Seolhyun picked at her food with her chopsticks, gazing at the boy from across the cafeteria.  It’s been weeks since school started, and for all the times they rode the same bus, or crossed paths at the school hallway, Wooshin hasn’t even spared her a smile.  A harsh flick on the forehead brought her back to reality, snapping out of her daze to glare at the girl in front of her.

“What was that for!” She mumbled, rubbing the spot that was now turning red. Seolhyun was having lunch with her close friend, Hyejeong. They’ve been close since they met at the beginning of middle school, but ever since the incident, Seolhyun had a chance to spend more time with other people.

“Eat before I eat your food for you.” Hyejeong replied, tapping Seolhyun’s plate with her chopsticks.

Seolhyun frowned, dejectedly taking a small amount of her food into . Hyejeong turned her head back to the direction where Seolhyun had been staring and sighed. “If he was really your friend, he would at least spare you a hello.”

“Maybe something happened in China.” Seolhyun argued, bringing her gaze back to the boy.

“What something could that possibly be that he throws away over ten years of friendship?”

Seolhyun felt something twist in her stomach, a terrible, gut-wrenching feeling that came out of nowhere. She pushed her plate away, losing her appetite. “Maybe,” Seolhyun started, trying to bring defense to her friend.

“Maybe he’s just an .” Hyejeong mumbled, completing Seolhyun’s sentence for her.

Every now and then, Seolhyun found herself glancing at Wooshin, with a tiny tinge of hope that he might look back. But being treated like nothing but a breath of air was exhausting; and soon enough, Seolhyun realized that it was time to forget everything, to accept the fact that, now, Wooshin is nothing but a stranger she shared memories with.

POST-RELEASE OF MIDTERM GRADES, 03:00 AM, FRIDAY

The calm silence of the sleeping house was interrupted by the sound of Seolhyun’s phone. It sat on her nightstand, vibrating endlessly, the loud ringtone filling her room. Seolhyun grumbled and reached for her phone half-awake, more with the intention of silencing it, instead of answering the call. Her eyes narrowed, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. With heavy eyes, she could hardly read the name on the screen: Wooshin.

She sat up and after her groggy mind finally processed the fact that this person was calling her, question after question started to fill her mind. Wooshin? Why would he call me? At this hour? I didn’t even know he was still using this number. After much hesitation, she answered call.

Before she could even utter a hello, the person on the other line took it as an opportunity to shout at her.

“What took you so long!”

Seolhyun moved her phone away from her ear, the volume loud enough for her to still hear him. For a second, she thought it was a different person, but she recognized the voice she hasn’t heard in so long. But the voice sounded a little different, though she couldn’t smell it, the voice reeked of alcohol. Wooshin was drinking. He's drunk. And from the background noise she's hearing, he isn't home.

“What’s wrong? Where are you?” Seolhyun tried to ask him, but he replied with words that made no sense to her. “Does your mom know where you are?”

“SHUSH. Be quiet. Mom doesn’t know I went out and had fun.” Wooshin said in between laughs and whispers.

Seolhyun rolled her eyes and checked the time. “Fun? Yeah, you sure sound like you’re having fun. I’m going back to sleep. Good night.”

“Noooo! Don’t sleep.” Wooshin whined.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

Wooshin replied with nothing but a groan, followed by what sounded like something hitting the table.

“Hello? Wooshin?” Immediately, Seolhyun’s tone went from annoyed to worry. Wooshin had stopped answering, but she started hearing a second voice on the other line. “Hey, hey. Are you okay? Sir?”

Seolhyun starts to raise her voice, careful not to be too loud. “Wooshin? WOOSHIN? YA KIM WOOSHIN!”

“Hello, Miss? I’m afraid your friend is knocked out.” The voice from before has become clearer now.

Seolhyun sighs. “Can you tell his friends to take him home now?”

“Friends? Oh no, I’m afraid he came here alone. He’s been drinking by his self for over two hours now.”

“Two hours?! Ah, where are you? I’ll come pick him up.”

After receiving the details, Seolhyun put on her jacket and didn’t even bother changing out of her pajamas. Thankfully the place wasn’t too far, and Seolhyun arrived after fifteen minutes of running and brazing the cold. Catching her breath, Seolhyun spots Wooshin, his head slumped and resting on his arm on the table. She looks at the mess and sees all the bottles her friend has finished by himself.

She sighs and taps him with her foot. “Hey, it’s time to go home now.” But he doesn’t budge.

Not a moment later, a staff approaches her. “Hello, Miss, are you a friend of his?”

Seolhyun bowed and introduced herself as the one from the phone. The staff nods and introduces his self as Sooil, handing her Wooshin’s phone. “Here, you should take him home now.”

Seolhyun nods and takes the phone. "Thank you for watching over him."

Seolhyun shifts and squats down, trying to pull Wooshin up with her.

"Do you need some help?" Sooil offers.

"Ah, yes please. Could you help me hold him up?"

Sooil gladly complies and helps her hold Wooshin up, supporting his arms on their shoulders.

Because it was such an ungodly hour, there weren’t any taxis around, and they were left with no choice but to walk and drag Wooshin along with them.

“You two must be very close, for you to run all the way there in your pajamas.” Sooil said, trying to break the silence that was surrounding them.

Seolhyun looked down at herself, only realizing now that she left in such a rush. Her face flushed with embarrassment, suddenly thankful for the lack of lighting. “Oh, we’re neighbors.”

Seolhyun was mentally cursing Wooshin now, the urge to beat him up rising with every step and pull. When they reached the apartment building, Seolhyun thanked Sooil. “I’m sorry you had to walk and carry him all the way here.”

“It’s okay, there weren’t a lot of customers anyway. Besides, there’s no way you could’ve dragged him all the way down here by yourself.” Sooil answered with a chuckle.

The elevator dinged, opening and waiting for them to step in. Seolhyun huffed. “Thanks, I’ll take it from here.”

Sooil wriggled out from under Wooshin’s arms, making sure Seolhyun had a good grip on him before fully letting him go. Seolhyun stepped into the elevator, dragging Wooshin in with her before saying goodbye to Sooil and thanking him once again.

When they arrived in front of Wooshin’s apartment unit, Seolhyun was perplexed. She knew she couldn’t ring the bell for it would awaken Wooshin’s mother. She sighed. She wasn’t even sure why she was doing this. Wooshin getting in