I. The next day, Namjoo woke up early and as she was going down the stairs she accidentally slipped on the last two steps and hit her buttocks on the floor. Awh, that hurt. She sauntered to the kitchen, rubbing on her behind and even her waist, only to find a note stuck on the refrigerator. She pulled it off and yawned before reading.
 

"I came home last night but you were already asleep, sorry I had to go immediately again. Work. I bought you groceries and placed them inside the fridge and cabinets. Take care of yourself, my dear. I'll see you soon, okay? -Mom"
 

She sighed and mumbled a small oh well as she crumpled the note and threw it in the trash can. As she  was preparing food, she must've spaced out for long that she forgot that she was actually cooking. Her breakfast got burnt, but nevertheless she ate it as quick as she could, dressed up in her uniform and went out to walk her way to school — despite it being too early in the morning.

As she was making her way up the bridge she always passes by on the way to school, she saw a familiar form at a distance. The person was leaning onto the handrail and Namjoo immediately recognized it was Hyuk. She gasped softly, wondering why he was there. She continued walking, still, and ignored the fact that he might see her. She never saw him at this particular place though, so she was really curious about why or what he was doing there, and at a time like this. It couldn't be that he was waiting for her, right—she asked herself and even found it weird for her to think that way. A few steps near him, he pulled out his phone and levelled it on his ear as if he just received a call. She took a deep breath and quickly passed by him, not wanting to make any noise as it seemed like he didn't even notice her anyway. She ran down the bridge stairs as fast as she could and ends up entering the nearest convenience store she could find to catch her breath. She looked out the window and around before sitting down to rest.


"Namjoo, you up yet? I'll be a bit busy today with a few school errands so I won't be able to hang out with you. Sorry!"


She received a message from Hayoung just as she was about to get her phone to call her. She gave herself a facepalm and sighed heavily, uttering how she feels like this day won't be good to her already. She even thought of not going to school, but her conscience won't let her since exams really are coming up and she can't afford missing classes. Just as she was starting to overthink things, she saw Hyuk pass by and without a doubt, was with a girl who looked like someone from the same school — the uniform was a dead giveaway. She clearly saw them smiling at each other, almost looking as if, "Are they dating ..." she asked herself, obliviously. She shook her head upon realizing what she mumbled and even pats on her cheeks, telling herself not to think about it because why would she even care. She gathered herself together and stood up, bought a few snacks before leaving the store.



Nearing the school, she came upon their homeroom teacher at the entrance — and a few other teachers with her — who greeted her cheerfully and asking why she was early. Namjoo giggled in response and answered that she herself don't know why. At that point, she remembered Hyuk and the other girl student and asked herself if they're maybe already inside the school premises. "Is everything all right, Ms. Kim?"

"— Ah, yes. Sorry about that, ma'am. Good morning!" she smiled at them with a slight nervous chuckle. She strided inside the school with her head down, wishing she didn't looked any stupid in front of the teachers. Just as she was running up the stairs, she bumped into someone—again—but this time, it was a girl. The girl apologized firstly, said that she should be more careful and immediately left after. Namjoo didn't recognize who she was from her voice and wasn't even able to see her face properly. But she wondered, why did she felt queer.


Upon entering the room, she saw Hyuk on his desk. He was holding his notebook and jotting down, to her surprise, something school related. He went to grab something from his bag when he noticed her immediately. He stared at her and only stared. She stiffened up, unknowingly. She didn't know if she should stare back at him or just waltz away. It was an awkward situation for her suddenly. After a few dead air seconds, Hyuk placed his notebook under his desk and stood up — "I'm leaving for now, sorry you had to see me this early in the morning,"

Namjoo looked at him as he left through the other door. She was confused. Why did he apologize for such a small thing, she thought. Although, she also found herself questioning why she suddenly froze up at the sight of him.


Come to think of it, I always get conscious whenever I see Sanghyuk. Even after what happened, I'd always end up curious about him. I wonder if it's because we became friends then, after all. Yeah, that must be right.





II. She was in complete daze during class. Though looking at the teacher, her mind was lost at some thoughts and it wasn't just about Hyuk. She couldn't help but think of the girl he's with this morning, her mom, Hayoung and the exams. She felt suddenly stressed about it and uttered a groan. Everyone started to look at her and was asked by the teacher if anything was wrong, when she shook her head as she gazed down, the class eventually laughed. She felt a bit humil