He was waiting for her at the steps of her new dormitory.

From a distance, he saw her was pulling a huge luggage bag, the trademark red scarf wrapped on its handle. The sight of her prompted him to stand, walking slowly towards her direction. Something about seeing her triggered a hint of excitement he had been trying to assuage. She was a semblance of comfort zone in the rapidly escalating trek in his life, and he craved for the familiarity and open acceptance she exuded.

It didn’t hurt that she had become very pretty.

“Ji Eun Tak,” he called, a few paces from her.

At the sound of his voice, the woman in question looked up.

The surprise in her face couldn’t disguise the veil of sadness that painted her features, something he barely noticed with her being orphaned at a young age. The lack of innocence in her gaze unnerved him, as if her soul caved into an abyss reflected in her eyes. A hint of pallor was present in her cheeks and lips, and he barely controlled the frown that instinctively curled his own lips.

“You look tired, and classes are yet to start,” he teased, attempting to clear the mood that settled between them. “What will happen to you then?”

Something snapped within the woman, and she responded to him with a short laugh.

(He hated the emptiness in her laugh.)

“I will be fine. Didn’t you offer to help me?”

He motioned his hand to her luggage.

“I can drag it by myself,” she insisted, but he shook his head.

“Didn’t I offer my help?”

She bit her lip, but his insistence worked. He took hold of the handle of her luggage.

“Thank you, Tae Hee oppa.”

His hand reached for her hair, and he patted her head like he used to.

(He didn’t miss the widening of her eyes, and wondered what went wrong.)

--

Wang Yeo lied, when he promised to move forward.

Even at a distance, he didn’t miss the way the missing soul’s – Ji Eun Tak, for heaven’s sake – body froze as the male – the one who dared to call him Eun Tak’s father – patted her head. Protectiveness almost led him to approaching them, no matter how inappropriate it would have been, but he held his ground. He couldn’t. He was just a mere spectator now.

His grip on Mr. Buckwheat tightened.

A bubble of hate bubbled from his chest, and inwardly he cursed at Kim Shin for choosing nothingness. With the mercy of the deity, he lost the family he gained. He was yet to see Deok Hwa, and the two women he cared about had to be held at a distance.

But he would continue to watch them, as part of his penance.

As part of his promise.

As Ji Eun Tak and her companion walked away, he turned back and readied for his work that morning.

But first, he had to bring Mr. Buckwheat to their empty home.