Their teacher took his last step out of the room and Nari felt her whole body release, slumping out of her upright posture. An overwhelming sigh sounded from her as she stood up from her desk and walked over to her locker at the back of the room. She unlocked it carefully and as she opened the door, a note slipped out of it, laying itself down on the classroom floor. Nari bent down to pick it up.

It read:

Your eyes, they look tired.

Don’t try so hard. It’ll only make you feel worse.

I’ll help you, so lean on me.

She stared at it for an unusual amount of time. She had no idea what it could mean, who it was from, what their intentions were, if it was even for her. She’d never received anything like it before and never thought she would.

“What’s up?” Sunhi started, holding Nari’s shoulders from behind.

“Nothing,” Nari snapped out of her confusion.

She folded the paper and slipped it into her skirt pocket and turned away and out of Sunhi’s hold, walking back to her desk. Sunhi followed closely behind and sat down with her, staring at her with furrowed eyebrows. Nari paid no mind to her and sat quietly, staring blankly at the front of the class. Her curiousity was piqued. Her mind wouldn’t rest for the rest of the day at least.

-

The bell sounded for lunch and Sunhi leapt out of her chair, raring to go. Just as she was about to exit the room, she remembered Nari next to her.

“Nari, come on, it’s lunch!” Sunhi exclaimed, grabbing Nari’s arm and pulling her out of the chair.

Nari shrugged her off quickly.

“Sunhi, I have to see Mr Park about the maths work. You go without me,” Nari stated.

She smiled at her, half-heartedly. Sunhi noticed but said nothing. She nodded gradually and left Nari alone in the classroom, the other classmates having evacuated for lunch already.

Nari sat back down at her desk, staring mindlessly at the front once again.

What could it be? Who could it be? When could it be? Why could it be? How could it be? Was it even meant to be? These questions hit her mind over and over like a battering ram. She pulled the note out from her pocket and flattened it out on her desk. She scanned the words over and over again. They were like a puzzle to her but it was as if she was missing a few pieces to complete the picture. Why doesn’t it make sense… she thought.

She felt her stomach churn in an unfamiliar way as she grew more and more confused. That was until a body appeared in front of her desk, momentarily cutting off her thoughts.

“Hi, Nari,” a boy spoke.

Nari blinked her eyes multiple times before smiling awkwardly at him.

“Hi…”

“Oh, um, my name is Taesun. Jung Taesun. I’m from 1-D,” the boy, now named Taesun, explained as he hid his eyes underneath his fringe.

She nodded before looking back down at the note on her desk as if he hadn’t jus