED EVERYTHING

Min: SO MUCH DRAMA

Mark: i can’t believe i’m saying this but.. i actually feel SO bad for him lol

Suzy: me too :(

Mihi: what is happening?????

JB: sehun was just injured during the match

Jackson: it was really bad actually like he was screaming in pain and clutching his knee

Fei: there are 3 ambulances here right now and everyone’s freaking out...

Mihi: WHAT?

Mihi: HOW

Jia: He had the ball and then 2 players from the other team tried to steal it and they all just tripped over each other and sehun fell REALLY hard

    Suzy: he was screaming......

I slowly put my phone down on the table. A cold, sinking feeling is filling my insides, dripping down my veins and pooling in the pit of my stomach.

This isn’t because of the lucky charm, right? My mind flashes to Writing Seminar, when I distracted Sehun and his stupid groupies so Mark could sneak up behind them and take his keychain. Afterwards, I proceeded to fling it as hard as I could into the lake.

The only reason I took it was to get revenge on Sehun for throwing me in the lake last night. I thought the most that would happen was that they would suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of their opponent.

Oh my god. Is this my fault?

Calm down, Mihi, I try and tell myself. Lucky charms don’t even exist. He didn’t get hurt because he didn’t have his keychain.

Or did he?

Sehun isn’t in any of my classes today.

The entire school is buzzing with talk about Sehun’s catastrophic injury. Song Naeeun even has it on video.

“Mihi, watch this,” she says, passing me her iPhone.

I watch with horror as Sehun, who is sprinting down the field after intercepting a pass, is blocked by two players from the other team. His leg catches around one of their legs, and the other player attempts to jerk away- but only succeeds in making Sehun fall to the floor.

Even from the long distance the video is filmed from, I can see the expression of agony on his face.

“Do you know where he is?” I ask concernedly. Naeeun shrugs.

“Probably resting,” she says. “Maybe he’s in the nurse’s office.”

After class, I meet my friends by the water fountains. Everyone looks very uneasy- especially Mark and Suzy.

“He’s okay,” Fei says after an anxious silence. “He just tore his meniscus. He’ll be okay. But he’s going to be out for the rest of the season, apparently.”

Mark and I exchange a look. I can tell that he is thinking the same thing as me: does this have to do with the keychain?

Stop being so superstitious, , I repeat to myself for the millionth time today.

I almost forget about my Astronomy Club meeting until Fei, suddenly jolting up and glancing at the clock on the wall, shrieks, “It’s 8:58, Mihi! You’re going to be late for Astronomy Club!”

“Goddammit!” I swear, hurriedly pulling on my cardigan and grabbing my phone. Five exhausting minutes of running later, I am on the top floor of the Fluck Building, heading towards the entrance of the tower that juts above the main structure.

Okay, so meet people, socialize, act interested in constellations or whatever, deal with this until 10 PM. I can do this.

Taking a deep breath, I open the door.

The lights in the circular observatory are off. However, the room is illuminated by pale moonlight that filters in through the clear panels of the high, dome-shaped roof. Glowing clusters of stars are scattered far across the sky, which is so dark it almost looks navy blue. Large telescopes, digital cameras, planetary charts, and stunning high-definition of images of swirling galaxies and speckled turquoise moons are neatly organized around the room. In a nook right opposite the door sit several oversized beanbags, pillows, and blankets.

    I never knew the inside of the Fluck building was this beautiful.

There is no one here.

    “Hello?” I call, tentatively stepping inside.

No one answers.

I tentatively step inside.

And then a voice behind me asks, “What are you doing here?”

Sehun is standing behind me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his gray sweats.

My jaw drops.

“Oh my god,” I breathe, shooting up. “You- what- how?”

Sehun assesses me with narrowed eyes. “What?”

“I thought you tore your meniscus yesterday,” I say slowly.

He yanks up his pant leg. There is a black brace on his right knee.

“They gave me a knee brace. It’s not bad enough for surgery.”

“But it’s bad enough to put you on the bench for the rest of the season.”

“How do you know?”

“The whole school knows. Where were you today, anyway?”

“Resting.”

I purse my lips. “But you managed to climb all the way up here.”

“There’s an elevator.”

“What? Seriously?” I groan. “Damn, that would’ve been helpful to know.”

I wince involuntarily as he slowly limps towards me. He really should be using crutches.

“Now you answer my questions,” he says, towering over me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for the Astronomy Club, but no one’s here. Why are you here?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “The Astronomy Club? Why?”

“Umm...,” I look away. “Long story. But it sounded pretty cool. Do you know where the Astronomy Club is?”

Sehun furrows his eyebrows. “Hate to break it to you, but I am the Astronomy club.”

Wait. What?

My disbelief must have been apparent, because he simply rolls his eyes. “I founded this club my freshman year. I’m the only member.”

“Wha- how?” I shake my head. “First of all, how does everyone not know about this? Everyone would want to join this club if they knew that you started it-,”

“I keep it low-key for a reason,” Sehun responds in a cross voice. “But it doesn’t matter- no one wants to join anyway- which is exactly how I want it. I want to be here by myself. Don’t ing tell anyone about this,” he adds.

“Can you calm down? I won’t.” I peer at him with a bemused expression. “But... you’re into astronomy? Huh.”  

Sehun scowls. “Can you go? I don’t even get why you’re still here.” He hobbles away to the nook in the corner.

I bite my lip. I don’t even get why I’m still here. The moment I saw Oh Sehun- and especially after I learned that he is the sole member of the Astronomy Club- I should’ve gotten the hell away from here. Spending even a minute more than necessary with that is utterly ridiculous.

But it might be the mere incredulity of this fact. It might be because of Sehun’s oddly different demeanor; normally snarky, sarcastic, and cruel, he seems oddly quiet right now.

Or it might be the pure beauty of this place.

Plus, this is the only club I am interested in that Fei, Min, Suzy, and Jia approved of. If I don’t join this, they’ll make me join something that I hate, like the FAC (Fashion Appliques Clique, of which Krystal, Victoria, and Irene are a part of).

“Let me join,” I say quietly.