You cooked dinner for the house that night. Everyone was thankful for your wonderful cooking skills.

After washing up, you sat on the edge of your bed, ready to go to sleep.

You pulled a picture frame out of its bubble wrap and placed it on your new nightstand. You brought it to your lips and kissed it gently.

“Umma, Appa, I like my new house. My roommates are pretty nice too, even a bit funny.” You smiled.

“I’m starting college tomorrow. I wish you guys could be with me through this journey. But I know you’re in a better place...” You felt your eyes begin to get waterybut you shook it off. *Stay strong.*

“I’ll continue being the strong ~~~~~ you know. I’ll make sure you guys are proud of your daughter.” You quickly wiped away the tear that had fallen down your cheek. *Don’t cry.* “Are you guys doing well? How’s my baby brother?” You sighed. “I really miss you guys.”

You felt your throat close up at the thought of your family. With a large exhale, you decided to say goodbye. “I love you guys.” You gave the picture one last kiss before setting it down.

You got into your brand new covers and snuggled. *First day of college tomorrow.* You couldn’t help the smile that formed on your face. You closed your eyes, ready to fall asleep.

Until...

“Jinho oppa, all my roommates are sleeping right now, I don’t want to wake them up; can we talk about this tomorrow?”

“It’s your fault for moving away from here and in with a bunch of strangers. You have no privacy. You can’t even talk to your boyfriend in peace?” Jihye sighed. *I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out they are boys.*

“Baby, it’s not like that.” She pleaded. “I had to do this. I had to do this for ~~~~~ and I.”

Jinho scoffed on the other end. “So ~~~~~ is more important than me now? Do I not mean anything to you as your boyfriend?”

You could hear their entire conversation from your bed. He was speaking way too loudly through the phone. You anger towards him was beginning to boil again. *That disrespectful idiot. Why is Jihye so blind?*

“~~~~~ is my best friend Jinho oppa!” Jihye protested.

“And I’m your boyfriend, God damn it, Lee Jihye!”

“I know! And I love you...” You slapped your palm to your forehead. *Is she really gonna give in that easily.* “But I’m doing this for my education...My future!”

“ education; am I not in your future?” *Only a high school dropout would say something like that.* You rolled your eyes in annoyance. You could see Jihye’s eyes water up. *Jihye, you’re stronger than this.*

“Oppa, don’t curse.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Jihye.”

“Of course you are oppa, but-”

“But what?”

“Jinho oppa can we please just talk about this later. I had a long day, I’m tired.”

“Whatever Jihye. You’re changing already.” With that, he hung up the phone.

Jihye crawled into her bed and placed her phone on her nightstand. You watched her snuggle with her pillow.

Then you heard small sniffles. She was crying. Again.

And it broke your heart.

*He doesn’t deserve you, Ji.*

L made his way downstairs and pulled a glass out of the cupboard. He filled it with water and finished it.

He walked to the front door and assured it was locked. He went to the backdoor and did the same.

As he was doing so, that strange man on the corner of the block came to his mind again. He didn’t like the way he looked at you. Something about it truly irked him. He felt dangerous.

Turning off all the lights, he headed back upstairs.

“Have you seen my red bag?” Woohyun asked, searching through his items.

“I saw it in the hallway earlier.” L responded casually, lying down on his bed.

Woohyun walked into the hallway and as L said, his red bag was there. He picked it up and was about to turn back into his room until he heard a soft voice.

He heard overheard Jihye’s conversation with her boyfriend. Although he couldn’t hear what he was saying, Woohyun knew that guy was being aggressive and Jihye couldn’t stand up to it.

He suddenly felt a little bad for the way he was treating her all day. *Maybe I should lay off, she has enough on her plate already.*

He turned away only to stop once again. This time, he heard soft whimpering. *She’s crying.*

He bowled his fist and tried to contain himself. If there was anything Nam Woohyun hated the most, it was a girl’s tears. He didn’t know who her boyfriend was, but he immediately hated him.

*Such a beautiful girl doesn’t deserve to cry.*

L put his camera into the charger for tomorrow. He was going to a new place, filled with new people and new adventures and he knew he needed his camera. He captured every moment that caught his eye to save its memory for future purposes.

Getting into bed, he closed his eyes ready to fall into a slumber. But for some reason, you appeared in his mind. Your soft eyes and your laughter and your smile. L’s lips even curved upward just thinking about it. This feeling was quite unfamiliar to him. It even scared him a little.

Then he began thinking of that strange man again. He felt a shiver run through his spine. He felt nothing good from that man. Nothing good at all.